American Go E-Journal » Japan

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama takes lead in Oza and Tengen: This report is a contrast to my reports of November 2 and 3, which told of losses by Iyama in three different titles. His Meijin title is now gone, reducing him to “just” five top-seven titles, but he has turned the tide in the Oza title match, in which the challenger, Ichiriki Ryo 8P, won the first game. The second and third games were held in quick succession at the same venue, a relatively rare practice but seen occasionally in recent years because of Iyama’s tight schedule. The games were played at the Shima Kanko Hotel (“Kanko” means “sightseeing,” but the hotel doesn’t translate the word in its English name) in Shima City, Mie Prefecture, on November 17 and 19. In the second game, Iyama, taking white, secured a resignation after 196 moves, so he evened in the score. This ended a losing streak of four games for him. In the third game, Iyama, playing black, forced a resignation after 175 moves. Ichiriki will face a kadoban in the fourth game, scheduled for November 30. The third game of the 44th Tengen title match was held at the Yutoku Imari Shrine in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, on November 23. Taking white, Iyama forced the challenger Yamashita Keigo 9P to resign after 140 wins, so he now leads 2-1. The fourth game will be played on December 10.

Fujita wins Young Carp:  The main section of the 13th Hiroshima Aluminum Cup Young Carp Tournament was held at the Central Japan Newspaper Building in Hiroshima on November 17 and 18. Sixteen players took part in a knock-out tournament. In the final, Fujita Akihiko 6P (aged 27, at right) (B) beat Koike Yoshihiro 3P (aged 20) by resignation. These two are both disciples of Takabayashi Takuji 6P. Third place was shared by Fujisawa Rina 4P and Adachi Toshimasa 5P. Shibano Toramaru 7P was probably the favorite, but he lost to Koike in the quarterfinals. This tournament is open to professionals 30 and under and 7-dan and under. The time allowance is 30 seconds per move plus ten minutes’ thinking time to be used in one-minute units. First prize is three million yen (about $26,600).

Youngest players & one veteran share lead in Honinbo League: In my previous report, I mentioned that Shibano Toramaru, who just turned 19 on November 9, and Ichiriki Ryo (aged 21) shared the lead in the 74th Honinbo League, on 2-0. They were joined by the 23-year-old Yo Seiki, so the three youngest players in the league shared the lead at this point. Yo improved his score to 2-0 on November 15, when, taking black, he beat Ko Iso 8P by resignation. The final game of the second round was played on November 22. Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat Kono Rin 9P by 2.5 points, so the veteran player (aged 42) joins the above three young players in the lead. Four players are on 2-0 and four on 0-2, so fortunes have been cleanly divided so far. That will change in the third round in December, when Yo will play Ichiriki and Hane will play Shibano.

Xie picks up first win in Women’s Honinbo: The third game of the 37th Women’s Honinbo title match was played at the Honinbo Shusaku Memorial Hall on In-no-shima Island, which is part of the mainland city of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, on November 24. Taking white, Xie won by resignation after 284 moves. Fujisawa Rina won the first two games, but Xie has survived her first kadoban. The fourth game will be played on December 5.

Ida defends Crown: The Crown title is a tournament limited to the 40 members of the Central Japan branch of the Nihon Ki-in in Nagoya. In the final, Nakano Hironari 9P challenged the title-holder Ida Atsushi 8P. Playing white, Ida won by 2.5 points. He has now held this title three years in a row.

Promotions
To 3-dan: Bian Wenkai (40 wins, as of Nov. 16). Bian, who was born in China, is a member of the Central Japan (Nagoya) branch of the Nihon Ki-in. He became a professional in 2013 at the age of 20.
To 5-dan: Takekiyo Isamu (70 wins, as of Nov. 23). Born in 1979, Takekiyo became a professional in 2001.
To 9-dan: Takanashi Seiken (200 wins, as of Nov. 23). Takanashi was promoted to 8-dan in 2002, so it has taken him 16 years to accumulate the wins required to make 9-dan. He is the 78th (active) 9-dan at the Nihon Ki-in (there are 31 at the Kansai Ki-in).

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Samsung Cup: Ke v. Ahn, China v. Korea: The best-of-three semifinals for the 23rd Samsung Cup were held at a Samsung Research Center in Taeon City, Korea.
Results were as follows:
(Game 1, Nov. 5) Ke Jie 9P (China) (W) beat Xie Erhao 9P (China) by resig.; Ahn Kukhyun 8P (Korea) (W) beat Tang Weixing 9P (China) by resig.
(Game 2, Nov. 6) Xie (W) beat Ke by 1.5 points; Ahn (B) beat Tang by resig.
(Game 3, Nov. 7) Ke (W) beat Xie by resig.
Ke and Ahn will meet in the best-of-three final on December 3, 4 and 5. Ke will be vying for his sixth international title; Ahn will be making his debut in an international final.

