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The Power Report: Iyama defends Honinbo title, matches Cho’s record; 4th Wu Qingyuan Cup

Monday August 9, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

*Iyama Yuta celebrates 10th consecutive Honinbo win*

Iyama defends Honinbo title, matches Cho’s record
As of our previous report (June 4), the 76th Honinbo title match between Iyama Yuta, also known as Honinbo Monyu, and Shibano Toramaru Oza was tied 1-1. When the defending champion won the first game, Shibano fans would have been worried that this match might follow the path of last year’s Honinbo and Meijin title matches, both of which were one-sided, ending in 4-1 victories for Iyama. However, Shibano roared back in the second game, crushing Iyama in 96 moves.
The third game was played at the Hotel Agora Osaka Moriguchi in Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture, on June 1 and 2. Taking black, the challenger, Shibano Toramaru Oza won by resignation after 149 moves. In the opening, Shibano staked out a large moyo. Iyama was confident he could erase it, but a large group of his inside the moyo got into trouble. When he was unable to save it, he had to resign. This was another convincing win for Shibano, who incidentally took a lead over Iyama for the first time in a best-of-seven.
The fourth game was held at the Art Hotel Kokura New Tagawa on June 10 and 11. This game also featured aggressive fighting and once again Shibano came out on top, capturing a large group. Iyama (black) resigned after just 124 moves. O Meien 9P, the newspaper commentator, said: “I felt Shibano’s reading was awesome. Iyama can’t often have been outread like this. It was a convincing win for Shibano.” This was the first time Iyama had fallen behind 1-3 in the Honinbo title.
Game Five was the first kadoban (a game that can lose a series) for Iyama.It was played at the Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, on June 21 and 22. The game started peacefully. In the middle game, a kind of trade took place, with Iyama (white) capturing a group in exchange for letting Shibano put a large white group into ko. The game was dominated by this ko, which went on for 90 moves. In the end, Shibano captured the group, but was forced to let White take a fair bit of profit with his ko threat. Shibano resigned after White 218. Yamashita Keigo, the newspaper commentator, said: “There’s no move that I can clearly label as bad among the Honinbo’s moves.” This convincing win by Iyama changed the flow of the match.
Game Six was played at the Todaya hotel in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, on June 29 and 30. Iyama (B) took a small lead on the first day. In the middle game, the lead became confused, but Iyama was saved by a mistake made by Shibano, who resigned after move 153. Iyama saved his second kadoban and tied the match. He now seemed to have better momentum than the challenger.
The final game was held at the Tokiwa Hotel, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, on July 6 and 7. Iyama drew white in the nigiri. He convincingly outplayed Shibano and won by resignation after 180 moves. He made an excellent recovery after losing three games in a row by returning the courtesy to his opponent. Having won the title ten years in a row, he matched Cho Chikun’s record. Shibano missed out on his chance to become the youngest tournament Honinbo. First prize is 28 million yen (about $254,500).

4th Wu Qingyuan Cup
The opening rounds of the 4th Wu Qingyuan (Go Seigen) Cup World Women’s Go Tournament were held on the Net on July 18 to 20 with 16 players competing. Of these, three Chinese players and one Korean survived to make the semifinals. For Japanese fans, the highlight of the tournament was Nakamura Sumire’s scoring her first international win. The best performer for Japan was Fujisawa Rina, who picked up two wins. The dates of the semifinals and final have not yet been decided. Below are the results so far.

