by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister
On February 2 Ishida Yoshio finally played his third game – picking up his second win — in the Honinbo League, over Sakata Eio. By the end of the month, Kato Masao had played twice as many games, with a 4-2 record, while Fujisawa Hosai led the league with a perfect 4-0 record. (Game record here).
Also on February 2, Otake Hideo defeated Hashimoto Utaro to even up the Judan title at 2-2. Otake is pictured making the sealed move (which proved to be a mistake, though not a fatal one). However, on February 11 Hashimoto, the 64-year-old veteran of the atom bomb game, defeated his youthful opponent to win the title. Interestingly, he also won the first Judan title, and veteran Fujisawa Shuko, who just regained the Meijin title last year, had won the first Meijin as well. (Game records here: Judan 4 & Judan 5)
Speaking of old and new, on February 18th a match occurred in the Nihon Kiin Championship Tournament. On the right is 70-year-old Hayashi Yutaro 9 dan. On the left is a 14-year-old 4 dan named Cho Chikun. The score was a lot closer than the age difference; a half point to the elder. (Game record here).
