American Go E-Journal » Columns

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Murakawa evens score in Judan

The second game of the 58th Judan title match was held at the Kansai Ki-in in Osaka on March 26. Taking white, Murakawa Daisuke Judan beat Shibano Toramaru Meijin by 2.5 points after 310 moves. The titleholder seems to have taken the lead in the endgame. This was the first title-match game to be played at the Kansai Ki-in for six years; normally a public commentary would have been held but was cancelled because of the coronavirus. The third game is scheduled for April 16.

Iyama wins NHK Cup

Iyama took revenge on Ichiriki Ryo in the final of the 67th NHK Cup, which was telecast on March 22 (it was his fourth final in a row). Ichiriki had beaten Iyama in the final last year, but this time he was outfought and outmaneuvered Taking white, Iyama secured a resignation after 128 moves, winning the title for the third time. I think this is Iyama’s 59th title. His record against Ichiriki is now 19 wins to eight losses, though the latter still leads 4-2 in fast games.

Shibano to challenge for Honinbo title

The final games in the sixth round of the 75th Honinbo League was held in late March. On March 23, Shibano Toramaru Meijin (W) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by half a point, and, on March 26, Kono Rin 9P (B) beat Yokotsuka Riki 7P by resig. This left three players in the running to win the league: Shibano and Kyo Kagen 8P, both on 5-1, and Ichiriki Ryo 8P, who was on 4-2. Since they were not playing each other, there were various possibilities: either Shibano or Kyo could win outright or there could be a two-way or three-way tie. The best Ichiriki could hope for was a tie.

Following recent practice, all the games in the final round were held on the same day, April 3. All three players in contention won, so the result was a tie between Shibano and Kyo. A play-off was held on April 6 and was won by Shibano, whose marvelous form since last year is continuing. He will now make his second challenge for a big-three title; theoretically, he could quite soon hold four top-seven titles. Ichiriki took third place in the league and Hane Naoki 9P came fourth with 4-3. Kono, Yamashita, Shida Tatsuya 8P, and Yokotsuka all lost their seats. Details of the final round are given below.

Round 7 (April 3). Ichiriki (W) beat Kono by 1.5; Shibano (W) beat Yokotsuka by 3.5; Hane (B) beat Yamashita by 6.5; Kyo (B) beat Shida by resig.

Play-off (April 6). Shibano (B) beat Kyo by resig. after 259 moves.

Ichiriki follows two professions

Ichiriki Ryo has established himself as one of the top professionals in Japan, but he has a second string to his bow. In March, he graduated from the Social Science College of Waseda University and, as of April 1, became an employee of the Kahoku Shinpo newspaper company. The newspaper is primarily focused on Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, but is also read throughout the six northeastern prefectures. It was founded and run by Ichiriki’s great great grandfather; four generations of his family have served as presidents of the company, so, as an only child, Ichiriki seems to be expected to follow in their footsteps when his father retires. However, for the time being he has been assigned to the Tokyo office of the newspaper so that he can continue to focus on his go career, though he will also work as a reporter. There’s an anecdote reported on the Net that his father permitted him to become an insei only after confirming there was no prohibition on following two professions. (There are pros who have also worked as lawyers or accountants and at one time the great Fujisawa Shuko [Hideyuki] ran a real-estate office.)

Tomorrow: Iyama leads Meijin League; Sumire’s progress; Nyu tops wins list

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Sumire’s results
This year Nakamura Sumire 1P is finding things a bit tougher than last year. Since my previous report, she has suffered two losses, so her record this year is 4-6. Her birthday was on March 2, so the first game below was her last as a ten-year-old.

On Feb. 24, Sumire (B) lost by resig. to Sakaguchi Ryuzo 9P after 176 moves (Prelim. C, 27th Agon Kiriyama Cup, played at the Nihon Ki-in Kansai HQ).

　On March 5, Sumire (W) lost to Horimoto Mitsunari 4P by resig. after 197 moves (Prelim. C, 46th Meijin tournament, same venue as above).

