By Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal
15-year-old Wins First Title 9 Months after Becoming Pro
The 1st Mediheal Millenium Women’s Go Championship was won by 15-year-old Kim Hyoyoung 1p who became pro just nine months prior on April 29th, 2021. The sponsor Mediheal is a Korean-based international cosmetic company. The championship was open to female players born in 2000 or later. 15 pros and one amateur competed in the double-elimination round of 16. Amateur Ko Misoo (20) defied all expectations by defeating three pros before she was toppled by Kim Hyoyoung 1p in the semi-finals. It was a 135-minute battle of 264 moves which the teen pro barely won by half a point.
In the final, which took place on February 4th, Kim Hyoyoung 1p encountered another newcomer: 14-year-old Kim Minseo 1p, who became pro seven months prior and is currently the youngest among the 393 pros affiliated with the Korean Baduk Association. Each player had a thinking time of 30 minutes plus byoyomi of 40 seconds 3 times. Kim Hyoyoung took home 5 million KRW ($4,200) and Kim Minseo 3 million KRW ($2,500).
Team China wins 1st Uijeongbu International Rookie Team Championship
The Ujieongbu Cup is a new tournament sponsored by Uijeongbu city (Korea) where a Go stadium is being built. A team each from China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and South Korea competed. Each team consisted of two male and one female player born in 2002 or later as shown in the table below. From March 3rd to 5th three rounds of round-robin were played online with a thinking time of 1 hour and a byoyomi of 40 seconds three times. The second table shows the final standings. Check out the game records to get a peek into the ability of new rising Go stars. The prize money was 40 Million KRW ($32,000) for the victorious team China, 15 Million KRW ($12,000) for team Korea which placed second, and 10 Million KRW ($8,000) each for teams Chinese Taipei and Japan who came in third and fourth, respectively.