Round 1 (July 18). Fang 4p (China) (B) beat Stephanie Yin 1p (US) by resig.; Oh Yujin 7p (Korea) (W) beat Natalia Kovaleva 5d (Russia) by resig.; Cho Seunga 3p (Korea) (W) beat Hei Jiajia 7p (Ch. Taipei) by resig.; Li Xinyi 3p (China) (W) beat Manuela Marz 3d (Germany) by resig.; Lu Minquan 6p (China) (B) beat Xie Yimin 6p (Japan) by 1.5; Ueno Asami 4p (Japan) (W) beat Luo Yuhua 3p (Ch. Taipei) by 0.5; Suzuki Ayumi 7p (Japan) (W) beat Feng Yun 9p (US) by resig.; Nakamura Sumire 2p (Japan) (W) beat Kim Jaeyoung 6p (Korea) by 0.5.
Round 2 (July 19). Fujisawa Rina 5p (W) beat Li by 2.5; Yu Zhiying 7p (China) (W) beat Ueno by resig.; Wang Chenxing 5p (China) (W) beat Suzuki by resig.; Zhou Hongyu 6p (China) (W) beat Nakamura by resig.; Choi Jeong 9p (Korea) (W) beat Lu by resig.; Fang (B) beat Rui Naiwei 9p (China) by resig.; Cho (B) beat Tang 4p (China) by 1.5; Oh (W) beat Li He 5p (China) by 2.5.
Quarterfinals (July 20) Yu (W) beat Fujisawa by resig.; Fang (W) beat Cho by resig.; Wang (W) beat Oh by resig.; Choi (B) beat Zhou by resig.
Semifinal pairings (date undecided). Wang v. Yu; Choi v. Fang

Categories: China,Japan,Main Page

The Power Report: Wang wins Globis Cup; 6th LG Cup starts; Fujisawa defends Women’s Hollyhock Cup

Sunday August 8, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Wang wins Globis Cup
The 8th Globis Cup World Igo U-20, which decides the world’s top teenaged player, was held on the Net on June 5 and 6. It was won by Wang Xinghao 6p, who defeated his compatriot Tu Xiaoyu 6p in the final. This was the fourth victory for a Chinese player, to three for Korea, and one for Japan (that was Ichiriki Ryo in the first term).
This tournament has a dual structure, starting with four mini-leagues, each with four players, who compete over three rounds. Players who score two wins proceed to the next stage, a standard knock-out; players who lose two games are eliminated (this is known as the “double elimination” system). As the host country, Japan fields six players; they are joined by three each from China and Korea, and one each from Chinese Taipei, Europe, North America, and Asia/Oceania. The time allowance follows the NHK format: 30 seconds per move plus ten minutes to be used in one-minute units.
Three Japanese players, Ueno Asami, Otake Yu, and I Ryo, made the best eight, but here they were eliminated. China also got three in the best eight, of whom two sent through to the final. Park 5p of Korea beat Moon 4p, also of Korea, in the play-off for third place. First prize is 1,500,000 yen (about $136,000). Second is 250,000, and third 100,000.

6th LG Cup starts
The opening rounds of the 26th LG Cup, a Korean-sponsored tournament with a first prize of 300,000,000 won (about $262,000), were held on the Net on May 31 and June 2. Korean players did best, scoring four wins in each round, China
scored three in each, and Chinese Taipei won one game in the first round and Japan one in the second. For Japan, Ichiriki Ryo qualified for the quarterfinals for the third international tournament in a row. He seems to be the only player Japan can rely on. The quarterfinals are scheduled for November 7 and 8. Incidentally, the number of participants was reduced from 32 to 24 this year.

Round 1
(May 31) Weon Seongjin 9p (Korea) (B) beat Kyo Kagen (Xu Jiayuan) 9p (Japan) by resig.; Kim Jiseok 9p (Korea) (B) beat Ida Atsushi 8p (Japan) by resig.; MiYuting 9p (China) (B) beat Lee Changseok 7p (Korea) by resig.; Tao Xinran 8p (China) (W) beat Heo Yongho 9p (Korea) by resig.; Kang Dongyun 9p (Korea) (B) beat Xie Erhao 9p (China) by resig.; Tan Xiao 9p (China) (W) beat Park Jinsol 9p (Korea) by resig.; Kim Myounghoon 8p (Korea) (B) beat Xie Ke 9p (China) by resig.; Chen Chirui 7p (Ch. Taipei) (W) beat Hong Seongji 9p (Korea) by 1.5 points.

