Lee Chang-ho Becomes First Go Player to Record 2,000 Career Wins 40 Years After Turning Professional

Lee Chang-ho, the South Korean 9-dan known as the "Stone Buddha," became the first player in the history of the game to record 2,000 career professional wins, reaching the milestone on Oct. 26 in a domestic league match.

Lee, 51, defeated fellow 9-dan Choi Myung-hoon by resignation after 207 moves while playing Black in the 11th round of the 2026 Sopalcosanol Legend League at the Samnye Culture and Arts Village in Wanju, North Jeolla Province. Representing the Hydrogen City Wanju team, he secured the victory that brought his official career total to 2,000 wins. His overall record now stands at 2,831 games, with one draw and 830 losses, for a winning percentage of about 70.7 percent.

The achievement came 40 years and two months after Lee turned professional in August 1986 at the age of 11. He recorded his first professional win on Aug. 26 of that year, defeating Jo Young-suk, then a 1-dan, at the 62nd Dan Promotion Tournament. He reached 1,000 career wins in October 2000, 1,500 wins in January 2010, and 1,900 wins in September 2024. Last December he surpassed the previous all-time mark of 1,968 wins held by his mentor, Cho Hun-hyun, with his 1,969th victory.

Lee said after the match, "I'm honored and happy to have achieved this historic milestone." In other statements he added that he was "simply happy and grateful to continue playing the game I love since childhood" and that "simply being able to keep playing the game I love makes me happy."

The Korea Baduk Association has scheduled a commemorative event for Lee's 2,000 wins on Nov. 3 at its headquarters in Seoul.

Lee's career has long defined an era in professional Go, known as baduk in Korea and weiqi in China. He won his first title at the age of 14 years and 1 month, capturing the KBS Baduk King Championship in 1989. In 1992, at 16 years and 6 months, he became the youngest world champion by winning the Dongyang Securities Cup (also known as the Tong Yang Cup). Over the course of his career he has collected 17 major international titles and a total of roughly 142 titles in domestic and international competition.

His style, marked by precise calculation, defensive solidity, and an ability to seize control in the endgame, earned him the nickname "Stone Buddha." For much of the 1990s and early 2000s he dominated the international circuit, winning multiple editions of the Samsung Cup, LG Cup, Chunlan Cup, Fujitsu Cup, and others. In 2005 he delivered the so-called "Shanghai Victory" in the Nongshim Cup, defeating five consecutive Chinese and Japanese players to lead South Korea to the team title.

Among the 2,000 wins, Lee has singled out his 2001 Ing Cup final victory over China's Chang Hao as particularly memorable. The match, played for a substantial prize and lasting multiple games, underscored his standing as the leading player of his generation.

The next-highest career win total belongs to Cho Hun-hyun with 1,968. Other leading Korean professionals trail further behind, including Seo Bong-soo with 1,828 and Yoo Chang-hyuk with 1,489. Japan's Cho Chikun reached 1,600 wins in December 2023. Current top-ranked player Shin Jin-seo stands at fewer than 1,000 career wins.

Lee's path from the 1,000-win mark to 2,000 took 26 years, reflecting both the natural slowing of a long career and the continued high volume of professional play in Korea. Even in recent seasons he has remained active in league and tournament play, posting a winning record while competing against younger players.

The milestone underscores the longevity possible in a game that rewards calculation and experience as much as youthful speed. Professional careers in Go often span decades, but few players maintain a winning percentage above 70 percent across more than 2,800 official games. Lee's record places him alone at the top of the all-time win list in the professional era.

The Legend League match itself carried no major title implications, yet the setting in Wanju provided a fitting stage for a player who has spent his entire adult life on the board. Choi Myung-hoon, a contemporary who has faced Lee dozens of times over the years, became the opponent for the historic game.

As the Korea Baduk Association prepares its Nov. 3 ceremony, the focus remains on the quiet persistence that produced the record. Lee's own words after the win returned to the same theme he has voiced at earlier milestones: continued enjoyment of the game itself. At 51, with 2,000 professional victories behind him and more games still ahead, the player known as the Stone Buddha has added one more number to a career already defined by accumulation and precision.