Planet Go

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 22.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

We solved a similar problem last week, so…

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

White appears to be connected, until you find the vital point.

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

There are only a few moves to try here, but pay attention to the move order.

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 21
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 11
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 10

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 22 - Go Game Guru

I am playing a lot of games at the moment (for me that is) which results in interesting questions. Here is one question which came up when I played a 5-3 point as my first move. I was white. Black immediately invaded.







Hmmmm... Now what??? I wasn't sure whether to tenuki or not. I was tempted to do so, but I didn't like the idea of him coming out. I'd rather have him live small in the corner while I got the outside. Although my outside would face his hoshi, so maybe my move already was the wrong direction anyway.



I did reply locally, and I think I still stand by that decision but not with a very high confidence. What would you have done in this situation?

by Jing:

Welcoming the dragon

You might have noticed there’s been a lack of Go news recently?

There’s a good reason behind this hiatus as Korean and Chinese pros take a well deserved break to welcome in the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012!

This is the most important holiday of the year in many Asian countries and is a time to enjoy good food with family and close friends.

A water dragon

For those who are interested in details, the Chinese lunar calendar combines 12 earthly branches (the 12 animals) with 5 heavenly stems (similar to ‘elements’) to form a 60 year cycle.

2012 marks the start of the Year of the Water Dragon.

We wish all readers and pros a prosperous Year of the Dragon and hope that, wherever you are, you have good food and good company!

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Merry Christmas and happy new year from Go Game Guru – 2011
2. China Korea friendship matches – January 2012
3. Happy Birthday Go Game Guru

Original article: Happy lunar new year – 2012 - Go Game Guru

During the last few months, I’ve been teaching go to a couple of newbies. Actually, one of them is improving quite fast, so I might not be able to call him newbie in a few months… However, observing his development and its similarities with mine I realised there is some sort of pattern when it comes to go self-esteem and the actual level of go.

When we learn the rules of go, our esteem is risen by the fact of learning a challenging and interesting game. A few minutes later, we’ve already realised that our reading ability and our innate capacity to predict the opponent’s move is… suboptimal, so to call it.

After a few games, our reading ability starts to improve. Not much, but being able to read 2-3 moves at the beginning seems like a major achievement and we start to feel more comfortable while playing. Reading ability is improved and becomes natural after a few dozen games and the proverb “Lose your first 100 games as soon as possible” suits perfectly to this phase. Sooner or later, we happen to reach a level around 15-17k, a level where our reading has improved over the 5 moves barrier in certain positions and we can read 2-3 moves in almost any situation. Victories start to flow and our opponents’ stones are massacred if their reading ability is just slightly worse.

 Please, stick to the content of the graphic, it was drawn within 2 minutes, so don’t judge its style

 

On the other hand, when a 16k player faces a 13k player, the weakest one realises Go it’s not about killing and capturing. There is something more on the board. 12k moves aren’t directly attacking its opponent, but rather far away. From the point of view of the weakest player it doesn’t really make sense during the first games, till he realises that 12k players chase territory and it behaviour is completely different. While the weakest player may hold up to its rival on a corner fighting, the general result of the game is settled by another factor the 16k player still lacks: strategy.

Improving strategy is one of the toughest parts of learning go. Basics are easily grasped: making a base, extending from walls, shimari facing and the corners, when to pincer… and they are easily played during the games. Extending from a wall, creating big moyos without fighting… both of these strategy concepts give a boost to players’ self-esteem.

During our training, eventually we happen to watch dan games. But it is only when you reach SDK level, that players realise the huge amount of josekis available, the subtle difference between placing a stone one line above or below, further or closer a wall… the flow of tenukis all over the board from dan game crash against the SDK concept of go. SDK player self-esteem collapses as it realises the huge difference that 3 stones make at a SDK.

“These people are nuts!” and “They play something different, with the same rules, but a different game” was my reaction to the first pro game I saw. I guess I still haven’t got over it.

No related posts.

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 21.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

A ko would be a failure here…

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

It’s a capturing race with four liberties each. You should be able to win if you play first, but how do you stop white from getting more liberties?

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

Maybe you think this is the same as the last problem? Perhaps so, but be careful…

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 22
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 1
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 5

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 21 - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

The ‘Man vs Machine’ Go match ended on January 16, with the computer winning 3-1.

Final results

Here’s are the full results with links to the games:

• Fri, Jan 13, 8pm US Eastern Time: Tromp won by resignation.
  
  View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 1 online or download the SGF.
• Sat, Jan 14, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by 18.5 points.
  
  View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 2 online or download the SGF.
• Sun, Jan 15, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by resignation.
  
  View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 3 online or download the SGF.
• Mon, Jan 16, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by resignation.
  
  View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 4 online or download the SGF.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Man vs Machine showdown in the board game Go
2. 32nd World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) 2011 Final Results
3. 16th LG Cup quarter final results

Original article: Man vs Machine match: Final results and game commentary - Go Game Guru

Note to self: midnight games can suffer from minor issues like missing a big atari. Oh well, I knew that midnight isn't my best playing time, but I hadn't played all day. That is a good excuse, no?







One of those 'If only I hadn't missed that atari I would have won!' games ^^



Maybe I should start sleeping at midnight :p

After many months, I finally made it to a go tournament again. It was a good experience. I went 2-2.







My first game was against a 2d, I took black, no komi. I felt that all my playing on wbaduk helped me to see any weaknesses in his shape and take advantage. Won that game.

Next game against a 1k. This one didn't go as well, and I lost too much. Luckily it is really hard to win a won game, so I kept attacking and looking for weaknesses. Even although one of his groups ended up living, the bigger group passed away. Very regrettable. Another resignation.



It was nice to start the tournament with 2 wins, but things didn't go as smoothly in the next two games.







Third game against a 3d, so I got 2 handicap stones. It was a good game, I felt on top of things most of the time, but I failed to protect a weakness and one of my groups died a miserable death. Although it did go under in a fiery blaze of glory, it sure wasn't an easy game for him. I resigned when that group died.



Last game was even against 1d, and had a lot of interesting situations, but in the end I didn't have enough. Oh well.



Still, it was a good day and it was so nice to be playing serious games over the board.

by David Ormerod:

Do you remember when the world watched IBM’s ‘Deep Blue’ supercomputer challenge grandmaster Garry Kasparov across the chess board?

It was almost 15 years ago now, but it was big news at the time, shocking news for some, because the computer won.

The era of the machine?

Many believed that it marked the beginning of the era of machine supremacy in the realm of board games.

After all, chess is one of the most difficult and elegant board games known to man and the machine defeated our world champion.

The bet

But John Tromp, computer scientist and avid fan of the board game Go, disagreed. What’s more, Tromp boldly put his money where his mouth is, saying:

“I would happily bet that I won’t be beaten in a 10 game match before the year 2011.”

He then put $1000 down on the table to prove he was serious. The game? Go.

The game of Go

But what is Go? It’s an ancient game of strategy which originated in China thousands of years ago and is still played by millions throughout Asia today. It also has a growing following throughout the rest of the world.

Tromp’s challenge proved too tantalizing for Darren Cook, who agreed to what became known as the Shodan Go Bet.

Go uses the same grading system that martial arts do and shodan is basically the Japanese term for black belt.

And John Tromp is a black belt of this mental martial art. A player skilled enough to represent a serious challenge for computers to overcome.

The game was on, but that was way back in 1997, so what happened?

Tromping the machine

Cook wisely waited as long as possible, to give the machines more time to improve, politely refusing whenever Tromp cheekily offered to raise the stakes. The dust finally settled at the end of 2010, or did it?

It was no sure thing, but Tromp put on a good showing, destroying the computer four games to nil. Cook coughed up the money.

However, the story doesn’t end there. Just like the machines challenged Kasparov (who also won his first match) to a rematch, they are now challenging Tromp to one.

This time the challenge comes from Japan, where top Go players can earn millions of dollars playing in the professional leagues.

A new challenger

The challenger is Yoji Ojima’s Zen19 computer program and the games will be held from Friday, January 13 – Wednesday January 18, 2012.

When asked whether he was nervous about starting the match on Friday the 13th, Tromp replied “not at all, I was born on Friday the 13th.”

 

More about the game of Go

As you’ve gathered by now, Go is a fascinating board game that’s been played for thousands of years. It’s also one of the few traditional games that still defy computers.

The rules of Go are simple, and you can learn the basics and start having fun in just a few minutes. However, it takes many years to become a master.

This website is all about Go. If you’d like to find out more about the game you can visit this page. And if you’re interested in learning Go, just click here.

Who do you think will win?

What do you think? Do the odds favor John Tromp or Zen19? Place your ‘bet’ below: Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Results

Zen ended up winning 3 games to 1. Here are the final results:

• Fri, Jan 13, 8pm US Eastern Time: Tromp won by resignation. View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 1 online or download the SGF.
• Sat, Jan 14, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by 18.5 points. View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 2 online or download the SGF.
• Sun, Jan 15, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by resignation. View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 3 online or download the SGF.
• Mon, Jan 16, 8pm US Eastern Time: Zen19 won by resignation. View Zen19 vs John Tromp game 4 online or download the SGF.

See a commentary of game 2

If you’d like to see some analysis of one of the games, have a look at my commentary of game 2.

Technical details

For those of you who are interested in the hardware, Zen19 is sporting a dual 6-core Xeon X5680 (overclocked to 4.2Ghz). The approximate cost of the machine is 350,000 yen (about $4375 USD).

Zen19 uses a Monte Carlo Tree Search algorithm, which is now common among all leading computer Go programs.

A special thanks to Darren Cook and John Tromp for providing details and quotes for this article. You can find out more about the Shodan Go Bet on Darren’s website and visit John Tromp’s site to learn more about him.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Man vs Machine match: Final results and game commentary
2. Whole board seki game 2
3. Whole board seki game 1

Original article: Man vs Machine showdown in the board game Go - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 20.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 6
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 20 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

Chinese and Korean professional Go players have started the new year on a lighter note. From January 5 to 7, 2012, a group of Korean professionals took on Chinese professionals in nine rounds of friendly matches.

A chance to relax

The aim of the three days was for players to exchange ideas and play each other without the added pressure of competition.

Chinese pros like Gu Li (9p), Piao Wenyao (9p) and Kong Jie (9p) welcomed Park Junghwan (9p), Cho Hanseung (9p), Na Hyun (1p) and 26 other Korean pros. Some matches were played as lightning Go and others matches allowed players to have 45 minutes main time.

