Category: China

  • The Last Three Games of the Nongshim Cup

    The Last Three Games of the Nongshim Cup

    After Shin Jinseo won the “rematch” from Mi Yuting his winning streak against Chinese players continued, which now stood at 22 consecutive victories. His next opponent was from Japan, Yo Seiki 8p.

    Shin Jinseo vs Yo Seiki

    It was a sad sight to behold, Yo Seiki fell behind early in the opening, and Shin Jinseo never faltered during the game. After he was roughly 30 points behind Yo Seiki resigned after move 152.

    Shin Jinseo vs Ke Jie

    Now probably the most anticipated match of the entire 23rd Nongshim Cup was probably this match. The number one player from South Korea (and the world), against the number one player from China (and ranked number three of the world). This game however was also very one-sided, with Shin Jinseo winning the game by resignation after 228 moves. Afterward, Ke Jie 9p gave perhaps the biggest compliment he is able to make, that he felt that Shin Jinseo played stronger than AlphaGo. Shin’s AI accordance rate for this game was a staggering 65.8%, with the final 15 moves being 71%. While in the meantime Ke Jie never got above 50%.

    Shin Jinseo vs Ichiriki Ryo

    The final match was against Ichiriki Ryo 9p, who is also currently playing the Kisei against Iyama Yuta 9p. Ichiriki came prepared, and did fairly well in the opening, however in the middle game he was outplayed by Shin Jinseo, and Ichiriki Ryo resigned after 228 moves, being behind by roughly six points.


    In the end, we saw another 4 game winning streak, the first one was from Iyama Yuta is the second stage of the tournament. Shin’s winning streak however took home the bacon. Which is 500 million won for the team, which is then distributed by a formula.

    1. 80% of the total prize money of 500 million won, that is, 400 million won, is equally distributed to 5 players. 80 million won per person.
    2. The remaining 20% ​​of the 500 million won, or 100 million won, will be distributed according to the contribution. 8.5% (42.5 million won) goes to the winner of the championhip game (Shin Jinseo). 
    3. The remaining 11.5% (57.5 million won) are distributed by individual wins. In this edition, the South Korean team won 6 times. The 57.5 million won is divided by 6, so each victory is about 9.58 million won. The number of individual wins multiplied by 9.58 million won is set as the winning allowance.

    When combined Shin Jinseo takes home 160.82 million won, which is roughly 120 thousand euros.

    The other teams don’t receive money for their participation, as this is a winner takes all tournament.


    Finally, if that wasn’t enough, due to the game against Mi Yuting having to be replayed, all the games got moved up one day. Shin Jinseo already had a match planned for Saturday (Korean League game against Park Minkyu 7p), and instead of that match being moved, he played it immediately after winning the 23rd Nongshim Cup, and won that game as well!

    Image Source

  • Nongshim Cup – The Redo

    Nongshim Cup – The Redo

    Today (February 23rd) a second attempt was made to finish a game between Shin Jinseo 9p and Mi Yuting 9p, after an unsuccessful first attempt yesterday, where Mi Yutings Tygem Client (Korean Go server) malfunctioned. Yesterday the game was initially favorable for Mi Yuting, but after the game got complicated Shin Jinseo caught up, and the move that was never played (by Mi Yuting) actually would have led to a slightly favorable position for Shin Jinseo. We can only guess how it felt to have to redo the match, but this time it was Shin Jinseo who came out on top while playing with white (they did switch colors).

    The game was fairly even until black played 127-129, and Shin started building a significant lead, and never gave away the control of the game. Mi Yuting resigned after move 214, which had cut off 8 of his stones.

    His next opponent is Yo Seiki 8p (also known as Yu Zhengqi, as he is originally from Taiwan).

    Image Source

  • Multiple Upsets in the 23rd Nongshim Cup

    Multiple Upsets in the 23rd Nongshim Cup

    Iyama Yuta vs Mi Yuting

    The third stage of the 23rd Nongshim Cup started Yesterday (February 22nd), and the games of this third stage are to be played the entire week. Iyama Yuta 9p, who singlehandedly defeated the majority of the Korean and Chinese teams unfortunately lost against Mi Yuting 9p on the first day of this third stage of the Nongshim Cup.

    The game was even up until move 95, after which the game became increasingly favorable for Mi Yuting who played with white. A couple of mistakes followed, but none that gave Iyama a chance to get back in the game. and Iyama resigned after move 200.

    Iyama seems to be on a bit of a losing streak, losing both the 3rd and 4th game of the Kisei as well. Commentators of the 4th Kisei game thought that he might not be feeling right, judging by the way he played at the end of that particular game.

    Mi Yuting vs Shin Jinseo

    The Nongshim Cup is a win and continue tournament, where the winner of the previous game continues, and plays against a team member of the country (China/Japan/South Korea) who didn’t play in the previous game. So currently Iyama Yuta (Japan) lost against Mi Yuting (China), so Mi Yuting’s next opponent has to come from South Korea, in this case, South Korea’s Golden Boy, Shin Jinseo, as he is the only player left from South Korea.

