BOARD N’STONES, the English-language branch of primarily German-language Go books publisher Brett und Stein Verlag, has published a new book covering the seven games played between top Korean professionals Shin Jinseo 9P and Park Junghwan 9P last autumn in the Namhae Beautiful Island Super Match. The seven games – played in selected locations around the island – were characterized by a combination of scenic and cultural landmarks and the highest level of Go play. With his 7-0 win against Park Junghwan in the Namhae Super Match, Shin Jinseo established himself as Korea’s top player. This book tells the story of these seven games. The new book is easily available through most online book stores, click here to visit the publisher’s website.
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Ueno Asami
Ueno to challenge for Women’s Meijin: The 32nd Hakata Kamachi Cup Women’s Meijin League ended in a tie between Suzuki Ayumi 7P and Ueno Asami, Women’s Kisei, who were both on 5-1. A play-off was held at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya in Tokyo on March 15. Playing black, Ueno won by resignation after 155 moves, thus taking revenge for her loss to Suzuki in the 5th round of the league. The title match with Fujisawa Rina will be played at the Nihon Ki-in on April 14, 16, and, if necessary, 19. Results since my last report follow. (Feb. 22) Suzuki Ayumi (B) beat Ueno Asami by resig.; Mukai Chiaki 6P (W) beat Kato Chie 2P by resig.; Nyu Eiko 3P (W) beat Tsuji Hana 1P by resig. (March 1) Suzuki (W) beat Tsuji by resig.; Xie Yimin 6P (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6P by half a point. (March 4) Xie (B) beat Suzuki by 1.5; Mukai (B) beat Tsuji by resig. (March 11) Ueno (W) beat Kato by 14.5. (March 15, play-off) Ueno (B) beat Suzuki by resig.
Ichiriki wins NHK Cup: The final of the 68th NHK Cup was telecast on March 21. Ichiriki Ryo 8P, who these days is Japan’s number one player in fast-go tournaments, beat Yo Seiki 8P, currently the top player at the Kansai Ki-in. Taking black, Ichiriki secured a resignation after 233 moves. He also won the cup two years ago. Yo reached the final for the first time in eight appearances.
Yu Zhiying wins Senko Cup: The Senko Cup World Go Strongest Woman Player Tournament 2021 was held on the net from March 22 to 24. The Japanese players (five out of a total of eight) all played their games at the Tokyo East Side Hotel Kaie in Koto Ward, Tokyo. Fittingly, the world’s top two women players, Yu Zhiying of China and Choi Jeong of Korea, made the final, with victory going to the former. This tournament has been held three times, and Yu has yet to lose a game in it (the previous cups were held in 2018 and 2019; the tournament was cancelled last year). The play-off for third place was won by Ueno Asami. First prize is 5,000,000 yen (about $45,454, at $1 = \110). Round 1 (March 22). Mukai Chiaki 5P (Japan) (B) beat Yu Lijun 3P (Ch. Taipei) by resig.; Ueno Asami 4P (Japan) (B) beat Kuwabara Yoko 6P (Japan) by resig.; Choi Jeong 9P (Korea) (W) beat Xie Yimin 6P (Japan) by 2.5; Yu Zhiying 6P (China) (W) beat Fujisawa Rina 4P (Japan) by resig, (Semifinals, March 23). Yu (B) beat Mukai by resig.; Choi (B) beat Ueno by 1.5. (Final, March 24) Yu (B) beat Choi by resig. (Play-off for 3rd, March 24). Ueno (B) beat Mukai by resig.