 

 

Loser pays

After the first round, spectators were surprised to see losers pull out 100 RMB (approx $16 USD) notes to offer to winners. It turns out that in Korea, when playing friendly teaching games, it is common for the loser to offer money to the winner.

While the stakes are not always this high, it seems that the pros were more than happy to lose some money for the rare opportunity to relax and not take the games too seriously.

It’s hard to get game records from this informal event, but there are some photos and two games below for you to enjoy.

Photos:

Game records:

Park Junghwan vs Gu Li

[Embedded SGF File]

Tuo Jiaxi vs Cho Hanseung

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Park Junghwan wins 24th Fujitsu Cup
2. Top 20 Pro Go Players of 2010
3. Chen Yaoye wins 15th China Korea Tengen

Original article: China Korea friendship matches – January 2012 - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

Since it’s already 2012, let’s start wrapping up our series on the Top 20 Go players of 2010.

Kang Dongyun (9p) was ranked number 5 and Heo Youngho (9p) was ranked number 6, according to Dr. Bae Taeil in early 2011.

Kang Dongyun

Kang Dongyun became a pro when he was 13 years old. He was regarded as a prodigy along with Kim Jiseok.

They were both born in 1989, and they have become two of the top players in the world.

In 2005, he won both the 5th Osram Korean Cup for Rookies and the 9th SK Rookies Cup. In 2007, he won the 4th Electric Land Cup by defeating Lee Changho in the final.

Kang wins his first title

The Electric Land Cup was his first title and it was very shocking for Baduk fans in Korea at the time. Most fans expected Lee to win the title, because Lee was still very highly regarded, but Kang hadn’t reached that level yet…

After taking the title, he became even more confident. In 2008, he won the gold medal in the 1st World Mind Sports Games beating Gu Li, Li Zhe and Park Jungsang.

The 22nd Fujitsu Cup

In 2009, he won the 22nd Fujitsu Cup, defeating Lee Changho again in the final, and it was the first time he’d done so in an international title. In the same year, he also won the 13th Chunwon (Korean Tengen) title, defeating Lee Sedol in the final.

 

Kang Dongyun’s style

His reading is very fast and accurate, so he’s very good at lightning games. However, he sometimes makes simple mistakes because he plays so quickly, but not carefully enough. You can also feel that his moves are speedy and light.

Kang riles his critics

There’s a joke that Kang has lots of detractors in Korea. It’s because he’s beat Lee Changho so many times and, as you might imagine, Lee Changho is like the god of Go in Korea.

Secondly, he’s usually very confident and frank in interviews, and some conservative Go fans don’t like that. For example, in one interview a reporter asked ‘who do you think will win the title?’ and he replied ‘I think I will’.

After he beat Lee Sedol in a domestic tournament, he said ‘it’s not strange that I beat him, because it was a domestic tournament.’ He said that because, at that time, lots of Go fans sarcastically said that Kang only does well in domestic titles, but not in the international matches.

Actually, most of the interviews from top pros are too modest and humble, but his way of giving interviews is more humorous and funny.

He’s introverted but he has a good sense of humor. His character is quite unique compared to other top pros. He doesn’t mind being alone, so he prefers to study Go by himself, rather than research with other pros.

Teaching Kang

When he was 11, I used to give him private lessons at my home. I played even games with him, for him to practice, and he occasionally beat me, even though I was playing quite well in those days.

Back then, whenever I asked him a question, he shyly answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and nothing more. So I thought he very quiet and calm. But others have said he’s rather talkative and humorous when he’s with his friends.

At that time, I asked him to read more good books and listen to beautiful classical music, as well as studying Go, to become stronger. I’m not sure if he did as I asked, but I think those things can also help Go players to improve their skills.

Korean Baduk League

Recently, his team in the Korean Baduk League won the championship. He was awarded MVP (Most Valuable Player), the Best Captain Player (the first player of the team) and the Most Wins.

As he is still quite young, I expect we’ll see more of his games in international matches this year.

 

Heo Youngho

Heo Youngho was born in 1986 and became a pro when he was 15 years old, but for first few years his performance wasn’t very impressive. He was not regarded as a prodigy, like some other pros are, but he studies Go very hard when he’s alone.

In 2006, he won the 16th BC Card Rookies Cup, and it was his first title. In 2007, he won the 1st Masters Tournament, but neither of these were major titles.

Heo’s breakthrough

In 2010, he suddenly jumped up to the top level. In the 8th Chunlan Cup, he beat Kong Jie in the quarter final, but was defeated by Xie He in the semi final. He also reached the final of the 15th Samsung Cup and it was the first time he’d done so in an international title.

 

The 15th Samsung Cup

His opponent in the Samsung Cup was Gu Li, who’s very scary, but many Korean Baduk fans expected Heo to win because his play in that tournament had been excellent and he seemed to be in the best form he’d ever been in.

However, Gu Li was still strong. Heo won the second game, to make it a tie, but couldn’t do his best in the final game. It was such a great chance for Heo to win an international title, but sadly he wasn’t able to grasp it. Gu won.

After the final of the Samsung Cup, he seemed to go into a slump, but he’s overcoming that now.

Heo Youngho’s style

His style of play is similar to Kong Jie’s, but yet a bit lighter and slightly less steady than Kong’s. He’s good at the opening and his sense of balance in the game is the best part of his Go.

He specializes in reducing moyo lightly, so if you want to study how to reduce or invade your opponents’ moyo, I’d recommend you take a look at his games. When he’s behind, he plays rather well and has the ability to make games complicated.

Heo’s personality

His nickname is ‘Heo bong’. It doesn’t have any meaning on its own, but it’s an easier and friendlier way to address him.

As he is easy going and humorous, he has many friends. He is also handsome and stylish, so one of my pro friends said he’s the most handsome guy amongst Korean pros. What do you think?

He’s a bit sensitive, but does his best to be nice to everyone, and is also thoughtful and considerate even if he might not appear to be.

His favorite hobbies are traveling and skiing, so you might have a chance to meet him when he travels overseas in the near future. If you meet him, greet him warmly and ask him for a teaching game, and then he’ll gladly play a game with you.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Top 20 Pro Go Players of 2010
2. Top 20 Go Players: Zhou Ruiyang and Tuo Jiaxi
3. Top 20 Go Players: Cho Hanseung and Chen Yaoye

Original article: Top 20 Go Players: Kang Dongyun and Heo Youngho - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 19.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 6
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 19 - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This game is from the final round of the 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games. It’s between Yamashita Keigo and Lee Sedol.

Lee Sedol is currently ranked number one in Korea, and Yamashita currently holds the Honinbo and Meijin titles in Japan.

This tournament is brand new, and six teams participated in the competition. The six teams were America, China, the European Union, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

After round 4, Korea and Japan were tied at 3-1 each. China swept all rounds, so this Japan vs Korea match was the decider for the silver medal.

This is the third time Lee and Yamashita have played. Lee won their last two games in 2005 and 2010.

I hope you enjoy this dynamic game, and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Commented game record: Yamashita Keigo vs Lee Sedol

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. China sweeps the field in 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games
2. Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo – 18th Agon Cup
3. Go Commentary: Hane Naoki vs Yamashita Keigo – 66th Honinbo

Original article: Go Commentary: Yamashita Keigo vs Lee Sedol – 1st World Mind Games - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On December 28, 2011, the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament started in China as part of the 12th Liguang Cup.

Ricoh Cup or Liguang Cup?

The Liguang Cup is also referred to as the Ricoh Cup because Ricoh is the tournament sponsor.

The tournament features a main draw, a ‘new talent’ draw and on the lighter side, a Pair Go tournament.

In a somewhat confusing turn of events, there’s also a Japanese Pair Go tournament sponsored by Ricoh…

Enter Nie Weiping

Never one to shy away from joining in the fun, the legendary Nie Weiping (9p) also took part in this year’s pair Go draw, partnering Tang Yi (2p).

The Pair Go draw is a lightning (30 seconds per move with 10 x 1 minute byoyomi) draw and offers players light hearted respite from the main draw.

Pair Go semifinalists

The semifinalists of the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament are:

• Qiu Jun (9p) and Wang Xiangyun (2p)
• Huang Yizhong (7p) and Wang Chenxing (2p)
• Chen Yaoye (9p) and Zhang Peipei (1p)
• Kong Jie (9p) and Zhang Yueran (1p)

The 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament will continue into January 2012.

More photos from the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament

 

 

Game records:

Tan Xiao and Zhang Xuan vs Kong Jie and Zhang Yueran

[Embedded SGF File]

Qiu Jun and Wang Xiangyun vs Gu Li and Ye Gui

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Tiger Cubs Storm into 11th Ricoh Cup Final
2. Get ready for the 16th Samsung Cup!
3. Lee Changho won’t play in 24th Fujitsu Cup

Original article: Professionals play Pair Go at the 12th Ricoh Cup - Go Game Guru

Today I was playing a game and doing quite well. I played thick moves, I didn't make a lot of stupid mistakes (just a few :p) and I knew I had this game won. At the same time, I was chatting with two friends in another window. Did I mention my kids were interrupting me a few times too to ask me things, so yes, I was multitasking as usual. But that was ok, because my game was so easy by now...



I had a corner group, an L+1 group. I have studied that group only two thousand times, so I know without thinking that it can live with A or B. I also know without thinking that A is superior, so in my 'I have a won game and I don't have to try so hard and I know so much better than my opponent' grandiose thinking, I played B...







As we all know, B is inferior because there is a gote seki to be made for white now. The worst thing was that I didn't even realize I had made this mistake. In my universe the trumpets were sounding to announce my victory and I blissfully worked on killing my group...







We got to endgame, and I stubbornly kept thinking that group was just fine, even after white had played a throw-in at A.







I happily filled up all my liberties, till I got a rude awakening when white went for the kill. By ko, but thanks to my filling up of my own liberties, I could not crush this shape but had to play the ko... How stupid! I started to realize that maybe I should hold off on those trumpets for a bit after all. And that next time I should live the RIGHT way with that group.







Things actually weren't too bad, the game was won enough that even without that group I still had a big lead. So I spent time trying to find the best ko threats. So much time that my byo yomi clock ran out and white won by time.



