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by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

NOTE: There has been quite a lot of action in international go over the past month or two. This report is an attempt to catch up.

Nong Shim Cup: honors shared in first round
Each of the participating countries have picked up a win in the opening round of the 23rd Nong Shim Spicy Noodles Cup even though only four games were played, so the honors were shared more or less evenly. This round was held on the net in mid-October. The only surprise so far is that in Game 4 Korea fielded its second highest-ranked player. Just for the record, game conditions are: one hour per player, followed by one-minute byo-yomi. The second round, which consists of five games, started on November 26 (report follows soon). Details of the first round follow.

Game 1 (Oct. 11). Weon Seoung-jin 9P (Korea) (B) beat Shibano Toramaru 9P (Jap
an) by resig.
Game 2 (Oct. 12). Li Weiqing 9P (China) (W) beat Weon by resig.
Game 3 (Oct. 13). Kyo Kagen (Xu Jiayuan) 9P (Japan) (B) beat Li by resig.
Game 4 (Oct. 14). Park Junghwan 9P (Korea) (W) beat Kyo by resig.

Park wins his first Samsung Cup
The 26th Samsung Cup World Baduk Masters was held on the net with 32 players competing. The tournament started on October 20 and was completed by November 2. It climaxed in an all-Korean final, with Shin Jinseo playing Park Junghwan. Shin is rated no. 1 in the world, and Park no. 3 (Ke Jie is no. 2). Recently, Park has done badly against Shin; in all games played to date, Shin leads 25-20. More ominously, in multi-game matches, like this final, Shin has overwhelmed Park 14-0. When Shin won the first game convincingly, most fans would have written off Park’s chances. However, he fought back tenaciously, taking the next two games and winning this title for the first time. This is his fifth international title, the others being the Fujitsu Cup (2011), the LG Cup (2018), the MLily Cup (2018), and the Chunlan Cup (2019). For Shin, this was his second successive loss in the Samsung final (the winner last year was Ke Jie). First
 prize is 300,000,000 won (about $251,000). Japan had four players taking part. Two of them, Kyo Kagen and Yamashita Keigo, were the Japanese seeds; Onishi Ryuhei won the Japanese qualifying tournament and Yamashiro Hiroshi won the Japanese qualifying tournament for senior players. Tournament conditions: two hours per player, followed by byo-yomi of 60 seconds x 5. First prize is 300,000,000 won (about $250,000). Below are selected results from Round One and full results thereafter.

Round 1 (Oct. 20, 21). Yamashita Keigo 9P (Japan) (W) beat Cho Seunga 4P by resig.; Lee Changseok 8P (Korea) (W) beat Onishi Ryuhei 7P (Japan); Han Seongjoo 8P (Korea) (B) beat Yamashiro Hiroshi 9P (Japan) by resig.; Fan Yuting 9P (China) beat Kyo Kagen 9P (Japan) by resig.; Kim Jiseok 9P (Korea) (W) beat Ke Jie 9P (China) by half a point; Park Junghwan 9P (Korea) (W) beat Li Weiqing 9P (China) by resig.; Shin Jinseo 9P (Korea) (W) beat Xie Erhao 9P (China) by resig.; Zhao Chenyu 8P (China) beat Lee Changho 9P (Korea) by resig.

Round 2 (Oct. 22, 23). Han (B) beat Dang Yifei 9P (China) by resig.; Lee Donghoon 9P (Korea) (W) beats Xie Ke 9P (China) by resig.; Park (W) beat Mi Yuting 9P (China) by 1.5; Lee (W) beat Peng Liyao 8P (China) by 0.5; Zhao (W) beat Ya
mashita by resig.; Shin (W) beat Fan by resig.; Lian Xiao 9P (China) (W) beat An Seungjun 9P (Korea) by 0.5; Yang Dingxin 9P (China) (B) beat Kim by resig.

Round 3 (Oct. 25, 26). Yang (W) beat Lee Changseok by resig.; Shin (W) beat Han by resig.; Zhao (B) beat Lee Donghoon by resig.; Park (W) beat Lian by 2.5.

Semifinals (Oct. 27, 28). Park (W) beat Zhao by resig.; Shin (B) beat Yang by resig.

Final
Game 1 (Nov. 1). Shin (B) by resig.
Game 2 (Nov. 2). Park (B) by resig.
Game 3 (Nov. 3). Park (W) by resig.

