About me:

My name is Pop Cristian. I learned go in high school when I was 14-15 years old from a math teacher who, at that time, was 1D. My Go partner from the begining was Catalin Taranu who is now 5D Pro in Japan. So we started to play go all day long, soon becoming stronger than our teacher. A few years later, we moved to Bucharest to study at university, there, of course, we kept playing Go, turning our room on campus into a Go club. Almost all strong Romanian Go players today were students too at that time. Almost all of us were so crazy about Go that we didn't go to university too much.

Catalin got the chance to go to Japan where he succeeded to become Pro. In Dec. 97 I also went to Japan where I spent 2 years as insei at Nihon Kiin. My sensei was Saijo 8D, a great man from whom I learned a lot (not only about Go). I didn't became Pro, so at the end of '99 I came back to Romania.

Still my experience in Japan is important. I experienced first hand the guidance of japanese go professionals about teaching amateurs. So I think I'm a good teacher.

Now about my importants results:

I was Romanian Champion in 1996, 2000, 2001,2002,2005 and 2006 (the most important Go tournament in Romania), I won Romanian Cup several times and many other tournaments which I really don't remember :-)

In international tournaments I got 5th place at the World Amateur Go Championship in Saporo in 1997. That was my first participation at this tournamentand and until today the best place Romania won. In the 2002 WAGC I managed to take the 6th place.

This year, 2007, in Tokyo i took 4-th place at the 28-th WAGC. You can read an interview I gave for 361points.com, after the WAGC.

In Europe the most important tournaments are Ing cup and Fujitsu Cup.I got second place at the Ing Cup in 1997 and 2001,and first place in 2003 and second place at the Fujitsu Final in 1997 and 2002 . I won also several Grand Prix tournaments but I can't remember exactly the dates.

So, if you decide to became my student I hope we will enjoy studying Go together. Because I think sometimes a teacher learns more from a student than a student from a teacher :-)