Round 2 (June 2). Ichiriki Ryo 9p (Japan) (W) beat Chen by resig.; Mi (B) beat Lee Donghun 9p (Korea) by resig.; Shin Jinseo 9p (Korea) (W) beat Tao by 3.5; Shin Minjun 9p (Korea) (B) beat Kang by resig.; Byun Sangil 9p (Korea) (W) beat Kim Myounghoon by 4.5; Park Junghwan 9p (Korea) (W) beat Tan by 1.5; Ke Jie 9p (China) (W) beat Weon by 0.5; Yang Dingxin 9p (China) (W) beat Kim Jiseok by resig.
Quarterfinal pairings are: Byun v. Mi, Park v. Ke, Shin J. v. Ichiriki, Shin M. v. Yang

Fujisawa defends Women’s Hollyhock Cup
The semifinals and finals and the best-of-three title match of the 8th Aizu Central Hospital Women’s Hollyhock Cup were all held at the Konjakutei Inn in Aizu Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, over a period of five days. Ueno
Asami became the challenger, but Fujisawa Rina defended her title with straight wins. She has now held the Hollyhock Cup for five years in a row and six times overall. This is her 18th title.
Results are given below.

Semifinals (June 15). Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei (W) beat Kato Chie 2p by resig.; Nyu Eiko 3p (B) beat Nakamura Sumire 2p by 6.5.
Final (June 16). Ueno (W) beat Nyu by resig.
Title match, Game 1 (June 18). Fujisawa (W) beat Ueno by resig.
Game 2 (June 19). Fujisawa (B) beat Ueno by resig.

Categories: Japan,John Power Report,Main Page

50 Years aGO – July 1971

Saturday July 31, 2021

by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

On July 11, the 4th Pro-Amateur Go Congress took place, between ten pros and ten top amateurs. Our source is silent on the handicap, but the score was a tie, with each team winning 4 games and two games ending in jigo, There was quite a sensation when 13 year old M. Kanazawa defeated Hashimoto Utarō 9d.

The Meijin League entered its final phases. On July 8, Rin Kaihō’s perfect 5-0 start was ended by veteran Takagawa Kaku, keeping suspense alive as to the challenger for another round. But on July 22, Rin defeated Ōtake Hideo and secured the right to challenge Fujisawa Shūkō. (Game record: Rin-Takagawa.)

On July 26 (televised on August 1) Kojima Takaho 6d won the 3rd Shin’ei TV event by a half a point over Cho Hunhyun 5d. (Game record: Kojima-Cho.)

Two amateur players visited Japan to study go this month. The more famous, at the time, was Manfred Wimmer, amateur 5d and former European Champion. His plan was to stay for two years. With a plan to stay for two months, James Kerwin arrived to study as well. He is pictured on the left facing Takenaka 4d at the Nihon Ki’in.

Kojima Takaho and Cho Hunhyun in the final game of the 3rd Shin'ei Tournament — Kojima Takaho and Cho Hunhyun in the final game of the 3rd Shin’ei Tournament

James Kerwin at Nihon Ki'in — James Kerwin at Nihon Ki’in

Photos courtesy of Go Review.

Categories: 50 years aGO,Go Photos,Japan,Main Page

Amateur Pair Go Championship postponed due to COVID

Friday July 30, 2021

The 32^nd International Amateur Pair Go Championship has been postponed to next year. It had been scheduled to be held on December 11 and 12 this year, but due to the fact that the COVID-19 situation in Japan is not improving, organizers decided that “it’s just too difficult to safely invite players from overseas.” The Championship is expected to be held in late November or December of 2022.

Categories: Japan,Main Page,World

INAF and Nihon Kiin upcoming events

Wednesday July 21, 2021

The Iwamoto North America Foundation (INAF) and the Nihon Kiin announce two upcoming joint online events. Anyone may sign up on a first-come-first-served basis.

