by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo: For the fourth year in a row, we have the same pairing in the Women’s Honinbo title match, that is, Xie Yimin v. Fujisawa Rina, but alternating the roles of defender and challenger. Fujisawa first won the title in the 33rd term (2014), when she beat the defending champion Mukai Chiaki 3-0. The following term, Xie, who had already won this title six times (in a row before losing to Mukai), challenged and regained the title with a 3-2 score. In the 35th term, Fujisawa took the title back, winning 3-1, but lost it to Xie 2-3 the next year. So it was no surprise when Fujisawa became the challenger again this year for the 37th term. At present, this is the only title Xie has, so she will be reluctant to hand it over. If Fujisawa wins, she will become a triple title-holder again, as she also has the Hollyhock Cup and the Women’s Meijin. Incidentally, this is the third time that a women’s title match has featured the same card four years in a row; it has not yet happened in open tournaments.
The first game was held at the Kashoen inn in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, on October 10. Taking black, Fujisawa won by resignation after 145 moves. Xie is known for her aggressive style, but in the early middle game she played a move focused more on defending one of her weak groups instead of attacking, and this seems to have made the game tough for her. Later, she played another overly defensive move, letting her opponent occupy the last remaining big point from the opening. Xie staked her chances of pulling off an upset on setting up a center moyo, but Fujisawa was able to whittle it down enough to keep her lead. There is a long gap before the second game, scheduled for November 9. Incidentally, Fujisawa has been on a winning streak since August 30, and this was her ninth successive win.
Iyama close to goal in Meijin title match, but Cho picks up second win: After Cho U scored a good win in the third game of the 43rd Meijin title match, it looked as if the contest was going to heat up. Ishida Yoshio, 24th Honinbo, often comments that the fourth game in a best-of-seven is crucial, as there’s a big difference between 2-2 and 3-1. The all-important fourth game was played at the Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, on October 10 and 11. The first day’s play, which showed strong AI influence in the josekis, was quite promising for Cho, who had black. However, he went wrong on the second day when he made a strategic decision that took territory but gave Iyama too much central moyo potential. The defending champion took the initiative. Cho had to invade Iyama’s moyo, but was unable to live with all of his stones. Iyama cut off what in the end was nearly half of the invading force, and this was enough to win. Cho resigned after 188 moves. That took Iyama’s lead to 3-1, so he is very close to defending his title.
The fifth game at the Tokiwa Hotel in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, on October 15 and 16. Playing white, Cho won by 9.5 points after 284 moves. This keeps his challenge alive, though Iyama still has an edge. The sixth game will be played on October 22 and 23. (I will give more details about the game in my next report.)
Honinbo League: Two games have been played in the new Honinbo League, the 74th. On October 4, league veteran Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat league debutant Anzai Nobuaki 7P by resignation. The second game was played on the 11th, with Yo Seiki (Yu Zhengqi) 7P (W) beating Yamashita Keigo 9P by half a point.
Promotion: To 9-dan: Kim Sujun (200 wins, as of October 12)
