Michael Redmond (Go player)
{{short description|American-born professional Go player (born 1963)}}
{{Infobox go player
| name=Michael Redmond
| image=Michael Redmond in 2018.png
| caption=Redmond in 2018
| fullname=Michael Sean Redmond
| kana=マイケル レドモンド
| birth_date={{Birth date and age|1963|5|25}}
| birth_place=Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| residence={{flagicon|Japan}} Tokyo, Japan
| teacher=Yusuke Oeda
| turned pro=1981
| rank=9 dan
| affiliation=Nihon Ki-in
}}
Michael Sean Redmond (マイケル・レドモンド, born May 25, 1963) is an American-born professional Go player. He is one of only a few such players,{{cite book|last=Shotwell|first=Peter|title=Go!: more than a game|year=2003|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-0-8048-3475-9|pages=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7Z0PRuhIvUC&dq=%22michael+redmond%22+go+japan&pg=PA158|accessdate=29 December 2010}} as Go is not as widespread or developed outside of China, South Korea and Japan. He is the only Westerner to reach the highest grade of 9-dan.
Biography
Michael Redmond was born in 1963 in Santa Barbara, California, and began playing Go at age 11. At 14, he moved to Japan and became an insei (Go apprentice) at the Nihon Ki-in, one of the two major Japanese Go associations. He was promoted to professional 1 dan at age 18, and 2 dan the same year. He was promoted to 5 dan in 1985; 8 dan in 1996; and 9 dan in 2000, becoming the first Western Go professional to reach 9 dan.[http://senseis.xmp.net/?MichaelRedmond Michael Redmond's Bio] at Sensei's Library
Redmond has not won any tournament titles but has come close. He was runner-up in the Shinjin-O, Kisei 7 dan section, and NEC Shun-Ei competitions in the early 1990s. He was also a quarter-finalist in the Fujitsu Cup and Tong Yang Cup. Currently{{when|date=June 2021}}, he is a celebrated commentator for the NHK channel. In 2005, he was voted "Best Commentator" for the NHK channel, over Ishida Yoshio.
In August 2006, he taught at the AGA East Coast Go Camp in Pennsylvania, and attended the 22nd annual US Go Congress in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He has also attended several other US Go Congresses.
Redmond is married to Xian-Xian Niu, a Chinese 5 dan professional. They have two daughters, Yumi and Emi. Redmond and his family are sponsors of many Go activities for children in America, such as the Redmond Cup, an annual tournament for strong youth players.{{Cite web|url=http://duiyi.sina.com.cn/info/china_player_history.asp?gno=848&ggrade=33&ntn=1|title=棋手资料_新浪围棋_新浪网|website=duiyi.sina.com.cn|access-date=2016-03-10}} Niu's elder sister, Lili Niu, is a Chinese 5 dan professional and collaborator of Wu Qing-Yuan (Go Seigen). Her husband is Xiangqi (Chinese chess) champion Zhao Guo-rong.
Redmond provided the English commentary along with Chris Garlock for the Google DeepMind Challenge Match between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo from March 9 to March 15, 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deepmind.com/alpha-go.html|title=AlphaGo {{!}} Google DeepMind|website=www.deepmind.com|access-date=2016-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130230207/http://www.deepmind.com/alpha-go.html|archive-date=2016-01-30|url-status=dead}}Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/vFr3K2DORc8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160308090303/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFr3K2DORc8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=DeepMind|title=Match 1 - Google DeepMind Challenge Match: Lee Sedol vs AlphaGo|date=2016-03-08|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFr3K2DORc8|accessdate=2016-03-10}}{{cbignore}}Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/l-GsfyVCBu0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309155326/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-GsfyVCBu0 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=DeepMind|title=Match 2 - Google DeepMind Challenge Match: Lee Sedol vs AlphaGo|date=2016-03-10|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-GsfyVCBu0|accessdate=2016-03-10}}{{cbignore}}Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/qUAmTYHEyM8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309155328/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUAmTYHEyM8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=DeepMind|title=Match 3 - Google DeepMind Challenge Match: Lee Sedol vs AlphaGo|date=2016-03-12|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUAmTYHEyM8|accessdate=2016-03-12}}{{cbignore}}Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/yCALyQRN3hw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309155328/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCALyQRN3hw Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=DeepMind|title=Match 4 - Google DeepMind Challenge Match: Lee Sedol vs AlphaGo|date=2016-03-12|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCALyQRN3hw|accessdate=2016-03-12}}{{cbignore}} His commentary was praised in news articles as "vivid" and "illuminating".{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/03/googles-ai-wins-first-game-historic-match-go-champion/|title=Google's AI Wins First Game in Historic Match With Go Champion|website=Wired.com|access-date=2016-03-16}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/google-deepmind-hooked-us-on-go-the-geekiest-game-youve-never-heard-of/|title=Google turns game of Go into massive AI-vs-human spectacle|website=cnet.com|access-date=2016-03-16}}
Promotion record
{{Promotion record
|1 dan
|1981
|
|2 dan
|1981
|
|3 dan
|1983
|
|4 dan
|1984
|
|5 dan
|1985
|
|6 dan
|1988
|
|7 dan
|1990
|
|8 dan
|1996
|
|9 dan
|2000
|
}}
Titles and runners-up
{{updated|1 July 2018}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3|Domestic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title || Wins || Runners-up | ||
| Ryuen Cup
| 1 (1985) | ||
| NEC Shun-Ei
| | 1 (1990) | |
| Shinjin-O
| | 1 (1992) | |
| colspan=3|Career Total | ||
| align="center"
| Total | 1 | 2 |
Bibliography
- {{ cite book | title = The ABC's of Attack and Defense | publisher = Slate and Shell | year = 2002 | first = Michael | last = Redmond | isbn = 978-1932001006 }}
- {{ cite book | title = Patterns of the Sanrensei | publisher = Slate and Shell | year = 2011 | first = Michael | last = Redmond | isbn = 978-1-932001-63-1 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{in lang|en}} [http://senseis.xmp.net/?MichaelRedmond Page on Redmond from Sensei's Library]
- {{in lang|ja}} [http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/player/htm/ki000174.htm Nihon Kiin's bio of Redmond]
- {{in lang|en}} [https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelRedmondsGoTV Redmond's YouTube Channel]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redmond, Michael}}