Umezawa Yukari Took the Lead At Female Kisei sen

Umezawa Yukari (5 dan), the current Female Kisei title holder is challenged by Kato Keiko the Female Saikyo title holder for the 12th Female Kisei title.

Umezawa Yukari who played black in the first game, won the game by 2.5 points.

The game was quite well balance and rather close. I think Umezawa Yukari won the game because she was able to control the center after the exchange at 119-132.

Umezawa Yukari (B) vs. Kato Keiko (W), game up to move 78

Umezawa Yukari whose fame was risen due to "Go Go Igo", a go program which was aired after Hikaru no Go for several minutes, has been this title holder for the last two years.

Japan Eliminated!

The Japanese Team in the 7th Jeongganjang Cup has been eliminated.



Umezawa Yukari who was the last Japanese player lost to Li He (1 dan) from China.



With that lost, Japan has been eliminated from the tournament.



China is at great advantage. They still have 3 players left, while the only hanging team, Korea, only have Lee Minjin.



It seems that Lee must working very hard if she want to keep the title for Korea and repeating her success at Jeongganjang Cup.

Japan's Trouble

Japan team in the 7th Jeongganjang Cup is in trouble. After losing Aoki Kikuyo, they lost another player in this second stage.Suzuki Ayumi (4 dan) lost to Park Jieun (9 dan).

Park Jieun played a very good game against Suzuki Ayumi. The game was hard for Suzuki. She was put under pressure with a weak group in the upper left board.Park was able to take advantage of it with several moves, like move 68 which allowed her to take territory in the left and move 74 which put more pressure to Suzuki's group and eliminating black's potential in the bottom board.

Suzuki Ayumi (B) vs. Park Jieun (W), game up to move 70

Suzuki Ayumi resigned the game at move 144.
With this, Japan is down to their last player Umezawa Yukari (5 dan) the current Female Kisei. She will play against the winner between Park Jieun and Li He.The Japanese Jeongganjang team is under the same position with their Nongshim team. Down to last player with no win before.Takao Shinji Judan did save Japan team, beating Kang Dongyun and closing the second stage, but it might be hard for Umezawa Yukari to win this time.

But everything is possible in go, so let's rooting in the last match of the second stage.

Park Jieun Beat Song Ronghui

After winning six straight games in the 7th Jeongganjang Cup, Song Ronghui from China was eliminated from the Cup, after losing to Park Jieun (also spelled as Park Shiun) from Korea.

Song Ronghui met Park Jieun in the semi-final of 1st WMSG Individual Woman section back in 2008. It seems Park was motivated enough for taking revenge from Song this time.Last year Park didn't play at all. Lee Minjin won the last game and gave Korea victory.

Park, who was promoted to 9 dan last year and became the third 9d woman (the first from Korea), played as white and Song as black, both played a territory oriented opening. The game was interesting.
After splitting Song's attacking stones to two groups, Park kept the initiative in attacking the weak group in the middle. I think Song lost her pace of the game after the exchange from move 110-115.Eventhough she completed her bottom territories, she weakened her middle group and gave Park a big move at C2.

Song Rongui (B) vs. Park Jieun (W) game up to move 67

Song Ronghui resigned at move 148 after she failed to attack white's moyo in the left.

Song Ronghui's Second Victory

It seems that Song Ronghui (1 dan) from China is not going to be stopped yet. In game 2 of the second stage of the 7th Jeongganjang Cup, Song Ronghui beat Aoki Kikuyo (8 dan) from Japan.
Taking white, Song won the game in 178 moves.
Aoki Kikuyo chose to play the low Chinese fuseki. Instead of the standart 2 spaces high approach against low Chinese, Song Ronghuiprefer to play the 2 spaces low approach which was invented by Yu Bin (9 dan) from China. I think the pincer Aoki played as the answer is not good. Instead of pincer, maybe she can play the variation.
For some reason I think Aoki played a passive game, while Song did very good in this game. At the end, Aoki resigned the game. The gap was big. About 15 points lead for white.

