Sumire Nakagawa is the product of a special programme to promote the ancient pursuit and compete with Korean and Chinese players
A nine-year-old girl in Japan will become the youngest-ever professional player of the strategy board game go when she makes her debut later this year.
Sumire Nakamura, who attends primary school in Osaka, started playing go at the age of three and will start her career at the lowest rank of shodan on 1 April, according to Japanese media.
She will comfortably beat the record for the youngest professional held by Rina Fujisawa, who was aged 11 years and six months when she turned professional nine years ago.
Nakamura, who was encouraged to play go by her father, Shinya, himself a ninth-degree professional player who won a national title in 1998, is the product of a special programme to nurture a new generation of top Japanese players who can compete with their Chinese and Korean counterparts in international tournaments.