Japan wins three-way team tournament
Japan scored its first international victory for a while in the “2021 3rd China-Japan-Korea Nie Weiping Cup Weiqi Masters.” This is an unusual tournament in more than one respect. It is fought between five-player teams from the a
bove countries; these teams are made up (judging by the Japanese team) of celebrated players from the past, present, and future, and include one female player. The Japanese players were Takemiya Masaki 9P, who turned 70 on Jan. 1 this
 year, Yamashita Keigo 9P, Kono Rin 9P, Ms. Aoki Kikuyo 8P, and Fukuoka Kotaro 2P (aged 15, he represents the future in my formulation). The Chinese team was made up of Nie Weiping 9P (as far as I know, the first time a player has com
peted in a named in his honor), Chang Hao 9P, Gu Li 9P, Zhang Xuan 8P (the wife of Chang Hao), and Tu Xiaoyu 6P 6P (Tu won the Chinese King of the News Stars title and took second place in this year’s Globis Cup). Members of the Chinese team were: Cho Hunhyun 9P, Lee Changho 9P, Cho Hanseung 9P, Ms. Lee Changen (“en” is just a guess) 3P, and Mun Minjong 4P. Japan beat at China 3-2 and came second. In his own tournament, Nie was unable to pick up a win. Full results follow.

Round 1 (Oct. 30). Japan v. China
Takemiya (B) beat Nie by resig. Yamashita (W) beat Chang by half a point. Kono (B) lost to Gu by half a point. Aoki (B) beat Zhang by resig. Fukuoka (W) beat Tu by half a point.

Round 2 (Oct. 31). Japan v. Korea
Takemiya (W) beat Cho HH by 4.5. Yamashita (W) beat Lee CH by resig. Kono (B) lost to Cho HS by 4.5. Aoki (W) beat Ms. Lee by 8.5. Fukuoka (W) beat Mun by resig.

Round 3 (Nov. 1). Korea vs. China
Cho (B) beat Nie by resig. Lee CH (B) beat Chang by resig. Cho HS (B) beat Gu by resig. Ms. Lee (W) lost to Zhang by resig. Mun (W) lost to Tu by resig.

Ichiriki eliminated from LG Cup
After a gap of a little over five months, the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 26th LG Cup were played on the net on November 7‾10. Unfortunately for Japanese fans, Ichiriki Ryo 8P was eliminated. Results follow.

Quarterfinals (Nov. 7 & 8)
Shin Jinseo 9P (Korea) (B) beat Ichiriki Ryo 9P (Japan) by resig.; Yang Dingxin 9P (China) (W) beat Shin Minjun 9P (Korea) by resig.; Ke Jie 9P (China) (W) beat Park Junghwan 9P (Korea) by resig.; Mi Yuting 9P (China) (W) beat Byun Sa
ngil 9P (Korea) by resig.

Semifinals (Nov. 9 & 10). Yang (W) beat Mi by resig.; Shin (W) beat Ke by resig.

Yang Dingxin vs. Shin Jinseo: The best-of-three final will be played on February 7, 9, and, if necessary, 10.

Nong Shim Cup: Iyama dominates second round
The second round of the 23rd Cup was held in the last five days of November. At the end of the first round, Korea had surprised fans by fielding its number two player, Park Junghwan. In an interview, the Korea team captain, Mok Jinseok 9P, revealed that the reason for this was that in recent years Korea had done badly in the middle round, falling behind China and putting too much pressure on their final player or players in the final round. The strategy seemed to work at first, when Park won the final game of the first round (see above), but then he was eliminated in the next game when he lost to Fan Tingyu of China. Fan was another player fielded a little earlier than expected. He has been a hero for China in recent years, twice winning seven games in a row (18th and 20th Cups).
Japan seemed to follow a similar strategy, fielding its top player Iyama Yuta next. This turned out to be a good decision, as Iyama was in excellent form. He won the remaining four games in this round, Japan’s best-ever winning streak in this tournament. Results follow.

Game 5 (Nov. 26). Fan Tingyu 9P (China) (B) beat Park by resig.
Game 6 (Nov. 27). Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan) (W) beat Fan by resig.
Game 7 (Nov. 28). Iyama (W) beat Byun Sangil 9P (Korea) by resig.
Game 8 (Nov. 29). Iyama (W) beat Lin Qincheng 9P (China) by resig.
Game 9 (Nov. 30). Iyama (B) beat Shin Minjun 9P (Korea) by resig.

The final round starts on February 21. Iyama will play Mi Yuting 9P of China. (A team has to inform the organizers who will be its next player before the preceding game is concluded.) After Mi, China’s last player is Ke Jie. Korea is down to its last player, Shin Jinseo; any one of these three is quite capable of winning the tournament single-handed. Japan still has Yo Seiki and Ichiriki Ryo.

