In a surprising series of upsets, three players, all under 16 and who turned pro 
earlier this year, have defeated some of the top-rated Korean players.
Byun Sangil 2P (right) was born in 1997 and became a pro in early 2012; he’s currently ranked number 18 in Korea, and recently played in the Bailing and Olleh KT Cups.
Shin Minjoon 1P (left) and Shin Jinseo 1P (below right) both became pros this July at the “Prodigy Pro Draft qualifier for ‘young talented students under 15.” They were born in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
Top players Lee Changho 9P, Lee Sedol 9P and Choi 
Cheolhan 9P each agreed to play exhibition matches against the rising stars. Unexpectedly, Lee Changho and Choi lost to their respective opponents, Shin Jinseo and Shin Moonjoon.
Lee began his game with an old-fashioned opening, and took the lead, but had the game reversed through the middle and end games.
“I can’t say that much about Shin after playing only one game,” said Lee afterwards, “but he seems to be very good at making good shape and fighting. He’s already quite strong, so if he keeps studying hard, I’m sure he’ll reach the top in the near future.”
Choi’s style of play is aggressive, and served him well when he defeated Shin in the preliminary rounds of the GS Caltex Cup. However this time Shin was about to seize on an early opportunity and held up through the endgame for a 2.5 point win.
“It’s easy to improve a lot at Shin’s age,” said Choi, “and if he can win some important matches, he’ll become a great player in the future.”
Lee Sedol was the only pro who managed to hold off his opponent, defeating Byun Sangil, his former student, by half a point.
“I was quite surprised to see the results of the other two games. I know the young players are already quite strong, but it’s still very impressive,” said Lee. He added that, “this is kind of event isn’t the same as a real match, so I don’t want the youngsters to become too excited. But they should reflect on this experience and keep going.”
Adapted from a report on Go Game Guru; click for game records and more information. Edited by Ben Williams
Fast Times in Gotham City: A Game Recorder Tries to Keep Up
Wednesday January 16, 2013
By John Pinkerton
I knew I was in trouble as a game recorder when I saw the draw for Board 2 in the final round of the Gotham Go Tournament last Saturday.
On one side of the board — or I should say, “in one corner, with a quick right,” playing white — was Lee Kyoung 7D, whose lightning-fast game had left me in the dust two rounds earlier. In that game, before I had time to enter a well-known joseki in one corner, the players finished josekis in two other corners and started a fight. At the same time, we lost our internet connection, so the live broadcast was dead and catching up became a largely moot point. Hardwired to KGS now, and with another round under our belt, I’d thought I was ready for the final round. However…
In the other corner is the champion of speed himself, Andy Liu 1P, who often uses his speed as a lethal weapon. In the World Amateur Go Championships a few years back, where each side got an hour and a half of basic time, Andy’s
strategy was never to use more than 10 minutes, keeping his opponents under constant time pressure. On top of that, Andy loves to play ko’s. In a ko, every third move is obvious, but the recorder still has to enter it. The ko threat may be in almost any area of the board, so if you miss it, it can be hard to find. Then the response is also obvious—another chance for a quick move.
As expected, the game starts fast and doesn’t let up. At move 47, Chris Garlock, recording on Board 1, says to his audience, “Wow, stones are flying on Board Two…John’s gonna have his hands full keeping up.” An accurate assessment, but things were about to get even more interesting.
Kyoung holds up the clock and says, “You don’t need this, do you?” He starts to explain, adding “I mean, you play fast.” But without a moment’s hesitation, Andy has already shot back “Absolutely not.” In other words, game on.
As Kyoung turns off the clock, I’m mentally groaning, thinking uh-oh, someone’s going to crash and I just hope it isn’t me again. Eighty moves fly by in the blink of an eye before there’s a pause as Kyoung says “Oh my god…I made a reading mistake.” As he and Andy begin their review I breathe a silent sigh of relief as I type in the words “White resigns” and wrap up our KGS game broadcast.
NOTE: Complete Gotham Tournament standings/results have now been posted on the Gotham Go Group’s Facebook page.
Pinkerton is a regular game recorder and photographer for the American Go E-Journal. Anyone interested in volunteering as a game recorder at AGA tournaments or events can email journal@usgo.org