Kido Prizes
The 53rd Kido Prizes were chosen by a committee of representatives from the go media on February 17. As the list following shows, there were few surprises.

Most Outstanding Player: Iyama Yuta
Outstanding Player: Shibano Toramaru
New Star: Son Makoto, King of the New Stars
Women’s Prize: Ueno Asami
International Prize: Not awarded
Most Wins: Shibano Toramaru (52)
Best Winning Percentage: Ichiriki Ryo (77.05%)
Most Successive Wins: Ichiriki & Fujita Akihiko (16)
Most Games Played: Shibano Toramaru (70)

Shibano wins Shusai Prize
On February 12, Shibano Toramaru was chosen as the recipient of the 57th Shusai Prize. This prize is awarded to an outstanding player with good future potential.

Postponements
The corona virus is continuing to affect go tournaments and not just international ones. Among the tournaments that have been postponed are: the 3rd World Go Championship (sponsored by the Nihon Ki-in), the 7th Globis Cup, and the 9th Ing Cup. The international preliminary for the LG Cup, which was scheduled for Seoul in April and which usually attracts about 300 players, has been cancelled; instead, the seats in the main tournament that were at stake were allocated to participating countries based on their past results, with the method of selection being left up to each country. This measure indicates that the organizers are still hopeful of being able to hold the main tournament later this year.

Promotion
To 8-dan: Shuto Shun (150 wins, as of Feb. 25)

Obituary: Kubouchi Shuchi 9P
Kubouchi Shuchi died of old age on January 21, 2020. He was born on January 25, 1920, so he was just four days short of his 100th birthday. A native of Osaka, he became a disciple of Kubomatsu Katsukiyo, hon. 9-dan. He qualified as 1-dan in 1935 and reached 9-dan in 1960. He was one of the leading members of the Kansai Ki-in. He played in four Meijin Leagues and three Honinbo Leagues. My memory may not be reliable, but I seem to recall that in his heyday Kubouchi was fond of playing the 5-4 point, which usually led to exciting games.

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Shibano starts well in Judan

The 58th Judan title match got off to a start on March 3, with the first game being played at the Osaka University of Commerce. The defending titleholder, Murakawa Daisuke, played well in the opening and early middle game to take an early lead in territory, but the challenger, Shibano Toramaru Meijin, pulled off an upset in the middle game. Taking white, he won by 3.5 points after 276 moves. The second game will be played on March 26.

75th Honinbo League

After the completion of the fifth round, three players shared the lead on 4-1: Shibano Toramaru Meijin, Ichiriki Ryo 8P, and Kyo Kagen 8P. A crucial game was played on March 12 in which Kyo Kagen beat Ichiriki Ryo, so Kyo has the provisional lead with 5-1. At the other end of the league, Yamashita Keigo has lost his fifth straight game and has already lost his league place.

(Feb. 20) Kono Rin 9P (B) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by resig.; Kyo Kagen 8P (B) beat Hane Naoki 9P by resig.

(March 5) Shida Tatsuya 8P (B) beat Hane Naoki Gosei by resig.

(March 12) Kyo beat Ichiriki.

45th Meijin League

With one game to go in the March round, the lead is shared by Iyama Yuta and Ichiriki Ryo, who are both on 3-0. They will meet in the April round, so there will then be a sole leader. With 0-4, Yamashita Keigo 9P is doing almost as badly as in the Honinbo League. At least as far as leagues concerned, Yamashita, with a combined 0-9 record, must be undergoing one of the worst slumps of his career.

(Feb. 20) Iyama Yuta Kisei (W) beat Murakawa Daisuke Judan by resig.

(Feb. 27) Ichiriki Ryo 8P (W) beat Kyo Kagen 8P by resig.

(March 5) Rin Kanketsu 8P (W) beat Yamashita Keigo by resig.