Song Ronghui Keep On Moving

After a clear swept in the first stage of the 7th Jeongganjang (or Cheongkwanjang) Cup, Song Ronghui (1 dan) from China won the first round of the second stage.

Taking Black, she beat Kim Hyeoyimin (5 dan) from Korea by resignation.

The opening is quite ok for both side, eventhough I think black is slightly ahead. When it came to move 95, black was leading.
I think move 212 from white should be at K7 instead of J9. Black torn white apart with one move and brought resignation from white in move 215, however black is about 10 points ahead on board, so actually the result has decided eventhough white didn't torn apart.

Now Korea is down to their last 2 players Park Jieun and Lee Minjin who won this cup for Korea in the last 2 years, while Japan still has three players left. Suzuki Ayumi, Umezawa Yukari, and Aoki Kikuyo.Last year Aoki Kikuyo perform very well for Japan. I wonder if she can repeat it again this year.

Chinen Kaori Challenge Xie Yimin For the 21st Female Meijin sen

The teenager title holder, Xie Yimin, will be challenged by Chinen Kaori 4dan.

Chinen Kaori (left) won the right to challenge after winning the first place in the league with 4-2 score.It's actually kinda surprise, because Kato Keiko was leading the league, but ended up with 3-3 score due to her straight loses in her last 2 games and put her in the third place.Suzuki Ayumi, who lost to Xie Yimin (right) in the 27th Female Honinbo title match, ended up in second place. She also had 4-2 score, but it seems that she wasranked #2 due to his 2.5 points lost to Chinen Kaori. Umezawa Yukari, the current Female Kisei title holder ended in fourth place with 3-3 score. She was lucky, becauseshe was tied with Yoshida Mika (8 dan), but due to her resignation victory, she wasn't demoted from the league.Bad news for 3 bottom players. Kobayashi Izumi (6 dan), Yoshida Mika (8 dan), and Mukai Chiaki (2 dan) are demoted from the league.

Chinen Kaori has won 2 titles so far. They're Female Kisei in 2002,2003,and 2005 and Female Honinbo in 1997-1999 and in 2004.Her first title in the 1997 Female Honinbo was pretty interesting and involved huge press conference due to her pregnancy, as by that point the baby was expected any day.The game four (which she won along with the title) was played in Yugen no Ma in Nihon Kiin.
one interesting point about this 21st Female Meijin league is the fact that the league system is just being used this time. They were using double elimination system before.
The first round's date is yet unknown but expected to be played in February. Last year Xie Yimin won 2 straight games, all by 0.5 point. I wonder who will win this time.

2008 Win-Loss

As usual, in each end of the year there are rankings for every professional go player.Here is their ranking

2008 World Tournament ranking
Rank Players Win Loss Rate
01 Lee Sedol(Korea) 21 7 75%
02 Lee Changho(Korea) 17 6 74%
03 Gu Li(China) 14 3 82%
04 Xie He(China) 14 6 70%
05 Kong Jie(China) 13 4 76%
06 Tuo Jiaxi(China) 11 3 79%
07 Piao Wenyao(China) 11 4 73%
08 Chang Hao(China) 11 5 69%
09 Choi Cheolhan(Korea) 10 2 83%
10 Wang Yao(China) 10 3 77%
11 Kang Dongyun(Korea) 10 4 71%
12 Li Kang(China) 9 2 82%
Shi Yue(China) 9 2 82%
13 Baek Hongsuk(Korea) 8 2 80%
14 Park Yeonghun(Korea) 8 8 50%

Lee Sedol topped the chart in 2008. In 2007, he got second place with win-loss ratio 14-3.Han Sanghoon 3p from Korea who topped the chart in 2007 didn't make it in 2008. Lee Changho who was fifth in 2007 jumped three spots last year.China and Korea dominated the chart last year and the last 2 year. However, in 2007 Nakano Hironari from Japanentered the list in fourteenth place, but no Japan player made it last year. Taiwan didn't make it in the last 2 years. They need new Zhou Junxun.

