Kim Eun-ji, 9-dan, defeated Choi Jeong, 9-dan, at the Oh Cheong-seong Cup to win her first world championship. Provided by Korea Baduk Association

Kim Eun-ji (18), the 'genius Go prodigy' who has emerged as the new ace of Korean women's Go, has finally reached the top of a world championship.

On December 9th, Kim Eun-ji won the third game of the best-of-three finals at the 8th Oh Cheong-seong Cup World Women's Baduk Championship, held in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, defeating Choi Jeong (29) by resignation after 223 moves with black.

With this victory, Kim Eun-ji secured a 2-1 win in the overall series and claimed her first world championship title since turning professional in 2020.

Kim Eun-ji, who also surpassed Choi Jeong to take the number one spot in the Korean women's rankings for December, has won nine domestic titles but this was her first appearance in a world championship final.

Kim Eun-ji (right) defeated Choi Jeong to win the Oh Cheong-seong Cup World Women's Baduk Championship. Provided by Korea Baduk Association 

In the decisive third game, the opening phase saw a balanced game, with black focusing on territory and white on influence.

Kim Eun-ji, who secured three corners first, then invaded white's influence on the left side and made an elegant escape by finding key points, quickly establishing an advantageous position.

Choi Jeong, finding herself at a disadvantage, sought to create complications in the upper right corner, but Kim Eun-ji responded calmly, widening the point difference and securing a clear path to victory.

With defeat looming, Choi Jeong attempted a comeback for over 100 moves but, seeing no possibility of a reversal, eventually resigned.

With this win, Kim Eun-ji narrowed her overall head-to-head record against Choi Jeong to 9 wins and 20 losses.

She holds a 2-5 record in title matches against Choi Jeong in both domestic and international tournaments.

The prize money for the Oh Cheong-seong Cup is 500,000 yuan (approximately 104 million won) for the winner and 200,000 yuan (41.6 million won) for the runner-up.

The time controls are 2 hours per player with 5 periods of 1-minute byoyomi.