I guess next time I will turn off my chat programs when I play :D

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 18.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 6
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 18 - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This is the 5th and deciding game from the 55th Kuksu title match in Korea.

Choi won the Kuksu title three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2010. His opponent in each of the finals was Lee Changho (9p).

Cho Hanseung (9p) won the first and third games, and Choi Cheolhan (9p) won second and forth.

On the other hand, this is Cho’s second time in the Kuksu Final.

Let’s have a look at the game…

Commented game: Cho Hanseung vs Choi Cheolhan

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Cho Hanseung wins 55th Kuksu in Korea
2. Go Commentary: Choi Cheolhan vs Chen Yaoye – China Korea Tengen
3. Go Commentary: Kim Kiyong vs Choi Cheolhan – 2nd Olleh KT Cup

Original article: Go Commentary: Cho Hanseung vs Choi Cheolhan – 55th Kuksu - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

We’ve reached the end of another year and what a busy one it’s been!

Younggil, Jing and I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

We’ll all be taking a bit of a break for what’s left of the year and spending time with our families, so we won’t be around to talk to you about Go or answer questions for a week or so.

However, we’ve prepared some articles and scheduled them to publish automatically, just in case you need a bit of a break from the festivities or start having Go withdrawal symptoms .

And if you’re still looking for something else to do, try studying this whole board seki game, or this one. You’ll be sure learn a lot of interesting tesuji.

During the break, if you’re browsing the site and see someone asking a question which you can answer, please help us out and share your knowledge with your fellow Go players. It’s in the spirit of giving after all.

In addition, our Go shop will still be open and functioning normally. If you find yourself in a position to buy those new Go books you’ve been thinking about, you don’t need to wait until next year. Just expect delays of 1-2 days for postage around public holiday periods.

We’d like to thank you for visiting Go Game Guru and reading our articles throughout this year. Thanks especially to those of you who’ve encouraged us, supported our growing efforts to promote Go by buying Go books, helped maintain the pro Go calendar, shared your knowledge of Go, sent us helpful suggestions for improvement, told friends about us and everything else. You know who you are!

To round out the year we’ve added a collection of some of the more interesting or amusing Go photos we’ve come across throughout the year. Some readers may enjoy coming up with alternative captions to ours and feel free to leave your suggestions below.

We’ll be back in the new year to finish off some things that we couldn’t squeeze into this one and get started on some of our other plans.

Have a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends. And, especially if you’re traveling long distances or doing a lot of celebrating, take extra care to avoid self ataris.

Younggil, Jing, David, Kuro and Shiro

 

Go photos from 2011

 

1. Team Korea and Team China

 

2. Park Junghwan and Qiu Jun

(Unfortunately this was the final of the last ever Fujitsu Cup )

 

3. Park Junghwan and Lee Sedol

 

4. Lee Sedol (and Gu Li)

 

5. Gu Li and Won Seongjin

 

6. Storm trooper plays Go

(We saw this one doing the rounds on Facebook, we don’t know the story behind it, but if you do, let us know)

 

7. Choi Cheolhan

 

8. Cho Hunhyun and Seo Bongsu

 

9. Chang Hao, Gu Li and Kong Jie

See you next year!

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Happy Birthday Go Game Guru
2. Happy 1st Birthday Go Game Guru!
3. 32nd World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) 2011 Final Results

Original article: Merry Christmas and happy new year from Go Game Guru – 2011 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On December 22, 2011, Lee Sedol (9p) defeated Lee Changho (9p) in the much anticipated 2nd Olleh KT Cup final, winning 3-1.

After Lee Changho won the first game in early December, many of his fans hoped this would be his comeback match.

Unfortunately though, it was not to be.

Lee Sedol fought back with three consecutive wins.

In the end, Lee Sedol won the 4th game by just half a point and avoided taking the match to a 5th game.

Lee vs Lee

Go fans around the world always look forward to matches between these two Korean Go super stars.

With this win, the battle of the ‘Finals of the Two Big Lees’ is narrowing.

Lee Sedol (9p) is catching up to Lee Changho (9p), though the record still stands at 5-3 in Lee Changho’s favour.

The other Lee vs Lee finals in major tournments were:

2001: 5th LG Cup – Lee Changho (3-2)

2001: 20th KBS Cup – Lee Changho (2-0)

2002: 36th Wangwi – Lee Changho (3-2)

2003: 7th LG Cup – Lee Sedol (3-1)

2004: 38th Wangwi – Lee Changho (3-2)

2009: 27th KBS Cup – Lee Changho (2-0)

2010: 6th Korea Prices Information Cup – Lee Sedol (2-0)

Lee Sedol aiming to improve in 2012

In an interview after the game, Lee Sedol was asked if he was happy with his 4 tournament wins in 2011 (the other 3 were 6th Siptan, 3rd BC Card Cup and 8th Chunlan Cup).

Lee, never one to blow his own trumpet, replied that he thought his winning percentage in the second half of 2011 was rather low and wanted to improve on this next year.

This means 2012 will surely be another exciting year for Go fans!

2nd Olleh KT Cup final

Game records:

Lee Changho vs Lee Sedol – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

Lee Sedol vs Lee Changho – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

Lee Changho vs Lee Sedol – Game 3

[Embedded SGF File]

Lee Sedol vs Lee Changho – Game 4

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Lee Sedol beats Lee Changho: 6th Prices Information Cup
2. Go Commentary: Lee Sedol vs Lee Changho – 6th Prices Information Cup
3. Go Commentary: Lee Changho vs Lee Sedol – 6th Prices Information Cup

Original article: Lee Sedol wins 2nd Olleh KT Cup - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 17.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 1
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 4

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 17 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On December 16, 2011, China made a clean sweep at the 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games, winning gold in both the Mixed Team and Mixed Pair Go events.

Korea claimed silver in both events and the bronze medals went to Japan.

China defeats Japan

Following up on our previous World Mind Games report, China went on to successfully defeat Japan in the Mixed Team event and won with straight wins.

China’s Gu Li and Xie He both managed to complete the event with a perfect 5-0 record.

Mixed Pair Go results

The Mixed Pair Go event used the same knockout format that the Mixed Team event did, rather than a round robin format.

Taiwan’s Zhou Junxun and Joanne Missingham, and Japan’s Yamashita Keigo and Mukai Chiaki defeated America’s Feng Yun and Li Jie, and Europe’s Catalin Taranu and Vanessa Wong respectively in the first round.

 

 

China does it again

China and Korea were both seeded into the second round (based on their performance in the Mixed Team event) and played Taiwan and Japan respectively.

China and Korea won the second round and met each other in the final.

In the end China’s Piao Wenyao and Li He defeated Korea’s Choi Cheolhan and Kim Hyemin to win gold for China.

Medalists in the Mixed Pair Go event

 

More photos from the World Mind Games

 

 

 

Game record: China vs Korea – Mixed Pair Go final

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Amateur Go players rub shoulders with pros at 2011 World Mind Games
2. Go Commentary: Yamashita Keigo vs Lee Sedol – 1st World Mind Games
3. Chen Yaoye wins 15th China Korea Tengen

Original article: China sweeps the field in 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This is the last game from the 16th Samsung Cup final. Won Seongjin (9p) won the first game of this series, but Gu Li (9p) made it a tie in the second game. This third game was the decider.

Gu Li is currently number 1 in the world, according to the ranking system by Dr Bae Taeil. On the other hand, Won Seongjin is number 10.

Gu Li has won seven international titles so far, but this is Won’s first time in a major international final.

Before this final, lots of Go fans expected Gu Li to win. It’s because Gu’s career is far greater than Won’s so far.

I hope you enjoy this game, and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Commented game record: Won Seongjin vs Gu Li

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Won Seongjin wins 16th Samsung Cup!
2. Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final
3. 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho

Original article: Go Commentary: Won Seongjin vs Gu Li – 16th Samsung Cup - Go Game Guru

I was happy to find out that the excellent Go Game Guru blog now sells go books. They have a lot of the classics, Life and Death, Tesuji and more, and a bunch of new books I had not seen yet. I might have to find myself a Christmas present on their site ^^Go check them out at http://gogameguru.com/go-game-shop/category/buy-go-books/!And yes, I am still alive, just have been playing and studying a lot instead of blogging. Good excuse, right?

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 16.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 16 - Go Game Guru

Commemorating the 10 billion downloads from the android market, some apps have seen their priced reduced to 0,10 cents. I’m quite certain it applies for both Euros and US dollars. These sales have been going on for the last 3 days and each app only stays for a reduced price for 24 hours, so I’d recommend you to check the list daily. You’ll find the list directly on the market homepage.

Among these apps I found Apparatus, which is rapidly climbing up on my top ten android games. Apparatus is a brain teasing game, where you are supposed to make a ball get into a nest. Easy, a piece of cake during the few initial stages. As levels go by, difficulty increases at an awesome pace and puzzles require more than 10 minutes each… Actually, I spent over 30 minutes on my last one, and I still haven’t reached level 30. Yesterday, this game was available for 10 cents.

This game reminded me of other games you may want to take a look at, if you like this kind of masochism:

• Cut the Rope: this game is very “cute”, sometimes even childish, but some levels are still difficult. Available for 1 USD or 0.68 euros.
• Refraction: I don’t know how many long hours I’ve been playing this game. Some levels are so hard you could even spend days on it and still enjoy it. I must recognise I failed to solve the last world… after spending several hours on each stage, I failed. It costs 2 USD, but you can try the lite version first, with 20 free levels.

• World of Goo: Very nice adaptation from the original PC game, everything looks exactly the same as the original game. Strongly recomended. Unfortunately, I had already finished the PC version, so this one was a piece of cake but the last levels. It costs 4 euros.
• Quell: Another challenging game which is loaded into my phone. As peaceful and charming as challenging. Very good app indeed and costs 1 euro.

To sum it up, I would recomend “Cut the rope” and “World of Goo” as a must have game for Android users as they represent two nice introductory games into android puzzling. Refraction, quell and, above all, Apparatus would be left only for gamers with a deep interest into brain teasing puzzles and have already solved the ones above.

Related posts:

1. Boardgame randomizer for android
2. Android phones heterogeneity

by Jing:

On December 9, 2011, the inaugural Sports Accord World Mind Games kicked off in Beijing, China.

The Sports Accord World Mind Games

Participants from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe and gathered to pit their minds against each other in Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Draughts and Go.