2008 Korea Tournament ranking
Rank Players Win Loss Rate
01 Lee Sedol(9 dan) 74 26 74%
02 Lee Changho(9 dan) 66 22 75%
03 Kang Dongyun(9 dan) 60 23 72%
04 Mok Jinseok(9 dan) 59 35 63%
05 Park Jungsang(9 dan) 52 28 65%
06 Won Sungjin(9 dan) 51 24 68%
07 Choi Cheolhan(9 dan) 50 18 74%
08 Kang Yootaek(2 dan) 48 19 72%
09 Park Yeonghun(9 dan) 44 27 62%
10 Park Junghwan(3 dan) 43 23 65%
11 Kim Seongjae(2 dan) 41 30 58%
12 Lee Younggu(7 dan) 40 20 66%
13 Kim Kiyoung(4 dan) 40 23 63%
14 Han Sanghoon(3 dan) 39 24 62%
15 Yun Junsang(7 dan) 38 16 70%
16 Kim Jiseok(4 dan) 37 23 62%
17 Baek Hongsuk(6 dan) 37 24 61%
18 Hong Sungji(7 dan) 37 25 60%
19 Cho Hanseung(9 dan) 37 29 56%
20 Kim Hyeongwoo(3 dan)35 16 69%
21 Lee Wondo(2 dan) 34 21 62%
22 Choi Wonyong(5 dan) 34 28 58%
23 Heo Yeongho(6 dan) 33 18 65%
24 Han Sanghoon(3 dan) 32 18 64%
25 Yun Junsang(7 dan) 32 26 55%
26 Hong Minpyo(6 dan) 31 20 61%
27 Park Seunghwa(3 dan) 29 23 56%
28 Lee Jaewong(6 dan) 28 14 67%
29 Choi Myeonghun(9 dan)28 22 56%
30 Ko Geuntae(6 dan) 27 17 61%

In Korea, Lee Sedol 9dan topped the chart with 74 win (that's a lot!), while Lee Changho roared to second place after slumped in thirteenth place in 2007.]Kang Dongyun jumped one spot to third place this time. Mok Jinseok who topped the rank in 2007 with 93 wins, only got fourth place this time.

2008 China Tournament ranking
Rank Players Win Loss Rate
01 Gu Li(9 dan) 60 18 77%
02 Xie He(7 dan) 47 24 66%
03 Piao Wenyao(5 dan) 45 26 63%
04 Shi Yue(4 dan) 43 20 68%
05 Kong Jie(7 dan) 43 25 63%
06 Gu Lingyi(5 dan) 39 23 64%
07 Zhou Heyang(9 dan) 38 20 66%
08 Zhou Ruiyang(5 dan) 37 25 60%
09 Chang Hao(9 dan) 37 26 59%
10 Wang Xi(9 dan) 36 20 64%
11 Li Kang(6 dan) 36 22 62%
12 Liu Xing(7 dan) 36 29 55%
13 Peng Liyao(4 dan) 35 19 65%
14 Zhu Yuanhao(3 dan) 34 18 65%
15 Wang Yao(6 dan) 34 21 62%
16 Li Zhe(6 dan) 33 24 58%
17 Wang Lei(6 dan) 32 21 60%
Tuo Jiaxi(3 dan) 32 21 60%
18 Zhang Li(4 dan) 31 24 56%
19 Qiu Jun(8 dan) 30 21 59%
20 Zhong Wenjing(5 dan)30 22 58%
21 Ding Wei(9 dan) 29 23 56%
22 Gui Wenbo(3 dan) 28 11 72%
23 Zhu Yuanhao(3 dan) 28 14 67%
Wang Yao(6 dan) 28 14 67%
24 Sun Li(4 dan) 28 18 61%
25 Huang Yizhong(7 dan) 28 23 55%
26 Wang Lei(8 dan) 28 24 54%
27 Chen Yaoye(9 dan) 27 20 57%
28 Peng Quan(7 dan) 27 24 53%

