Kalistani Major History

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Kalistan wins IGA Invitational
St. Vincent becomes youngest 9th Dan in Kalistani History
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 4, 5520


Louise St Vincent (9d) (W) defeats Yuki Watanabe (8d Seko) in IGA Finals

Louise St Vincent has become the youngest 9d professional go player in Kalistani Go History. She recently led the Kalistani team to both individual and team victories at the recent IGA (いご/围棋) Invitational held at Kaliburg Polytechnic, which was sponsored by The Kalistani Republic. Also represented at the Invitational tournament were Indrala, who finished second in team scores and third individually, Sekowo, who finished third in the team scores by second individually, Dankuk and Cildania, who finished fourth and fifth in both team and individual scores respectively. St. Vincent defeated Seko's Yuki Watanabe (8d) and was awarded the coveted 9d professional rank.

St. Vincent, who is just 23 years old, began learning go from her father, former Ananto champion Henry St. Vincent (5d) when she was just three years old. "I would watch him play in clubs, and I became fascinated by how the stones moved across the board," said St. Vincent. "When I was old enough, my father taught me gomoku, and then by the time I was 4, with a 5 stone handicap, I was actually able to win against him on a 9x9 board. It was a thrill!" St. Vincent was hooked and joined the Dulnerstaad Go Club as soon as she was able, winning preteen and teen championships in Ananto and following in her father's footsteps. "In the NSP, I had to use all my leave to go to Go Championships."

To enter the 5520 Invitational, players needed to have achieved the rank of 5th Dan Professional prior to entry, and be affiliated with a national club. More than 20 players in Kalistan competed for three spots on the Kalistani team, which, besides St. Vincent also consisted of Jamal Wade (7d) and Tonya Fujimori (6d). The competition featured Round Robin double elimination competition, with Kalistan, who hosted, receiving a first round bye. Team scores were determined by win margins after each match plus whatever komi each player was granted. Individual scores determined how much prize money each player took, with cash awards going to the top six overall players, and a single cash prize of ₭250,000 provided by the Competition's sponsor The Kalistani Republic going to the winner. Kalistani players finished 1st (St. Vincent), 4th (Wade) and 6th (Fujimori). Of the three Kalistanis, onl St. Vincent was promoted during the contest.

"I don't know what I'll do with this money," said St. Vincent. "It does make playing Go a lot easier, and allows me to focus my time and energy on defending my title." The victory has already led to several endorsement offers from companies like KMD and AreoKal. "Haha, well, being in an airplane commercial might be fun," said St. Vincent. "And KalMD is testing machine learning, and wants me to help them test the strength of their go playing AIs. I have a lot of options."

St. Vincent says she plans on spending most of her time at the Dulnerstaad Go Club, playing games against her father. "Just when you think you know everything, someone shows up, and does some move that you didn't even see coming, and it throws you," said St. Vincent. "I can't get too big a head about this. There is always someone better, even for 9 dans."

The Empress has invited St. Vincent to Eveari next month to name her Dame in honor of her victory and exemplary representation of Kalistan and her team leadership in international competition.