Above, Mitani 7p and Tormanen 1p. Photos provided by Nihon Kiin.

Event 1 – August 2 2021, US Eastern time 21:00 to 22:30. Lecture for kyu players by Mitani Tetsuya 7p (三谷哲也) and Antti Tormanen 1p. This pair has frequently visited Europe and given many popular lectures since 2012. This event is limited to the first 100 people. Register for this webinar.

Above, Taijiri 5p. Photo provided by Nihon Kiin.

Event 2 – August 7 2021 US Eastern time 21:00 to 22:30. Interactive AI play for kyu players with Tajiri Yuto 5p (田尻悠人). All participants will join in to play with AI, led by Mr. Taijiri who will also provide Q&A, quizzes, and commentary. Register ahead of time for this webinar.

Additional events will be forthcoming. Please check INAF website and on AGA e-journal for announcements.

Lecture by Tsuruyama Atsushi 8p, a student of Cho Chikun, on “Key points of Capturing Race” (single-digit kyu to 4d players);
Lecture by Michael Redmond 9p on “Technical Improvements” (dan players);
Lecture by Mitani Tetsuya 7p and Antti Tormanen 1p on “Understand Go Rules and How to Play on 9×9” (beginners);
Lecture by Ichiriki Ryo 9p, commentary on his recent games (all players). This will be presented on YouTube.

Go to the INAF website to sign up: http://www.inaf-go.org/2021/07/sign-up-for-joint-inaf-nihon-kiin-online-events/
Zoom links will be sent to all registrants by the end of July.

Categories: Events/Tournaments,Game Commentaries,Japan,Main Page,Other

50 Years aGO – June 1971

Friday June 25, 2021

by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

Ishida Yoshio, the youngest ever Hon'inbo in June 1971 — Ishida Yoshio

This was Ishida Yoshio’s month, by the end the 22-year-old would hold three titles, youthful success in newspaper tournaments unprecedented before that time.

On June 10-11, in Game 5, he scored an upset victory over Rin Kaihō Hon’inbo to take a 3-2 lead in the title match. Then on June 21-22, in Game 6, he navigated a complicated ōnadare joseki — to become very much in vogue — to lead to the famous exchange: Rin – “Half a point?” “Half a point to the good” replied Ishida and he was Hon’inbo. The counting, under the watchful eye of Sakata Eio, is pictured here. (Game records: Hon’inbo Game 5, Game 6.)

Ishida added the Pro Best 10 to his Hon’inbo and Nihon Ki’in Championship, but it was not without difficulties. Carrying a 2-0 lead in the five game match into the month he stumbled, perhaps under the pressure of the concurrent Hon’inbo match. On June 6, Ishida, known as “The Computer” for his calculating skills, had an AlphaGo Game 4 moment when he retook a ko without a threat – the first time this had happened in a tournament final – and lost by forfeit. He then was defeated by Kajiwara Takeo in Game 4, setting up a decisive Game 5. On June 29, with the Hon’inbo title secured, he returned to form and secured the title. Watching the smiling Ishida is a constellation of pros, including white haired taisha expert Yamabe Toshirō, Awaji Shuzō, Takemiya Masaki and Ishida Akira. Standing on the left is a gentleman who I think might be a pro who regularly attends the European Go Congress – his name escapes me, perhaps a reader can help. (Game records: Pro Best Ten Game 3, Game 4, Game 5.)

On June 21, Murakami Bunshō won the Amateur Best 10 for the fourth time in the event’s 11 year history.

Scoring Game 6 of the Hon'inbo title match - Ishida wins by a half point — Ishida wins the Hon’inbo by a half point

Murakami Bunshō wins the Amateur Best Ten Tournament

Photos courtesy of Igo Club.