    The game was favorable for white (Mi Yuting), with Shin Jinseo being behind as much as 19 points at one point. Shin Jinseo however fought back and narrowed the gap to 2.5 points. Then Mi Yuting click on the board and nothing happened (see the embedded Youtube video), and the time ran out. Initially, the judges ruled 2-1 that Mi Yuting lost on time, but after reexamination of the video, it was ruled a technical failure, and the result was annulled. The move that Mi Yuting would have played, if not for a technical failure would actually have evened the game. The new game is planned for tomorrow, and all other games will be delayed one day.

    Image source

  • 26th LG Cup – Shin Jinseo got Lucky? + Game Commentary

    26th LG Cup – Shin Jinseo got Lucky? + Game Commentary

    The 26th LG Cup is played this week, and the first game was played today. Shin Jinseo 9p won after a shocking reversal due to Yang Dingxin 9p making a 20 point mistake with move 199. Closing the gap of games played against each other to 7-6. The next Game is played coming Wednesday, with a possible third game on Thursday.

    Yang Dingxin 9p, who yawns as he can’t believe his opponent hasn’t resigned, and after his 20 point mistake. (screen capture from live stream)

    Moon Minjong 5p: “It’s a shocking defeat for Yang Dingxin, after a reversal. His Go was perfect but was unable to cash in on his play. If he had played move 185 on the spot of move 203 he would have won. Yang Dingxin was apparently taken aback by move 186, especially being in byo-yomi. [After playing the losing move of 199] Shin Jinseo cut with move 200 and reversed the result.”

    Shin Minjun 9p who won the last LG Cup (2020), commented on the game on Baduk TV said “This must hurt more for Yang Dingxin than just losing a match. This could really affect game two. And although Shin Jinseo was in a position to resign, it stands to show that concentrating until the end pays off.”

    Shin Jinseo commented after the game: “The Game got dragged around to the point where I couldn’t tell where it became really bad. In the end, I tried to do what I was originally aiming for, but I think I got lucky.”

    Black’s win rate plummeted after playing move 199

    Game Record with Commentary

    The commentary has been sourced from various commentaries found online, combined with AI. Commentary is not viewable on a mobile browser.

    (Image) Source

  • Weiqi A League Finals – Supor Prevails + Game Review

    Weiqi A League Finals – Supor Prevails + Game Review

    The games played yesterday showed no indication of how today’s matches would go, with the 2-2 score all was equal. The Games today started at 11:00 local time (04:00 CET), with the exception of the game with the fast time setting, that one started at 13:00 local time (06:00 CET).

    Yesterday both Xie Ke, and Xia Chenkun played against the same opponents as they did today, and lost, and unfortunately for them, revanche was not in the cards this time around, as they both lost again.

    4.2Home TeamAway TeamResults
    Supor HangzhouLongyuan Mingcheng Hangzhou3-1
    Lian Xiao 9pXia Chenkun 7p1-0
    CShin Jinseo 9pDing Hao 9p1-0
    FLi Qincheng 9p Jin Yucheng 4p1-0
    Xie Ke 9pLee Donghoon 9p0-1
    Ding Hao 9p looking at the top right sequence.

    Shin Jinseo vs Ding Hao

    It almost looked that these two would meet each other yesterday as well, but due to some tactical maneuvering from the team manager of Super, the two would only be meeting today. In the initial opening Shin Jinseo took a small lead, however, saw his small lead overturned to a substantial lead in the middlegame for Ding Hao, until Ding Hao made a big mistake with move 163, which enabled Shin Jinseo to take care of some problems, then expanding his lead even more by yet another mistake by Ding Hao, and winning the game by resignation. See the board below for a review of what happened, the review is a compilation of pro commentaries and AI reviews. Commentary is not viewable on a mobile browser.

  • Weiqi League A Finals – Hangzhou Derby Revenge?

    Weiqi League A Finals – Hangzhou Derby Revenge?

    2019 was the last time the Hangzhou Derby was played in the finals of the Chinese Weiqi A League. It’s when both teams from Hangzhou are playing each other in the Weiqi (A) League. The last time these teams met Supor defeated Longyuan Mingcheng. This year looked promising for revanche, both teams having strong contenders, and being at opposite ends of the bracket meant that they could possibly meet in the finals. With this in mind, the semifinals were played on 16 and 17 January.

    How the Chinese Weiqi league system works

    During the preliminaries, all 16 teams play round-robin, for a total of 15 rounds, which gives a ranking from 1 to 16. the first 8 play each other again in a knockout format, where the meeting teams play each other twice.

    This makes it in theory possible to have a tied result for which the game between the captains in the second match of each round is the tiebreaker (marked C in the tables below).

    The matches are played with 2h + 5x60sec byo-yomi, however for television broadcasting reasons, one game per team matchup is played faster (marked F in the tables below) with 30sec + 10x60sec byo-yomi.

