History of Topics 2009

  The final of this tournament is an all-Chinese affair. Three Chinese players had won places in the semifinals, held in Shanghai in early November, but the remaining player was the redoubtable Yi Ch'ang-ho of Korea, who has so often sounded the death knell for the hopes of Chinese and Japanese players in international tournaments. However, Yi has not been doing so well in international tournaments recently and his last victory was in August 2007 (the third Zhonghuan Cup, a Taiwanese-sponsored tournament). On this occasion, the 26-year-old Qiu Jun 8-dan was able to dispose of Yi. In the other semifinal, Kong Jie 9-dan, another 26-year-old, eliminated the Chinese number one Gu Li 9-dan. Kong won this year's TV Asia Cup and made the final of this tournament last year; he seems to be enjoying the best form of his career. Qiu will be making his debut in an international final.
  The best-of-three final will be played in Shanghai on 15, 17, and, if needed, 18 December.

The semifinals:

Game 1 (2 November)	Kong Jie 9-dan (China) (W) beat Gu Li 9-dan (China) by resignation.  Qiu Jun 8-dan (China) (B) beat Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan by resignation.
Game 2 (4 November)	Kong (B) beat Gu by 2.5 points.  Yi (B) beat Qiu by resignation.
Game 3 (5 November)	Qiu (W) beat Yi by resignation.

  In the 14th LG Cup semifinals, it was two Koreans vs. two Chinese, and this time the latter were not able to eliminate Yi Ch'ang-ho. However, Kong Jie once again made the final.

Quarterfinals (9 November)
  Kong Jie 9-dan (China) (B) beat Ch'oe Ch'oel-han 9-dan (Korea) by resignation.
  Piao Wenyao 5-dan (China) (W) beat Gu Li 9-dan (China) by resignation.
  Pak Yeong-hun 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Hu Yaoyu 8-dan (China) by resignation.
  Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Qiu Jun 8-dan (China) by resignation.

Semifinals (11 November)
  Kong (B) d. Pak by resignation.
  Yi (W) d. Piao by resignation.

The best-of-three final will be held in late February.

  The 11th Nong Shim Spicy Noodles Cup got off to a start in Beijing at the end of November. The opening round was dominated by a 20-year-old 6-dan from Korea, Kim Chi-seok, who won three games before Xie He of China put a stop to his winning streak. This round was a painful start for Japan, which lost two of its top players.
  Once again, it looks as if Korea is going to be hard to beat.

Results in the opening round:
  Game One (25 Nov.). Kim Chi-seok 6-dan (Korea)   Game Two (26 Nov.). Kim (W) beat Ding Wei 9-dan (China) by resignation.
  Game Three (27 Nov.). Kim (W) beat Takao Shinji 9-dan (Japan) by half a point.
  Game Four (28 Nov.). Xie He 7-dan (China) (W) beat Kim by resignation.

Players to come:
  Japan: Iyama Yuta, Hane Naoki, Yamada Kimio
  Korea: Yi Ch'ang-ho, Pak Yeong-hun, Yun Chun-sang, Kim Seung-chae
  China: Gu Li, Chang Hao, Liu Xing

  Xie Yimin has retained her place at the peak of Japanese women's go by winning the Women's Honinbo title for the third year in a row. Xie had got off to a bad start in the 28th Women's Honinbo title match when she lost the first game to the challenger, Aoki Kikuyo 8-dan, but she roared back with three successive wins to keep her title.

The results:
  Game 1 (1 October). Aoki (W) by resignation.
  Game 2 (9 October). Xie (W) by resignation.
  Game 3 (21 October). Xie (B) by 2.5 points.
  Game 4 (28 October). Xie (W) by resignation.

  Cho U showed that his loss of the Meijin title has not had any adverse effects on his form with a convincing 3-0 defeat of the challenger, Yamada Kimio 9-dan, in the 57th Oza title match. The second and third games of the title match were played in three days in a rare `double-header' (well, almost). The usual practice is for each game of a title match to be played at a different location, but Cho U is so busy at the end of the year, what with his ongoing Tengen defence and league games in both leagues to play, that the organizers decided to save time by playing two games in quick succession at the Wakatsuki Annex, a traditional Japanese-style inn in Ito City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
  This worked to Cho's advantage. In the second game, played on 24 November, he forced a resignation playing black. Two days later, taking white, he edged the challenger by 3.5 points.
  Just before his 30th birthday (20 January 2010), Cho has won his 30th title, which he admits was a goal he had set for himself. This feat outdoes even Cho Chikun, the most prolific title winner so far in Japan, who did not win his 30th title until he was 32.