Yamashita becomes Kisei challenger, sets record: The play-off to decide the challenger for the 43rd Kisei title was held at the Tokyo headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on November 9. It featured Yamashita Keigo 9P (left), winner of the S League, and Kono Rin 9P (right), who was second in the S League but who earned his seat in the play-off by defeating Onishi Ryuhei 3P in the final knockout tournament. Taking white, Yamashita beat Kono by resignation. Although the final is called a “best-of-three,” this was enough for Yamashita to win it, as the S League winner starts with a one-game advantage. Unusually for a big game, this also marked a landmark in Yamashita’s career: his 1,000th win. He is the 24th player in Japan to reach this mark and, at 25 years seven months, the fastest. He broke the record set by Yuki Satoshi 9P of the Kansai Ki-in of 27 years one month. The title match with Iyama Yuta will start on January 10. The Kisei will be a familiar arena for Yamashita, as he held the title for one term in 2003 (the 27th Kisei) and for four years in a row from 2006 to 2009 (30th to 33rd). He also made three unsuccessful challenges in a row to Iyama Yuta: he lost the 38th to 40th title matches (2014 to 2016) 2-4, 3-4, and 0-4 in sequence. This may be a good time to challenge Iyama, as he seems a little vulnerable recently. First, though, Yamashita has to try to win the Tengen title match between the two that at this point was tied 1-1. Victory in this match would give him a good springboard for the New Year.

Fujisawa extends lead in Women’s Honinbo challenge: The second game of the 37th Women’s Honinbo title match was held at the headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in on November 9. Playing white, Fujisawa Rina forced the title-holder Xie Yimin to resign after 212 moves. Fujisawa also won the first game, so she needs just one more win to take the title. The third game will be held on November 24.

New faces in Meijin League: The final play-offs for the three vacant seats in the 44th Meijin League were all held on November 8 but at three different locations. At the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo, Mutsuura Yuta 7P (W, right) beat Ko Iso 8P by resig. At the Nagoya branch, Suzuki Shinji 7P (W) beat Shida Tatsuya 7P by half a point. At the Kansai Ki-in, Son Makoto 6P (B, left) beat Fujii Shuya 7P (a member of the Kansai Ki-in) by resig. All three players will be making their league debuts. Son also earned a promotion to 7-dan, dated as of the following day. Matsuura’s win was his eighth and Son’s his seventh in ongoing streaks.

Tmw: Iyama takes lead in Oza and Tengen; Fujita wins Young Carp; Youngest players & one veteran share lead in Honinbo League; Xie picks up first win in Women’s Honinbo; Ida defends Crown  

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Samsung Cup: Ke v. Ahn, China v. Korea: The best-of-three semifinals for the 23rd Samsung Cup were held at a Samsung Research Center in Taejeon City, Korea. Results were as follows:
(Game 1, Nov. 5) Ke Jie 9P (China) (W) beat Xie Erhao 9P (China) by resig.; Ahn Kukhyun 8P (Korea) (W) beat Tang Weixing 9P (China) by resig.
(Game 2, Nov. 6) Xie (W) beat Ke by 1.5 points; Ahn (B) beat Tang by resig.
(Game 3, Nov. 7) Ke (W) beat Xie by resig.
Ke and Ahn will meet in the best-of-three final on December, 3, 4 and 5. Ke will be vying for his sixth international title; Ahn will be making his debut in an international final.

Yamashita becomes Kisei challenger, sets record: The play-off to decide the challenger for the 43rd Kisei title was held at the Tokyo headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on November 9. It featured Yamashita Keigo 9P (left), winner of the S League, and Kono Rin 9P, who was second in the S League but who earned his seat in the play-off by defeating Onishi Ryuhei 3P in the final knockout tournament. Taking white, Yamashita beat Kono by resignation. Although the final is called a “best-of-three,” this was enough for Yamashita to win it, as the S League winner starts with a one-game advantage. Unusually for a big game, this also marked a landmark in Yamashita’s career: his 1,000thwin. He was the 24thplayer in Japan to reach this mark and, at 25 years seven months, the fastest. He broke the record set by Yuki Satoshi 9P of the Kansai Ki-in of 27 years one month.

