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Lee Sedol Advances to Siptan Semifinals: In the 6th Siptan quarterfinals on March 6, Lee Sedol 9P defeated Jen Youngkyu 5P by resignation. The Siptan is Korea’s equivalent to Japan’s Judan and is sponsored by the Wonik Group. Cho U Wins NEC Cup: Cho U 9P defeated Yamashita Keigo 9P by resignation in the 30th NEC Cup final on March 5. This is the third NEC Cup title for Cho. His first was in 2005 and the second in 2007. In addition to the NEC Cup, Cho currently holds three other titles, the Oza, Judan, and Kisei. Yamashita, only one title short of Cho, holds the Honinbo, Agon Cup, and Ryusei. Li He Wins Female Mingren: Li He 3P (r in photo) defeated Chen Yiming 1P (l) in the 2nd Female Mingren final, which was held March 2. This is the first Mingren title for Li as last year’s title winner was Zheng Yan 2P. Li currently holds the Female Xinren Wang title, which she will defend against Li Xiaoxi 1P sometime in March. Cho U Takes Game 1 in Judan: On March 3, defending Judan champion Cho U 9P defeated Iyama Yuta 9P by resignation in the first round of 49th Judan title match. Cho has held the title for the past two years and this is Iyama’s first Judan title match. The Judan is a best of five-game series and the second round will be played on March 24th. Mukai Chiaki Wins First Round in Female Meijin: In the first round of the 23rd Female Meijin title match, which was held March 2, Mukai Chiaki 4P defeated defending Female Meijin champion Xie Yimin 5P by resignation. Mukai and Xie faced each other in last year’s title match, with Xie winning the series 2-0. Xie has held the title for the last three years and is arguably the strongest female professional in Japan. The second round will be played on March 11th.
– JustPlayGo; edited by Jake Edge

The march of the Chinese “tiger cubs” continues in China as Tan Xiao 4P and Li Zhe 6P stormed into the final of the 11th Ricoh Cup last week. Li Zhe 6P (l) defeated Wang Lei 6P in the semi-finals to reach the final, while Tan Xiao 4P (r) – a student of Nie Weiping 9P (playing Tan Xiao, at right) — defeated Hu Yaoyu 8P in the other semi-final. This is the first Ricoh Cup final where the tiger cubs have reached the final and yet another milestone for the group of rising young go professionals that the Chinese media has affectionately dubbed “the tiger cubs generation.” Earlier last month, Zhou Hexi 4P, another tiger cub, became the challenger for the 25th Tianyuan title. The Ricoh Cup final will be held in late April in China; the Ricoh Cup is a Chinese domestic tournament, not to be confused with Ricoh Pair Go, which is a Japanese tournament.
– Jing Ning; adapted from her original report on Go Game Guru, which includes game records of both semi-finals.

If three weeks of studying go in China sounds good to you, check out the new Shanghai Go Camp. The intensive program runs June 24 to July 18 at the Shanghai International Studies University and is being organized by a 20-person team including Chinese professionals and 6-dan and 5-dan Chinese amateurs, including Zhao Fan 5d (r). “These guys really know their go and can really help you improve quickly,” writes Antonio Egea in a guest post on Go Game Guru. Egea was the Spanish representative to the 2010 World Amateur Go Championships in Hangzhou, China. The planned schedule includes focused study and play as well as visits to local go clubs, traveling and sightseeing. And with over 300 restaurants near the camp venue, there will plenty of opportunities to explore Chinese cuisine. Click here to download the registration form with full details.