In last decisive game, the veteran of Japan Go Cho Chikun(Judan) defeted Yamashita Keigo by 3.5 points and won the match with total score 3-2. Yamashita Keigo again failed challenge Cho Chikun in this title. Cho Chikun kept his title three years in row.
Cho Chikun(Judan) - Yamashita Keigo(9p) - B+3.5
3rd game.
4th game.
Cho Chikun(Judan) - Yamashita Keigo(Kisei) - W+R
Current score in match - 2-2. The decisive game at April 25.
Rules: The top players in the Korean rating list will take part in Korean League without passing qualification tournament. Other players have to qualify.
Each team has an official coach. The coaches decide the members of their teams. In addition, they can invite one master who did not qualify (wild card).
Each team consists of 6 players.
The first team (who won the right to decide the members first) invited Lee Sedol. The second team invited Lee Changho. Third one invited Choi Chelhan and so on.
The team selections produced some sensations:
1. Kim Yeonghwan, 8-dan, the coach of "Ulsan Diache" invited Paek Hongseok, 5-dan as the first member of his team.
2. Lee Hongyeol, 9-dan, the coach of "Chael Haje" team invited Pae Chunhe, 1-dan as the second member of his team although many top players were still available, including Yoo Changhyuk, Cho Hunhyun, Rui Naiwei and others. This was surprising!
3. Yun Kihyeon, 9-dan, invited Han Sanghoon, 1-dan as the second member of his team.
4. Chang Suyeong, 9-dan, the coach of "World Meridian" team gave a wild card to Park Chonhan, 1-dan, another unknown player, while it was still possible to invite Seo Bongsu, Choi Myeonghun or other top players, who failed to qualify initially.
In my opinion (Alexander Dinerchtein) the strongest team is "World Meridian", which consists of Choi Chelhan, Yoo Changhyuk, Yun Chunsang, Lee Jaeung, Cho Hyeyeon and Park Chonhan.
Translated from korean Alexandre Dinerchtein
Han Sanghoon played his first game in Korean professional tournaments less than 2 months ago. Now his score is 12-1 ( http://www.go4go.net/v2/modules/collection/byplayer2.php?pid=1086 ). We will ask him few questions.
- What is the secret of your recent performance?
- There are no secrets, no magic. The most important thing is to play seriously. There are many masters who answer the last move of their opponent without deep thinking. I try to think, even if the move seems obvious.
- We can say that you achieved pro status late (Han was 20 years old). How do you feel about it?
- Yes, quite late. I played in the main leagues (for best 10 candidates) for becoming professional 8 times and was always missing my chances. It's still hard to believe that I have now reached my goal! I quit the insei league because of my age (the age limit is 18) and that put a lot of pressure on me.
- When did you start playing Go?
- I was 8 years old when my parents found me a Go club not far from my home. My father loves Go very much! Later I entered the famous school of Kim Won, 6-dan ( http://www.go4go.net/v2/modules/collection/byplayer2.php?pid=637 ). I took part in some tournaments, won some prizes, and decided to study Go seriously.
- LG cup will be your first international tournament. Which players would you like to meet?
- Recently, the Chinese junior players have become very strong and I would like to meet them, Chen Yaoye and Zhou Ruiyang first of all. I played some top players on the Tygem server, who we know to be junior Chinese professionals. My score was about 50-50 and now I would like to meet them in real tournaments.
- How useful do you think it is it to play Go online?
- There are some extremely strong players among the Tygem 9-dans. Of course, we may learn a lot from them!
- What are your future plans?
- I would like to play Go like Lee Changho and become a regular participant in the final stages of pro tournaments!
- What are your first and second goals?
- I would like to take a title one day. I entered the Korean league this time and will try my best. My second goal would be to enter the final stages of international tournaments.
Translated from korean Alexandre Dinerchtein
How strong are Tygem (http://tygem.com/) stars?
Korean Tygem Go server announced a tournament between top 3 Tygem players and Korean Dream team: Cho Hunnyun, Lee Changho and Yoo Changhyuk.
The results are:
First game: Cho Hunhyun, 9-dan lost by resignation to "spiderman1"
Second game: Lee Changho, 9-dan lost his game by resignation to "GoldHammer"
Third game: Yoo Changhyuk, 9-dan lost by 6.5 points to "gurenarukl"
It's hard to believe it, but they played without any handicap! Each game gathered more than 5000 observers. It seems, that Tygem has lot of other good players, considering that these 3 masters are not undefeatable.
Their scores:
Spiderman1 , 9-dan on Tygem, W113-L51
GoldHammer, 9-dan on Tygem, W275-L60
gurenarukl, 9-dan on Tygem, W893-L360
Maybe the online Go is far from the offline Go, or do we need a special experience for playing Go on servers? How strong are Tygem star players? Do we know them in real life? There are so many questions. Chess players will also ask about the possibilities of computer help.
Unfortunately they don't have English client available.
Translated from korean Alexandre Dinerchtein
Gu Li, 9-dan won the match against Chang Hao, 9-dan. Tournament table and game records are available on http://www.go4go.net/v2/
- Suddenly you finished the last game quickly. Was the difference so big?
- Yes, I was more than 15 points ahead even before the lunch break.
- Is it true that yesterday you went climbing on Mount Chagumsan?
- Yes, I did it because I can sleep well if I get tired.
- What do you think about the performance of Hu Yaoyu, 8-dan in the recent LG Cup?
- I don't know the reason why, but he did not show as his power at all. None of the 3 games
in the match were played in his usual style.
- What do you think about the second game of your match with Chang Hao?
- I was leading that game from the early stages. Later, Chang Hao, 9-dan made some
overplays, probably because he was nervous, and I punished them well. Actually, it was not a
hard game for me.
- What are your feelings after winning the match?
- Of course, I am very happy, but one cannot compare the Chunlan Cup to the previous LG Cup,
which was the first World Championship that I won.
- It's your second International victory. Will we see a 3rd?
- Yes, I will try make my best to win more tournaments!
Translated from korean Alexandre Dinerchtein
