In China, raising a child to become a professional Go player requires a significant financial investment. Here’s a breakdown of the costs if the child’s Go skills progress smoothly: • Starting at age 5, spending 2 years to reach Tygem 5 Dan (one in a thousand). • By age 9 and after 4 years of learning, reaching Tygem strong 8 Dan to weak 9 Dan, equivalent to a mid-level Chinese amateur 5 Dan (one in ten thousand). The annual tuition fees include: • Basic courses and holiday classes amounting to approximately $3,000. • Twice-weekly lessons with a teacher at $70 each, totaling around $5,000 to $7,000 per year for 40-50 weeks. • The total annual cost is about $8,000 to $9,000, amounting to roughly $35,000 over four years. After reaching amateur 5 Dan, the child would need to study under a professional teacher or enter a professional dojo, with full-time guidance costing about $1,400 per month, or $14,000 per year. The goal would be to reach strong amateur 5 Dan, close to professional 1 Dan level within 3 years (in an ideal scenario), by around age 12, costing $42,000. The next target is to excel in the Chinese professional Go qualification tournament within the next 3 years (age 12-15), with continued annual expenses of $14,000. Success in qualifying early can save costs; otherwise, the expenditure repeats annually, adding another flexible budget of $42,000. By around age 15, the average age for turning professional, the total cost reaches approximately $122,000, excluding living expenses for the parents accompanying the child and travel expenses for competitions. Significant cost savings can be achieved if the child ranks among the top 5 nationally in their age group and qualifies for the Hangzhou branch of the Chinese Go Academy, potentially saving the later $42,000 expense. The challenge for many aspiring young players isn’t necessarily the financial cost but the harsh reality of not meeting the required Go skill level or underperforming in competitions as they age (approaching 16-17), while younger peers catch up. Falling behind academically adds to the pressure, leading many to return to school by age 16 to catch up on their studies. Those unable to catch up may eventually return to their hometowns to teach Go. In fact, most young players give up not because of financial reasons but because they painfully watch themselves grow older (approaching 16 or 17 years old) without achieving the necessary Go skill level or consistently underperforming in competitions. Meanwhile, younger siblings or peers are quickly catching up in skill, and their own academic studies have fallen behind. Returning to school to catch up on cultural studies becomes increasingly difficult, leading to growing pressure… Therefore, most end up going back to school before turning 16 to pick up their academic studies again. If they fail to catch up, they ultimately return to their hometowns to make a living by teaching Go. As for those who succeed in becoming professional players, whether they switch back to academic studies or continue to pursue Go full-time with the aim of winning a world championship is another matter. After a few more years of hard work, if they can play in China’s top professional Go league, then that’s another achievement to aim for. #go #weiqi #professional #chinese