Background
Izumi Kobayashi grew up in a family of accomplished Go players.
小林 泉美
Izumi Kobayashi grew up in a family of accomplished Go players.
She has joked that she first played Go in her mother"s womb. Her father is Koichi Kobayashi, the man who ranks third in number of titles held in Japan. Her maternal grandfather was Kitani Minoru, one of the leading players and probably the greatest Go teacher.
She became a professional go player in 1995, and was promoted to her current rank, 6 dan, in 2004.