There are two Go events held at the games – mixed Pair Go and the mixed team competition.

The mixed team event is a round robin between six teams (four males and one female per team) – China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the USA.

This is an exciting and rare opportunity for top amateur players from the USA and Europe to take on top Asian professional players.

Mind games results so far

So far in the mixed team event, three rounds have been played.

In round 1:

• China defeated Europe
• Korea defeated Taiwan
• Japan defeated USA

In round 2:

• Japan defeated Europe
• China defeated Taiwan
• Korea defeated USA

In round 3:

• Japan defeated Taiwan
• USA defeated Europe
• China defeated Korea

The match between China and Korea drew a lot of attention because winning would give them a good chance of winning the event.

Team China emerged victorious with Gu, Xie and Li winning their matches.

Round 3 China vs Korea results

The detailed results were:

• Lee Sedol defeated Kong Jie
• Gu Li defeated Choi Cheolhan
• Xie He defeated Park Junghwan
• Lee Younggu defeated Piao Wenyao
• Li He defeated Kim Hyemin

China and Japan remain undefeated so far and the winner of the China vs Japan match will likely win the event.

The round robin will continue on December 13 and 14 and mixed Pair Go will take place on December 15 and 16. See Ranka Online, the AGA E-Journal and the World Mind Games official website for more news.

2011 World Mind Games photo gallery

Game records:

Game record: Choi Cheolhan (Korea) vs Gu Li (China)

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Kong Jie (China) vs Catalin Taranu (Europe)

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Li Jie (USA) vs Yamashiro Hiroshi (Japan)

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. China sweeps the field in 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games
2. 32nd World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) 2011 Final Results
3. Top 20 Pro Go Players of 2010

Original article: Amateur Go players rub shoulders with pros at 2011 World Mind Games - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On December 8, 2011, Park Younghun (9p) won his third game in the 39th Myeongin final, successfully defeating Baek Hongseok (8p) 3-1 and taking the title for another year.

The end of the 39th Myeongin tournament also marks the end of our 2011 Three Meijins series of reports.

An impressive feat by Park Younghun

This has been mentioned earlier in the series, but I’d like to remind readers of this fact.

Unlike the Japanese Meijin and the Chinese Mingren, the Korean Myeongin doesn’t get an automatic ticket to the final.

Park had to fight his way through the main draw with everyone else and this makes his ‘defense’ of the title even more impressive.

Photos from the 39th Myeongin Final

 

The stage is set for the 3rd China-Japan-Korea Meijin

As the winner of the 39th Myeongin, Park will once again, face Jiang Weijie (5p) in next year’s 3rd China-Japan-Korea Meijin (World Meijin).

Since the Meijin title swapped hands in Japan this year, the Japanese representative will be Yamashita Keigo (9p), rather than Iyama Yuta (9p).

Who do you think will win next year’s World Meijin?

Will Jiang overcome Park this time? Can Yamashita equal Iyama Yuta’s performance in the Bosai Cup?

Cast your vote and then share your thoughts below.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Game records

Game record: Park Younghun vs Baek Hongseok

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Baek Hongseok vs Park Younghun

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Jiang Weijie wins 24th Mingren
2. Commentary: Cho Insun vs Park Jeonggeun – 39th Myeongin
3. Park Younghun wins 2nd World Meijin

Original article: Park Younghun wins 39th Myeongin - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 15.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 1
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 4

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 15 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

At long last, on December 5, 2011, China’s Gu Li (9p) and Korea’s Won Seongjin (9p) met in Shanghai to decide the winner of the 16th Samsung Cup.

Gu Li, the defending champion

Gu, as the defending champion, probably had a slight edge over Won, entering the finals. Gu has won just about every major international title, except the Ing Cup.

Won Seongjin, a reason to be confident?

Until today, Won was the only one out of the ‘baby cow trio’ who hadn’t yet claimed a major international title – the other two are Choi Cheolhan (9p) and Park Younghun (9p).

However, having bested Gu in the 2008 China-Korean Tengen, Won must have entered the final with some degree of confidence.

Won opened his campaign well, defeating Gu in the first match on December 5. However Gu answered by taking the second match the following day.

Won wins!

On December 7, 2011, Won defeated Gu again, taking the 16th Samsung Cup and winning his first major international title.

Congratulations Won Seongjin!

Poll results

For those of you who are wondering, here are the results from our earlier poll. It looks like very few of us at Go Game Guru picked it this time, but isn’t it nice to be surprised sometimes?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

In other news, Lee Changho and Lee Sedol are currently tied at one-all in the 2nd Olleh KT Cup final. The match will wrap up before Christmas, so expect more news about it soon.

Photos from the 16th Samsung Cup final

Game records

Game record: Gu Li vs Won Seongjin – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Won Seongjin vs Gu Li – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Won Seongjin vs Gu Li – Game 3

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final
2. 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho
3. 4 players left standing in the 16th Samsung Cup

Original article: Won Seongjin wins 16th Samsung Cup! - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

I know a lot of readers have been waiting to find out who won the Go books in our recent competitions.

In November 2011, we gave away four Go books to mark the opening of our new Go shop. There was a public competition, and also a second competition that was only open to newsletter subscribers.

Now that we’ve managed to get in contact with all four of the winners, here are the results:

Go book competition winners

1. Devin from the USA, who chose a copy of The Direction of Play.

2. Eda from Turkey, who chose Get Strong at Life and Death.

3. Nathan from the USA, who picked up a copy of Get Strong at Tesuji.

4. And finally, Fábio from Brazil, who selected Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go.

Congratulation to the winners and thanks to everyone who entered!

Photos of the winners

Here’s a photo from Devin, who got back to me a bit faster than anyone else. He’s already received his new Go book.

If any of the others send us photos (or videos) I’ll add them here.

Are the any Go books that you wanted?

Didn’t win? As much as I’d like to, we simply can’t afford to give Go books to everyone for free, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the book you wanted! Have a look at our shop to buy Go books.

We do our best to make the prices and shipping costs affordable for you. If you have any questions you can read our frequently asked questions page, or contact us directly.

How to find out about future competitions

If you want to find out about future competitions and news, the best way is to get our free newsletter.

Among other things, newsletter subscribers get weekly updates with all our latest Go news, articles and tips. However, if you prefer to get more frequent updates about Go, you can also follow us on your favorite social network.

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll get updates about our latest articles as well as plenty of other interesting links to other sites in the Go community.

Have you seen our new Google+ page?

Recently we setup a Go Game Guru page on Google+. Google only enabled pages recently, so you might not have seen us there yet. If you’re a Google+ or Gmail user, stop by and say hello. And don’t forget to click +1 to tell Google that Go is important too!

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Want to buy Go books? Why we’re opening a Go book shop

Original article: So who won the Go books? - Go Game Guru

Lately I’ve decided to start playing go again through the net. Unfortunately, I still haven’t beat my online go anxiety syndrome, so I’m left with watching games on KGS or IGS. During my last night shift I could watch a blitz game played by one 6d and one 3d in KGS. I’m not telling their names since I didn’t ask permission for it.

Time limit for each move was 10 seconds. Taking into account that limit, blitz games tend to be somewhat chaotic and crazy… and still way above my reading ability.

Take a look at this section of the board: White to move.

As you’ll see, this required multiple eye-stealing tesujis on a row and sacrificing a kamikaze stone at S18. So black ends up dead. It’s not very difficult to read right now, after all the tesujis have been played and you have way more than 10 seconds. Would you be able to set this up so that it works with 10 seconds per move? I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t place K19 and R18 with the right timing.

After all, stone placing in Go has a lot to do with timing. And when real timing comes into action I must tell you it was black turn to play. Can black escape? You’ve got ten seconds. Play or give up some stones? What would you choose?  Actually, they still had one extra byo-yomi period, so I’ll give you another extra 10 seconds.

The real black player couldn’t solve it during the game. After a minute, I was convinced that black would die anyway and I was obviously wrong. It wasn’t till I replayed it on a board that I realised my mistake. Black could have survived.

Not only survived. Let’s take a look at the whole board:

As you can see there is a white group floating right in the middle of the board. Actually, during the real game, chasing the upper black group only started as a response to black’s attack to H12 group.

So, now, make your move as Black on the board above. You have the real game and the solution in the game below:

[Embedded SGF File]

 

 

Related posts:

1. KGS 5d vs 4d: Tesuji trainning

by Jing:

While Japan has already crowned its Meijin for 2011, the 39th Myeongin continues and 24th Mingren concluded this week, with Jiang Weijie (5p) defeating Kong Jie (9p) in five games.

Here’s where things stand as of December 1, 2011.

The 24th Mingren

The last time we reported on China’s 24th Mingren, Jiang Weijie (5p) was only one game away from retaining his Mingren title.

Jiang had thrown down the gauntlet to Kong Jie (9p) with a 2-0 lead.

On November 28 and 30, 2011, while being made to wear some ridiculous looking costumes, Kong clawed back to take the third and fourth games to equal the score to 2 game all.

 

 

Unfortunately for Kong, he couldn’t maintain his momentum and the youngster, Jiang, successfully defended the Mingren title.

 

The 39th Myeongin

In Korea, the 39th Myeongin finals are being played between defending champion Park Younghun (9p) and Baek Hongseok (8p). In reaching the finals, Baek defeated none other than the Stone Buddha himself, Lee Changho (9p), 2-0.

 

So far, 3 of the 5 games have been played and Park leads Baek 2-1. The last two games of the finals will be played in about a week’s time.

 

Who do you think will win the Myeongin?

Who do you think will join Yamashita and Jiang in next year’s China-Japan-Korea Meijin playoff? Place your bets by commenting below .

 

Game records

Game record: Jiang Weijie vs Kong Jie – Game 3

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Kong Jie vs Jiang Weijie – Game 5

[Embedded SGF File]

Game record: Baek Hongseok vs Park Younghun

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Yamashita Keigo wins 36th Meijin
2. Tale of three Meijins: Lee Changho schools Cho Insun
3. Park Younghun wins 39th Myeongin

Original article: Jiang Weijie wins 24th Mingren - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 14.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 14 - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

Today I’d like to introduce two more of the top 20 Go players of 2010.

In early 2011, Gu Li (9p) was ranked number 7, and Xie He (7p) was ranked number 8, according to Dr Bae Taeil.

