Category: South Korea

  • Clean sweep in the 1st KBA Championship

    Clean sweep in the 1st KBA Championship

    Park Junghwan, who had after winning the first and second game in this best of five, had the best chances to win the title, did so in a clean sweep, and the inaugural KBS Championships that started in February 2021 (well over a year ago), came to an end. Although the score doesn’t fully confer the exciting middle game that happened in the third game.

    Game 3

    The game like the previous ones was played with 90 minutes and 5×40 seconds of byo-yomi, Park Junghwan started strong, not unlike yesterday, but the trend that he laid out in the opening was halted in the middle game, as Park Junghwan “mismanaged” his middle-bottom group. However, Lee Donghoon didn’t capitalize on his opponents’ mistake, and soon after Park Junghwan was well on his way again, to in the end win the game by the smallest possible margin (0.5 points). Most interestingly is, that Lee Donghoon, who is known for his endgame calculations miscalculated, and thought he was winning his first game in this finals until the end. Park Junghwan later commented that he played well in the opening, taking a small lead, but that he suffered a loss while trying to break through with his middle bottom stones. But that by attacking his opponent he regained his lead, but that in the endgame he suffered too many losses, and that it was solely because of his lead before the endgame that he came out on top, and that he isn’t particularly good at it [endgame], but that when he manages his stamina well, he is able to compete on equal footing, with the strongest.


    Park Junghwan wins 50 million won (37 thousand euros), and Lee Donghoon for being the runner-up ads 20 million (15 thousand euros) to his bank account.

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  • Park Junghwan wins 2nd game of inaugural KBA Championship

    Park Junghwan wins 2nd game of inaugural KBA Championship

    After Park Junghwan won the first game in this best of five match he only needed two more. Starting this game he had the best odds, as Lee Donghoon only bested Park Junghwan two times before. against nine wins for Park (including the first game of this title).

    The opening was a rather calm one, but from early on Park Junghwan, playing white, was slightly ahead, and from there constantly expanded his lead, until move 156, after which Lee Donghoon realized he fell behind and resigned. Park now only needing one more win, to win his first domestic title in over two years.

    Time management might have played a significant factor here, as Lee Donghoon entered byo-yomi when Park Junghwan still had 35 minutes and 16 seconds on his clock.

    The next games are to be played over the coming days (March 8-10), depending on whether Park Junghwan wins the championship in a clean sweep, or Lee Donghoon manages to win a game (or two, or three).

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  • 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!

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  • 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).

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  • 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.

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  • First Game of the 1st KBA Championships

    First Game of the 1st KBA Championships

    Diagram 1

    The first game of the KBA Championships was played last Sunday (20th of February). Park Junghwan 9p, ranked second in South Korea, played against Lee Donghoon 9p who is ranked number four. The game was favorable for Park Junghwan who played as black, but with move 135 (Diagram 1) he made a mistake that evened the game, giving Lee Donghoon a great opportunity. Lee Donghoon however didn’t cash in, as he made a fatal error only a couple of moves later with move 140 (Diagram 2; for the suggested AI variation, see Figure 1 for what he perhaps should have played), after which he soon resigned. The next game will be played this Saturday.

    Diagram 2
    Figure 1: AI variation

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  • Shin Jinseo wins 26th LG Cup!

    Shin Jinseo wins 26th LG Cup!

    Shin Jinseo won the 26th LG Cup, after what can only be described as an eventful second game. And takes home 300 million won (roughly 220 thousand euros), Yang Dingxin takes home 100 million won (around 73 thousand euros).

    The move that complicated the
    game unnecessarily

    Shin Jinseo was ahead from the opening till the middle game, after which one move (127) proved to be a mistake, which should have been played one space below it (see diagram). Which complicated the game tremendously. It even looked for a while that a third game was to be played. But Shin managed to get a get as ko in the upper left corner, which eventually resulted in a “trade”. Shin Jinseo got the upper left corner while Yang Dingxin was able to expand his corner in the lower left, by killing black’s surrounding stones. This result was however favorable for Black, and after the dust had settled Yang Dingxin resigned, clearly behind.

    This second game and the first showed Shin Jinseo’s fast endgame skills in byo-yomi, where he outwitted his opponent, with what some call Shin Jinseo Magic. The LG cup might be considered especially cruel in this regard as the byo-yomi is 40 seconds instead of the more widely used 1 minute in international play.

