In 1962, he went to Japan with his uncle Cho Nam-chul and became a student of Minoru Kitani, 9 dan. In 1968, he joined the Nihon Ki-in at 11 years 9 months, a youngest-ever record. In 1975, he beat Masao Kato in the Pro Go Top Ten and became the youngest to reach the top of Japanese Go.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 24, he won the Meijin title and became known. Sports Kyunghyang recalled that Korean society felt a victory over Japan in the win.
In 1981, he took the Honinbo title as well. In 1983, he added the Kisei for the first-ever Triple Crown. A few months later he lost the Honinbo title defense to Rin Kaiho. In January 1986, injured in a traffic accident, he came to game 2 of the Kisei match in a wheelchair and won. He lost the defense overall to Koichi Kobayashi.
In 1987, he won the Tengen as well, completing a grand slam of the seven major Japanese Go tournaments. In 1989, he won back the Honinbo after six years. In 1991, he won the Fujitsu Cup and reached the top of a world tournament for the first time.
In 1998, he won a tenth straight Honinbo and received the name “25th Honinbo Chikun.” Around then he also held the Triple Crown for three straight years, his fourth time overall. In 1999, he reached 1,000 career wins.
In 2003, he won the Samsung Fire Cup and reached the top of a world tournament again after 12 years. In 2008, he reached 1,300 career wins. In 2010, he set a new record for career wins in Japanese Go. In 2012, he reached 1,400 career wins, the first in Japanese Go.
In July 2015, he won the Baduk Masters Cup for his 74th career title. In August his wife died. In 2016, on his 60th birthday, he received the honorary Meijin title. In 2017, he reached 1,500 career wins, the first in Japanese Go. In 2018, he won a Korean Go tournament for the first time.
In 2019, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government. In 2020, he received the MVP award in the Korean Senior Go League for a third straight year. In 2023, he reached 1,600 career wins, the most in Japanese pro Go history. In 2024, he explained in a news interview why he had kept his Korean citizenship. In 2026, he published his first autobiographical essay, Living with Baduk.
Cho Chikun (born Jun 20, 1956) joined the Nihon Ki-in on May 8, 1968, the year he turned 12, and became known when he won the Meijin title on Nov 5, 1980, the year he turned 24. He won a tenth straight Honinbo and received the name “25th Honinbo Chikun” in 1998, the year he turned 42.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.