Categories: 50 years aGO,Go Photos,Japan,Main Page

The Power Report: End of May updates

Friday June 4, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Shibano draws even in 76th Honinbo title match
Shibano Toramaru is making his second successive challenge for the Honinbo title. Last year he lost 1-4 and then also lost the Meijin title he had picked up in 2019 by the same margin to Iyama, so he had a lot to seek revenge for. His career record against Iyama before this match was seven wins to ten losses . In the top three titles, the ones with two-day games, he had won only twice in ten games. Shibano’s main task is to make good use of these painful experiences.
Much is written in the go press about the post-Iyama generation, but as long as Iyama holds the triple crown of Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo, he remains head and shoulders above his rivals. This year he has the additional incentive of matching Cho Chikun’s record of ten Honinbo titles in a row.
The first game was held at the Former Inoue Fusaichiro Residence (photo) in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, on May 11 and 12. Inoue (1898-1993) was an influential patron of the arts in Takasaki; he was friends with modernist architects in the West. His house, built in traditional Japanese style but with input from Western architects, was restored after his death and set up as a tourist site.

Shibano drew black in the nigiri. He attacked in the middle game, but Iyama skillfully rescued his weak groups and took the lead. Black resigned after 184 moves.
The second game was played at the Former Inn Kaneyu in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture on May 24 and 25. The venue is a “ryotei” (Japanese-style restaurant/inn) built in 1937; it was donated to the city in 2009 and reopened as a tourist facility four years later. It is known for the Akita cedar of which it is built and which was the basis for the lumber industry in the area. Iyama, who had black, played a little unreasonably on the first day, giving Shibano the edge. According to Go Weekly, it was the first time in the 12 two-day games these two have played that Shibano took the lead on the first day. Things quickly got worse for the defending champion on the second day. After the sealed move, Black 83, Shibano attacked strongly. Iyama made another unreasonable move, so the game became one-sided. Iyama resigned after White 96. It was still only 11:18; it’s quite unusual for a game to finish before lunch on the second day.
The third game was scheduled for June 1 and 2.

Sumire’s winning streak ends
Sumire has won two more games since my previous report (May 14), but her winning streak has finally come to an end at 13. She also lost her first game in the C League. Her score for the year is now 24-4 (85.7%); she shares top pla
ce in the most-wins list with Ueno Asami, who is on 24-9. Recent results follow.
(May 9) Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko 3P by 1.5 points (Main tournament, 40th Women’s Honinbo).
(May 13) Sumire (B) beat Horimoto Mitsunari 5P by 5.5 (Prelim. B, 60th Judan tournament; played at the Kansai Ki-in).
(May 20) Sumire (B) lost to Komatsu Hideki 9P by resig. (Prelim. C, 47th Meijin tournament).
(May 27) Sumire (W) lost to Mizokami Tomochika 9P by resig. (46th Kisei C League).
Both Komatsu and Mizokami are strong 9-dans, so losing to them is no disgrace. Komatsu has played in six leagues and won seven titles; Mizokami has played in seven leagues, including five Meijin leagues, and won three titles. Sumir
e’s next game will also be against a 9-dan: her success means that she is being matched against stronger opposition.

Ichiriki leads Meijin League
On 5-0, Ichiriki Ryo Tengen leads the 46th Meijin League. His closest rival is Kyo Kagen Judan on 4-1. New results:
(May 10) Yamashita Keigo 9P (W) beat Hane Naoki 9P by resig.
(May 13) Kyo Kagen 10P (B) beat Yo Seiki 8P by resig.

Kisei Leagues
So far, only five games have been played in the 46th Kisei S League, so it is too soon to be making predictions. Murakami Daisuke 9P and Ichiriki Ryo Tengen share the lead on 2-0. Yo Seiki 8P is on 1-0. Just one game has been played since my previous report. On May 24, Ichiriki (B) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by 3.5.
In the A League, four rounds have been completed. Shibano Toramaru Oza and Suzuki Shinji 7P share the lead on 3-1. In the B1 League, three players are on 3-1: Motoki Katsuya 8P, Shida Tatsuya 8P, and Mimura Tomoyasu 9P. In the B2 League, So Yokoku 9P has the sole lead on 4-0.