Gu Li

Gu Li is regarded as one of the best three Go players in the world, along with Lee Sedol and Kong Jie – even though he was ranked number 7 according to this ranking system.

You will be able to find a lot of information about his career on the internet, so I would like to skip his career and rather talk about his character and personality.

He surely is one of the most well known and popular players today. It’s not only because he is very strong and powerful, but also because his game is very exciting and fun to watch.

Gu Li’s unique style

Whenever I watch his games, I become excited by his creative and free style of play. His style of play is also humane, dynamic and romantic.

If you watch his games, you’ll sense those feelings, I’m sure. His game is something special and different from other top players.

He created his own style and it’s not easy for other players to mimic without having an excellent sense of fighting and very accurate reading.

Popular in China, and Korea too

There’s no doubt that he is very popular in China, but he also has lots of his fans in Korea, because of his behavior and manners.

For the final of the LG Cup last year, he visited Korea with his mom. He sincerely took care of his widowed mom, and it touched people’s heart.

Eastern Asia countries have been strongly influenced by Confucianism, especially in Korea, so it’s not surprising that his sincere filial piety impressed so many of go fans, and it made them become his enthusiastic fans.

His personality is active and outgoing, even though his appearance is strong and sharp. He is friendly and easy going, so he has many friends.

Drinking is one of his strengths, and I reckon he makes lots of friends through drinking together with them.

Gu Li’s hobbies

His favorite hobby is soccer and he enjoys singing as well. He often sings songs for everybody at Go events. His voice is low but powerful, so people love to listen to him singing.

Recently, he progressed to the final of 16th Samsung Cup, after defeating Na Hyun 1p in the semi final. He’s going to play with Won Seongjin 9p in the final, and it will be an interesting match.

Gu Li has returned to number 1 in the world, according to Bae Taeil’s ranking sytem, as of November 2011.

I think all Go fans are blessed to watch him playing.

Xie He

Xie He was ranked number 8. He is currently ranked number 2 in China, just behind Zhou Ruiyang 5p.

He was born in 1984, and became a pro when he was 12 years old. He won the National individual Championship in 2002, and it was his first title in his career.

He went to the quarter final of the Samsung Cup in 2003, but he was defeated by Park Younghun 9p. In 2005, he won the 5th Liguang Cup by defeating Wang Xi 9p. In 2007, he won third place in the Chunlan Cup.

Lee Sedol’s natural enemy

In the middle of 2011, he reached the final of the Chunlan Cup and it was his first time he’d done so in an international title. His opponent in the final was Lee Sedol 9p, and it was very exciting match to watch because Xie He’s style is calm and cool like water, but Lee Sedol’s is passionate and aggressive like fire.

A couple of years ago, Lee Sedol said in an interview that “Xie He is the most difficult player to play with, because it’s hard to find his weakness and he has a special ability for keeping his cool under any circumstances”.

At that time, Xie was dubbed the ‘natural enemy’ of Lee, because of their opposing styles of play, and because Lee seemed to have difficulty playing against Xie.

Anyway, in the final of the Chunlan Cup Xie played very well, but was defeated 2-1. After the match, lots of fans said that ‘though Xie lost to Lee, it’s not because he is weaker than Lee, but he lacks experience in such big matches – especially compared to Lee.

Xie He’s peaceful style

His style of play is similar to that of Lee Changho (9p); poker faced, patient, calm, specialized in counting and endgame. Actually, his fighting is very good too, but as he prefers peaceful games, Go fans generally think of him as very calm and patient..

His attitude at games is very respectful. He is highly regarded as a master amongst pro players from Korea because of his good attitude and mind for Go.

He is humble and modest, and his attitude and behavior is such a perfect model, even for pro players. Whenever I see an interview with him, I feel his inner strength and the depth of his thoughtful and beautiful mind.

In Korea, there is a saying, ‘if you look at someone’s face, you can see one’s character and personality because the face reflects the heart’. If you meet him, you will be able to feel how pure and clear his face is, and his mind as well.

Just a few days ago, he played against Lee Changho in the semifinal of the LG Cup, but he lost the game. He played the game patiently, but Lee Changho took the lead in the middle game, and Lee is still very good at this sort of peaceful game.

Unluckily for Xie, he didn’t get any chances afterwards in that game.

I hope to see more of his gentle, calm and peaceful games for a long time to come.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Top 20 Pro Go Players of 2010
2. Top 20 Go Players: Zhou Ruiyang and Tuo Jiaxi
3. Top 20 Go Players: Cho Hanseung and Chen Yaoye

Original article: Top 20 Go Players: Gu Li and Xie He - Go Game Guru

A few days ago I made a new research for Go apps on the android market. One of the few new apps I found is this one: “Go Scoring Camera”. There’s a free trial version which works for 7 days available at the Android Market. The full app costs 3.40 €, which is around 4.5 $ currently.

Here you have the videoreview

Beware of the height you need to get above the board. It took me several attempts till I realised I had to stand up and rise my hands a little bit to fit the 19×19 board on an average table. Otherwise, the program will cut down the sides of the board… though I still don’t understand the reasoning behind this.

Another point which I’m curious about is the need for internet connection. Since the image needs to be interpreted on a remote server, the image needs to be uploaded… but wouldn’t it be possible to make the process locally with the latest phones? I mean, during the second half of this year some dual-core cell phones have been released so it would be an interesting option to add to the app.

Here you have the market links for both apps:

Go Scoring Camera – Trial version

Go Scoring Camera – Full Version 

On the next videoreview, I’m going to talk about another awesome app which turned out to be very useful at our club.

 

Related posts:

1. KGS Android Client
2. Android Go applications

A few months ago I already mentioned Kamisado as one with uncommon mechanics. This game has received several awards since its release in Essen 2008. Today I’ll try and make a small review and a brief introduction to this game.

The rules are very simple and can be learnt within a minute:

- Players control either the White dragon towers or the Black dragon towers.

- The winner is the first player who gets a dragon tower to the final row on the opponent’s side of the board.

- Movement is any number of spaces (but not over other pieces) directly forwards, or diagonally forwards. Horizontal moves are not allowed.

- The only catch: you must move your piece that matches the colour of the square on which your opponent moved his last dragon tower to

- If the required piece can’t move because it is blocked, the other player gets to move his dragon tower corresponding to the colour of the square the blocked piece is on.

Just in case you need some clarifications and samples, check this link.

Considering the size of the board (8×8), the mandatory “go-to-the-front” moves and the impossibility to jump over other pieces, the amount of moves and, therefore, the depth of the game, are limited. Thus, I’m certain any computer may solve this game within the next years.

On the other hand, due to the limitation of moves, it’s somewhat easy to read out right from the first games. Though the first moves have lots of potential, the middle game comes shortly after and players may find themselves with pieces unable to move to more than 2 different colours. As the game advances, options become scarce and reading becomes easier.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of two moves: I happened to win with just 2 moves. Twice out of tenths, okay, but it happened. Here you have the initial position which led my opponent to beat me with two moves.

In order to improve Kamisado’s depth, each game is based on several round, previously arranged with your opponent. Each victory will give you one or two points and modify the piece which arrived to the opposing row. This modifications grant the piece special powers and limitations, but I’m only used to its limitations since my rival still hasn’t allowed me to use its powers. So, from my point of view, it’s handicapping the winner of the previous round.

Forcing your opponents’ moves isn’t something you find on a daily basis.

Related posts:

1. My opponents choose for me

by An Younggil (8p):

Recently I was speaking to a friend in Korea, on the phone, and I had an opportunity to say hello to Na Hyun (1p).

I asked him a few brief questions, for his fans at Go Game Guru.

Interview with Na Hyun

Younggil: Congratulations on reaching the semi finals of the Samsung Cup!

Even though it’s a pity you didn’t go further, beating Kong Jie was very sensational. Lots of Baduk fans wondered how you were able reverse the game against Kong Jie.

How old are you?

Na Hyun: I’m 16 years old. I was born in 1995.

 

How would you describe your style of play?

I like territorial games, rather than fighting or big moyo games.

 

What do you consider to be the strong point of your style?

I’m relatively good at the endgame, and confident at counting as well.

 

What’s your weak point then?

I feel my opening is not yet good enough, and I need to learn more about the middle game.

 

Gu Li’s comments

Younggil: Gu Li said in an interview, after finishing the semi final game against Na, that “Na Hyun’s style of play is similar to Lee Changho’s, but he needs to get stronger at fighting”.

Gu Li was very generous to say that. Generally top players don’t say anything about their opponents’ weak points because it could seem rude, but he said that for Na Hyun with his kindness.

 

How did it feel when you faced to Kong Jie?

I felt his nervousness. I think it’s because he was under pressure to win, as I am far younger and unknown…

Fortunately, I wasn’t nervous, even though it was the most important game of my career so far. I managed to stay cool because I didn’t feel any pressure to win, so I just tried to do my best.

 

What’s your goal?

My goal is to win international titles.

 

When do you think your dreams might come true?

Hmm, it’s difficult to say. Hopefully, when I’m around 20.

 

Would you like to say something to your fans from Western countries?

Actually, I don’t know very much about the Baduk world in the West. I want to see more people to play and enjoy Baduk, and if I have a chance to go overseas, I’d like to teach foreign Baduk players and play games with them one day!

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Commentary: Kong Jie vs Na Hyun – 16th Samsung Cup
2. An interview with Anders Kierulf of SmartGo
3. Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final

Original article: An interview with Na Hyun - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 13.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

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Hard Go problem

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 4
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 9

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 13 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On November 23, 2011, Lee Changho (9p) of Korea delighted his fans by defeating China’s Xie He (7p), for a chance to win his 5th LG Cup.

Lee, while undisputedly one of the strongest players on the Go circuit, has not won a major international title since the now discontinued Zhonghuan Cup in 2007.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in Lee’s performance and perhaps this will be the start of his return to top form?

Jiang Weijie (5p) of China repeated his recent Fujitsu Cup win over Korea’s Kim Jiseok (7p), storming his way into the final.

After only 117 moves, Jiang sealed Kim’s fate by killing a large dragon, which at one point seemed like it might escape.

This is Jiang’s first appearance in an international final so it will be most interesting to see how this young gun performs against the veteran, Lee.

The final will be played in February 2012. We’ll have to wait until then to see what happens…

Who do you think will win the 16th LG Cup?