    Semifinal Results

    3.1Home Team Away Team Results
    JiangsuSupor Hangzhou1-3
    FHuang Yunsong 8pLi Qincheng 9p1-0 (B+3.5)
    Chen Xian 8pLian Xiao 9p0-1 (B+R)
    Mi Yuting 9pXie Ke 9p0-1 (W+R)
    Zhao Chenyu 9pShin Jinseo 9p0-1 (B+R)

    In the first round of the semifinal, Supor defeated Jiangsu quite convincingly.

    3.1Home Team Away Team Results
    Longyuan Mingcheng HangzhouChengdu Rural Commercial Bank3-1
    Xia Chenkun 7pTu Xiaoyu 6p0-1 (W+R)
    Lee Donghoon 9pDang Yifei 9p1-0 (W+0.5)
    FJin Yucheng 4pPark Junghwan 9p1-0 (B+1.5)
    Ding Hao 9pLiao Yuanhe 8p1-0 (W+R)

    Longyuan Mingcheng defeated Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, with the surprising win of the young talent Jin Yucheng 3p against Park Junghwan 9p, who is ranked nr. 2 in South-Korea.

    3.2Home TeamAway Team Results
    Supor HangzhouJiangsu3-1
    Lian Xiao 9pChen Xian 8p1-0 (B+R)
    CShin Jinseo 9pMi Yuting 9p1-0 (W+R)
    FLi Qincheng 9pHuang Yunsong 8p0-1 (W+R)
    Xie Ke 9pZhao Chenyu 9p1-0 (B+R)

    Supor won quite convincingly with only Li Qincheng losing both games in the semifinals.

    3.2 Home Team Away Team Results
    Chengdu Rural Commercial BankLongyuan Mingcheng Hangzhou2-2
    FLiao Yuanhe 8pJin Yucheng 4p0-1 (W+0.5)
    CPark Junghwan 9pDing Hao 9p0-1 (B +1.5)
    Tu Xiaoyu 6pXia Chenkun 7p1-0 (B+R)
    Dang Yifei 9pLee Donghoon 9p1-0 (W+R)

    Chengdu Rural Commercial came close, however, Park Junghwan lost his game against Ding Hao, China’s rising star, which enabled Longyuan Mingcheng to proceed to the finals, the nr. 1 performing team during the main season will have to compete against Jiangsu for 3rd place.

    Tournament Bracket

    Finals

    The finals are played on the 19th and 20th of January, with the results of the first day fresh in:

    4.1Home TeamAway TeamResults
    Longyuan Mingcheng HangzhouSupor Hangzhou2-2
    FJin Yucheng 4p Shin Jinseo 9p 0-1
    Xia Chenkun 7p Lian Xiao 9p 0-1
    Ding Hao 9p Li Qincheng 9p1-0
    Lee Donghoon 9p Xie Ke 9p1-0

    Ding Hao, the driving force of Longyuan Mingcheng managed to win from Li Qincheng, and the nr. 1 in the world Shin Jinseo won from Jin Yucheng, who won from Park Junghwan in the semifinals. Lee Donghoon and Lian Xiao both scored one point, making the score a tie. Making tomorrow totally undecided!

  • Nongshim Korea-China Classic Super Match

    Nongshim Korea-China Classic Super Match

    From 10-12 January the Nongshim Classic was played, not to be confused by the Nongshim cup, where this Nongshim Classic is a side event of. This Super Match is played in three rounds, where each player eventually plays all other opponents the following days. Each team consists of a top female player and, two “senior” go players.

    The first day started with a win for China, with both Chang Hao and Yu Zhiying winning against Cho Hun-hyeon and Lee Changho respectively, but not being a clean sweep as Choi Jeong won against Liu Xiaoguang.

    Round 110-01-2022Results
    South-KoreaChina1-2
    Cho Hun-hyeonChang Hao0-1
    Lee ChanghoYu Zhiying0-1
    Choi JeongLiu Xiaoguang1-0

    The second day proved to be better for the Korean team, as both Choi Jeong and Go legend Cho Hun-hyeon managed to win against their opponents. With Choi Jeong winning against Yu Zhiying, China’s top female player.

    Round 211-01-2022Results
    South-KoreaChina2-1
    Cho Hun-hyeonLiu Xiaoguang1-0
    Lee ChanghoChang Hao0-1
    Choi JeongYu Zhiying1-0

    Cho Hun-hyeon fell behind in the opening, and lost after 293 moves, with 1,5 points, playing with black, Yu Zhiying playing white.

    On the third day, both teams were still able to win the 60 million won prize (roughly 44.000 euros).

    Choi Jeong was clearly on fire, and clearly showed why she is South-Koreas nr. 1 female pro, after winning in 177 moves from Chang Hao who was up until this point also unbeaten in this Super Match. Cho Hun-hyeon lost his game, but his former student and Go legend of his own Lee Changho won comfortably with 5,5 points after 243 moves, playing with white.

    Round 312-01-2022Results
    South-KoreaChina2-1
    Cho Hun-hyeonYu Zhiying0-1
    Lee ChanghoLiu Xiaoguang1-0
    Choi JeongChang Hao1-0

    The event ended in a win for Korea, winning the second and third round. Having a 5-4 total score. Choi Jeong, managing a clean sweep was awarded an additional prize of 5 million won (around 3.700 euros).