The results:

Game One (23 Oct.). Cho (W) by resignation. Game Two (24 Nov.). Cho (B) by resignation. Game Three (26 Nov.). Cho (W) by 3.5 points.

  Yamashita Keigo has a bad record against Cho U, having won only one of the five title matches in which they have clashed. Ominously, Cho has become the challenger for his Kisei title. However, Yamashita is making a valiant effort to turn the tide and has taken the lead in the 35th Tengen title match, in which he is challenging Cho. He needs just one more win to make a comeback in the title he won in 2004.

Results to date:

Game One (12 November). Yamashita (B) by resignation. Game Two (19 November). Cho (B) by resignation. Game 3 (3 Dec-ember). Yamashita (B) by resignation.

  Game Four is scheduled for 10 December, and Game Five, if needed, for 22 December.

  Cho U will make his first challenge for the top title, the Kisei, early next year. In the play-off between the winners of the 34th Kisei A and B Leagues, held on 16 November, Cho (W) defeated O Rissei 9-dan, a three-time Kisei winner, by resignation.
  This challenge will give Cho a chance to become the second player after Cho Chikun to complete a `grand slam' of the current top seven titles (no one has ever completed a real grand slam by holding all seven simultaneously - Cho got the closest when he won his fifth simultaneous title earlier this year, but losing the Meijin title made that unlikely goal even more distant).
  Cho has done quite well against Yamashita Keigo Kisei in the past, but in the Tengen title match, which could be viewed as a preliminary skirmish, Yamashita has the lead at present.

  The three vacant places in the 35th Meijin League were taken by O Meien 8-dan, Yuki Satoshi 9-dan, and Mizokami Tomochika 8-dan.
  O Meien immediately regained his seat after dropping out of the 34th league. In the first of the three final play-offs, held on 22 October, O (W) beat Kono Rin 9-dan by 1.5 points. Kono's bad record in play-offs for league places continues. This was his third play-off for the Meijin League and his third loss. Overall, he has played in seven such play-offs and won only once (that was to get into the Kisei league).
  Yuki Satoshi earned his place by defeating Hane Naoki Honinbo (W) by resignation in the final play-off on 29 October. He makes a comeback to the league after a 14-year-absence, which is surprisingly long for a player of his stature, as is the fact that this will be only his second Meijin league. Hane has also not had much luck with this league, having played in it only twice (the 25th and 26th leagues). Incidentally, Yuki made an unsuccessful challenge to Hane for the Kisei title in 2005, losing 3-4, but has now won all seven games the two have placed since then.
  Also on the 29th, Mizokami Tomochika (B) beat Yamashita Keigo Kisei by 1.5 points. He will play in his second league after a six-year absence. It's interesting that neither the Kisei nor the Honinbo can get into the Meijin League.

  The new league got off to a start with two games played on 3 December. Yuki Satoshi 9-dan (W) beat Yamada Kimio 9-dan by resignation and Takao Shinji 9-dan (W) beat Sakai Hideyuki 7-dan by 1.5 points.

in the chart

･ B=playing black, W=playing white ･ 1=win, 0=loss * Date: mm/dd

The 35th Meijin Challenger's League

  With all the players except one having played five of their six games, the lead in the 22nd Women's Meijin League is shared by Suzuki Ayumi 4-dan and Mukai Chiaki 3-dan.
  In a game played on 3 December, Suzuki, on 3-1, beat Umezawa Yukari, also on 3-1, so the latter was eliminated from contention. The winner of the league will be decided by the final round in January, but Suzuki has an advantage over Mukai because of her higher ranking. If both win or both lose their last game, then Suzuki will be the challenger. Mukai's only chance is if she wins and Suzuki loses.

Recent games

(19 October)     Umezawa Yukari , Women's Kisei, (W) beat Yoshida Mika 8-dan by resignation.

(9 November)     Umezawa Yukari, Women's Kisei, (B) beat Kato Keiko 6-dan by 1.5 points.

(19 November)     Okuda Aya 2-dan (W) beat Chinen Kaori 4-dan by 1.5 points.