Tomorrow: Sumire’s results; Kido Prizes; Shibano wins Shusai Prize; Postponements; Promotion; Obituary: Kubouchi Shuchi 9P

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama overcomes Kono fightback in Kisei title match

As noted in my previous report, Iyama Yuta won the first three games in the 44th Kisei title match, but Kono saved the first kadoban. In the fifth game, which was played at the Hotel Kagetsuen in the town of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, on February 26 and 27, Kono continued his fightback. Taking white, he won by resignation after 232 moves. Kono had fallen behind in territory, but managed to pull off an upset. Iyama was apparently quite crestfallen at his failure to convert his early lead into a win. With this win, Kono reached his “norm”against Iyama: two wins.

The sixth game was held at the Tokiwa Hotel in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, on March 5 and 6. Taking white, Iyama won by 3.5 points after 262 moves. The game featured hectic fighting from the outset, but Kono was let down by a slack move with Black 137—White had a good counter that he had overlooked. This decided the game and gave Iyama the series 4-2. By winning his eighth Kisei title in a row, he matched the record set by Kobayashi Koichi. It also matches Iyama’s personal record set in the Honinbo title. He can now aim at becoming the first player to win two titles ten times. Whatever happens after this, his victory ensures that Iyama remains the number one player for another year.

For the fourth time, the third win in a best-of-seven challenge to Iyama proved elusive for Kono. Aged 39, he cannot expect many more chances to take a top-three title.

Yoda resumes playing

In my previous report, I gave the details of the suspension from play of Yoda Norimoto by the Nihon Ki-in. Since then, Yoda has sued the Nihon Ki-in at the Tokyo District Court. On March 11, the Nihon Ki-in announced that the suspension would be lifted until the result of the court hearing has been given. It is expected at the end of April.

Top four decided in 1st Hakata Kamachi Cup

The first and second rounds of the new Hakata Kamachi Cup were held at the Tokyo headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in on February 15 and 16. The final four—Ueno Asami, Fujisawa Rina, Mukai Akiko, and Nyu Eiko–were players who have been prominent in women’s go recently, but there were some notable results on the way. Competing in the main tournament were the ten players who qualified in the preliminary round, five seeded players, and one wild card, Hei Jiajia (aka Joanne Missingham) of Taiwan. It’s unusual for an overseas player to be given a seat in a domestic tournament, but Hei is popular with local fans. Full results are given below. (The semifinals and final are scheduled for April 13 and 14.)

Round 1 (Feb. 15) Ueno Asami, Women’s Honijnbo, (B) beat Yashiro Kumiko 6P by resig.; Nakazawa Ayako 5P (B) beat Cho Chen 2P by resig.; Xie Yimin 6P (W) beat Tsukuda Akiko 5P by resig.; Mukai Chiaki 5P (B) beat Mannami Nao 4P by 1.5 points; Hei Jiajia 7P (Taiwan) (B) beat Omori Ran 1P by resig.; Nyu Eiko 2P (B) beat Tatsumi Akane 3P by resig.; Tsuji Hana 1P (B) beat Inaba Karin 1P by resig.; Fujisawa Rina, Women’s Hollyhock Cup-holder, (B) beat Moro Arisa 1P by resig.

Round 2 (Feb. 16) Ueno (B) beat Nakazawa by resig.; Mukai (W) beat Xie by resig.; Nyu (B) beat Hei by half a point; Fujisawa (B) beat Tsuji by resig.

New pair wins Professional Pair Go Championship

The semifinals and final of the Professional Pair Go Championship 2020 were held at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on March 1. Because of the corona virus, there were no spectators, although Pair Go tournaments thrive more than ordinary tournaments on the close contact between players and spectators. For their part, the organizers were probably relieved at being able to complete the tournament schedule. A live commentary was broadcast on the Net. In one semifinal, the pair of Okuda Aya 4P and Murakawa Daisuke Judan beat Chinen Kaori 6P and Motoki Katsuya 8P; in the other, Suzuki Ayumi 7P and Yo Seiki 8P beat Yoshida Mika 8P and Onishi Ryuhei 5p. In the final, Okuda & Murakawa (W) beat Suzuki & Yo by 10.5 points.

Tomorrow: Shibano starts well in Judan; 75th Honinbo League; 45th Meijin League