Promotions
To 9-dan: Nakao Jungo (200 wins; as of May 21). Nakao was born in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, on April 9, 1970 and is a member of the Central Japan branch of the Nihon Ki-in. He qualified as 1-dan in 1990. He is the 84th 9-dan at the
Nihon Ki-in.
To 9-dan: Okada Shinichiro (200 wins; as of May 28). Okada was born on Sept. 22, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture. He is a disciple of the late Kato Masao. He became 1-dan in 1985. He is married to Yumiko, the daughter of the late Abe Yoshi
teru 9P.

Categories: Japan,John Power Report,Main Page

50 Years aGo – May 1971

Saturday May 22, 2021

by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

The 11th Messe Go Tournament was held in Hannover, Germany, on May 1 and 2. Fifty players competed. In the final game, Korean visitor Lee Min-sup won, defeating European Champion Jürgen Mattern.

31 May Hon'inbo game between Ishida and Rin — 31 May Hon’inbo game between Ishida and Rin

In those pre-Kisei days, the Hon’inbo tournament had greater prominence, with three games played in the title match in May. Title holder Rin Kaihō took a one game lead into the month. On May 6-7, Ishida Yoshio lived up to his “Computer” nickname with a brilliant win in yose by 1.5 points. However, he did not get that far in game three on May 18-19, as Rin forced a resignation with a dominance the Japanese go world had come to expect. As the month ended, on May 31, Rin stumbled with a blunder on move 92, leaving the match all square at 2-2. In this match photo, Ishida confidently plays a move, watched by the champion, and Maeda Nobuaki, the “god of Tsume-go”, in the center of the picture. (Game records: Hon’inbo Title Match Game One, Hon’inbo Title Match Game Two, Hon’inbo Title Match Game Three.)

The busy Ishida was simultaneously defending his Pro Best Ten title against Kajiwara Takeo 9d. The young champion prevailed in the first two games on May 14 and 24. (Game records: Pro Best Ten Final Game One; Pro Best Ten Final Game Two.)

Described as a new event, the Amsterdam Go Tournament was held on May 15-16. Attended by 80 players, including 10 from Germany (including our friend Horst Sudhoff), 8 from France, 5 from England, 2 from Yugoslavia, and 1 player from Japan, it was a truly international affair. This time, Jürgen Mattern won the final against Mr. Katō of Japan.

On May 28, legend-in-the-making Cho Hun-hyeon secured promotion to 5 dan at the Nihon Ki’in at the age of 18.

Photos courtesy of Go Review.

Categories: 50 years aGO,Europe,Go Photos,Japan,Main Page

The Power Report: Ichiriki Meijin League; 46th Kisei S League; Promotions & Obituaries

Saturday May 15, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Ichiriki Meijin League
Having won his fifth successive game, Ichiriki Ryo has the sole lead in the 46th Meijin League. His closest rivals are Kyo Kagen and Hane Naoki, who are both on 3-1. Ichiriki won’t be counting his chickens yet: he had a similar lead in the Honinbo but failed to become the challenger. Results since my last report are given below.

*Click here for our May 12 Honinbo League report.*

(April 1) Kono Rin 9P (W) beat Yo Seiki 8P by half a point.
(April 5) Yamashita Keigo 9P (B) beat Anzai Nobuaki 7P by 2.5.
(April 12) Ichiriki Ryo Tengen (W) beat Motoki Katsuya 8P by resig.
(April 15) Shibano Toramaru (W) beat Hane Naoki by resig.
(May 6) Ichiriki (W) beat Shibano by resig.; Motoki (B) beat Anzai by 0.5.