Gu Li who just won the first match in the final of the 4th Toyota&Denso Cup in January 6, topped the chart. He jumped six spots from his 2007 record.Xie He in the second place also recovering from his 2007 record. He was ninth that time with only 37 wins. Piao who lost to Gu Li in the first match in the final of the 4th Toyota&Denso Cup, fell one spot from his 2007 record to number three.Shi Yue 4dan made a big leap. He was number 24 in 2007, but he was fourth last year. A twenty spots leap!

2008 Japan Tournament ranking
Rank Players Win Loss Rate
01 Cho U(9 dan) 51 16 76%
02 Iyama Yuta(8 dan) 48 21 70%
03 Ko Iso(7 dan) 36 19 65%
04 Yuki Satoshi(9 dan) 35 17 67%
05 Takao Shinji(9 dan) 35 23 60%
06 Hane Naoki(9 dan) 34 15 71%
07 Rin Shien(7 dan) 31 8 79%
08 Ryu Shikun(9 dan) 31 10 76%
09 Yamada Kimio(9 dan) 31 18 63%
10 Kono Rin(9 dan) 31 20 61%
11 Ogata Masaki(9 dan) 30 13 70%
12 Cho Chikun(9 dan) 30 27 53%
13 Kiyonari Tetsuya(9 dan)29 14 67%
14 So Yokoku(8 dan) 29 18 62%
Sakai Hideyuki(7 dan) 29 18 62%
15 Tsuruyama Atsushi(6 dan) 28 11 72%
16 Suzuki Ayumi(4 dan) 28 17 62%
17 Yamashita Keigo(9 dan) 27 25 52%
18 Akiyama Jiro(8 dan) 26 10 72%
19 Hikosaka Naoto(9 dan) 26 16 62%
20 Xie Yimin(4 dan) 26 17 60%
21 Mukai Chiaki(2 dan) 26 18 59%
22 Yoda Norimoto(9 dan) 26 23 53%
23 Takemiya Masaki(9 dan) 25 8 76%
24 Nakano Hironari(9 dan) 25 14 64%
25 Furuya Yutaka(7 dan) 24 10 71%
26 Han Zenki(7 dan) 24 11 69%
27 Yamashiro Hiroshi(9 dan) 24 12 67%
28 Imamura Toshiya(9 dan) 24 15 62%
29 Kobayashi Satoru(9 dan) 24 16 60%
30 Kato Keiko(6 dan) 24 20 55%

Cho U the current Meijin repeat his success in 2007, topping the chart again in 2008 with the same amount of victory, but less lost. Iyama Yuta again became the runner-up with 4 more victories than in 2007.While female teen Xie Yimin who was third in 2007 fell to number 20 in 2008. Ko Iso who was fourth in 2007, jump one spot this time. Takao Shinji who lost his Honinbo title made a big leap this time. He Jumped 16 spots to gained the fifth spot.

2008 Taiwan Tournament ranking
Rank Players Win Loss Rate
01 Lin Zhihan(8 dan) 65 27 71%
02 Xiao Zhenghao(6 dan) 58 20 74%
03 Lin Shuyang(5 dan) 47 28 72%
04 Yoo Kyeongmin(5 dan) 40 20 67%
05 Chen Shiyuan(7 dan) 40 21 66%
06 Lin Xiuping(2 dan) 36 23 61%
07 Liu Yaowen(3 dan) 29 30 49%
08 Zhang Zhehao(3 dan) 24 22 52%
Lin Lixiang(2 dan) 24 22 52%
09 Xia Daming(5 dan) 20 21 49%
10 Huang Xiangren(5 dan) 20 25 45%
11 Chen Feng(2 dan) 18 18 50%
12 Liao Kwanghong(2 dan) 18 19 49%
13 Yu Zhengqi(2 dan) 18 20 47%
14 Chen Shiyuan(7 dan) 17 13 57%
15 Chen Yida(4 dan) 15 20 43%
16 Liu Yaowen(3 dan) 13 18 49%
17 Zhang Zhehao(3 dan) 12 14 42%
18 Wang Yuanjun(1 dan) 11 17 39%
19 Chen Xi(1 dan) 11 20 35%

Lin Zhihan topped the Taiwanese chart. He jumped 2 spots from his 2007 record. The second placer, Xiao Zhenghao remain constant in his place.Lin Shuyang who was fourth in 2007 made it to the top 3 this time.

