An interview with Yoon Youngsun, 5-dan

Yoon Youngsun, 5-dan is getting married in September.

Here you can read an exclusive interview with Yoon Youngsun, 5-dan. The questions were compiled by Alexander Dinerchtein:

Congratulations! How did you meet Rasmus?
We met in Sweden Leksand Baduk Camp. We played Rengo together but we were just friends. I visited Europe several times and met him. Finally we become close to each other.

Does he have any brothers, who are not yet married?
He has one sister. She is 3 years younger than him and single.

Is it true that Antonio Banderas is your favorite actor?
No. I liked Brad Pitt but not anymore...

Rasmus is currently a 2-dan amateur. Of course he will be happy to take some Go lessons from you. What will you ask him in return? Will he wash the dishes or clean the floor?
Many people think that I play or teach him a lot, but it is not true. I play with him very rare. I'm sorry about it.

What can you tell us about your friend Kang Seunghee, 2-dan. Will she make an international family too?
She likes to live here. But she doesn't know yet. She wants to teach many nice people here. I will try to help her as much I can.

Time to ask some Go questions. Is it true that you play Go on KGS (Kiseido Go Server) and your ID is "tartaric"?
No. It is not me. I have one ID. But I played only teaching games.

Your life story is similar with Guo Juan, 5-dan. She got married in Holland and stopped playing in pro tournaments. Will you take part in European tournaments, like Guo Juan?
No, I will not play tournaments here. I'm not allowed to play in Europe.

Everyone is getting weaker without practice. If you stay in Germany, you will not be able to play in pro tournaments often. Will you try to keep yourself in good shape and how?
I know. But when I came here I already gave game up. I want to teach a lot of children who has talent. Sometimes I study pro games. It is really interesting!

What do you think about the current system of Female World Go Championships? Usually they are not inviting any players except Chinese, Koreans and Japanese. Feng Yun, 9-dan can play for USA, you can play for Germany, Guo Juan for Holland, Svetlana Shikshina for Russia. Is it necessary to change the system and give them a chance?
Actually I didn't think about it. If I can play, it would be nice, but I would like to give them a chance.

We know that your playing style is very aggressive (just one example for our readers) Will it become softer after marriage?
Well ... I don’t think so ... I like to fight. It is more fun and interesting.

We read your Go books about shapes and ko-fights. They
are useful, but there are lots of other books on these topics. Will you write us something special? Maybe without Go diagrams at all?
I'm just a beginner in writing books. I'm happy that people like it. There are a lot of nice books in Europe. At least I tried to show Korean style. I already finished my third book. It is called "100 tips for Amateur players". I think the people don’t need difficult or complicated things. Basic is the most important. I felt it from teaching here. I hope you like my new book!


You may also read an opinion of another Korean professional – Cho Hyeyeon, 7-dan : blog Cho Hyeyeon By the way, her Go blog is quite interesting. As well as I know, it's the only English blog of an Asian pro.

Alexander Dinerchtein