American Go E-Journal » 2016 » April

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Takao leads Meijin League: Takao Shinji 9P, the previous challenger, has the provisional lead in the 41st Meijin League with four straight wins, but two other players, Cho U 9P and Murakawa Daisuke 8P, are also undefeated on 3-0 (they have each had a bye). Round 4 of the league has been completed. The league is proving inhospitable for the two league debutants, who have yet to win a game. Hirata Tomoya and Uchida Shuhei are both 0-4.
Recent results: (March 3) Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat Kono Rin 9P by resig.; (March 10) Murakawa Daisuke 8P (B) beat Ko Iso 8P by resig.; (March 17) Takao (B) beat Hirata by resig.; (March 24) Yamashita Keigo 9P (B) beat Uchida Shuhei 7P by resig.

Fujisawa Rina wins junior tournament: The final of the 2nd Ibero-Japan Cup, a tournament limited to players under 18, was held at the Nihon Ki-in on March 18. Fujisawa Rina 3P (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 2P by resig. This is the second win by a woman player in a tournament open to both sexes (the first was Xie Yimin’s win in the 1st Young Carp tournament ten years ago). This is a good win, as Shibano is building a reputation  as one of the top players of his age group, along with Kyo Kagen 3P, whom Fujisawa beat in the first round.

Tuo wins 2nd Japan-China Ryusei: This is a play-off between the winners of the Japanese and Chinese Ryusei titles and was held at the Chinese Qiyuan (Ki-in) in Beijing on March 16. Taking black, Tuo Jiaxi 9P of China beat Yuki Satoshi 9P of Japan by resig.

Three-way tie in junior international tournament: The 4th Japan-China-Korea Young Stars tournament, sponsored by the Korean Baduk Association, was held in Hapchon, Korea on March 19 & 20. This is an all-play-all tournament for three young players from these countries. It started with Onishi Ryuhei 1P of Japan beating Pak Zonghun 1P of Korea but losing to Liao Yuanhe of China. Liao then lost to Pak, so the result was a three-way tie.

Promotions: To 2-dan: Ms. Kibe Natsuki (30 wins) (as of March 4); To 4-dan:  Horimoto Mitsunari (50 wins) (as of March 25)

Obituary: Kosugi Masaru
Kosugi Masaru 8P died of stomach cancer on March 2 aged 72. Kosugi was a disciple of his father, Kosugi tei (Chokufu) 7P. He was born on January 22, 1944. He became 1-dan in 1969 and reached 7-dan in 1986.  He was promoted to 8-dan a
fter retiring in 2010.His older brother, Kiyoshi 9P, is also a professional.

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Cho Chikun wins 2015 Title Winners Tournament: This is a new tournament now in its third term. Participants are all the title winners from the previous year plus one player selected by a vote by go fans. Even though Iyama holds six titles, there were still eleven participants in this year’s tournament. Tournament conditions are the same as the NHK Cup (30 second per move plus ten minutes). The semifinals and final were held at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya, Tokyo on March 19. In the semifinals, 25th Honinbo Cho Chikun beat Yo Seiki 7P and Kyo Kagen 3P beat Iyama Yuta, winner of the first two tournaments. The final was played on the stage in the second-floor hall of the Nihon Ki-in with a public commentary being given on the same stage. Cho (B) beat Kyo by resignation after 217 moves.

Takao becomes Honinbo challenger:  Going into the final round, there were only two players still in the running
in the 71st Honinbo League:  Takao Shinji, on 5-1, and Motoki Katsuya, on 4-2. Motoki, a league debutant, had held the sole lead at the end of the third round, then shared the lead for the next two rounds, but he stumbled in the sixth
 round. He therefore needed to win his own final game and have Takao lose to end in a tie for first. However, Takao made no mistake, winning his final game by resignation. That secured him the right to make his first Honinbo challenge
 since the 68th term, when he lost 3-4 to Iyama Yuta. Takao won the 60th to 62nd Honinbo titles and was Meijin Honinbo in 2004. The title match with Iyama Yuta will start on May 9.
Recent results: (March 17) Cho U 9P (B) beat Yo Seiki 7P by resig.; Ichiriki Ryo 7P (W) beat Kono Rin 9P by half a point.
(March 31) Takao (W) beat Kono by resig.; Yamashita Keigo 9P (B) beat Yo Seiki by half a point; Motoki Katsuya 7P (W) beat Ichiriki Ryo 7P by resig.; Cho U 9P (W) beat Ida Atsushi Judan by resig.

