American Go E-Journal » Go News

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

KBA and University of Seoul Sign Agreement on Digital Go Education and Go Globalization
The Korean Baduk Association (KBA) and the University of Seoul have agreed to cooperate with the aim of creating a metaverse and an A.I.-based platform for Go education. The business agreement focuses on the development of Go contents using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), research on Go educational methods to vitalize Go education, and the implementation of a Go meta world using metaverse space. The president of the University of Seoul, Seo Soontaek commented, “We expect that the A.I.-based Go education platform to be developed through the business agreement will play a leading role in the domestic and overseas Go education market and contribute to the expansion and globalization of Go.” KBA Secretary-General Yang Jaeho added, “We have tried to spread Go globally, such as the United States, Europe, and South East Asia, but we faced difficulties due to the lack of a Go educational system. I hope we can develop together with the University of Seoul a great Go educational program and spread Go around the world.” 

27^th LG Cup Qualifications
The 24 participants of the 27^th LG Cup were determined via seeds, qualifiers, and a wild card. Among them, 13 Korean players were selected which included five seeds (Shin Jinseo, Park Jeonghwan, Byun Sangil, Shin Minjun, and Kim Myeonghoon), seven qualifiers (Cho Hanseung, Kim Jiseok, Won Seongjin, Park Hamin, Park Jinsol, Seol Hyunjun, and Park Geonho), and one wild card (Kang Dongyun). Kang Dongyun, currently ranked 8 in the Korean ranking list, was the highest ranked player among the eliminated players of the Korean qualifiers and has won the 20^th LG Cup in 2016. Veteran Cho Hanseung (40) qualified for the first time in nine years. His best achievement in the LG Cup was reaching the semifinals in the 7^th, 9^th, and 11^th editions.Meanwhile, seven players from China will participate, namely: Yang Dingxin, Ke Jie, and Mi Yuting (seeded), while Shi Yue, Ding Hao, Gu Zihao, and Zhao Chenyu qualified. Furthermore, Shibano Toramaru and Yu Zhengqi were seeded, while Sada Atsushi qualified from Japan. In addition, Wang Yuanjun from Chinese Taipei will also join, completing the round of 24. The main tournament will begin on May 29^th and 30^th, followed by the round of 16 on June 1^st. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place in November, and the finals are set for February next year.

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

First Hoban Women’s Team Cup Kicks off
The opening ceremony of the 1^st Hoban Seoul Newspapers International Women’s Paewang Cup was held in the Riverside Hotel in Seoul on May 12^th. In this new tournament, three female teams compete in the win-and-continue format. Team Korea consists of Choi Jeong 9p and Oh Yujin 9p (ranking seeds), Kim Chaeyoung 7p (sponsor’s wild card), as well as teenagers Heo Seohyun 3p (19) and Lee Seulju 1p (16) who won the qualifiers. They will compete against Yu Zhiying 7p, Zhou Hongyu 6p, Lu Minquan 6p, Le He 5p, and Wu Yiming 3p from China, and Xie Yimin 7p, Suzuki Ayumi 7p, Fujisawa Rina 5p, Ueno Asami 4p, and Nakamura Sumire 2p from Japan.
After Ueno Asami’s recent victory in the 2022 Senko Cup World Women Championship in April, she commented that the difference in strength between the female players of the strongest Go nations has reduced. In an interview, Choi Jeong agreed with her assessment, adding that she is eagerly looking forward to fierce competition in the new Hoban Cup. The first stage of seven games will be played from 22^nd to 28^th of May, one game a day. Maybe some fans want to cheer their favorite female players during the live broadcasts. In round 1, Wu Yiming 3p (15) from China will face the youngest participant, 13-year-old Nakamura Sumire 2p from Japan. The winner of that match will play against Lee Seulju 1p (16) from Korea.

Park Jeonghwan wins 23^rd Maxim Coffee Cup

The Maxim Coffee Cup is a domestic tournament restricted to 9 dan players, it is sponsored by the Korean instant coffee giant Maxim Coffee. The main tournament started with the round of 32 which included strong players such as last year’s winner Kim Jiseok, and the runner-up Lee Jihyun. Also present were Lee Changho who received one of the sponsor’s wild cards and the top-ranked players Shin Jinseo, Park Jeonghwan, Lee Donghoon, Byun Sangil, Shin Minjun, Won Seongjin. 