Nakamura Sumire wins Teenagers Tournament The Senko Cup Female Teenagers Tournament was staged on March 23 and 24 as a kind of side event to the international Senko Cup. Participants were the eight youngest female players at the Nihon Ki-in and it was won by a pre-teen, the 12-year-old Nakamura Sumire. The prize was one tenth of the international tournament. This is Sumire’s first tournament win, but it is not an official one, so results are not included in official counts. Results are given below (full details were not available, except for the final), with ages in parentheses. Note: Ueno Risa is the younger sister of Ueno Asami; she became a pro at the same time as Sumire. (Round 1) Honda Mariko 1P (16) beat Mori Chisaki 2P (18); Nakamura 2P (12) beat Osuga Seira 1P (17); Cho Kosumi 1P beat Tsukada Chiharu 1P (16); Ueno Risa 1P (14) beat Yokota Hinano 1P (17). (Semifinals) Nakamura beat Honda; Ueno beat Cho. (Final) Nakamura (W) beat Ueno by 6.5.
Tomorrow: Sumire extends winning streak, sets new record in promotion to 2-dan
The San Diego Go Club sponsored its first face-to-face go tournament in over a year on March 31, when the 2021 California Over-70 Go Championship was contested at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park in San Diego.
Players (l-r): Dr. George Spellman, David Saponara, Arunas Rudvalis, Ted Terpstra
Players had to be AGA members, over 70 years old, and vaccinated against Covid19. The games took place outside in 83-degree temperatures under the blooming purple wisteria flowers, with all players and spectators masked and socially distanced. There were no entry fees, as usual, for SDGC tournaments.
Ted Terpstra, SDGC president, bested a field of four to become the first O70 champion. Arunas Rudvalis finished second and Dr. George Spellman and David Saponara, president of the San Diego Chess Club, tied for third.
Custom embroidered mask for playing
Having hosted four major online tournaments, totaling almost 200 AGA players, since the pandemic began in early 2020, the SDGC was happy to sponsor live competition again. All participants were awarded a redesigned SDGC T-shirt.
I was thinking about Dogen, the 13th century Japanese Zen Master who founded the Soto Zen tradition, the other day. In his essay “Spring and Autumn”, written in 1244, he says that “you play go by yourself”. This seems so clearly false that it takes an effort to try to understand what he could be talking about.
He was trying to explain what it is like to be enlightened and playing go was apparently the best illustration he could think of. His point is that in playing go “properly” you lose any sense of separation from the activity of playing and the other player. It is not just a “shared” activity, it is a single, integrated activity. The focus is on the game, not its potential results and especially not on beating the other player. That last concern will definitely eliminate anything like an experience of enlightenment.
I see a lot of “unenlightened” playing, especially at tournaments. For many players, I think there is an overwhelming interest in beating the other player in order to improve your own rating. It is hard to get “lost” in the game under those circumstances. The whole point of ratings in go is to enable players to have games where they can get lost in the playing and enjoy not being in a situation where you feel like you are isolated, lonely, and being ignored or attacked by others. In playing go, you can experience an immersion in an enjoyable, exciting, invigorating activity that is very freeing. Happily, this can and does happen a lot in club play. I think that having experienced it, a lot of players are reluctant to play in tournaments, where it is hard to ignore the pressure of so much attention being given to winning and losing, that is, to the results of a game rather than to the experience of playing.
That’s why Dogen says enlightenment is like playing a game, not like winning one. (He does says it is not like playing a high handicap game—an issue to be explored another time.) It is unfortunate that modern life doesn’t seem to offer many other examples of an experience like playing go, though there are some. A good conversation can be this type of experience, or a walk in the woods, or reading a good book, or listening to Beethoven’s piano-violin sonatas. But activities involving another person that are like this are rare, unfortunately.