2008 Top 10 Baduk News In Korea

Korea Baduk Association and Baduk journalists released top 10 baduk news of Korea in 2008, which selected by journalists’ closed-election on December 18.

Here you go:

1. Lee Sedol has kept the first place of Korea for 14 consecutive monthsThis 25 years old player is for sure not losing his grip yet. He won 12th LG International Cup, the 12th Samsung Cup World Baduk Open and the 20th TV Asia Cup World Baduk Championship. Also he has reached the final of the 13th LG Cup, the 13th Samsung Cup as well as several domestic competitions such as the 36th Myoungin Title, the 52nd Kuksu Title and the 13th Chunwon Title, which are still in progress.

2. Kang Dongyun becomes ‘blue chip’ from ‘neo generation promising player’!

Kang Dongyun showed his best performance so far in 2008 by winning a gold medal at the 1st WorldMind Sports Games, beating 5 top players of Japan and China in a row at the 10th Nongshim Cup and matching against Lee Sedol 9P in the two different final stages, Myoungin and Chunwon.

3. Park Jieun becomes first-ever 9 dan as a Korean female player!

Park Jieun became the third woman so far to be 9p after she won 1st Won-Yang real estate Cup World Female Professional Baduk Championship. She also won bronze medal in Women's Individual Go tournament division in the 1st WMSG

4. Lee Changho gets out of the slump!

Lee Changho 9P seems recovered completely from the long slump last year. According to his side people, although he had a serious health problem last year, he has found himself healthier than ever by steady working out. Consequently Lee has reached the final of the 6th Ing Cup World Baduk Championship and the 7th Chunlan Cup International Baduk Championship.

5. Youngnam Daily has won Korea Baduk League 2 years in a raw!

Youngnam Daily has won 2008 Korea Baduk League by defeating Sinsung Construction 3-2 at the last stage of the best-three Play-off Championship. The members of Youngnam Daily team are followed; Director: Choi Gyu-Byoung 9P Players: Kim Jisuk 4P, Yoon Junsang 7P, Kang Yutaek 2P, Cho Hyeyeon 8P, Heo Youngho 6P, Kim Hyoungwoo 3P.

6. Cho Hunhyun keeps making new records!

Cho Hunhyun 9P increased the record of a number of matches, with total of 2517 official games so far from 1962.

7. Hong Sungji gets his first title!

Hong Sungji 7P has gotten his very first title by beating Lee Sedol 9P at the final round of the 4th Korean Price Information Cup.

8. D.P.R Korean Baduk's excellent record!

D.P.R Korean Baduk surprised the world at the 1st World Mind Sports Games by winning a gold medal in the open division and beating Umezawa 5P of Japan and Park Jiyeon 1P from Korea.

9. Lee Minjin leads Korean team to win the 6th Jeongkwanjang Cup!

Lee Minjin 5P has defeated all 3 remained players of Japan and China and led the Korean team to win the Jeongkwanjang Cup 2 years in a row.

10. Lee Sedol and Cho Hanseung’s donation for Sichuan

The finalists of the 20th TV Asian Cup, Lee Sedol and Cho Hanseung decided to donate their all prize money of the first place and the second place to Sichuan, China for discovering from the earthquake, before playing the final match.

Welcome 2009!!!!

The 2008 has gone and here come the 2009.

I hope this new year will be better than last year. I will try to write better this year.