46th Kisei S League
The new S League got off to a start on April 22. With two wins, Murakawa Daisuke 9P has the provisional lead. Kono Rin 9P, the previous challenger, has made a bad start with two losses. Results so far:

(April 22) Ichiriki Ryo Tengen (W) beat Kono Rin 9P by 1.5; Yo Seiki 8P (W) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by resig.; Murakawa Daisuke 9P (W) Takao Shinji 9P by resig.
(May 6) Murakawa (B) beat Kono Rin by resig.

Promotions:
To 9-dan: Kyo Kagen (for winning his second top-seven title; as of April 29)
To 8-dan: Oki Keiji (150 wins, as of May 7)

Obituaries
Kim In
Kim In 9P, one of the major figures in modern Korean go, died on April 4 at the age of 77. Kim was born on Nov. 23, 1943. He became a professional in 1958. In 1962, he became a disciple of Kitani Minoru 9P and was promoted to 3-dan, jumping a rank. He returned to Korea the following year. He reached 9-dan in 1983. He dominated the tournament scene after his return home, winning 30 titles, and remained the number one player until the return of Cho Hun-hyun from Japan in 1972. His career record is 860 wins, 703 losses, and five draws. In 1968, he won 40 games in a row, the second-longest winning streak in Korea (Lee Chang-ho topped it by one win in 1991).

Okahashi Hirotada
Died of prostate cancer on April 14. Born in Hyogo Prefecture on Feb. 26, 1934. Became a disciple of Hashimoto Shoji 9P. Qualified at 1-dan at the Kansai Ki-in in 1954 and reached 6-dan in 1974. Retired in 2016 and promoted to 7-dan.

Categories: Japan,John Power Report,Main Page

The Power Report: Fujisawa enters Agon Kiriyama main tournament; Mi Yuting wins MLily Cup; Sumire enters C League

Friday May 14, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Fujisawa enters Agon Kiriyama main tournament
Fujisawa Rina’s excellent form is also continuing. On May 6, she beat O Meien 9P in the final game of the preliminary round of the 28th Agon Kiriyama Cup. Taking black, Fujisawa won by resig. She is the first woman to reach the main tournament, that is, the best 16.

Mi Yuting wins MLily Cup
The final, a best-of-five, of the 4th MLily Cup, was held in late April and early May. This is a Chinese-sponsored international tournament held at irregular intervals, the first being in 2013, then 2016, then 2017. So far, it has been won by Mi Yuting (China), Ke Jie (China), and Park Junghwan (Korea). First prize is 1,800,000 yuan (about $279,800). This year both finalists were Chinese. Results follow.

Game 1 (April 29). Mi (W) by resig.
Game 2 (April 30). Xie Ke 8P (W) by resig.
Game 3 (May 2). Mi (W) by 2.5.
Game 4 (May 4). Xie (W) by resig.
Game 5 (May 5). Mi (W) by resig.

Sumire enters C League
In a play-off for a place in the C League of the 46th Kisei tournament, held on May 6, Nakamura Sumire 2P (B) beat Torii Yuta 3P by 5.5 points. This earned her a place in the C League; every time Sumire achieves something, she sets a new youth record. At 12 years two months four days, she is the youngest player to enter a league. The record was lowered by five days just three days earlier when Fukuoka Kotaro 2P got into the league aged 15 years four months 11 days; Sumire lowered that by more than three years. Breaking her new record will be a major challenge. She also extended her winning streak to 11 games and improved her record for the year to 22-2. Ueno Asami lost the game she played last week, so Sumire has the sole lead in the most-wins list. More details about the C League are given in my report of May 2. According to the Yomiuri newspaper, all 480 professional players in Japan compete in the Kisei tournament. Sumire is in the top 62 of that number, so this may be her biggest success so far. Sumire: “I didn’t think I could get into the league, so I am very happy. I look forward to being able to play with strong players.” To become the Kisei challenger, she will need nine wins in a row: five in the league and four in the irregular knock-out that follows it.

Next: Ichiriki Meijin League; 46th Kisei S League; Promotions & Obituaries

Categories: Japan,John Power Report,Main Page

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