The title match with Iyama Yuta will start on January 10. The Kisei will be a familiar arena for Yamashita, as he held the title for one term in 2003 (the 27thKisei) and for four years in a row from 2006 to 2009 (30thto 33rd). He also made three unsuccessful challenges in a row to Iyama Yuta: he lost the 38thto 40thtitle matches (2014 to 2016) 2-4, 3-4, and 0-4 in sequence. This may be a good time to challenge Iyama, as he seems a little vulnerable recently. First, though, Yamashita has to try to win the Tengen title match between the two that is now tied 1-1. A win here would give him a good springboard for the new year.

Fujisawa extends lead in Women’s Honinbo challenge: The second game of the 37th Women’s Honinbo title match was held at the headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in on November 9. Playing white, Fujisawa Rina (left) forced the title-holder Xie Yimin to resign after 212 moves. Fujisawa also won the first game, so she needs just one more win to take the title. The third game will be held on November 24.

New Faces in Meijin League: The final play-offs for the three vacant seats in the 44thMeijin League were all held on November 8 but at three different locations. At the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo, Mutsuura Yuta 7P (W) beat Ko Iso 8P by resig. At the Nagoya branch, Suzuki Shinji 7P (W) beat Shida Tatsuya 7P by half a point. At the Kansai Ki-in, Son Makoto 6P (B) beat Fujii Shuya 7P (a member of the Kansai Ki-in) by resig. All three players will be making their league debuts. Son also earned a promotion to 7-dan, dated as of the following day. Matsuura’s win was his eighth and Son’s his seventh in ongoing streaks.

Promotion: To 4-dan: Mannami Nao (50 wins, as of Nov. 9)

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Cho U wins Meijin title: This year’s Meijin title match not only when the full distance, but was also decided late in the second day of a two-day game. The challenger Cho U won back a title that he had lost to Iyama Yuta ten years ago. The seventh game of the 43rd title match was held at the Imai Inn in the town of Kawazu in Shizuoka Prefecture on November 1 and 2. Since it was the seventh game, the nigiri was held again and Iyama Yuta Meijin drew black. From the outset, Iyama went for territory, so naturally Cho built thickness. With three very bold moves from 60 to 64, Cho sketched out a large center moyo. The major part of the game consisted of the fight started when Black tried to cut back the potential of the moyo. After Black lived with his invading group, the position seemed a little favorable for Black, and the players following the game in the pressroom thought that Iyama might have defended his title, though the game was very close. However, Iyama made a mistake in the endgame with move 167, letting White set up a ko that Black didn’t have enough ko threats to win. This decided the game, with White winning by 4.5 points.

At his peak in the late 2000s, Cho dominated the go scene in Japan, becoming the first player to win five of the top-seven titles in 2009 (they were the Meijin, Tengen, Oza, Gosei, and Judan). In 2010, he also became the second player after Cho Chikun to complete a cumulative grand slam. However, his last top-seven titles were the Kisei and Judan in 2012; thereafter, he was eclipsed by the reign of Iyama. He has now made a comeback at the age of 38. The Meijin prize is 31 million yen (about $282,000) (reduced from 33 million last year and, if my memory is correct, from 35 million earlier). This is his fifth Meijin title and his 40thtitle overall. Iyama has been reduced to a quintuple crown for the first time since November 2015.

In an interview after the game, Iyama was asked what Cho U’s strong points were and replied: “His speedy judgment and precision; his decisiveness.” As mentioned in a previous report, Cho has a policy of playing quickly in the opening and middle game to make sure he doesn’t get into time trouble. At the end of this game, Iyama was down to his third-last minute of byo-yomi, while Cho still had 59 minutes. Asked about scene in which this game was decided, Iyama said: “Since several moves earlier [before 167], I didn’t know what to play or what the territorial balance was. I knew that the ko was not good, but my hand played that way. Recently there have been few games that I have played properly from beginning to end. Looking back over the whole series, I couldn’t win games I should have won and I couldn’t play tenaciously. I would like to have some time off to refresh myself.” Cho: “In one way, thinking about having taken a title makes me a burden. I haven’t been able to win international games; I can’t go on like that. I would like to say to the younger players that if I can do this, they should be able to try harder.”

Young players share lead in Honinbo League:  The first two games in the second round of the 74th Honinbo League were played on November 1. Ichiriki Ryo 8P (W) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by resig. and Shibano Toramaru 7P (B) beat Anzai Nobuaki 7P, also by resig. On 2-0, they are the front-runners, though it may be a little early to be talking about the lead. They play each other in the fourth round in January.