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Korea wins Nong Shim Cup: Other players took part in the final round of the 22nd Nong Shim Spicy Noodles Cup, played on the net in late February, but they were like extras in attendance just to enhance a dominating star performance by Shin Jinseo 9P of Korea. For the first time in quite a while, the three countries participating, China, Korea, and Japan, entered the final round on equal terms, with each having lost three games and each having two players left. However, Shin showed why he is the world’s top-rated player by slicing through the opposition. He also won the final game of the second round, so that gave him a winning streak of five against the top players from China and Japan. Korea’s final player, Park Junghwan, remained a spectator. This was the 13th team victory for Korea to eight for China and just one for Japan. The prize for first place is 500,000,000 won (about $441,000, at $1 = 1134 won). Results follow: Game 10 (Feb. 22). Shin (W) beat Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan) by resig. Game 11 (Feb. 23). Shin (B) beat Yang Dingxin 9P (China) by resig. (In the previous Nong Shim Cup, Yang won seven games in a row, the last of them being against Shin.) Game 12 (Feb. 24). Shin (B) beat Ichiriki 8P (Japan) by resig. Game 13 (Feb. 25) Shin (B) beat Ke Jie 9P (China) by resig.
Here is some background on Shin. Born on March 17, 2000, he was the youngest player taking part. He became a pro in 2012 and reached 9-dan in 2018. His first international victory was in a junior tournament, the 4th Globis Cup. In 2019, he won the 31st TV Asia tournament. Last year, his record was 76 wins to ten losses, a winning rate of an astonishing 88.37%. This just pipped the previous Korean record of 88.24% (75 wins, ten losses), set by Lee Changho in 1988. From October to December, he played a seven-game match, called the Super Match, with Park Junghwan and beat him 7-0. So far, he has not won a major international title, but he has reached the finals of the current 9th Ing Cup and 13th Chunlan Cup.
Iyama Yuta
Iyama defends Kisei title, sets new record: Kono Rin 9P scored his first win in the 4th game of the 45th Kisei title match, but there his resistance ended. The 5th game was played at the Ryugon inn in Minami Uonuma City, Niigata Prefecture, on March 4 and 5. Halfway through the middle game, Kono (B) played a very aggressive move that took the players following the game by surprise. His attack worked, in that he was able to cut off and capture a white group, but he had to take gote to avoid the threat of a ko. That let Iyama set up a large moyo in the center and at the top, and Kono was unable to reduce it. He resigned after White 152. Ironically, his dramatic attacking move became the losing move. This win secured the series for Iyama and gave him his ninth successive Kisei title, surpassing Kobayashi Koichi’s record of eight. It was also his 50th top-seven title, extending his record. Overall, it is his 67th title.
Shibano
Shibano evens score in Judan title match: This year’s Judan match—the Daiwa House Cup 59th Judan Title Best-of-Five Match, to give it its full title—is being fought between two of the top players of the younger generation: Shibano Toramaru, aged 21, who won this title last year, and Kyo Kagen (Xu Jiayuan) 8P, who turned 24 on March 17. Kyo set a record by winning the 43rd Gosei title at the age of 20 years seven months, but since then he has been a little overshadowed by the emergence of Ichiriki Ryo and Shibano as the standard-bearers of the post-Iyama generation, so he must be keen to win his second top-even title. The first game in the title match was played at its customary venue, the Osaka University of Commerce, on March 2. Taking black, Kyo won by resignation after 205 moves. The second game was played at the Hotel & Resorts Nagahama, which is actually a facility belonging to the Daiwa House Group, in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, on March 24. Kyo made an oversight, and Shibano (B) also surprised him with a couple of moves that could easily be blind spots, so Shibano dominated the game, forcing Kyo to resign after 157 moves. The third game will be played on April 8.
Tomorrow: Ueno to challenge for Women’s Meijin; Ichiriki wins NHK Cup; Yu Zhiying wins Senko Cup; Nakamura Sumire wins Teenagers Tournament
With the approach of the one-year anniversary of the passing of David Saunders, also known as dsaun, some of his friends on KGS are organizing a celebration in his honor.
The event will take place at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, April 30th, and 03:00 GMT on Wednesday the 31st (use this time zone converter to determine your local time). In the Tsumego room there will be three boards with 20 tsumego (life and death) problems, and the corresponding solutions will be available in the Dsaun’s Friends room as you progress.
“There are no gifts, money, or prizes up for grabs,” reports Samuel Adams. “The lucky ones will be able to find dsaun’s smile under a stone.”
