The level in other countries has traditionally been much lower, except for some players who had preparatory professional training in East Asia. Knowledge of the game has been scant elsewhere up until the 20th century. A famous player of the 1920s was Edward Lasker. It was not until the 1950s that more than a few Western players took up the game as other than a passing interest. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer became the first Westerner to receive a professional player's certificate from an East Asian professional Go association. In 2000, American Michael Redmond became the first Western player to achieve a 9 dan rank.
The level in other countries has traditionally been much lower, except for some players who had preparatory professional training in East Asia. Knowledge of the game has been scant elsewhere up until the 20th century. A famous player of the 1920s was Edward Lasker. It was not until the 1950s that more than a few Western players took up the game as other than a passing interest. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer became the first Westerner to receive a professional player's certificate from an East Asian professional Go association. In 2000, American Michael Redmond became the first Western player to achieve a 9 dan rank