Go Commentary: Gu Li vs Lee Sedol – Jubango – Game 2

The second game of the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango took place in Pinghu (on outskirts of Shanghai), on February 23, 2014.

This time Gu Li held black and Lee Sedol played white.

Lee won the first game, so it became more important for Gu to even the series by winning this game.

No home turf advantage

Many people expected that Gu Li would have something of an advantage in this match, because most of the games will be played in China. However, it doesn’t seem like Lee Sedol is affected by that so far, since the different food and environment don’t seem to bother him.

Gu Li under pressure

Actually, it looks like Gu Li is under quite a bit of pressure from his fans and the Chinese media. They’re very enthusiastic about this match, and I suspect that this could be creating more psychological pressure and may be distracting Gu.

Gu Li Lee Sedol Gu Li Gu Lee jubango game 2 550x376 picture

Gu Li 9 dan played black in the second game of his jubango with Lee Sedol 9 dan.

The rules of the game

The time limit for these games is 3 hours and 55 minutes, with 1 minute x 5 times byo-yomi. It’s traditional to subtract 5 minutes from the 4 hour total, because of the 5 x 1 minute periods.

There’s no lunch break scheduled for these games, but food is provided and the players are free to get up and eat whenever they want, throughout the game.

Anyway, let’s have a look at the second game of the jubango.