by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Iyama regains Meijin title and triple crown
With both the challenger, Iyama Yuta, and the champion, Shibano Toramaru, holding three of the top-seven titles, the 45th Meijin title match represented the peak of Japanese go. The same was true of the preceding Honinbo title match. Unfortunately for Shibano, Iyama seems to have the edge on him in two-day games: he won the earlier match 4-1.
The first game of the match was played, as has been the practice recently, at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo on August 25 and 26. Japanese tournaments, unlike international ones, have resumed face-to-face play, though the usual precautions (wearing face masks, checking body temperatures, avoiding crowded rooms) are observed. Iyama, who drew white in the nigiri, took the lead in the opening and early middle game, but he made a mistake that threw the game into confusion. A large ko led to a large-scale trade; the game became a half-pointer, but Iyama just managed to fend off the defending champion. A slip by Shibano let Iyama secure a win by 1.5 points. The game concluded after 275 moves.
The second game was played at the Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, on September 15 and 16. Shibano (W) played well and seemed to have victory within his grasp, but he slipped up and allowed his opponent to pull off an upset. Iyama won by resignation after 213 moves. Shibano’s grip on his title had been considerably loosened.
The third game was held at an historical building, the Yamaguchi City Saikotei, on September 23 and 24. Like the second game, Shibano (B) had the lead, but Iyama make a tricky attack in an attempt to stage another upset. He almost succeeded, but this time Shibano just barely managed to ride out the storm. Iyama resigned after 211 moves. This win could have become a turning point in the series.
The fourth game was played at the Todaya, a hotel in Toba City, Mie Prefecture on September 29 and 30. This was Shibano’s chance to even the score. He did his best to capture a large black group, but Iyama came out on top after some complicated fighting, forcing Shibano to resign after 145 moves. The title-holder was now faced with a kadoban.
The fifth game was played at the Atami Sekitei inn in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, on October 13 and 14. Playing white, Iyama was in outstanding form. He dominated the game and forced Shibano to resign after 178 moves. After a gap of two years, Iyama was Meijin again. This was the fifth time he had won this title and the third time that he had secured the big triple crown of Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo. He also held the Tengen, so he had four of the top seven titles. It was his 60th title—he drew even with Kobayashi Koichi in third place. At 31 years of age, he is still the central figure on the Japanese tournament scene.
China wins 21st Nong Shim Cup
The much-delayed final round (originally scheduled for Shanghai in February 2020) of the 21st Nong Shim Spicy Noodles Cup was held on the net in August. Both Korea and Japan were down to their last player, so China, which had suffered only one loss in the first two rounds, was the overwhelming favorite. Brilliant play by Park Junghwan of Korea, however, made the contest an exciting one right to the finish.
The first game of the round was a clash between the Japanese and Chinese number ones; as usual, victory went to Park Junghwan of Korea. He went on to eliminate three Chinese players as well, so the match became a showdown with the Chinese number one. Along the way, however, there was a complication: the game between Park and Fan Yuting of China ended up as a no-result that was the first of its kind. In the endgame, Park had the lead, but when he clicked with his mouse to play move 158, there was no response; he was in byo-yomi and lost on time. After the Korean and Chinese officials conferred, it was decided to declare the game a no-result. Park won the replay comfortably. As the result shows (see below), Game 13 was a tight contest, but Xie missed a clever move that would have made it a half-pointer that could have gone either way. The reverse happened in the final: this time Park missed a brilliancy that would have made the game favorable for him. Ke’s win secured victory for the Chinese team for the second year in a row and the eighth time overall. First prize is 500 million won (about $420,000). Results are given below.
Game 10 (Aug. 18). Park Junghwan 9P (Korea) (B) beat Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan) by resig.
Game 11 (Aug. 19). Park (B) beat Mi Yuting 9P (China) by resig.
Game 12-1 (Aug. 20). Park (W) v. Fan Yuting 9P (China): no result.
Game 12-2 (Aug. 21). Park (B) won by resig.
Game 13 (Aug. 21). Park (W) beat Xie Erhao 9P (China) by 1.5 points.
Game 14 (Aug. 22). Ke Jie 9P (China) (W) beat Park by half a point.
Ichiriki does well in Ing Cup
The Ing Cup, which is held every four years in the year of the Olympics, shared the fate of the other international tournaments, but, unlike the Olympics, did manage to be staged in 2020. The first three rounds of the 9th Cup were held on the net from September 8 to 11. For Japanese fans, the welcome news was the success of Ichiriki Ryo, who won all his games and qualified for the semifinals.
This tournament was founded by the Taiwanese industrialist Ing Chang-Ki, partly as a means of promoting the rules he developed. It features the biggest prize for international tournaments, $400,000. The time allowance is three hours per player, with sudden death if your time runs out. However, you can buy extra time twice, at the rate of 20 minutes for two points of komi. Komi is eight points, with black winning a tie.
A total of 30 players competed this year. There were six from Japan, of whom Iyama Yuta, Shibano Toramaru, and Murakawa Daisuke lost in the first round. Kono Rin and Kyo Kagen lost in the second round. Selected results are given below. Note that Tang Weixing 9P, the previous winner, and Park Junghwan 9P (previous runner-up) were seeded into the second round.
Round 1 (Sept. 8). Gu Zihao 9P (China) (B) beat Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan) by 3 points; Yang Dingxin 9P (China) beat Shibano Toramaru 9P (Japan) by 5 points; Ichiriki Ryo 8P (Japan) (W) beat Mi Yuting 9P (China) by resig.; Jiang Weijie 9P (China) (W) beat Murakawa Daisuke 9P (Japan) by 1 point; Kono Rin 9P (Japan) (B) beat Lin Lixiang 8P (Ch. Taipei) by resig.; Kyo Kagen 8P (Japan) (B) beat Dang Yifei 9P (China) by resig.; Ke Jie 9P (China) beat Kim Jiseok 9P (Korea); Tao Xinran 8P (China) beat Lee Donghoon 9P (Korea); Xie Ke 8P (China) beat Ali Jabarin 2P (Europe); An Soonjoon 8P (Korea) beat Li Wei 5P (Ch. Taipei); Shin Jinseo 9P (Korea) beat Xie Erhao (China); Fan Tingyu (China) beat Shin Minjun (Korea); Xu Haohong 6P (Ch. Taipei) beat Byun Sangil (Korea); Zhao Chenyu 8P (China) beat Ryan Li 1P (USA).
Round 2 (Sept. 9): Ichiriki (B) beat An by resig.; Gu (B) beat Kono by 3 points; Xu (W) beat Kyo by resig.; Tao beat Tang; Ke beat Jiang; Xie beat Yang; Shin beat Fan; Zhao beat Park.
Round 3 (Sept. 11): Ichiriki (B) beat Tao by resig.; Xie beat Ke; Shin beat Gu; Zhao beat Xu.
NOTE: This is the first of a series of 2020 year-end reports on Japanese go news we’ll be publishing over the next week. Tomorrow: Ueno wins Senko Cup; Zhou wins 3rd Go Seigen Cup; Fujisawa wins 1st Hakata Kamachi Cup