Will Lee Changho add another title to his collection or is this going to be Jiang Weijie’s big breakthrough? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!

 

16th LG Cup semi final game records

Game record: Lee Changho vs Xie He

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Game record: Jiang Weijie vs Kim Jiseok

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. 16th LG Cup quarter final results
2. The 16th LG Cup is full of surprises: Lee Changho faces young guns
3. Commentary: Jiang Weijie vs Park Younghun – 2nd World Meijin

Original article: 16th LG Cup: Stage set for Lee Changho and Jiang Weijie in the final - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On November 21, 2011, the quarter finals of the 16th LG Cup took place in Beijing, China.

Lee Changho proceeds to the semi finals

Chen Shiyuan (9p) of Taiwan faced Korea’s legendary Lee Changho (9p) and his famous poker face. Chen trained and turned pro in Korea, before returning home to Taiwan about 4 years ago, so he is very familiar with the Korean game.

Unfortunately for Chen, his opponent was too strong this time and Lee advanced to the semi finals. Lee’s next opponent is China’s Xie He (7p), who knocked out Heo Youngho (9p) of Korea in his quarter final game.

The other semi final will be played between the two youngsters in the tournament, Jiang Weijie (5p) of China and Kim Jiseok (7p) of Korea. Jiang and Kim defeated Korea’s Won Seongjin (9p) and China’s Qiu Jun (9p) in their respective quarter final matches.

Opportunity knocks for three talented players

As we noted in an earlier article about the 16th LG Cup, Lee Changho is the only quarter finalist who’s previously won an international title.

For Xie, Kim and Jiang, this is a great opportunity, but they may have to fight their way past Lee to grasp it.

LG Cup semi final schedule

The semi finals will start in Beijing tomorrow (November 23), at 10:00 am Beijing time. Check the Pro Go Calendar for the dates of other important matches.

Game records

Game record: Chen Shiyuan vs Lee Changho

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Game record: Xie He vs Heo Youngho

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Game record: Kim Jiseok vs Qiu Jun

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Game record: Jiang Weijie vs Won Seongjin

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. 16th LG Cup: Stage set for Lee Changho and Jiang Weijie in the final
2. The 16th LG Cup is full of surprises: Lee Changho faces young guns
3. 3rd BC Card Cup: Quarter final lineup

Original article: 16th LG Cup quarter final results - Go Game Guru

by Guest Writer:

[Editor's note: This is a guest article by Gabriel Benmergui of Kaya.gs. Go Game Guru isn't involved in this project and is publishing this article as a public service.]

Many players who read this article will not have experienced Go in the recent dark ages.

Before the internet was invented, and used widely, the scattered (but still numerous) Go players had a real challenge in finding opponents and people to play, share and learn with.

Luckily for me, I did not experience that.

A little about me

I have been involved in the Go scene since 2003. I remember the wide-spread use of IGS, something that was a historic landmark for many players in the world.

Many players that had dropped Go altogether, due to the lack of players, could now find games in a daily basis!

I also remember how painful it was for me to sign up, for various reasons, which led me look for alternatives, like KGS.

I was a beginner back then (and the games where I was around 20 kyu are still there). The user experience at KGS was much better, but there was something more important that I liked about it. The community cohesion.

People were teaching a lot. There were go clubs (I was a member of Wings Go Club) and lots of chatting, as well as games. This was a key and still is a key determining factor in a successful Go server. Not all people log-in to just play a game or watch a pro game. There are a wealth of things to do with this game.

Back then there were some Go server wars, but in the long run the results were (in my opinion) consistent with the services provided. One result is that servers are fairly clearly divided into Asian and Western, which I think can be avoided. Asian servers have an enormous number of strong and able players, but they have almost no community activity, or if they do, they are absolutely unreachable.

The world changes quickly

The server wars happened almost 10 years ago. Back then many current technologies, that we now take for granted, didn’t exist yet. These servers have been around since before the birth of Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Google Earth, and many more novelties like Ajax and the current state-of-the-art browsers – that are so much better than they were 10 years ago.

They were not built to anticipate these changes, and its impossible to blame them. Nobody knows what the future will give us. Today we know the future is uncertain more than ever.

In recent years WBaduk and Tygem have shown clear efforts to expand into the west, but their only competitive advantages are the number of strong players and that they broadcast live professional games.

They do seem to have a rich clients but somehow they are not so usable for Westerners. The social experience is so poor and also difficult for Westerners, due to language barrier. They haven’t achieved success.

Asian servers are huge and profitable, but also slow and heavy. They cannot really react to changes as fast as modern software companies do.

Still, looking at the current solutions for online Go is very short sighted.

I could never imagine that in the year 2050 we would still be using what we know today. So I started wondering, what features would the Go server of the future have and what would it look like?

Like many ideas one comes up with, I started by thinking about how we could improve what we have now. KGS with an internal training tool, like WBaduk has. Or WBaduk with a social spin. But even though those things would be cool, they would not be disruptive.

The next generation of Go servers

The next generation of Go servers has to be undisputably different. It’s not supposed to make other servers look worse, its simply supposed to be different. You don’t compare Facebook with Youtube.

Over time, I started writing down ideas that I thought would be awesome, thinking in a limitless fashion, as if anything could be done. Much of my inspiration came from personally experienced shortcomings.

• Two years ago I ran an online Go school (Atsumi) and I had a large number of students. However, I didn’t have the tools I needed to make the big jump. I didn’t make enough revenue to live on it, nor could I devise a plan to do so. My biggest source of expenses was advertising myself through free lectures, and ads. I had no support network to grow as a business and make a living. You are absolutely alone. You can see that all the Go ventures out there fly solo – ASR, insei league, eidogo, gokifu, igolocal…

• Also, many times I’ve met people who were curious about Go after I told them I was a player. But I had no resources to help them. Yes, playgo interactive is a nice site, but that’s a terrible solution if you think about it. I would like to share a link, and show someone in a super conversational way how to play. Telling someone to go to a website, download a client, log in as a guest, then find me there with x-nickname, then look for the game I open… It’s too many steps!

And then I started thinking about a key problem no community in the world is fixing in a systematic way: the creation of new players. One of a Go server’s top priorities has to be the generation of more players. It’s really only logical: more players will show more revenue eventually. Yet, no server is making such an attempt as the task seems too daunting to take.

These two things got me started on a wealth of features and, more importantly, the philosophy by the which Kaya was conceived several months later.

All Go players share a bond through a Goban, even if we don’t know each other, we feel respect for someone that plays Go. It’s something personal and important.

Expanding the community of Go players

We should make a serious effort to expand the community. We should make a serious effort to pull the community together and synergize our efforts. What we build in this generation is going to help the next one.

I wouldn’t be here if IGS didn’t help the generation before me. And I wouldn’t be who I am without KGS. I want to give the next generation of Go players an even better environment.

Kaya.gs is not only intended to be a place where you can find players and opponents, its a place where you can enjoy the legacy of some of the most passionate players and contributors in the community. Its a venture aiming to help other ventures become real, interesting, professional and important, and hence making the whole community richer.

Thinking about what’s possible

When you start thinking about what is possible, only the sky is the limit. Things never done before, like tsumego competitions, or yose challenges (2 players get a 0.5 point pro game, play it out and compare their yose to the professional one), go shows and live TV, tournament news coverage and online organizational tools for Go communities. Online study groups, multi-video sessions, massive server games analysis to check out amateur joseki fashions. Fake betting, complex rank graphs, and much more.

The number of things we haven’t tried yet and the potential experience is so huge. We are not devoting enough energy to these matters as a community.

We picked the name Kaya because we want it to be organic, like the 10,000 year old tree that is used to make gobans.

We want to grow and expand and constantly be changing, and make a big forest. The ultimate goal is to improve how we experience Go, just like the tree does, by becoming a board.

Kaya.gs demo video

If there is one thing I would like the readers to take from this, it is to understand that we are trying to build a living, breathing and expanding space. One that constantly looks to improve the experience and also increase the number of players and activities related to this game.

Gabriel Benmergui - Kaya.gs - Kaya.gs blog

 

What’s your vision for the future?

How about you? What do you think the Go server of the future will look like? Leave a comment below to share your ideas.

You can read more about Kaya.gs at the Kaya.gs blog.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Commentary: Baoxiang Bai vs Hironori Hirata – 32nd WAGC 2011
2. Rising young Go players at 25th Tianyuan Tournament
3. Top 20 Go Players: Won Seongjin and Li Zhe

Original article: What will the Go server of the future look like? - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This game is from the quarter finals of the 16th Samsung Cup in 2011. It’s between Kong Jie (9p) and Na Hyun (1p).

Kong Jie is regarded as one of the best three in the world, along with Lee Sedol (9p) and Gu Li (9p).

On the other hand, Na Hyun is young and not yet well known.

Kong Jie’s style of play is just like a textbook on Go. Thick and solid, very good at counting and endgame.

However, he sometimes makes mistakes when he’s in time trouble.

Na Hyun became a pro last year, but he already beat Sakai Hideyuki (8p) and Peng Liyao (5p) before this game.

I hope you enjoy this game.

Commented game record: Kong Jie vs Na Hyun

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho
2. 4 players left standing in the 16th Samsung Cup
3. Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final

Original article: Commentary: Kong Jie vs Na Hyun – 16th Samsung Cup - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 12.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

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Hard Go problem

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 1
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 5
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 6

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 12 - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

On November 16, 2011, the 55th Kuksu ended in Korea, with Cho Hanseung (9p) winning his first Kuksu title over defending champion Choi Cheolhan (9p).

The first 4 games

Choi, as the defending title holder and also past title holder (2004-2005), arguably entered the title matches with a slight edge. However, Cho, who gained an early finish from military service based on his Go performance, was certainly a dark horse.

After the third match on October 25 Cho had a 2-1 lead over Choi and it seemed like victory was within reach. However Choi clawed his way back on November 14 to make a stand at 2-2.

Black wins all 5 games

On November 16 the final game took place. Interestingly in all 5 games, the player that held black emerged as the winner, which is most unusual.

Kuksu

The Kuksu is a domestic title tournament in Korea. The Korean word, Kuksu, corresponds to the Chinese characters (国手, guoshou), which literally mean ‘national hand’, but translate loosely to something more like ‘national treasure’.

Rui Naiwei (9p), widely known as the strongest female player, famously won this tournament in 1999, defeating the legendary Cho Hunhyun (9p).

