Cho Chikun - Car Accident (1986)

Car Accident (1986)

A cataclysmic event for Chikun happened at the beginning of 1986. At around lunch time on January 6, 1986, Cho was leaving in his car when a motorcyclist came around from his blind spot. He had avoided Cho's car, only to have slid and overturned on his motorcycle. Cho was helping the motorcyclist to stand up, and then he went to pick the bike up when a car hit him. His right thigh was broken and he suffered other injuries. He was sent into the emergency room and had an operation the day after. The injuries would take three months to heal. Cho was determined not to let it affect him. Since his head and hand were fine, he went ahead and played the first game of the Kisei tournament. He played a good game, only to lose by 2.5 points. Cho recovered from the loss and took the next two games. Kobayashi then took 3 in a row and Cho was without a title for the first time in 8 years—something tremendous, considering he was only 29 years old. He went on to lose in a playoff for the Meijin, only to end the year with winning the Gosei title. This year ended better than last with a record of 35 wins and 17 losses.