American Go E-Journal

Moon sweeps stage 1 in Jeongganjang Cup. Moon Dowon 2P (r in photo) swept the first stage, seven-game series in the 9th Jeongganjang Cup. In the last game on January 14, she defeated Japan’s Suzuki Ayumi 5P (l) by 3.5 points, leaving Team Japan with only one player (Yoshida Mika 8P) left going into the second stage. Moon’s seven straight wins leaves Team Korea intact with all five players, while Team China remains with only two players (Rui Naiwei 9P and Tang Yi 2P). Moon will play China’s Tang in the first round of stage two on March 22nd. Regardless of how the second stage unfolds, the remarkable rise of Moon Dowon throughout this tournament is one of those career markers that will be remembered for some time. Earlier results: round 6, round 5, round 4, and last week’s round-up. Iyama Yuta wins game 1 in Kisei. Day two in the first round of the 35th Kisei final gave Iyama Yuta 9P the win by resignation over defending Kisei champion Cho U 9P. Iyama thus takes a 1-0 lead in this seven-game series. Cho won the title last year for the first time in his career, which also marked his first time contending for the title. Likewise, this is Iyama’s first Kisei title match. The second round will begin on January 26th. Kuksu final tied at 1-1. On January 14, Choi Cheolhan 9P defeated Lee Changho 9P by resignation in the second round. The five-game series is now tied at 1-1. The third round will be played on February 14th. In the first round, Lee defeated Choi by resignation after only 136 moves on January 12. This was a significant win for Lee given the difficulties with his game over the past several months and the need to defend his title. KBS final shaping up. In the final round of the 29th KBS Cup winner’s bracket on January 10, Park Junghwan 9P defeated Baek Hongsuk 7P by resignation, thus advancing Park to the KBS title match while pushing Baek into the loser’s bracket. Because the KBS tournament is divided into two brackets, Baek’s loss to Park in the winner’s final does not mean that Baek is out of KBS title contention. He will have a second chance to advance to the title match in the loser’s final on January 31st when he faces Lee Sedol 9P who defeated Choi Cheolhan 9P by resignation in semifinal play. The winner of that match will then face Park Junghwan for the KBS title.
– JustPlayGo; edited by Jake Edge