[Alphago vs. Lee Se-dol] Who is this Lee Se-dol guy?

Hi all, I'm Denk.

Just in case you might want to know more about Lee Se-dol the professional baduk(go) player, I prepared a little overview about his interesting life. (Baduk is the Korean term for Go)

012345

Early Life

Lee Se-dol is a South Korean, born in1983 in a countryside I've never heard of. One thing I know is that it is far away from Seoul. Anyways, his father was an amateur baduk player. This says many things about his younger days. His name also has a hint of how much his father loved baduk. In baduk, "dol" stands for the playing piece or stone. Se-dol and his older brother both became intrigued by the game, thanks to the influence by his father, when they were really young, and they both showed enough talent to become professional baduk players in early ages.

However, Se-dol's talent was an exceptional one. He entered the professional baduk field when he was only 12. This ranked third in history next to Cho Hun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho, the two greatest Korean baduk legends. They became professionals when they were 9 and 11 respectively. Chinese call Lee Chango-ho, the big Lee, and Lee Se-dol, the small Lee.

Style of Play

Se-dol is famous for his aggressive style of playing with an overwhelming ability to read possible outcomes in many depths. In his games, there are often unexpected moves, which deviate from the norm. This means that they seem like bad moves at first, but he manages to turn around the games by exploiting his opponent's vulnerabilities. 

The nickname given to his style of playing is "devil" as opposed to the nickname given to Lee Chang-ho, who is called "god-like". Se-dol joggles and devours his opponent who stays confused and agitated till the end of the game. As a result, he has a lot of fans in Korea and other countries in the east asia.

Peculiarities

As often geniuses are, Se-dol is peculiar in several ways. One of the things he is known for is his sayings in interviews. Let me list a few.

Q. Many think that the world's top legendary baduk players are Cho Hun-hyun, Lee Chang-ho, and Ma Xiaochun. Whose style do you like the most and who do you respect?

A. I think they are all good players. But I don't respect any of them. Oh wait, Ma Xiaochun shouldn't be in the list of good players.

"I have no confidence. No confidence to lose."

Q. Are you pressured about playing with AlphaGo?

A. There is not a slight pressure. If I lose even one game, then it's my loss.

Also, he has a very peculiar voice that is comparable to Beckam. He said it was due to the stress he suffered when he was young. Another peculiarity is that he was the only smoker among the top players.

So, now you know a little more about Se-dol, right? Come back later for the updates on Alphago vs. Se-dol.

Related Posts

2016/02/19 - [For English Audience/Tech Trends / Events in South Korea] - A Big Heads Up in Three Weeks : Korean Baduk(Go) Grandmaster vs. AlphaGo