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama starts with win in Oza challenge
The 69th Oza title match, a best-of-five, got off to a start on October 29. The defender is Shibano Toramaru, whose target is to win the title for the third year in a row. So far he has won six titles. The challenger is Iyama Yuta, who is hoping to pick up his fifth concurrent title. He holds the Kisei, Meiin, Honinbo, and Gosei titles.
   The venue was a special playing room on the 65th floor of the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. This is probably the highest venue for a title-match game.
   Iyama drew black in the nigiri. In the opening, he set up four low, territorial positions, so White found himself setting up a large moyo. During fighting that started when Iyama tried to reduce the moyo, Shibano made a misjudgment and fell a little behind. He went all out and caught up enough to make the game a half-pointer, but then he made a mistake in the endgame and had to resign soon after. The game lasted 205 moves. The second game will be played on November 12.

Sumire’s progress
   Having been eliminated from a number of tournaments, this seems to be a season of lean pickings for Nakamura Sumire 2P. Since September 2 (see my report of September 28), she has played only five games, the first two of which she lost. Because of that she dropped into third place in the most-wins list for two weeks, but she regained second place after winning two games in one day.
(Sept. 27) Sumire (W) lost to (Ms.) Moro Arisa 2P by 5.5 points (16th Young Carp preliminary).
(Oct. 4) Sumire (B) lost to Kobayashi Koichi by 5.5 (Prelim. B, 70th Oza).
(Oct. 21) Sumire (W) beat Kobayashi Chizu 6P by 15.5; Sumire (W) beat Shimosaka Miori 3P by 3.5. (Both games in Prelim. B, 33rd Women’s Meijin)
(Oct. 25) Sumire (B) beat O Keii 3P by resig. (25th Women’s Kisei, main tournament).

First snap AI inspection
   The first snap inspection to prevent AI-assisted cheating (see my report of September 28) was carried out on September 23. Led by the director responsible for organizing tournaments, Aoki Kikuyo 8P, a number of Nihon Ki-in employees entered a playing room where eight games were being played just as play was about to resume after the lunch break. They ordered the players to suspend their games and inspected their persons and their belongings with a metal detector. The rule is that devices such as smart phones and tablets have to be handed over to the staff before playing. Fortunately, there were no untoward discoveries.

The ideal and the real
    Hino Shota, aged 16, has just qualified as a professional. His responses at a news conference held on October 5, contrasted ambition and realism. Asked about his future goals, he replied: “In the future, I want to become a player who can star in world championships. My goal for the time being is to make the best eight in the Kings of the New Stars tournament.”

Most wins
  The competition from second place down is quite fierce, but, with under ten full weeks to go, it’s hard to see anyone overtaking Ueno in first place. (Results below are as of Oct. 29.)
1. Ueno Asami: 43-21
2. Nakamura Sumire: 37-16
3. Fukuoka Kotaro 2P: 36-11
4. Fujisawa Rina: 35-11
5. Kyo Kagen: 34-16
6. Motoki Katsuya 8P: 32-14
7. Seki Kotaro 7P: 31-10; Nyu Eiko 3P: 31-14
9. Ichiriki Ryo: 30-14

Most successive wins
6: Enda Hideki 9P; Oomote Takuto 3P. In recent weeks, a number of good winning streaks have come to an end. The main ones are listed below.
Kyo Kagen, Fujisawa Rina: 11; Horimoto Mitsunari: 10; Seki Kotaro: 9.

Promotions
To 8-dan: Suzuki Isao (150 wins; as of Oct. 5)
To 7-dan: Kanno Masashi (120 wins, as of Sept. 24)
To 5-dan: Koyama Kuya (70 wins, as of Sept. 24)
To 3-dan: Ito Kenryo (40 wins; as of Oct. 15)

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Kyo wins Agon Kiriyama Cup
   The final of the 28th Agon Kiriyama Cup was held in the Kagyu-An (Snail Pavilion) at the Kyoto headquarters of the Agon Sect on October 2. Taking white, Kyo Kagen Judan won by resignation after 214 moves. He won this title for the first time. Iyama missed out on winning it for the sixth time.

Big win for Fujisawa Rina
Fujisawa Rina scored one of the most impressive wins of her career when she played Ichiriki Ryo Tengen in the final preliminary round of the 60th Judan tournament on September 23. Taking black, she won by resignation and also won a seat in the main tournament of the Judan. This was her first win in four games with Ichiriki. One of those losses was the final play-off for a place in the Meijin League last year?Ichiriki prevented Fujisawa from making history by becoming the first woman to play in a Meijin or Honinbo league. Ueno Asami had already won a place in the main tournament, so Fujisawa became the second woman in the best 16. Just for the record, it’s 17 years since a woman last accomplished this feat.
   On October 25, Fujisawa (B) beat Son Makoto 7P by 4.5 points, making her the first woman ever to win a game in the main tournament of the Judan. She has made the best eight, so she needs just three more wins to become the challenger.
   Backtracking a little, Fujisawa played her final game in the C League of the 46th Kisei tournament on October 4. Playing white, she beat Cho Zuiketsu 4P by resig. This took her score to 3-2, so she retained her seat in the league.

