by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Murakawa to challenge for Judan: The play-off to decide the challenger to Iyama Yuta for the 57th Judan title was held at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on January 31. It matched Takao Shinji 9P, who was aiming at a comeback as Judan after a gap of four years, and Murakawa Daisuke 8P (right) of the Kansai Ki-in, who was aiming at making his second successive challenge. The two players seemed to be evenly matched, as past results were 6-6. Murakawa drew black in the nigiri and won the game by resignation after 173 moves. He will be hoping to improve on his performance last year, when he was unable to take a game off the titleholder. He did beat Iyama 3-2 in the 62nd Oza, which so far is the only top-seven title he has won. He commented that his style has changed since last year, through his study of AI go. The title match starts on March 5.
Park wins NY’s Cup: The 7th CCTV New Year’s Cup is an invitational tournament 
founded by the Chinese TV channel to commemorate the Chinese New Year. This year the world’s number one and number two, Park Junghwan 9P of Korea and Ke Jie 9P of China, were joined by Shibano Toramaru 7P of Japan, who was standing in for Iyama Yuta, who was too busy with title games to take part. The tournament is an irregular knockout, with the players drawing lots to decide who plays in the first game. The loser of that game meets the third player, with the winner going on to the final. The loser of the second game is the only one who doesn’t get two chances. Park, who in recent months, has regained his former position as the world’s top-rated player, stumbled in the opening game but resurfaced in the final and took revenge. Games are played by the NHK format, and first prize is 800,000 yuan (about $118,000). Park also won this tournament last year.
(Jan. 31) Ke (B) beat Park by 1.5 points.
(Feb. 1) Park (B) beat Shibano by resig.
(Feb. 2) Park (B) beat Ke by 7.5 points.
Honinbo League: No one has an unbeaten record in the 74th Honinbo League, so six of the eight players are probably still in contention. Having played one more game and scored 4-1, Ichiriki Ryo 8P is doing well, but of the three players on 3-1, two are ranked higher than he is. Those two, Yo Seiki 8P and Shibano Toramaru 7P, will clash in the 6th round in March.
Most recent result:
(Jan. 31) Ichiriki Ryo 8P (W) beat Anzai Nobuaki 7P by resig.
Meijin League: Iyama falters: With only two and a half rounds out of nine in the 44th Meijin League played, it’s early days yet, but it’s beginning to look tough for Iyama Yuta to become the challenger. In his third game, with new star Shibano Toramaru, he suffered his second loss. One consolation for him, though, is that only one player is undefeated. That’s Kono Rin, who will play Suzuki Shinji in his third-round game. If the other members of the league cooperate by beating each other, Iyama may yet have a chance.
Recent results:
(Feb. 7) Shibano Toramaru 7P (W) beat Iyama Yuta by 1.5 points; Hane Naoki 9P (B) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by half a point.
