Diemazz

Masaki Takemiya
Full name	Masaki Takemiya
Kanji	武宮正樹
Date of birth	January 1, 1951 (1951-01-01) (age 58)
Place of birth	Tokyo, Japan
Residence	Tokyo, Japan
Teacher	Minoru Kitani
Turned pro	1965
Rank	9 dan
Affiliation	Nihon Ki-in

Masaki Takemiya (武宮正樹, Takemiya Masaki^?, born January 1, 1951) is a professional Go player.

Biography

Masaki Takemiya was born in Japan. He became one of the many disciples of the Minoru Kitani school. His rise to fame began when he was only 15 years old. By the time he was 15, he was already 5 dan. He earned the nickname "9 dan killer" because he won several games against top rated players. His famous "cosmic style" of Go would become popular among fans. It focused on large moyo in the center of the board. He's known as keeping a consistent record of winning titles. The longest period in which he did not hold a title has only been 4 years. His form lately has been terrific. He closed off 2005 with an impressive win of 16 straight games, which was stopped by Omori Yasushi in the qualifiers for the 3rd World Oza. Outside of Go, Takemiya also won the biggest Japanese backgammon tournament, the 12th Saint of the Board title, by beating the former holder, Abe Akiko.

Three of Takemiya's books have been published in English -- Enclosure Joseki (Kiseido Press), now out of print but available in digital form; The Imagination of a Go Master (NEMESIS Enterprises); and This Is Go the Natural Way! (Hinoki Press).

His style

Takemiya is known for his "Double 4" fuseki when he uses white, where he usually starts the game like so:

"Double 4" fuseki (White).

Takemiya is a favorite among amateur go players because of his very thick playing style as black. His sanrensei (three star) openings involve plenty of fights.