4 interviews with Samsung cup semifinalists

Gu Li, 9-dan, His last game in Samsung cup

What do you think about your game with Yoo Changhyuk, 9-dan?
The opening was comfortable for me, but later I spoiled the position and it was unclear, until Yoo, 9-dan made a big mistake. I was lucky!

You will play a best-of-three match against Park Yeonghun, 9-dan in November. What do you think about your chances?
It will be an interesting match. Park, 9-dan has a very solid playing style and he is always a difficult opponent. I will try to make my best!

Park Yeonghun, 9-dan, His last game in Samsung cup

I feel that you won your game against Han Sanghun, 1-dan easily. Is it true?
Actually, it was very complicated. I decided to kill his big group and it was an overplay. I killed it finally, but it was possible to lose this game even after killing it

Your next opponent will be Gu Li, 9-dan. Your current score is 0-1 against him. Can you take revenge this time?
He is a very difficult opponent and the match will be hard for me. I have some time till the semifinals and I will seriously study his games.

If you reach the final, which player would you like to meet?
I did not think about it yet


Lee Sedol, 9-dan, His last game in Samsung cup

You got a huge corner at the ko fight in the beginning. Was the game already over after the opening stage?
The corner was huge, but I was not happy with that result, because of bad adji. I won the game much later, because of good endgame. We can say that it was a very complicated game.

You played 15 games with Chang Hao since 1997, and even few years ago your score was not good. Did you become stronger or find a special key?
That time I was much weaker. I beat him in the final match of the Toyota-Denso cup in 2005 and got the feeling, but he is not stronger than me. Now my score is 10-5 and I feel that the situation changed a lot.

Your next opponent is Huang Yizhong, 6-dan. You never met him before. What do you think about him?
Yes, I never played him before, but I saw his games and know that his Go style is very thick and solid. I must be careful in the opening and will try to prepare for our match.

You played a lot of games in 2007 and your winning percentage is really high (80%). Maybe you know some magic methods?
I was just lucky. I won lot of bad games. If I see them now, I cannot even understand how it was possible to win such positions. There is no magic, just luck.

Your fans think that you become the strongest master in the world. Do you agree with them?
No, not yet. I will win Samsung and LG cup and think about this subject once again :)


Huang Yizhong, 6-dan, His last game in Samsung cup

You surprised us by beating Hu Yaoyu, 8-dan. What can you tell us about this game?
I was behind, but won it luckily, because of his endgame mistake.

You reached the semifinals of the Samsung cup. What are your feelings?
It was hard to imagine such result. I am happy!

Your next opponent is Lee Sedol, 9-dan. What do you think about your future match?
I believe that Lee Sedol, 9-dan is the strongest player in the world and I am happy that I will get a chance to learn something from him.


Translated from korean by Alexander Dinerchtein