by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Sumire’s progress
(August 2) Sumire (B) beat Antii Tormanen 1P by 6.5 points (Prelim. C, 48th Tengen tournament).
(Aug. 5) Sumire (W) lost to Muramatsu Daiki 6P by resig. (Prelim. A, 60th Judan tournament).
(Aug. 12) Sumire (B) lost to Suzuki Ayumi 7P by 3.5 points (round 2, main tournament, 6th Senko Cup)
(Aug. 19) Sumire (B) lost to Abe Yoshiki 3P by resig. (C League, 46th Kisei tournament). This was her third loss, so Sumire dropped out of the league.
(Aug. 26) Sumire (B) lost to Iguchi Toyohide 8P by 3.5 points. (Prelim. C, 48th Tengen tournament).
(Aug. 30) Sumire beat Kato Tomoko 6P (Prelim. A, Women’s Kisei). This win secured a seat in the main tournament (the top 16). (= 31-13)
(Sept. 2) Sumire beat Komatsu Hideko 4P (Prelim. C, 70th Oza tournament).
Most wins
As usual, we give this list after the Sumire update, as it shows how well she and other female players are doing. There are five women in the top ten.
1. Ueno Asami, Women’s Kisei: 39-18
2. Nakamura Sumire 2P: 34-14
3. Fukuoka Kotaro 2P: 32-9
4. Kyo Kagen Judan: 30-12
5. Seki Kotaro 7P: 29-9; Motoki Katsuya 8P: 29-12
7. Fujisawa Rina, Women’s Honinbo: 28-10
8. Tsuneishi Takashi 4P: 27-6; Ichiriki Ryo Tengen: 27-9
10. Nyu Eiko 3P: 26-13; Xie Yimin 7P: 26-16
12. Iyama Yuta Kisei: 24-11; Shibano Toramaru Oza: 24-17
Most successive wins
8: Kyo Kagen
7: Seki Kotaro
6: Fujisawa Rina
The above winning streaks are ongoing. Onishi Kenya had a streak of 7 that stopped last week.
Kiyonari reaches 1,000 wins
Kiyonari Tetsuya 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in scored his 1,000th official win on August 4. His record at that point was 1,000 wins to 514 losses, a winning rate of 64%. He is the 29th Japanese player to reach this mark and the 6th at the Kansai Ki-in. Kiyonari will turn 60 on November 27, so a professional mile stone is being closely followed by a personal one. Kiyonari took second place in the NHK Cup in 1995. He won the Kansai Ki-in No. One Position title twice. He also came second in the King of the New Stars in 1980. His predecessors at the Kansai Ki-in are: Hashimoto Shoji, Honda Kunihisa, Yuki Satoshi, Imamura Toshiya, and Sonoda Yuichi.
