# Female Go players

This is an article about the history of female Go players in Asia and Europe.

## Social background

Female Go players are viewed to be a minority. This is due to these reasons:
* There are many male players but only few female players.
** In Japan, there are no female winners at games without gender rules. Asami Ueno was the first female player who managed to be a finalist.
** In China, there was no female 9-dan before Rui Naiwei.
** Most players and winners at World championships are male.
* Not all female players are fairly paid. Joanne Missingham is known for her protests to this issue.

### Comparison with female shogi players

In Japan, Go players are always compared with shogi players. This is because newspapers like The Asahi Shimbun treat them equal. But there is a big difference among female players. Female Go players usually belong to the same organization with others. But this does not happen for shogi. Female shogi players belong to the Ladies Professional Shogi Association (LPSA). The others belong to the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). Some LPSA players like Kana Satomi have tried to enter JSA. But currently, no one has entered.

## Promotion of female players
### Europe

In Europe, there were no notable female players before Svetlana Shikshina and Diana Koszegi. In order to increase the number of female players, the European Go Federation is holding the European Women's Go Championship (EWGC) since 1996 and the European Pair Go Championship (EPGC) since 1997.

### Japan

Kansai Ki-in has eased the age rules to female players. At Nihon Ki-in, there is a special exam for female players. Most female professionals (except Xie Yimin etc.) have got their pro status by this way. In 2019, Nihon Ki-in has started a female player test system to give more support to them. Nihon Ki-in is also sponsoring female amateur games.

#### Female Student Honinbo

This is a tournament operated with the All Japan Student Go Federation. Some winners have got pro status, or became top amateur players. Only players who cleared regional games can attend.

#### All Japan Female Amateur Go Championship

The All Japan Female Amateur Go Championship is the highest match for female amateur Go players. Some winners have become a pro. The next table shows the notable winners.
| Year | Winner |
| 1965 | Tomoko Ogawa |
| 1970–1971 and 1975 | Kazuko Kanai |
| 1977–1978, 1980, 1985 and 1987 | Yoshiko Kamekura |
| 1981–1984 | Yasuko Yoshie |
| 1990–1991 and 1993–1995 | Akiko Sato |
| 1997 | Narumi Ohsawa |
| 2000–2001 | Mieko Nakajima |
| 2002 and 2013 | Maya Ohsawa (Narumi Ohsawa's sister. The Ohsawa sisters became the first sisters to win at here) |
| 2003 | Kaori Mukai (Chiaki Mukai's sister, now known as Kaori Mimura) |
| 2004 | Miori Shimosaka |
| 2005 and 2007 | Akane Ishii (currently known as Akane Tatsumi) |
| 2014–2015 | Akiko Fujiwara |
| 2016 | Reina Oshima |
| 2017 | Saeka Iwata |
Kaori Chinen, Yukari Yoshihara and Rina Fujisawa also participated in this championship before becoming a pro.

## World Ranking Changes by Year

Since 1986, four female Go players have held the top spot. For the past 7 years, Choi Jeong has been ranked number 1 in the rankings.
Female Go Player Ranking :
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 1986-1989 | Rui Naiwei | Zhang Xuan | Feng Yun |
| 1990-1993 | Rui Naiwei | Zhang Xuan | Yang Hui |
| 1994-1997 | Rui Naiwei | Zhang Xuan | Feng Yun |
| 1998-2003 | Rui Naiwei | Cho Hyeyeon | Zhang Xuan |
| 2004 | Rui Naiwei | Cho Hyeyeon | Park Jieun |
| 2005 | Cho Hyeyeon | Rui Naiwei | Park Jieun |
| 2006-2007 | Rui Naiwei | Cho Hyeyeon | Park Jieun |
| 2008-2010 | Rui Naiwei | Li He | Qiao Shiyao |
| 2011 | Rui Naiwei | Yu Zhiying | Choi Jeong |
| 2012 | Rui Naiwei | Choi Jeong | Yu Zhiying |
| 2013-2015 | Yu Zhiying | Choi Jeong | Rui Naiwei |
| 2016 | Yu Zhiying | Choi Jeong | Oh Yujin |
| 2017-2019 | Choi Jeong | Yu Zhiying | Oh Yujin |
| 2020-2023 | Choi Jeong | Yu Zhiying | Zhou Hongyu |
| 2024 | Choi Jeong | Yu Zhiying | Kim Eunji |