American Go E-Journal » World

Japan’s Suzuki Ayumi 5P made an impressive run in the LG Cup qualifying preliminaries, making it to the semifinals before being defeated by Korea’s Heo Yeongho 7P on April 22. Earlier, she had defeated China’s Gu Lingyi 5P in the second round and Korea’s Moon Myeonggeun 9P in the third. Suzuki Ayumi reached the challenger final for the Female Kisei, took second place in the Female Meijin league in 2010 and was runner-up for Female Honinbo in 2008.
– based on reports on JustPlayGo

Two grassroots efforts to replace the popular GoDiscussions.com forum – which has been plagued with technical issues in recent months – have resulted in a new home for go fans to discuss go topics online.  When the GoDiscussions users decided on Wednesday to move to the new Life in 19×19 Forums Shodan Imports owner Chuck Thomas redirected all traffic from igodojo.org to Life in 19×19 Forums. “Let’s get on with the endless arguments, pedantic nitpicking and good old fashioned grumpiness!”said “user CarlJung.”
– Dennis  Wheeler

Park Yeonghun 9P (r) defeated amateur Park Youngryong 7d by resignation in the 38th Myeongin (Meijin) Preliminary Tournament Finals on April 17. The Myeongin consists of 12 players divided into two leagues who compete in several stages. Last year’s Myeongin was Lee Changho 9P, who has won the title 13 times.
– JustPlayGo

In the Fujitsu Cup quarterfinal matches Wednesday, April 14, China flexed its muscles and won three of the four matches. Lee Sedol 9P was the only Korean to make the Final 4, defeating Gu Li 9P by resignation and joining China’s Kong Jie 9P, Qiu Jun 8P and Piao Wenyao 5P for the semifinals. With the July 3 semis nearly three months away, it’s difficult to identify any clear favorites, as there’s a lot that can happen in the next few months. Lee’s been on a very solid winning streak, Piao Wenyao has stacked up some impressive wins as of late, and Kong Jie is China’s top player. Whatever the outcomes, it will be an exciting series of matches.
– JustPlayGo for photos & game records

With all six of Japan’s players eliminated in the second round of play on Monday, April 12 in the Fujitsu Cup, Korea and China will battle it out for the championship. In the April 14 quarterfinals, it’s Gu Li 9P (CN) vs Lee Sedol 9P (KR), Park Yeonghun 9P (KR) vs Piao Wenyao 5P (CN), Kim Jiseok 7P (KR) vs Kong Jie 9P (CN) and Qiu Jun 8P (CN) vs Kang Dongyun 9P (KR).
– JustPlayGo for photos & game records

Chen Yaoye 7P (l) defeated Zhou Ruiyang 5P (r) by resignation on Tuesday, April 13 in the semifinal match of the 2010 CCTV Cup. Chen will play the winner of the semifinal match between Gu Lingyi 5P and Piao Wenyao 5P.
– JustPlayGo for the game record

Choi Cheolhan (r) won the Maxim Cup on Tuesday, April 6, defeating Kang Dongyun (l) by resignation in the third and final game to win the 11th Maxim title match 2-1. Choi has now won the Maxim Cup two years in a row. The Maxim is sponsored by Baduk TV and Dong Suh (East-West) Foods Co.
– JustPlayGo & KIN’s Homepage

Xie He 7P (l) advanced to the RICOH Cup finals after defeating Gu Lingyi 5P (r) by resignation in the semifinal on Tuesday. Xie will face Kong Jie – who won the title in 2005 — in the title match. This will be Kong Jie’s first RICOH Cup title match.
– JustPlayGo for the game record

Cho U 9P (l) has retained his Judan title handily, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9P (r) by resignation in the third round Thursday to complete a 3-0 sweep of the 48th Judan, winning the title for a second year in a row. Cho won games one and three by resignation and game 2 by 1.5; he now leads Yamashita 34-22 in head-to-head competition. See below for photos & game records
– Just Play Go & Kin’s Homepage