“What words do you think of when you hear ‘school’?” asks Promotion Head Jenny Li, “Homework, tests, Zoom? Nah. This year, AGHS will revamp your word cloud by hosting the annual School Team Tournament on April 25th and May 2nd on OGS via BadukClub. There will be a total of four rounds, starting at 10 PM and 1 PM PST on each of the two days. In order to be eligible, players must be under 19 or currently enrolled in K-12. Each team must consist of at least three players who go to the same school or institution.”
The big story this month was the Hon’inbo Tournament. As you may recall, Ishida Yoshio 7d finished last month 2-1, trailing Fujisawa Hōsai 9d, who was 4-0. Ishida played three games in the league this month, winning all of them. The first one, played on March 3 and 4, was the most important – a half point win against league leader Fujisawa Hōsai made a large lead seem as small as the game’s margin. Two weeks later he defeated Chino Tadahiko 7d, and on the last day of March he defeated Kanō Yoshinori 9d (author of Graded Go Problems for Beginners) to finish the month tied with Hōsai at 5-1 with one game remaining. (Game records: Ishida-Hōsai, Chino-Ishida, Kanō-Ishida.)
On March 14, the first round of the Asahi Amateur Best Ten Tournament took place in Tōkyō. Two Westerners took part, Richard Bozulich – founder of Ishi Press – and James Davies, taking time out from compiling information about the 1971 Hon’inbo Tournament. The study must have put him in good stead, as Davies (pictured) won his first game, although he lost in the second round.
Miyashita (right) and Fujisawa Hōsai
Japan completed two television tournaments this month, with the victors vanquishing the movers and shakers of the Hon’inbo League. On March 21, Miyashita Shūyō 9d (on the right in picture) defeated Fujisawa Hōsai in the final of the 3rd Hayago Championship. Ōtake Hideo defeated Ishida Yoshio on March 24, in the final of the NHK Tournament. (Game records: Miyashita-Hōsai, Ishida-Ōtake.)
Two events occurred in the greater New York area this month. On the March 6 and 7, the 12th New Jersey Open Championship took place. Takao Matsuda 6d defended his title with a victory in the final round over his rival Takahiko Ishikawa 5d of Philadelphia. In the New Jersey Championship, Robert Ryder 5d won over Harry Gonshor 4d. The kyu champion was David Ault. The report in Go Review thanked Jeff Rohlfs for his hospitality during the event – Jeff is still an active tournament go player today.
The following weekend, Matsuda showed he could win giving handicaps as well by winning the New York Okigo Championship with a perfect record.
“Registration for the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) Weekly Go Problems – Spring Season 2021 is now open, and all players are welcomed,” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “Each Sunday, we will provide Go problems with five different levels from the most beginner to the most advanced level. Practicing problems is a great opportunity to enhance your skills and will benefit you tremendously in your games. The season lasts ten weeks, with prizes being awarded at the end.”
For the tenth year in a row, the San Diego Go Club has taught Go to interested people attending the annual Japanese Friendship Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival in Balboa Park in San Diego. Thousands streamed through the blossoming Japanese cherry trees, blooming azaleas, and wisteria from Friday morning until Sunday at dusk. Everyone was required to be masked and socially distanced.
All who sat down for a go lesson were given a free copy of “The Way To Go” by Karl Baker. This 50-page booklet, which is provided for free to AGA chapters by the AGF, has everything a person new to Go needs to enjoy the game: Go history, rules of the game, examples, references to online Go sites, a glossary of Go terms, and the path to finding Go clubs in the USA.
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival is one of several community outreach programs the San Diego Go Club participates in. The effort results in new club members and new AGA memberships. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving, the Fourth Annual California Go Championship, sponsored by SDGC, will be held face-to-face.
-photos provided by Ted Terpstra
Ted Terpstra (right) giving a Go lesson to a neurology grad student at JFG
