Family firsts in go
Family firsts in goThe first father-and-son game in pro history was when Izumitani Masanori played son Hideo in the second preliminary section of the Judan tournament in November 2000; the son won. The first father and son to win a major title was when Hane Naoki won the Tengen title in 2001, father Yasumasa having won the Oza in 1990.
The first marriage between professionals was when Onozuka Nakako married Hirose Heijiro (but date not known - late 19th century?), though it is possible to give the honour to Suzuki Chisei and his wife Yoshiko a full century earlier, depending on the definition of professional (Yoshiko was ranked as 1-dan). The first marriage between modern pros was between Suzuki Tamejiro and Hideko in 1923. Hideko was the first and we hope only pro to be killed by a tram. By and large go players have avoided grisly endings, though there have been a couple of murderers in their ranks. Returning to happy things, the first married pro couple in Korea were Yi Sang-hun Sr. and Ha Ho-cheong in March 2005.
The first husband and wife to appear together in a title final were Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao, when they paired up (and won) in the 4th Hitachi Pro Pair Go Championship Final of June 2000. The first husband and wife to face each other in a title match was when Kobayashi Izumi and Cho U met in the final of the 12th Ricoh Pair Go Cup on 4 February 2006. Kobayashi Izumi also featured in the first father-daughter game when she met Kobayashi Koichi in the 43rd Judan on 29 July 2004.
The first Korean-Chinese pro wedding was in April 2005 when Yue Liang married Kweon Hyo-chin.
The first brothers to contest a final were Yi Se-tol and big bruv Yi Sang-hun. Yi Major won in the 4th SK New Stars Best Ten Final in October 2000.
The first brother-sister pro duo was in Japan when Kobayashi Satoru made pro in 1974. He joined sister Chizu who had become pro in 1972. Brothers Kenji and Takayuki followed soon after, making them probably the first brotherly trio and only family foursome to be pro at the same time. The first brother-sister pair in Korea came in August 2003 when Kim Tae-heui became pro and joined Kim Su-chin in the pro ranks.