Gu Li is a Chinese go player. He became a pro in 1995 when he was only 12. In 2006, he won the 10th
LG Cup and became the youngest Chinese player to ever win a major international title; as a result, he was also promoted to 9 dan. In March 2007, he defeated
Chang Hao 2-0 to win the
Chunlan Cup. In mid-2007, Gu Li experienced a playing slump, even losing many matches against lower dan players. However, he soon came back stronger than ever, winning many major titles both domestic and international, including the 2007
Changqi Cup and the 2008
Fujitsu Cup; the greatest factors in this turnaround was his improvement in the endgame, and territory skills, which many people had previously considered his biggest weaknesses. In 2009 Gu defeated Lee Sedol to win the 13th
LG Cup. In July 2010, Gu Li became the "
Meijin of Meijins" by defeating
Lee Changho and
Iyama Yuta in a special tournament which pitted the domestic title-holders from China, Korea and Japan against each other. In October 2010, Gu Li defeated
Han Sanghoon and
Lee Sedol in the round of sixteen and quarter-finals respectively to reach the semi-finals of the 15th
Samsung Cup, whilst the defending Champion
Kong Jie was knocked out by
Kim Jiseok. Gu won the 2010 Samsung Cup, defeating
Heo Youngho of Korea, and moves on towards the 2012 Ing Cup to become the second player to win all major international titles (Although Lee Chang-ho is the first and so far only person to win all titles, including the defunct
World Oza and Zhonghuan Cup, as well as the
Tong Yang Cup). In 2014, Gu Li was defeated in a
jubango against
Lee Sedol (+2-6). The games took place on each last Sunday of the month. == Style ==