American Go E-Journal

by John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Honinbo Monyu: When he won the Honinbo title for the fifth year in a row this year, Iyama Yuta qualified for the title of eternal Honinbo, though he can use it only afterhe turns 60 or retires, whichever comes first. At the title award ceremony, held at the Ritz Carleton Osaka hotel on September 9, Iyama unveiled the name he will assume: Monyu. The “mon” is a less common reading of the character “bun,” which means “writing” or “literature” and is part of the word “bunka,” meaning “culture;” the ”yu” is from his given name of Yuta. He will be known as “26th Honinbo Monyu.” Iyama mentioned that he consulted Okawa Teishin, the abbot of the Jakkoji Temple in Kyoto, which is the source of the name Honinbo. The character for “bun” has family significance for Iyama, as it was part of the name of his grandfather, who taught him to play go. Okawa also gave a speech at the award ceremony and mentioned another good association: “mon” is part of the name of the bodhisattva Monju, who is known as the “receiver of wisdom.”

Takao sweeps to 3-0 lead in Meijin challenge, sextuple crown in danger: The second game of the 41st Meijin title match was held at the Kakujoro, a traditional Japanese inn, in Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture on August 14 and 15.
Playing black, Iyama Yuta set up a large moyo. Takao made an invasion, so the game became a contest between Iyama’s attack and Takao’s shinogi (ability to save a group under attack). In the end, Takao secured his group and took the lead. Iyama resigned after 236 moves. Iyama had made a bad start to the title match with two losses. In the past, he had played 17 best-of-sevens and 18 best-of-fives, but this was the first time he had lost the first two games. However, worse was to come. The third game was played at the hotel Thousand Pine Trees: The Numazu Club in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture on September 20 and 21. Taking white, Iyama played aggressively, but Takao keep his cool and fended off the attack, building a lead in the middle game. In a desperate attempt to catch up, Iyama embarked on a shinogi strategy, taking profit and leaving a weak group for the opponent to attack. However, he was unable to narrow the gap; when Iyama resigned after Black 169, he was about ten points behind on the board. Takao seems to be in his best form for a while. He has a bad record against Iyama in the past and must be very pleased to make such a good start. He needs just one more win to make a comeback as Meijin after a gap of a decade (he beat Cho U in the 31st title match and became Meijin Honinbo). The fourth game will be played on October 4 and 5.

Yuki wins Kisei B League play-off: In the play-off between the winners of the 41st Kisei B Leagues, Yuki Satoshi
9P (W), winner of the B2 League, defeated Cho Chikun 9P, winner of B1, by resig. The game was played on September 19. Yuki earns a place in the irregular knock-out (“paramasu”) tournament to decide the challenger; he will need to win five games in a row to make the title match. At present, this is how the knock-out looks. Shida Tatsuya 7P, C League winner, plays Yuki, B winner; the winner will played Cho U, A League winner; the winner will play either Yamashita Keigo 9P or Kono Rin 9P, second in S League; the winner will play either Kono or Murakawa Daisuke 8P, first in S League. The latter will start the nominal “best-of-three” with a one-game advantage, so he will need only win to become the challenger (although it’s called a “best-of-three,” three games can never be played: the first-place getter just needs to win the first or second game; the second-place winner can become the challenger only by winning the first two games).

Tomorrow: Fujisawa has sole lead in Women’s Meijin; King of the News Stars begins; Agon Kiriyama Cup; Chen makes good start in Bailing final