I found about this great 3-part documentary of Go from CCTV. Here is also a direct link in case you don’t see the embedded version below.
Thanks to youtube user semedori for uploading this.
Archive for May, 2009
Go and Chinese Chess Documentary on CCTV
Friday, May 29th, 2009Honinbo Title, game 2, day 1
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Second game of the best-of-seven title match for the Honinbo title started yesterday, and it will be concluded today.
Here is a photo of Hane Naoki, title holder, handing the sealed move to the referee, Kobayashi Koichi.
And here is the position after day one (Hane plays black):
UPDATE: Takao, white, won the game. Here is the final position:
No goban? No problem! (3)
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Found this World Amateur Go Championship
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
The 30th WAGC (World Amateur Go Championship) started in Shizuoka, Japan.
This year there are 70 players from 70 countries. The International Go Federation has clearly made a good job in spreading Go and more and more countries over the years.
Round one is over. No surprises here: the strong Asian countries (Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan) have all won. Everybody is wondering if any non-Asian country will end up in the top three. If anyone would accomplish this performance, it would be one of the players of US (Eric Lui), Czechia (Ondrej Silt, ex-insei) or Hungary (Csaba Mero, ex-insei) – all these won first round as well.
Here are some interesting interviews with some participants on the Ranka webpage.
Also, one can follow the tournament results so far here and see the game records here.
Hane Naoki Wins First Game in Honinbo Title Defense
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Hane Naoki won the first game in this year’s Honinbo title match by 2.5 points against the challenger Takao Shinji.
Interestingly, last year’s Honinbo title match was played by these same players, but with roles reversed. Last year Takao Shinji was the title holder and won the first 3 games. Hane Naoki put up an extraordinary next and won all of the following four games.
Here is the game record.
The next game will be played on May 27, 28.
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Here is a photo of Takao Shinji handing the sealed move at the end of day one.
Fujisawa Shuko Sensei Passed Away
Thursday, May 7th, 2009Fujisawa Shuko Sensei passed away earlier today at the age of 83.
Shuko Sensei was born on June 14th, 1925. He is mostly famous for winning Kisei, the top Japanese title in his 50s for six times in a row, from 1976 to 1981. More details about his career can be found here.
I recently posted a video from a study group meeting organized by Shuko Sensei. I’m adding the video below.
Here is a video from Japanese TV announcing his death:
English article from Mainichi here.
The announcement (in Japanese) on the Nihon Ki-in website is here. Here are some thoughts on Shuko Sensei from Cho Hye Yeon.
Photos from the funeral service here. Some recent photos with Shuko Sensei.
Gu Li Won BC Cup 3:1
Monday, May 4th, 2009
Gu Li won the 4th game of the BC Cup final and defeated Cho Hanseung 3:1.
Gu Li won 5 different international championships this past year, compared to Lee Sedol’s 2 and followed by Lee Changho and Choi Cheolhan with one each, so he is undeniably the most successful professional player by that measure. (source)
Here is Gu Li being interviewed after the match.
And here are two photos taken during the fourth game, and in the end.
Here is the game record of the fourth and last game: Gu Li, playing black, won by resignation.
| Title | Winner |
|---|---|
| LG Cup | Gu Li(China) |
| BC Card Cup | Gu Li(China) |
| Fujitsu Cup | Gu Li(China) |
| Toyota & Denso Cup | Gu Li(China) |
| Chunlan Cup | Gu Li(China) |
| Samsung Cup | Lee Sedol(Korea) |
| Asian TV Cup | Lee Sedol(Korea) |
| Ing Cup | Choi Cheolhan(Korea) |
| Zhonghuan Cup | Lee Changho(Korea) |
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You can find the tournament table for the BC Cup here. BC Cup: Gu Li Leads 2:1
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
Gu Li won game 3 in BC Cup, leads now 2:1. He only needs one more game to win the approximately 235000 USD first place prize, while Cho Hanseung needs two wins.
Here is the game record of the third game: Gu Li, playing white, won by resignation. (Interestingly, all three games so far were won by white.)
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BC Cup Final: 1:1
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
The two finalists in the international BC Cup are Gu Li of China and Cho Hanseung of Korea.
To qualify in this final, Gu Li defeated Lee Wondo (Korea), Lee Jungwoo (Korea), Heo Yeongho (Korea), Piao Wenyao (China) and Cho Hunhyun (Korea, the ex-teacher of Lee Changho), while Cho Hanseung defeated Xie He (China), An Hyungjun (Korea), Iyama Yuta (Japan), Huang Yizhong (China) and Lee Sedol (Korea).
The score is 1:1 so far: Gu Li won the first game but lost the second one.
Here is a photo from the second game:
Here is the game record of the first game, when Gu Li won by resignation.
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And here is the game record of the second game, won by resignation by Cho Hanseung.
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The next three games are scheduled in the next three days (BC Cup final is played in a best-of-five system). 