Shin Jinseo surprisingly was knocked out in the round of 16 by Yoon Yunsang. The final was a repeat of the Wooseul-Bongju title match held in March between Park Jeonghwan and Lee Donghoon. On the way to the finals, Park Jeonghwan defeated Choi Jeong, Park Seunghwa, Kim Jiseok, and Shin Minjun, while Lee Donghoon defeated Kim Hyemin, Choi Cheolhan, Yoon Junsang, and Lee Younggu. The allotted time was 10 minutes, followed by a byoyomi of 40 seconds three times. Park Jeonghwan defeated Lee Donghoon 2:0 in the best-of-three final match. In a post-match interview Park said, “I think it worked well for me to put my mind at ease and do my best in each game. I’m weak at fast games, so I prepared more this time. Before the final, Kang Dongyun 9p sparred with me, and thanks to that, I was able to win.” The winner’s purse was 50 million KRW ($39,000) and the runner-up took home 20 million KRW ($15,500). Park Jeonghwan has now won the Maxim title for the fourth time following his victories in the 13^th, 14^th, and 18^th editions. Coincidently, the Maxim Coffee title is also the fourth title he is holding currently.

Tomorrow: KBA and University of Seoul Sign Agreement on Digital Go Education and Go Globalization; 27^th LG Cup Qualifications

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

The Pair Go World Cup 2022 was held in Japan under the auspices of the Japan Pair Go Association and the World Pair Go Association. It consisted of three main events: the Pair Go Friendship Dream Match, the International Pair Go Online Tournament, and the Japanese Professional Pair Go Championship 2022 which were held both in-person and online.
In the Pair Go Friendship Dream Match, 16 pairs of players- Japan (7), China (4), South Korea (4), and Chinese Taipei (1)- made up of top-ranked pros, legends, and young pros participated. The organizers came up with the refreshing idea of hybrid matches – while the players placed their moves on the board in their respective countries, they faced two amateurs who placed the opponent’s moves. In addition, videos of the players were broadcast live, so they could see each other (see photo). For the fans, it was a special experience because they could watch the pros playing on the board and see the opponents’ reactions concurrently – just like in an in-person match. In the pictures, you can see Japan’s Yoshihara Yukari 6p and Cho Chikun 9p playing South Korea’s Park Jieun 9p and Cho Hoonhyun 9p. After a spectacular roller-coaster match, Yoshihara & Cho emerged as victors. Since it was a friendship event, most pairs played only one game regardless of the outcome and no overall winner was declared. The players, results, and game records can be found here.

Pair Go Friendship Dream Match 2022
In the International Pair Go Online Tournament, two teams from Japan, Europe, and North America together with a team each from Africa, China, Oceania, South America, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, competed on Pandanet IGS. The South Korean team, made up of Lee Rubee 6d & Heo Youngrak 2p (photo below left), won the tournament undefeated followed by the team China. They repeated the success they had in the 30th International Amateur Pair Go Championship held in 2020. Heo Youngrak became a pro in July 2021 but had qualified prior for the 2021 Amateur Pair Go Championship which was postponed due to the pandemic. The third-fourth place match between Japan and Thailand was won by Japan, placing Japan third and Thailand fourth. For further information, check the link here.

19th Asian Games Postponed, Top Go Nations’ Player Selections Nearly Complete
The Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled for September 2022 was postponed to 2023 due to Covid-19. On the day of this announcement, the months-long qualification process to select six male and four female players to represent Korea came to an end. The successful male candidates are Shin Jinseo 9p, Park Jeonghwan 9p, Byun Sangil 9p, Kim Myunghoon 8p, Shin Minjun 9p, and Lee Jihyun 9p. Meanwhile, the female team consists of Choi Jeong 9p, Oh Yujin 9p, Kim Chaeyoung 7p, and Kim Eunji 2p. The male team consists of the 1-3, 7, 10, and 12th national-ranked players, whereas the female team has the four strongest players (as of May). The players’ age ranges from 14-year-old (Kim Eunji) to 29-year-old (Lee Jihyun and Park Jeonghwan). The selected players will compete with other Asian teams in three competitions: the 5-player male team event, the 3-player female team event, and the male individual event (2 players).
Meanwhile, the player selections for the Chinese, Japanese, and Chinese Taipei teams are almost complete, as shown in the table below. The line-up for each country is impressive, and fierce competition can be expected. It will also be interesting to see how the teams from fast-growing amateur Go nations Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore fare against the “Big-4”. Furthermore, Indonesia and Malaysia now have pros affiliated with the Nihon Kiin (as reported here) who might partake in the games. So, we can await exciting match-ups next year.