New Honinbo League starts
The new Honinbo League got off to a start on October 4 and the first round has now been completed. Results to date follow
(Oct. 4) Sada Atsushi 7P (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9P by resig.
(Oct. 8) Ichiriki Ryo (W) beat Tsuruyama Atsushi 8P by resig.
(Oct. 11) Yo Seiki 8P (B) beat Kyo Kagen Judan by half a point.
(Oct. 14) Hane Naoki 9P (B) beat Motoki Katsuya 8P by resig.

Seki makes good start in Tengen title match
   The first game of the 47th Tengen title match, in which Seki Kotaro 7P is challenging Ichiriki Ryo, was played at the Genji-Ko, a modern Japanese-style inn in Minami-Chita Hot Spring Village, Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture, on October 5. This inn is, in its own words, “built around the themes of ‘The Tale of Genji’ and the first Japanese inn to be themed on scents.” Playing white, Seki forced Ichiriki to resign after 130 moves. There is a big gap before the second game, which will be played on November 16.

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Ichiriki to challenge for Kisei
   First, here is the result of the final game in the 46th Kisei S League, which was played on September 20. Kono Rin 9P (W) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by 4.5 points. This was Kono’s first win in the league; Yamashita ended up on 0-5. (The league chart is given in my report of September 22.) In the knock-out tournament that follows the leagues, Shibano Toramaru reached the “best-of-three” play-off to decide the challenger, but faced a difficult task here. As the winner of the S League, Ichiriki Ryo was awarded a one-win advantage, that is, Shibano had to win the first two games, while Ichiriki needed just one win. The play-off started and ended on October 25. Taking black, Ichiriki won by resignation after 121 moves. Other results in this stage follow.
(Sept. 23) Son Makoto 7P (winner of B League) (W) beat Numadate Sakiya 7P (winner of C League) by resig.
(Sept. 30) Shibano (B) (winner of A League) beat Son by 2.5 points.
(Oct. 21) Shibano (W) beat Yo Seiki 8P (second in S League) by resig.

Iyama to challenge for Oza
The play-off to decide the challenger to Shibano Toramaru for the 69th Oza title was held at the Kansai Headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in in Osaka on September 20. Taking black, Iyama Yuta beat Ichiriki Ryo by resig. after 231 moves. The best-of-five starts on October 29.

Sotoyanagi wins King of the New Stars
So far, only one woman player has won a tournament open to both male and female players: that was Fujisawa Rina, who made the breakthrough in the 15th Young Carp tournament last year (she beat Son Makoto 7P in the final). However, Ueno Asami has long been noted for her good results against male players, so when she reached the final of the 46th King of the New Stars, fans had high hopes she would emulate Fujisawa. Her opponent was Sotoyanagi Sebun 3P; this was his last chance, as he just barely made the age qualification; he is now 26 (born on Dec. 23, 1994, but he was 25, the cut-off point, when the draw for the opening round was made). (The other condition is that a player be under 7-dan). In a program on the Nihon Ki-in’s Youtube channel, Yokotsuka Riki 7P commented that probably 95% of the fans watching were rooting for Ueno, something Sotoyanagi would have been well aware of.
   All of the games were played at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. The best-of-three got off to a start on September 20, with Sotoyanagi drawing black in the nigiri. He took the lead in the middle game, but Ueno made a desperate attack in which she ripped off half a dozen stones. Sotoyanagi countered with a do-or-die move of his own and retook the lead. Ueno resigned after Black 281. Sotoyanagi commented that he thought he was 1.5 points ahead at the end.
   The second game was played on October 9. Ueno (B) took the lead in a ko fight and forced a resignation after 261 moves.   
The third game was played on October 15. Sotoyanagi drew white in the nigiri. Compared to the other two games, this one was a little one-sided. Sotoyanagi took the lead in the opening and held on to it throughout. Ueno resigned after 272 moves.
   Ueno is still only 19 (her birthday is October 26), so she will have more chances to win this title. Not so Sotoyanagi, as noted above. He was quite self-deprecating in the winner’s interview, commenting that this was the first and maybe the last time that he would appear on a major stage. His professional career got off to a late start, as he didn’t qualify as 1-dan until he was 19. However, he has fans in his home prefecture of Iwate and was happy that he finally had an achievement to repay them for their support. His first prize is two million yen.