    Score and Winning percentage fluctuated heavily

    Shin Jinseo said afterward: “I was very greedy but I’m happy that I won. The second game was comfortable from the beginning, and it felt good after Yang Dingxin made some mistakes, but didn’t have much time left so I forced the fight on the left [with move 127]. Yang Dingxin is the best in the world regarding the opening and middle game skill, and in the end, I got more and more nervous. And felt that it go either way, no matter what the AI might think of it. I am not satisfied with the quality of my game, but I am glad the results are there. It was hard after losing the Samsung Cup [to Park Junghwan], am happy that I got another chance with the LG Cup.”

    Shin Jinseo now joins an illustrious group of predecessors who won the LG multiple times (Lee Changho: 4 times, Lee Sedol & Gu Li: 2 times). He also puts South Korea one past China in the number of wins in this tournament which now stands at 12, with China at 11, Japan at 2, and Taiwan at 1 (The two for Japan are won by O Rissei and Cho U, who are originally from Taiwan). On top of that, he is now tied 7-7 with Yang Dingxin in the games they won against each other.

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  • 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.

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  • Kim Hyoyoung wins inaugural Mediheal Women’s Championship

    Kim Hyoyoung wins inaugural Mediheal Women’s Championship

    Kim Hyoyoung 1p (16), by some also known as ‘Baduk Chunhyang’, won the inaugural Mediheal Millennium Women’s Championship.

    When she was still an amateur player Kim Hyoyoung won the 4th International Baduk Chunhyang Championship (2019), and the nickname was born. This is her first title since becoming a pro in April 2021. 

    Kim Minseo (15), her opponent, is currently the youngest professional of the Korean Baduk Association and turned pro in June last year.

    Kim Minseo 1p (left) and Kim Hyoyoung 1p (right)

    In the final that was played on the 4th of February, Kim Hyoyoung defeated Kim Minseo 1p with a sizable margin of 13.5 points. The game was still more or less even, after a big fight in the lower right. But after a well-managed fight in the lower left, and brilliant play in the center, Kim Hyoyoung won with an impressive lead.

    For the preliminaries for this tournament 15 female professionals and 1 amateur player, born after the year 2000 were selected. after which they proceeded to the main stage of the tournament. Thinking time was 30 minutes with 3×40 seconds byo-yomi. The prize money was 5 million won for first place and 3 million won for the runner up.

    The amateur player, Ko Miso (20) who participated in the tournament, made it to the main tournament, but unfortunately already stranded there, as she was paired against the future winner.

    Sidenote: Mediheal is a South-Korean Skin Care company, mostly known for selling facial masks.

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    Tournament Results @ Go4Go

  • Choi Jeong wins the 1st Korean Hoban Cup Lady’s Tournament

    Choi Jeong wins the 1st Korean Hoban Cup Lady’s Tournament

    Choi Jeong 9p, who recently went undefeated in the Nongshim Classic, won the inaugural Korean Hoban Cup Lady’s Tournament on the 28th of January. As her opponent was O Yujin 9p, this win must have been especially sweet, as Choi Jeong lost both the Women’s Kuksu (26th) and Kiseong (5th) finals to O Yujin. For winning the 26th Women’s Kuksu O Yujin got promoted to 9p.

    Choi Jeong 9p, after winning the inaugural Lakeside Cup

    In the afternoon of the 28th (Korean time) Choi Jeong and O Yujin sat down for the fourth game, With Choi Jeong winning the first two games, and O Yujin winning the third, this was the second of three championship points that Choi Jeong had for winning the first women’s title of the year. In this fourth game, it took 189 moves for Choi Jeong to win. Due to a large-scale battle on the lower side of the board, Choi Jeong lead the game early on. O Yujin managed to catch up by using the looseness in Choi Jeong’s formation. However, Choi Jeong exploited the thinness of O Yujin’s stones and once again extended her lead, subsequently winning the championship.

    Game 1
    (17-01)
    Game 2
    (18-01)
    Game 3
    (21-01)
    Game 4
    (28-01)
    Game 5
    (29-01)
    Cho Jeong 9pW+R
    (154 moves)
    B+R
    (157 moves)
    B+R
    (189 moves)
    O Yujin 9pB+R
    (259 moves)

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