(26 November)     Yoshida Mika 8-dan (B) beat Suzuki Ayumi 4-dan by resignation.

(3 December)     Suzuki Ayumi 4-dan (B) beat Umezawa Yukari, Women's Kisei, by 3.5 points.     Mukai Chiaki 3-dan (W) beat Okuda Aya 2-dan by 7.5 points.

The 22nd Women's Meijin Challenger's League

  Yamashita Keigo took the early lead with his second win, but he was soon joined by Iyama Yuta. The latter scored his fifth win in a row against Cho U in their league game on 5 November. At present, Iyama certainly has the upper hand.

Recent games

(20 October)     Cho U Judan (W) beat Yuki Satoshi 9-dan by resignation.

(22 October)     Yamashita Keigo Kisei (W) beat Mimura Tomoyasu 9-dan by resignation.     Iyama Yuta Meijin (W) beat Takao Shinji 9-dan by resignation.

(5 November)     Iyama Yuta Meijin (B) beat Cho U Judan by resignation.

(12 November)     Takemiya Masaki 9-dan (W) beat Yamada Kimio 9-dan by resignation.     Takao Shinji 9-dan (B) beat Yuki Satoshi 9-dan by resignation.

in the chart

* B = playing black, W = playing white * 1 = win, 0 = loss * Date: mm/dd

The 65th Honinbo League
( Title holder: Hane Naoki )

  The final of the 50th Okan (Crown) title, which is restricted to members of the Central Japan (Nagoya) branch of the Nihon Ki-in, was held at the Hotel Hodaka in Oku-Hida Hot Spring in Gifu Prefecture on 26 November. The challenger was Yamashiro Hiroshi 9-dan, who has won this title a record 14 times, and the defending champion was Hane Naoki Honinbo, the first player from Nagoya to win a big-three title.
  Taking white, Hane defeated Yamashiro by resignation after 176 moves. Hane has now won the title three times in a row and seven times overall.

  On 5 November, Yamashita Keigo Kisei (B) defeated O Rissei 9-dan by resignation and Ri Ishu 7-dan (W) beat Shuto Shun 6-dan by half a point in the semifinals of the Losers' Section of the 48th Judan tournament. The winner of the final between Yamashita and Ri will meet Takao Shinji in the play-off to decide the challenger to Cho U.

  Uchida Shuhei 3-dan (B) defeated Yamamori Tadanao 5-dan by resignation in the final of the 4th Young Carp Hiroshima Aluminium Cup. This tournament was founded to encourage young players and is open to Nihon Ki-in professionals under 31 and under 6-dan. The main section of the tournament, a knock-out in which 16 players compete, was held on 31 October and 1 November. The top prizes are two million and 800,000 yen.

  Yamashita Keigo's win over Mimura Tomoyasu in the Honinbo League on 22 October was his 700th as a professional. He set a couple of records in reaching this milestone.

･	Youngest player: 31 years 1 month (edging Takao Shinji, 32 years 4 months, into second place)
･	Fastest: 16 years 6 months (2nd is again Takao, at 17 years 11 months)
･	Second-best winning percentage: 71.1% (Takao holds the record with 72.8%).

  To 3-dan: Sakamoto Yasuo (40 wins)

(29 October)
Redmond 9-dan (B) beat Takanashi Seiken 8-dan by resignation (Preliminary C, 36th Meijin tournament).

(26 November)
Redmond (B) beat Mimura (formerly Mukai) Kaori 2-dan by resignation (Preliminary C, 36th Meijin Tournament).

  This has been a bad season for go players, with an unprecedented three obituaries in this report, following the one for Tono Masaharu in our previous report.

  Abe Yoshiteru 9-dan, famed as perhaps the most studious of Japanese go professionals, died of tongue cancer on 28 September 2009. Abe was completely devoted to go and in particular to research into new moves in josekis, on which he constantly published articles and books throughout his life. Apart from go, his main interest was hiking in the mountains. His humorous personality made him very popular with his fellow professionals and amateur go fans.
  Abe was born in Miyagi Prefecture on 28 September 1941.
  He became 1-dan in 1960 and 9-dan in 1986. His best result was reaching the semifinal of the 29th Oza tournament in 1981. Okada Yumiko 6-dan is his daughter.

