By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal
Sumire’s progress
(Nov. 17) Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko, Senko Cup-holder, by resig. (26th Women’s Kisei, main tournament, round 2).
(Nov. 21) Sumire (B) lost to Sakai Yuki 2-dan by resig. (prelim. round final, Teikei Young Stars).
(Nov. 26) Sumire (W) lost to Koike Yoshihiro (round 1, 17th Young Carp).
(Dec. 1). Sumire (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by resig. (main tournament sf, 26th Women’s Kisei).
(Dec. 5). Sumire (W) beat Koyama Ryugo 7-dan by resig. (First Tournament, round 1, 48th Kisei)
(Dec. 8) Sumire (B) beat Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo by resig. (play-off to decide the challenger, 26th Women’s Kisei).
(Dec. 15) Sumire (W) beat Okuda Aya 4-dan (prelim., round 2, 10th Women’s Hollyhock Cup).
(Dec. 22). Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko by resig. (34th Women’s Meijin League).
Promotions
To 9-dan: Cho Riyu (200 wins, as of Dec. 16)
To 6-dan: Yamamoto Kentaro (90 wins, as of Aug. 12). The go press missed this promotion at the time.
To 2-dan: Mito Shuhei (30 wins, as of Nov. 25)
Retirement
Takamura Tetsuro 5-dan retired as of Dec. 31, 2022.
Born in Kumamoto Prefecture on Jan. 1, 1961, he became a disciple of the late Shimohira Akio 9-dan and qualified as a professional in 1979. He reached 4-dan in 1986 and was promoted to 5-dan on retirement. He was a member of the Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in.
Obituary
Aragaki Takeshi 9-dan died on November 28. He was born in Okinawa on June 4, 1956. He became a disciple of the late 23rd Honinbo Sakata Eio and made 1-dan in 1971. He reached 9-dan in 1994 and retired in 2020. He won the 4-dan, 5-dan, and two 6-dan championships in, respectively, the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 9th Kisei tournaments.
My next report will be a statistical overview of 2022.