Championship
as expected -- Sung Bong Ha of Korea (l) swept all 8 of his games to
win the championship and Yuzhen Guo of China took second place -- they
had some new company in the top ten this year. Fernando Aguilar of
Argentina placed an impressive 3rd with 7 wins, losing only to Korea
and Hong Kong’s Nai San Chan took 4th; Argentina had placed
14th last year and Hong Kong 11th. Hungary broke into the top ten this
year – it placed 17th last year – with Pal
Balogh’s 8th-place finish, as did Germany for the first time
since 2004, when Franz-Josef Dickhut – who took 9th place
this year – took 5th place. Tsung-Lin Yang of Chinese Taipei
was 10th, a drop from last year’s 5th-place. The United
States moved up a place this year, with Mozheng Guan’s
7th-place finish, while Japan’s Yoshiyuki Tsuchimune and
Romania’s Cornel Burzo tied for 5th place. Pierre Audouard
– the visually-impaired player from France who went 5-3
– won the Fighting Spirit Award. “All of you did a
good job here,” Chief Referee Norio Kudo told the WAGC
participants at Saturday’s awards ceremony. “I was
especially impressed by the spontaneous outburst of applause at the
conclusion of the half-point game between Korea and China. This was a
high-level game and even we pros have things to learn from
it.” Kudo joined tournament chairman Hiromu Okabe in urging
players to
“go back to your countries and encourage more people to play
go.” Click here for complete
results and game
records. Click here for an online album of photos
from Saturday.US REP MOZHENG GUAN ON WAGC: Despite moving the United States up to 7th place this year, US rep Mozheng Guan (r) felt “I could have done better.” He told the EJ that a hasty move at a critical point in his 3rd-round game against
Argentina’s Fernando Aguilar cost him the game.
“After that I really worked hard to be careful, even when I
was sure about my moves.” In his only other loss, to Nai San
Chan of Hong Kong in the 6th round, “he played a joseki I was
unfamiliar with and I kind of had to figure it out as I was going along
and fell behind.” Guan says he enjoyed the WAGC,
“especially meeting players from around the world.”
HARUYAMA ISAMU 9P VISITS: When Haruyama Isamu 9P dropped by the WAGC Saturday afternoon, EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock presented him with a copy of the 2007 American Go Yearbook and an E-Journal cap in honor of his regular contributions to both, via translations by Robert McGuigan. Haruyama – author of classic books like “Basic Techniques of Go” and “80 Questions for Getting Strong At Real Play” says he remembers well his several trips to the U.S. and was very pleased to hear how popular his series has been.
WAGC SNAPSHOTS: Call it a go koan. What’s the sound of 68 go players thinking? Silence, mostly, at first. The sharp snap of a stone going down on an empty board. A cough. Stones rattling in their bowls. Fans rustling. The scrape of chairs on the floor as bodies shift. A pattering of dozens of stones on wood as the boards fill up. A low murmur of conversation from the onlookers. The soft whirring kerchunk of digital cameras. The popping of knuckles being cracked. A steadily rising din as games conclude and game analysis commences. And eventually, after all the games have concludes, after the last stones has been played and final point has been counted, silence again.
TAKEMIYA
ON PLAYING YOUR OWN GAME AND DANCING: Watch for the
E-Journal’s interview with cosmic go master Takemiya Masaki
9P in Monday’s edition.
WAGC ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This is the final special edition of the American Go E-Journal’s coverage of the 29th annual World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) this week in Tokyo, Japan. Thanks to the American Go Association – particularly President Mike Lash and Board Chair Roy Laird -- for supporting this coverage again this year, and to the Nihon Ki-in, which organizes the WAGC, as well as major sponsors JAL and Autodesk. Special thanks to Ms. Fumiko Urata and Ms. Yoshika Mori and all the staff and volunteers at the Nihon Ki-in for all their assistance and to Jeremy Banzhaf and Kaz Furuyama for their guidance and translation assistance in Tokyo. John Power pitched in with editing help and a keen proofreader's eye, while James Davies provided invaluable translations, and Thomas Hsiang offered keen insights and guidance. Extra special thanks to photographer John Pinkerton who took on additional responsibilities this year with his usual good grace. Finally, thanks most of all to the 68 go players from countries large and small who created so much great go with such enthusiasm and good spirit this week; they're truly an inspiration to us all.
- Chris Garlock, Managing Editor
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