A strange pattern…

Since its inception in 1956, the Kuksu has been characterised by long winning streaks by the dominant players of the time – Cho Namcheol (9p) held the title from 1956 to 1964, Kim In (9p) from 1965 to 1970, Cho Hunhyun from 1977 to 1985 and Lee Changho from 1993 to 1997.

Both Lee Changho and Cho Hunhyun also won the title in other non-consecutive years. More recently though, the title has not been held for more than two years in a row.

More photos from the 55th Kuksu title match

Game records from the 55th Kuksu

Game record: Cho Hanseung vs Choi Cheolhan – Game 1

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Game record: Choi Cheolhan vs Cho Hanseung – Game 2

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Game record: Cho Hanseung vs Choi Cheolhan - Game 3

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Game record: Choi Cheolhan vs Cho Hanseung - Game 4

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Game record: Cho Hanseung vs Choi Cheolhan - Game 5

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Chen Yaoye wins 15th China Korea Tengen
2. Korea wins 12th Nongshim Cup
3. Commentary: Choi Cheolhan vs Chen Yaoye – China Korea Tengen

Original article: Cho Hanseung wins 55th Kuksu in Korea - Go Game Guru

While preparing for my last journey I decided I’d bring one of my long forgotten Go books. Though some readers will certainly think I’m talking about the book Tesuji -which I forgot at a train a month ago-, I’m actually talking about my other Go book: “Five Hundred and One Opening Problems“.

Assuming I’d spend some long hours at the airports and over a dozen of hours in planes, taking a go book along with me seemed like a good idea. And it soon proved me right. Straight from the beginning I was surprised by another wonderful introduction to some Go concepts and some very basic strategic guidelines. Remembering of Tesuji, I can recall having read an interesting explanation on how to read as an introduction. Tesuji isn’t intended for dan players, but more for the DDK and SDK. However, its introduction is just perfect when trying to explain how the mental process of reading works for newcomers.

In spite of reading the whole book, I would suggest beginners to read just the introduction of these books. And I’m sure there must be some other good newbie focused material around. Since I can’t actually buy all the books around just for the introduction, these introductions just brought to my mind the existence of a internet file with some tenths of go books I wrote about long time ago, the Go Education Collection.

The introduction of Five Hundred and One Opening Problems has two parts:

Concepts: it defines and gives one or two samples of the following concepts: aji, atari, gote, hane, miai, moyo, sabaki, light, heavy, sente, tesuji, thick and thin. This section appears in every book from the “Mastering the basics” collection.

Strategic considerations during fuseki. The part I like the most… and my pupils hate the most, since I say it a few times while reviewing their games:

• Is there an urgent move?
• One that makes a base for your stones.
• One that takes away the base of your opponent’s stones.
• One that takes the initiative in a certain area
• Is there a big move?
• One that extends from your own position
• One that prevents an extesnsion by your opponent.
• One that threatens an invasion.
• One that prevents an invasion
• Is there a big moyo?
• Do you need to expand or close off your moyo?
• Do you need to erase or invade your opponent’s moyo?

If you want to go for a newbie-focused book, I might go for the “A complete introduction to the game” by Cho Chi Kun, who starts from the very basic go rules to somewhat harder tesujis and strategic concepts by the end of the book. Obviously, reading this book needs to be accompanied by some games, otherwise it’s useless. By the way, thank you Matrod for letting me know about this book.

Would anyone want to comment any book?

Related posts:

1. Discovering Go Books – Elementary Go Series: Tesuji
2. Go Education Collection

by An Younggil (8p):

I’d like to introduce some more of the top 20 Go players of 2010. I’m sorry for the long delay in finishing these articles.

Won Seongjin (9p) of Korea and Li Zhe (6p) of China are both currently ranked number 9 according to Dr Bae Taeil.

Won Seongjin

Won Seongjin became a pro in 1998 when he was only 13 years old. He won second place in Rookies’ tournament in 1999. His results in tournaments were getting better and better, though he didn’t win any titles in his early years as a pro.

He won the Chunwon (Tengen) Title in 2007 and that was his first title. After that he beat Gu Li in the China Korea Tengen the following year.

At that time, he also knocked Gu Li down in a drinking battle the night after the match. He won the GS Caltex Cup in 2010, beating Cho Hanseung, and he’s currently ranked number 5 in Korea.

The baby cow trio

Won Seongjin is the same age as Park Younghun and Choi Cheolhan, and they are called the ‘baby cow trio’. It’s because they were born in the year of the ox, but as they were so young, people called them that. Park and Choi have already won international titles, and hopefully Won will also do that someday in the future.

He has an older brother, whose name is Seong-Wook. He also used to be insei, but he gave up trying to become pro when he was about 14.

However, Seongjin kept going on, and he’s become one of the best players today. When Won was very young, he was so cute and naive, so he was liked by all the other insei. Especially the girls.

At that time, I called him ‘Won baby’ (as a nickname) because he was like a lovely baby. But his nickname by now is ‘Won punch’, because his punch in Go is so powerful and heavy.

Won Seongjin’s style

His style of play is different from other top players. Unlike most pro players, he doesn’t play for territory. He prefers to play for thickness and solid shapes instead.

He never plays speedy moves, prefering to play slow and calm Go. He waits patiently for a perfect time to throw a punch, like a lion in the Savanna, and his powerful punches are highly successful in knocking his opponents out.

Won Seongjin’s personality

Won, as a person, is positive, humorous and active, so he has lots of friends. He enjoys sports like soccer, basketball, bowling, and especially baseball.

He’s one of core players in the Korean Baduk Professional baseball team called ‘Ki’(棋). When I was in Korea, we went to the Children’s Grand Park quite often to play baseball with other pros, but Won and the team are playing real baseball in a community baseball league.

Learning Chinese together

In 2004, I learned Chinese with Won and Cho Hanseung for about half a year, until I went into the army to complete my military service. While I was learning Chinese, I once visited China for an event with them.

We started speaking in Chinese when we were all tipsy, and the conversation in Chinese was much more fluent and fun than normally. I suddenly felt that it’s far easier to speak in a foreign language when someone is drunk, and I still believe that’s true.

Although there are lots of young talented players who are challenging the top level players today, Won still maintains his position and tries to go ahead.

The 16th Samsung Cup

Very recently, Won played against Chen Yaoye in the semi final of the 16th Samsung Cup, and it was a very interesting match. It’s because Chen specializes in defense and patience, and Won specializes in offense – with his hammer punch.

In the final of the Samsung Cup, Won is going to challenge Gu Li (9p) again. It will be another exciting match.

Let’s see whose style is superior in the final.

 

Li Zhe

Li Zhe is ranked number 9 as well.

He became a pro in 2000, when he was only 11, and won the Chinese ‘Rookies’ Cup’ (Xinren Wang) in 2006, beating Wang Yao. It was his first title, and he hasn’t added another title to it so far.

In 2008, Li was in the final of the CCTV Cup, but lost to Xie He. However, he won a bronze medal in the individual male division of 1st World Mind Sports Games.

Potential not fulfilled yet

When he was very young, he was one of top potential players in China. He is still very strong, of course, but he didn’t grow as much as was expected.

Personally, I don’t know him very well. I only played with him once in the preliminary match of Samsung Cup in 2008. It was just before I came to Australia.

At that time, he was so young, but he looked even younger because of his baby face. I was in the lead at the beginning of the game, after using some tricky moves (yes, tricky moves sometimes work very well even against top pros ), but my huge group was captured at the end of the game and I resigned.

I was so impressed by his poker face and calmness during the game, even though he was far younger than me. He made it to the quarter final, but was beaten by Zhou Ruiyang, in that tournament.

An orthodox style

His style of play seems to be pretty normal. He doesn’t try to play brilliant moves and just plays common moves consistently. For me, his games are not very impressive, compared to other top players, so it’s hard to describe his style of play in detail.

He is not yet greatly popular, because his results in international tournaments are not outstanding so far. However, he was in the semifinal in Mingren (Meijin) in China, and the main tournament of the Samsung Cup this year.

He impressively beat both Park Junghwan (9p) and Piao Wenyao (9p) in the first round of the main tournament, but was beaten by Kim Jiseok (7p) in the next round.

Let’s pay more attention to Li Zhe’s next steps in the near future.

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final
2. 4 players left standing in the 16th Samsung Cup
3. 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho

Original article: Top 20 Go Players: Won Seongjin and Li Zhe - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 11.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 4
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 9

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 11 - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Recent reports of Richard Bozulich’s death have, as Mark Twain once said, been greatly exaggerated.

Earlier this week (5 November, 2011), Go Game Guru published a report that Richard Bozulich had died. Mr Bozulich, founder of the Ishi Press and the Kiseido Publishing Company, is the author, translator or publisher of many popular Go books.

I am relieved to learn that these reports were false and, as editor, I’d like to personally apologize to everyone for our part in spreading this misinformation.

What follows is a correction of the facts. We’re publishing this article in collaboration with the American Go Association E-Journal. You can read their version of the article here.

Bozulich was indeed hospitalized sources tell the E-Journal, “but he is at home and OK now.”

In an email to Teddy Terpstra, Bozulich reported that “Although I was in the hospital for some surgery and experienced a minor glitch, I did survive. My ‘biographer’ did not wait around for the final prognosis and jumped to the conclusion that I had expired.”

A clearly amused Bozulich signed off “Best regards from beyond the crypt,” with assurances that “I hope to be around for another 15 years or so.”

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. 32nd World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) 2011 Final Results
2. Misadventure on a Qantas A380
3. Want to improve your Go and see China? Shanghai Go Camp 2011

Original article: Richard Bozulich: Alive and well after all! - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

On November 5, 2011, three stalwarts of the Go world, Takemiya Masaki (9p) of Japan, Cho Hunhyun (9p) of Korea and Nie Weiping (9p) of China met to face each other in the Chibi Ancient Battlefield Cup.

This tournament is a three way veterans showdown and the format is similar to the Bosai Cup.

Cho Hunhyun wins the first round

Takemiya drew a bye in the first round, which left Cho and Nie to battle it out in what is most certainly a reprise of many past matches.

Cho claimed the first spot in the finals, which meant Nie had to beat Takemiya to stay in the competition.

Nie Weiping defeats Takemiya Masaki

Nie next defeated Takemiya and got a second chance against Cho in the finals. Unfortunately for Takemiya and his fans, he was eliminated.

