“Kono Rin won the Tengen title from 2005 to 2007 — each year the other player was Yamashita Keigo, who played in the Tengen title match five years in a row — so Cho U was the challenger,” writes longtime go journalist John Power (Cho Holds Onto Tengen, Recaptures Oza 12/8 EJ). “Surprisingly, this year was the first time he had reached the title match. The EJ may have been looking forward a year, as the odds are that Cho will defend in 2009 if he maintains the great form he’s in now. Kono Rin also won the Ryusei tournament this year, so he still has two titles. This year was the first time that Kono won more than one title.”
