Gu Li
Full name	Gu Li
Chinese	古力
Pinyin	Gǔ Lì
Date of birth	February 3, 1982 (1982-02-03) (age 27)
Place of birth	Chongqing, China
Residence	China
Teacher	Nie Weiping
Turned pro	1994
Rank	9 dan
Affiliation	Zhongguo Qiyuan

Gu Li (Chinese: 古力; Pinyin: Gǔ Lì; born February 3, 1982) is a Chinese professional Go player.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Go style 3 Titles & runners-up 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Gu Li is currently the #1 ranked Chinese player by the Zhongguo Qiyuan, and is considered one of the top 3 players in the world along with Lee Sedol and Lee Chang-ho. He became a pro in 1994 when he was only 12. He has already won many titles, including all of China's biggest titles. In 2006 he won the 10th LG Cup and became the youngest Chinese player to ever win a major international title; as a result, he was also promoted to 9 dan. In March 2007, he defeated Chang Hao 2-0 to win the Chunlan Cup. In mid 2007, Gu Li experienced a playing slump, even losing many matches against lower dan players. Some people believed that he was mentally burdened by the recent death of his father. However, he soon came back stronger than ever, winning many major titles both domestic and international, including the 2007 Chang-ki Cup and the 2008 Fujitsu Cup; the greatest factors in this turnaround was his improvement in the endgame, and territory skills, which many people had previously considered his biggest weaknesses. In 2009 Gu defeated Lee Sedol to win the 13th LG Cup.

His given name Li, literally meaning strength, is also a Go term roughly meaning the ability of reading. Li also encompasses the meaning of the ability to discover strong moves and the ability to fight. Gu has a nickname called Gu Da Li. Da literally means large, big or huge. This refers to Gu's incredible ability at playing really strong moves that require sharp instinct as well as immaculate reading.

As of May, 2009, Gu Li has entered 6 International Go Championship finals, and has won all of them.

[edit] Go style

Gu is best known for his fighting ability. In China, his style is regarded as li qi, which means a style based on fighting. Also in China, Gu and Lee Sedol's style is known as violence qi (bao li qi). Endgame (yose) is regarded as Gu's main weakness. Gu's main strength is his attacking ability. In earlier years, he fought with little regard or consideration of territory implications. In recent years, especially after his half point wins over Choi of Korea, his style is leaning towards fighting but with high sensitivity towards territory.

[edit] Titles & runners-up

Ranks #2 equal in total amount of titles in China.

Title	Years Held
Current	25
Mingren	2004 - 2008
Tianyuan	2003 - 2008
Chang-ki Cup	2007
NEC Cup (China)	2004, 2006, 2009
Ahan Tongshan Cup	2003, 2005, 2008
Liguang Cup	2002
CCTV Cup	2004
Lanke Cup	2008
Xinan Wang	2003
Xinren Wang	2001, 2005
National Sports Mass Meeting	2002
Continental	8
China-Korea Tengen	2003 - 2005
China-Korea New Pro Wang	2001, 2005
China-Japan Agon Cup	2004, 2006, 2009
International	6
LG Cup	2006, 2009
Chunlan Cup	2007
Fujitsu Cup	2008
World Oza	2008
BC Card Cup	2009
Total	39

Title	Years Lost
Current	7
Chang-ki Cup	2006
Tianyuan	2009
NEC Cup (China)	2005
CCTV Cup	2005
Liguang Cup	2008
Xinan Wang	2004
Lanke Cup	2006
Defunct	1
Bawang	2002
Continental	1
China-Korea Tengen	2006
Total	8

[edit] External links

• Interview with Gu Li

Current titles v • d • e Current Major title holders Mingren - Gu Li Tianyuan - Chen Yaoye Chang-ki Cup - Wang Xi v • d • e Continental title holders Asian TV Cup - Kong Jie China-Korea Tengen - Chen Yaoye China-Japan Agon Cup - Sun Tengyu v • d • e International title holders LG Cup - Gu Li Samsung Cup - Kong Jie Fujitsu Cup - Kang Dongyun Chunlan Cup - Chang Hao Ing Cup - Choi Cheol-han BC Card Cup - Gu Li