Takemiya shows off his dancing skills (again)

In the evening, there was a gala performance in honour of the three legendary players.

Not reaching the finals did not seem to dampen Takemiya’s spirits at all and he eagerly joined the performers on stage, relishing any chance to dance!

 

 

Cho Hunhyun wins

On November 6, 2011, the finals (best of 3), between Cho and Nie took place.

It was like the 1st Ing Cup final in 1989 all over again! This time though, Cho impressively won two consecutive games and won the Chibi Ancient Battlefield Cup with an unblemished record.

 

Game record: Takemiya Masaki vs Nie Weiping

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Game record: Cho Hunhyun vs Nie Weiping

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1. Takemiya Masaki steals the show at 55th European Go Congress
2. 32nd World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) 2011 Final Results
3. Tiger Cubs Storm into 11th Ricoh Cup Final

Original article: Takemiya Masaki, Nie Weiping and Cho Hunhyun: History repeats in 2011 - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

We’ve been working on this for months now, so I’m excited to finally be telling you that our Go shop is open for business!

If you’ve been waiting to buy Go books, then wait no longer. Head on over to the shop and see what we’ve got in stock.

Many readers will remember that we trialed a book shop for a short time earlier this year. I wrote about why we’re opening a Go book shop back then, and our goals haven’t changed in the meantime.

Now that we’ve finished organizing everything so that the shop can run smoothly, we intend that it will be here to stay.

Faster, easier, affordable Go books

We want to make it faster, easier and more affordable for everyone around the world to buy and enjoy go books. That’s why we provide an easy to use online checkout, worldwide shipping options and post all valid orders on the next business day.

If you have any questions about the shop, please leave a comment below. You can also read our new frequently asked questions page.

If the shop does well, we’ll work to expand the range of products and drive down shipping costs for everyone.

Enter our competition and you could win a free Go book

To celebrate the opening, we’re giving away some free books. If you win, you’ll be able to choose any Go book you like from our current range, and we’ll send it to you absolutely free of charge.

You can visit the competition page to learn more about it. Just click here to enter.

And if you subscribe to our free newsletter, don’t forget to check your email for some other exciting news.

Good luck!

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Why the Go book shop hasn’t reopened yet
2. Want to buy Go books? Why we’re opening a Go book shop
3. Happy 1st Birthday Go Game Guru!

Original article: Our Go book shop is now open – Your chance to win a free Go book - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This game is from final of the 2nd Bingsheng Cup.

It’s between Park Jieun (9p) of Korea and Tang Yi (2p) of China.

Park beat Rui Naiwei in the semi final, and Tang beat Park Jiyeon. Park also won the 1st Bingsheng Cup, beating Joanne Missingham (Hei Jiajia) in the final last year.

Commented game record: Park Jieun vs Tang Yi

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Park Jieun wins 2nd Bingsheng Cup
2. Commentary: Joanne Missingham vs Park Jieun – 16th Samsung Cup
3. Commentary: Rui Naiwei vs Park Jieun – 9th Jeongganjang Cup

Original article: Commentary: Park Jieun vs Tang Yi – 2nd Bingsheng Cup - Go Game Guru

by Guest Writer:

[Editor's note: I was saddened to learn recently about the passing of Mr Richard Bozulich, founder of the Ishi Press and Kiseido Publishing Company.

Mr Bozulich was a tireless promoter of Go for over 40 years; writing, translating and publishing many English language Go books. Go players around the world owe him a great debt.

Our thoughts are with Mr Bozulich's family and friends.

The following is an edited excerpt from Mr Bozulich's obituary, which was sent to us by a close friend of his. The full version will be published in the Japan Times.]

Richard Bozulich 1936-2011

Richard Bozulich, the world’s foremost publisher of books in English on the game of Go, passed away at his home in Chigasaki at the age of 75, from complications resulting from prostate-cancer surgery.

Richard established The Ishi Press, Inc. [in 1968] and began publishing books on the game of Go in English, a business operation which soon became the major international vehicle for the promotion and promulgation of this extraordinarily difficult board game.

Music was perhaps his greatest love and his lifelong hobby was playing the piano. Recognized early as a child prodigy, he eventually became extremely adept at rendering the keyboard works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and Rachmaninoff.

He admired such piano virtuosi as Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein and, above all, the great Russian pianist/composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff. He was also quite fond of the performances of the well-known Nazi pianist Walter Gieseking, especially his rendering of the works of Debussy and Mozart.

Bozulich’s single most significant cultural achievement was to make the board game of Go into a widespread cult phenomenon in occidental intellectual circles.

Through his numerous publications he was able to show the connections of Go to Asian philosophy and art, and to demonstrate how the strategy of Go can become a basis for decision-making in everyday life.

Before his untimely demise, he had just published a review deconstructing Kissinger’s latest book on China, in the American Go Association’s Bob High Memorial Library.

By Herman Pevner

Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Our Go book shop is now open – Your chance to win a free Go book
2. Why the Go book shop hasn’t reopened yet
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Original article: Obituary: Richard Bozulich – Founder of Kiseido Publishing Company - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

The 16th Samsung Cup well and truly reached the pointy end of the draw this week, with just 4 players left standing.

On October 31, 2011, Gu Li (9p) of China took on Korean young gun, Na Hyun (1p) while fellow Korean, Won Seongjin (9p), took on China’s Chen Yaoye (9p).

Gu and Won emerged as the winners of match one. However, the semifinals of the Samsung Cup are played as a best of three match.

Gu Li defeats Na Hyun in two games

On November 2, Gu went through to the final, after a second win against Na. This cut Na Hyun’s dream run to the finals short, but we will likely see his name coming up more often in the future.

Meanwhile Chen Yaoye fought back against Won Seongjin to win game 2. This took Chen and Won to a deciding third game on November 3.

Won Seongjin proceeds

Won Seongjin prevailed in the third game, but only after a hard battle involving many ko fights. He will now face Gu Li in the final.

The 16th Samsung Cup finals

The finals will be played in Shanghai, in early December, 2011. Of the two players, only Gu, the defending champion, has played in the finals of the Samsung Cup.

Will this give Gu the edge? Or will Won, who has only previously won China Korea Tengen, win his first major international title?

Photos from the semifinals

 

Game records: 16th Samsung Cup semifinals

Game record: Gu Li vs Na Hyun – Game 1

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Game record: Na Hyun vs Gu Li – Game 2

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Game record: Won Seongjin vs Chen Yaoye – Game 1

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Game record: Chen Yaoye vs Won Seongjin – Game 2

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Game record: Chen Yaoye vs Won Seongjin – Game 3

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho
2. 4 players left standing in the 16th Samsung Cup
3. 16th Samsung Cup: Group stage concludes

Original article: Gu Li to face Won Seongjin in 16th Samsung Cup final - Go Game Guru

by David Ormerod:

Here are the weekly Go problems for week 10.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

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Intermediate Go problem

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Hard Go problem

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Weekly Go problems: Week 2
2. Weekly Go problems: Week 3
3. Weekly Go problems: Week 7

Original article: Weekly Go problems: Week 10 - Go Game Guru

by An Younggil (8p):

This game is from the 5th round of the 2nd Olleh KT Cup.

Choi Cheolhan (9p) is currently ranked number 4 in Korea, and Kim Kiyong (6p) is number 20.

Kim won two rookies titles in 2008 against Park Jungwhan and Kim Seungjae. Even though he’s not yet regarded as a top player, he keeps knocking on the top level players’ door.

I used to study Go with Kim when we were younger. At that time, his nickname was ‘grandpa’, because he was so kind and easy going. He speaks slowly and acts slowly, like a grandpa, but he plays Go very quickly.

So far, these two have played three games each other. Choi won the first two, and Kim won the most recent one…

Commented game record: Kim Kiyong vs Choi Cheolhan

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Olé olé! 2nd Olleh Cup enters quarter finals
2. Commentary: Choi Cheolhan vs Chen Yaoye – China Korea Tengen
3. Commentary: Kong Jie vs Choi Cheolhan – 12th Nongshim Cup

Original article: Commentary: Kim Kiyong vs Choi Cheolhan – 2nd Olleh KT Cup - Go Game Guru

by Jing:

Yamashita Keigo (9p) defeated Iyama Yuta (9p), the defending title holder, to win the 36th Meijin on October 28, 2011 in Japan.

Yamashita now becomes the 7th pro to simultaneously hold both the modern Honinbo and Meijin titles.

He joins the ranks of previous luminaries, Sakata Eio, Rin Kaiho, Ishida Yoshio, Cho Chikun, Cho U and Takao Shinji.

Interestingly, this is a reversal of the result from earlier this month, when Iyama took the Agon Cup from defending champion, Yamashita.

The Korean Myeongin

Meanwhile, the 24th Mingren and 39th Myeongin are getting serious in China and Korea.

In Korea, the 39th Myeongin semi finalists have been decided. Joining Baek Hongsuk (8p) and Lee Changho (9p) are Park Younghun (9p) and Lee Taehyun (4p).

The Chinese Mingren

In China, on October 24, 2011, Jiang Weijie (5p) won the second match of the 24th Mingren title, against challenger Kong Jie (9p).

This means Jiang is only one win away from holding the best of three title. It’s certainly going to be a big task for Kong to come back from a 0-2 deficit, but let’s see if he can do it!

36th Japanese Meijin final gallery

Game records

Game record: Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo

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Game record: Jin Donggyu vs Park Younghun

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Game record: Kong Jie vs Jiang Weijie

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Related articles on Go Game Guru:

1. Tale of three Meijins: Lee Changho schools Cho Insun
2. Tale of three Meijins continues – Amateur player wins pro status
3. A tale of three Meijins

Original article: Yamashita Keigo wins 36th Meijin - Go Game Guru

A few days ago I had someone play this against me.







I had not seen it before and suspected it wasn't joseki, but the question is how to deal with it. If you want to see the game and how I dealt with it, click here.



Another interesting situation which came up in that game has to do with a capturing race starting at move 176. It is a simple capturing race according to the Hunter book (Counting Liberties and Winning Capturing Races). Still, I was as always surprised to see how much harder it is to read this out in a game, in 30 seconds byo yomi,than from the comfort of your arm chair in studying the Hunter book. Looking back I should have tenuki'ed from it much earlier I think.