Choi Jeong wins Bingsheng Cup: In full, this tournament is called the Qionglong Mountain Bingsheng Cup World Women’s Go Tournament. This year it was held for the ninth time. As the sponsoring country, China had six players to three each for Korea and Japan, but the Koreans dominated the tournament. Judging by recent results, the Koreans, led by Choi Jeong, seem to be the strongest women players in the world. First prize is 300,000 yuan (about $43,000) and the time allowance is two hours per player, with the last five minutes going to one-minute byo-yomi. Komi is 7.5. Below are full results. Incidentally, in this tournament the key to winning seemed to be drawing black: white won only three out of 15 games.
Round 1 (Oct. 31). Zhou Hongyu 4P (China) (W) beat Fujisawa Rina 4P (Japan) by resig.; Oh Jeongah 3P (Korea) (B) beat Ueno Asami 2P (Japan) by resig.; Lu Minquan 5P (China) (B) beat Stephanie Yin 1P (US) by resig.; Hei Jiajia 7P (Oceania, also known as Joanne Missingham) (B) beat Natalia Kovaleva 6D (Russia) by 21.5 points; Oh Yujin 6P (Korea) (B) beat Wang Chenxing 5P (China) by resig.; Yang Zixuan 2P (Chinese Taipei) (W) beat Gao Xing 4P (China) by resig.; Choi Jeong 9P (Korea) (B) beat Yu Zhiying 6P (China) by resig.; Xie Yimin 6P (Japan, right) (B) beat Li He 5P (China) by resig.
Quarterfinals (Nov. 1). Oh Yujin (W) beat Lu by resig.; Choi (B) beat Zhou by resig.; Hei (B) beat Xie by 1.5 points; Oh Jeongah (B) beat Yang by resig.
(Semifinals, Nov. 2). Choi (B) beat Hei by resig.; Oh Yujin (B) beat Oh by resig.
(Final, Nov. 2). Choi (B) beat Oh by resig.

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo: For the fourth year in a row, we have the same pairing in the Women’s Honinbo title match, that is, Xie Yimin v. Fujisawa Rina, but alternating the roles of defender and challenger. Fujisawa first won the title in the 33rd term (2014), when she beat the defending champion Mukai Chiaki 3-0. The following term, Xie, who had already won this title six times (in a row before losing to Mukai), challenged and regained the title with a 3-2 score. In the 35th term, Fujisawa took the title back, winning 3-1, but lost it to Xie 2-3 the next year. So it was no surprise when Fujisawa became the challenger again this year for the 37th term. At present, this is the only title Xie has, so she will be reluctant to hand it over. If Fujisawa wins, she will become a triple title-holder again, as she also has the Hollyhock Cup and the Women’s Meijin. Incidentally, this is the third time that a women’s title match has featured the same card four years in a row; it has not yet happened in open tournaments.
The first game was held at the Kashoen inn in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, on October 10. Taking black, Fujisawa won by resignation after 145 moves. Xie is known for her aggressive style, but in the early middle game she played a move focused more on defending one of her weak groups instead of attacking, and this seems to have made the game tough for her. Later, she played another overly defensive move, letting her opponent occupy the last remaining big point from the opening. Xie staked her chances of pulling off an upset on setting up a center moyo, but Fujisawa was able to whittle it down enough to keep her lead. There is a long gap before the second game, scheduled for November 9. Incidentally, Fujisawa has been on a winning streak since August 30, and this was her ninth successive win.

Iyama close to goal in Meijin title match, but Cho picks up second win: After Cho U scored a good win in the third game of the 43rd Meijin title match, it looked as if the contest was going to heat up. Ishida Yoshio, 24th Honinbo, often comments that the fourth game in a best-of-seven is crucial, as there’s a big difference between 2-2 and 3-1. The all-important fourth game was played at the Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, on October 10 and 11. The first day’s play, which showed strong AI influence in the josekis, was quite promising for Cho, who had black. However, he went wrong on the second day when he made a strategic decision that took territory but gave Iyama too much central moyo potential. The defending champion took the initiative. Cho had to invade Iyama’s moyo, but was unable to live with all of his stones. Iyama cut off what in the end was nearly half of the invading force, and this was enough to win. Cho resigned after 188 moves. That took Iyama’s lead to 3-1, so he is very close to defending his title.
The fifth game at the Tokiwa Hotel in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, on October 15 and 16. Playing white, Cho won by 9.5 points after 284 moves. This keeps his challenge alive, though Iyama still has an edge. The sixth game will be played on October 22 and 23. (I will give more details about the game in my next report.)

