Category: 60th Judan

  • 60th Judan – Game 1

    60th Judan – Game 1

    The 60th Judan is being played between two friends and Taiwanese players, namely, Kyo Kagen 9p (Hsu Chiayuan) and Yo Seiki 8p (Yu Zhengqi). Of these two players, Kyo Kagen currently holds the title. Yo Seiki is aiming to win his first of the seven big Japanese titles.

    The game was played on March 1, at the Osaka University of Commerce. With 3 hours and 1-minute byo-yomi. This first part of the game was played relatively fast, as the first 90 moves were played before the lunch break. (2,5 hours in).

    White 52 was an aggressive way of playing. Black counterattacked with 63 and 65 in the left corner. After move 105, Kyo Kagen became thicker in the center and started gaining momentum. Black was 115 is a calm answer after white 114 (which was a mistake) tried to put pressure on blacks upper group. In the end, Kyo Kagen, playing with black won the game by 0.5 points, having led most of the game.

    In the post-game commentary, Kyo Kagen said he got lucky early on and was lucky to win. Yo Seiki told the interviewers he has some time before the second game and will prepare [again] for the second game.


    As I mentioned before, it’s also the second time the finals of the Judan are to be played by two Taiwanese players. The first time was in 2004 when Cho U (Zhang Xu) challenged O Rissei (Wang Licheng) for the 42nd Judan (O Rissei won).

    Image Source

  • The 60th Judan – A Taiwanese party?

    The 60th Judan – A Taiwanese party?

    The challenger match for the 60th Judan title was played on the 27th of January. Sada Atsushi 7p playing white was pitted against Yo Seiki 8p, also known by his Taiwanese name Yu Zhengqi. The Game was more or less even after the first 100 moves, however soon after, Yo Seiki managed to build a comfortable lead, and won the game after 319 moves by 3.5 points.

    left: Kyo Kagen 9p; right: Yo Seiki (8p)

    Yo Seiki, one of the Kansai Ki-in’s best players, will challenge Kyo Kagen 9p (Hsu Chiayuan), who is also from Taiwan. This will be Kyo Kagen’s second time defending a major title, after being whitewashed by Iyama Yuta in the 43rd Gosei. Yo Seiki, still without a major title after reaching the finals of two major titles before, will be trying for the third time. Perhaps the third time is the charm?

    As a sidenote, it’s also the second time the finals of the Judan are to be played by two Taiwanese players. The first time was in 2004 when Cho U (Zhang Xu) challenged O Rissei (Wang Licheng) for the 42nd Judan (O Rissei won).