Origins & Early Life

Lee Sedol (Korean: 이세돌; born 2 March 1983), or Lee Se-dol, is a South Korean former professional Go player of 9 dan rank. As of February 2016, he ranked second in international titles (18), behind only Lee Chang-ho (21). His nickname is "The Strong Stone" ("Ssen-dol"). In March 2016, he played a series of matches against the program AlphaGo that ended in Lee losing 1–4.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Lee announced his retirement from professional play in November 2019, saying he could never be the top overall player of Go due to the increasing dominance of artificial intelligence (AI), which he called "an entity that cannot be defeated". In a 2024 interview, he said "losing to AI, in a sense, meant my entire world was collapsing. ... I could no longer enjoy the game. So I retired." Lee was born in South Korea in 1983.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He was born and grew up on Bigeumdo Island. He studied at the Korea Baduk Association. He became a professional Go player at the age of 12 years 4 months, making him the fifth-youngest Go professional in South Korean history behind Cho Hun-hyun (9 years 7 months), Lee Chang-ho (11 years 1 months), Cho Hye-yeon (11 years 10 months) and Choi Cheol-han (12 years 2 months). He ranks second...

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