Honinbo League: Two games have been played in the new Honinbo League, the 74th. On October 4, league veteran Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat league debutant Anzai Nobuaki 7P by resignation. The second game was played on the 11th, with Yo Seiki (Yu Zhengqi) 7P (W) beating Yamashita Keigo 9P by half a point.

Promotion: To 9-dan: Kim Sujun (200 wins, as of October 12)

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Hirose wins King of New Stars: Fittingly enough, the younger player prevailed in the 43rd King of the New Stars (Shinjin-O) title match, with the 17-year-old Hirose Yuichi 2P (right) beating the 23-year-old Onishi Kenya 3P (left). The first game was played on September 21; taking white, Hirose won by resignation after 144 moves. The second game was played on October 1. Hirose (B) won by 4.5 points. The venue for both games was the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. Prize money is 2,000,000 yen (about $18,000). This tournament has traditionally been regarded as a stepping stone for future champions. Recent winners include Shibano Toramaru (2017), Kyo Kagen (2015), and Ichiriki Ryo (2014). You won’t find Iyama Yuta’s name in the list, because at the age of 16 he was promoted to 7-dan for winning the Agon Kiriyama Cup. The conditions for participation are that you be 6-dan or under and 25 or under, both as of August 1.

Iyama eliminated from Samsung: The best eight in the 2018 Samsung Cup was as far as Iyama Yuta could go. He was matched against the player who beat him in this year’s LG Cup final and he failed to take revenge. Full results in the quarterfinals follow (games played on October 2).
Xie Erhao 9P (China, right) (W) beat Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan, left) by resig.; Ke Jie 9P (China) (B) beat Shin Jinseo 9P (Korea) by resig.; Tang Weixing 9P (China) (W) beat Shin Minjun 9P (Korea) by resig.; Ahn Kukhyun 8P (Korea) (B) beat Lian Xiao 9P (China) by resig.
Pairings in the semifinals are Ke v. Xie and Tang v. An. The semis are best-of-three and are scheduled for Nov. 5, 6, and 7.
Correction. I got the name of Iyama’s opponent in the second round wrong. It should be Li Xuanhao, not Li Jianhao.

New tournament for non-winners: The Masters Cup is a tournament for senior players who have won a top-seven title. Now a new tournament has appeared that is the reverse: it is for players at the Nihon Ki-in aged from 31 to 60 who have not won a top-seven title or the Ryusei or the Agon Kiriyama Cup. The tournament is the 1st SGW Cup: Golden Mean Tournament. The golden mean is a Confucian term referring to acting without bias; I don’t know what the significance of the term is here, and an enquiry with the Nihon Ki-in did not enlighten me. The main sponsor is a real-estate company called St. Grande W. First prize will be 2,000,000 yen (about $18,000) and second prize is 500,000 yen. Preliminaries will be held on the Nihon Ki-in’s Net site in October and November; time allowance will be 20 seconds per move plus 1 minute x 5. The top 16 will play in the main tournament, which will be a four-round Swiss System held at the Nihon Ki-in on December 8 and 9. Here the time limit will be 30 seconds per move plus 1 minute x 5. The winner will “graduate” from the tournament.

Ichiriki wins Agon Kiriyama Cup: The final of the 25th Agon Kiriyama Cup featured a clash between two of the top players in the post-Iyama generation: Ichiriki Ryo 8P (left), the top player among those in their early 20s, and Shibano Toramaru 7P, the top teenager. The game was played at the Mt. Shaka Bodai Temple, the Kyoto headquarters of the Agon Buddhist sect. Taking black, Ichiriki won by resig. after 213 moves. First prize is a handsome 10,000,000 yen (about $90,000), which is more than for two top-seven titles (the Gosei, with 8,000,000, and the Judan, with 7,000,000). Financially, Ichiriki is undoubtedly doing better than his classmates at Waseda University, where he is a “full-time” student, as recently he also won the Ryusei title (worth 6,000,000 – see my October 1 report).

Onishi wins again in Kisei knock-out: The second game in the irregular knock-out to decide the Kisei challenger was held on October 8. Taking white, Onishi Ryuhei 3P, winner of the C League, beat Murakawa Daisuke 8P, winner of the A League, by resig. Next, he will face Kono Rin 9P, who came second in the S League. The winner of that game will meet Yamashita Keigo 9P, winner of the S League.