American Go E-Journal

Korea Men’s Team & Zhiying Yu Win Gold in World Mind Games (updated with games & photos)

Monday December 16, 2013

Click here for latest winner results and Ranka Online’s full coverage. At 9 pm EST (6p PST) Tuesday night, Michael Redmond 9P and E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock will provide live audio commentary on KGS on the top boards at in the Pair Go competition.

The men’s team competition at the 2013 SportAccord World Mind Games came to a dramatic finish Monday in Beijing as China battled Korea for the gold medal. The games on the first two boards both ended in resignation after intense fighting, with Korea’s Park Jeonghwan winning on board one and China’s Zhou Ruiyang on board two. On board three Korea’s Cho Hanseung, who had lost a game in the match against Chinese Taipei in the first round, faced China’s undefeated Wang Xi and eked out a win by a fraction of a stone, and the jubilant Korean team (right) took home the gold medals. The other two men’s matches were also dramatic. Chinese Taipei defeated the European team (which won 5th place) to capture the bronze medal, and Japan defeated North America (which finished 6th) to finish fourth, but Canada’s Yongfei Ge ended the North Americans’ winless streak by beating a Japanese opponent on board three. The European team also won a game, and they very nearly won two; Chinese Taipei’s lead player Chou Chun-hsun was sweating profusely after a last-minute come-from-behind victory over France’s Fan Hui. In the women’s individual competition, Yu Zhiying (left) defeated Wang Chenxing in the all-Chinese final match to take the gold, with Wang winning silver, and Korea’s Park Jieun the bronze. – James Davies; click here for his full report in Ranka

Day 5 (Monday, 12/16) Summary: (click on links for game records, uncommented unless otherwise noted)
Men’s team tournament (fifth round): Korea 2-1 over China: Park Jeonghwan beat Fan Tingyu (Redmond Commentary), Cho Hanseung beat Wang Xi; Zhou Ruiyang beat Kim Jiseok; Chinese Taipei 2-1 over Europe: Chou Chun-hsun beat Fan Hui, Ilya Shikshin beat Wang Yuan-jyun, Lin Chun-yen beat Pavol Lisy; Japan 2-1 over North America: Fujita Akihiko beat Huiren Yang, Hirata Tomoya beat Daniel Daehyuk Ko, Yongfei Ge (right) beat Tsuruta Kazushi. 

Women’s individual tournament (seventh round): Yu Zhiying (China) beat Wang Chenxing (China) (Redmond Commentary).
Check the KGS Plus 12/16 games (under Recent Lectures) for Redmond’s audio commentaries on both the men’s and women’s finals with EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock) 
– photos by Ivan Vigano