Tomorrow: Takao leads Meijin League; Fujisawa Rina wins junior tournament; Tuo wins 2nd Japan-China Ryusei; Promotions; Obituary: Kosugi Masaru

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama closing in on Grand Slam in Judan challenge: The first game of the 54th Judan title was played at the Osaka University of Commerce on March 8. The Judan is the lowest-ranked of the seven open titles, but this year an extraordinary amount of interest is being taken in the title match because it is the last title Iyama Yuta needs to complete an unprecedented simultaneous grand slam, that is, a genuine grand slam. Usually there would be a lot of fan support for the youthful titleholder, Ida Atsushi, who turns 22 on March 16, but probably few people want to see Iyama miss this opportunity to set a new record. Ida got black in the nigiri. In the opening, Iyama played just one stone on the right side before building a position on the left, so the game became a moyo contest. Instead of trying to save his solitary stone,
 Iyama switched to invading the top right corner. When he settled his group in sente, he got a good game. Ida later invaded White’s bottom left position; he lived, but White severely harassed his group, taking a definite lead. Ida resigned after 206 moves. The second game was played at the Yu-no-yama Hot Spring Yumoto Green Hotel in the town of Komono in Mie Prefecture on March 23. The first 41 moves were the same as in Game Three of the Korean Myeongin (Meijin) title match, played on January 20 between Park Junghwan (black) and Lee Sedol. Iyama had reviewed the game in a study group and concluded that the opening, in which Black built thickness, was not bad for Black and wanted to try it out in a game. Ida obviously felt that it was playable for White, though he diverged from the Korean game with move 42. In the middle game, the game seemed even, but Ida made two mistakes: playing in the wrong direction with 124, then choosing the wrong hane out of two possibilities with 134. The latter move was labeled the losing move. Ida faces a kadoban, that is, a game that could lose a series, on April 14. Iyama has now won 18 title-match games in a row.

Xie defends Women’s Meijin: The second game of the 28th Women’s Honinbo title match was held at the Osaka University of Commerce on March 9. As has been the recent practice, it was held in conjunction with the Judan title match. Playing black, Aoki Kikuyo 8P forced a resignation after 209 moves, so she evened the score. The third game was held at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya, Tokyo on March 16. In a tense endgame contest, Xie emerged the victor by half a point, so she defended her title. She has now held it for nine years in a row and it is her 23rd title overall. Xie was also recently named as a Guest Professor at the Heian Jogakuin University (Jogakuin means Women’s Academy), which was the venue of the first game. The university is also known as St. Agnes’ University and is Anglican. A game in the title match has been held at this university for five years in a row. Xie has played in all of them, and on each occasion has given students instruction in go the day after the game. Correction: The first game was played on March 3, not February 28, as given in my previous report.

Cho U wins NHK Cup: The final of the 63rd NHK Cup was telecast on March 20. The finalists were Cho U 9P, who has won this title three times, and Teranishi Rei 4P, who reached the final on his debut in this tournament. Playing with white, Teranishi perhaps took a small lead after a large-scale trade arising from a ko fight, but Cho overhauled him in the middle game. Teranishi resigned after move 211. Cho’s last NHK cup was eight years ago; this is his first title since 2012. Last year Cho moved back to Taiwan with his family, partly to give his children a chance to learn Chinese and partly to try and recover form. He “commutes” to Japan for his tournament games. His NHK win may be a sign that this decision is paying off. Apparently he plans to return to live in Japan this summer.

Tomorrow: Cho Chikun wins 2015 Title Winners Tournament; Takao becomes Honinbo challenger; Recent results