  On 28 November, Kajiwara Takeo 9-dan died of kidney failure. He was 86 years old. Born on 25 February 1923, Kajiwara became a disciple of Sekiyama Riichi, the first tournament Honinbo. He made 1-dan in 1937 and 9-dan in 1965. He played in the Meijin League seven times and the Honinbo League three times. Although he never won a title, he was greatly respected by other professionals for his unique insight into the opening. One reason, perhaps, why he didn't win titles was that he would spend all his time on the opening and get into byo-yomi by the 50th move.
  When Kitani Minoru fell ill, he requested Kajiwara to act as mentor to his disciples, and he deserves some of the credit for developing the great generation of Kitani disciples, starting with Ishida Yoshio, Kato Masao, and Takemiya Masaki and extending to Kobayashi Koichi and Cho Chikun, that dominated tournament go for over two decades. He retired on 31 March 2000.
  Kajiwara was a perfectionist and became famous for his scathing criticism of play by titleholders that didn't meet his high standards. He once reduced a young titleholder to tears by scolding him for a time-saving move he made in a big game. He viewed the first ten or 20 moves as most important and once labeled the third move in a title-match game the losing move. He was also famous for his neologisms, mainly created by drastically abbreviating standard go terms. Two of the most famous are `owa' for `owari' (finished), usually used early in the opening, and `muzu' for `muzukashii' (difficult). Even more radical (and not as widely imitated as some of the others) are `atatata' for `atama o tataku' (rap on the head by playing a hane), `karu saba' for `karuku sabaku' (settle oneself lightly), and `yoro sute' for `yorokonde suteru' (happily sacrifice). Even experienced go players would have trouble guessing the meaning of these the first time they heard them. The combination of his merciless criticism and humorous coinages made Kajiwara's public commentaries on title-match games very popular in the 70s and 80s.
  In an obituary article in Go Weekly, Nakayama Noriyuki, who wrote dozens of books with Kajiwara (as co-author or ghostwriter), recalled a comment by Fujisawa Shuko decades ago. `The players of the Showa [1926-89] go world who will leave a name to later generations are Go Seigen, Kitani, Sakata, and Kajiwara. Maybe I'm next.' In this connection, Shuko also wrote in a book that players will be evaluated not by the number of titles they won but by the content of their games.
  Kajiwara's best results were taking second place in the 1964 Oza title and second place in the Pro Best Ten tournament in 1971. One of his books, The Direction of Play, has been translated into English.

  Hashimoto Shoji 9-dan, who for much of his career was a mainstay of the Kansai Ki-in, died of a cardiac infarction on 2 December. He was 74 years old.
  Born on 18 April 1935, he learnt go from his father Kunisaburo. He became 1-dan in 1947 and reached 9-dan in 1958, which was a speed record. He was one of the founding members of the Kansai Ki-in in 1950 and for decades was one of its two leading player, along with Hashimoto Utaro 9-dan (no relation). He won the Oza title in 1959 (aged 24) and 1981 and the Judan title in 1974. He played in the Meijin league ten times and the Honinbo league six times. He also won the NHK Cup three times, the Lightning Go Championship once, and the Kansai Ki-in First Place title 11 times. He is one of only three Japanese players to win all seven of their games on a team tour of China (in 1981).
  Hashimoto also served as chairman of the board of directors of the Kansai Ki-in.

  Before his death in May, Fujisawa Shuko (Hideyuki) commented, `I wouldn't like a narrow grave. I'd rather be scattered in the Inland Sea.' In accordance with his wishes, a group consisting of his family, professional disciples, including Takao Shinji, Morita Michihiro, and Mimura Tomoyasu from Tokyo and Yuki Satoshi and Sakai Hideyuki from Osaka, amateur disciples, and the calligrapher Yanagida Taizan assembled at the Itsukushima (Miyajima) shrine in Hiroshima on 12 October. Shuko had a deep connection with this shrine and a large ema (usually a votive tablet with a picture of a horse, replaced in this case by calligraphy) with his calligraphy on it is displayed there.The calligraphy is of one of his favourite terms, rairai, meaning `open-hearted'.
  The next day, the group, by now numbering around 60, with the addition, among others, of Shuko's old friend Miyamoto Naoki 9-dan from the Kansai Ki-in, moved to Tokuyama in Yamaguchi Prefecture, then took a boat to the open sea off Otsujima in the Strait of Suo. A sutra was read and the rite of scattering the ashes (called `the departure ceremony') was held.