Prof. Dr Manja Marz, Professor of RNA Bioinformatics and High-Throughput Analysis at the University of Jena, is the new amateur world champion in the Asian strategy game Go. The 44-year-old won the title last weekend at the ?Senko Cup World Amateur Women’s Go Championship? in Tokyo. Marz had previously been German Go champion several times.

Manja Marz prevailed in an international field of competitors against strong opponents from Asia, Europe and America. The traditional board game Go is considered one of the most strategically complex games in the world. Go originated in ancient China, where it was played more than 4000 years ago. From China, it made its way to Japan—and later to other countries. Despite its great significance in East Asia, Go is still relatively little known in Europe—making the success of a German player on the international stage all the more remarkable.

Prof. Marz intends to invest the prize money of 300,000 yen (approx. 1,640 euros) in special Go boards for the visually impaired and is also planning to collaborate with associations for the blind and visually impaired to this end. She has long been committed to promoting the game of Go in Europe and, among other things, founded the only (offline) Go school in Europe.