The 16th Nongshim Cup got started in Beijing, China, from October 21 to 24, 2014.
What’s in the giant noodle cups? The draw!
The Nongshim Cup
The Nongshim Cup is a team event between China, Japan and Korea.
The sponsor, Nongshim, is a Korean instant noodles company.
The tournament uses a win and continue format, which is common in these team events.
Korea has dominated this event, winning it 11 times. In contrast, Japan has won it only once, while China is slowly catching up with three wins.
Round 1 of the 16th Nongshim Cup is now complete. Round 2 will start on November 28, 2014 in Busan, Korea and round 3 will take place some time in the first half of 2015.
Game 1
Ichiriki Ryo 7p and Byun Sangil 3p kicked off play for the Japanese and Korean teams respectively.
Much to Japanese fans’ delight, Ichiriki defeated Byun to get team Japan off to a good start.
Byun Sangil 3 dan (left) and Ichiriki Ryo 7 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup
It was a very one sided game.
Black 33 was a mistake, and White took an early lead.
Black 91 was an overplay, and the game was practically over by move 102.
Byun tried to catch up but Ichiriki didn’t give him any chances.
The last Japanese player to win the opening game in this tournament was Hane Naoki 9p in 2007.
Ichiriki won the 1st Globis Cup earlier this year, in May 2014, and he’s considered to be one of Japan’s most promising players.
Yoda Norimoto 9p was also at the tournament to support team Japan.
Some pros say this is Japan’s best Nongshim Cup team in several years.
Yoda Norimoto 9p supporting Ichiriki Ryo 7p at the 16th Nongshim Cup
Game 2
Ichiriki also played very well against Tuo Jiaxi 9p, who was the first to step up to the plate for team China, but he didn’t maintain his lead and allowed Tuo to catch up and eventually win the game.
Tuo Jiaxi 9 dan (left) takes on Ichiriki Ryo at the 16th Nongshim Cup
Game 3
Next, Tuo faced Kang Dongyun 9p, who was the second player for team Korea.
Tuo’s opening in this game was dull. When Tuo invaded in the top left, Kang attacked severely and chased Tuo’s dragon all the way to the bottom of the board.
Kang eventually defeated Tuo with a series of very sharp tesujis.
Kang Dongyun 9p defeats Tuo Jiaxi 9p at the 16th Nongshim Cup
Game 4
Now we’re going to have a look at the fourth game, between Kang Dongyun 9p and Ida Atsushi 8p, in detail.
Kang Dongyun 9p and Ida Atsushi 8p at the 16th Nongshim Cup
Kang is currently ranked #4 in Korea.
He made it to the quarter finals of the 2014 Samsung Cup in mid October, but his run was cut short when he was defeated by Tang Weixing 9p.
Ida was born in 1994. He and Ichiriki are considered to be two of Japan’s rising stars.
Ida challenged Iyama Yuta 9p for the 69th Honinbo title in 2014, but he lost 4-1.
However, to earn the right to challenge Iyama, Ichiriki defeated Yamashita Keigo 9p in the challenger decision match, which caused quite a stir among Japanese Go fans.
Let’s have a look at the game!
Commented game record
Kang Dongyun vs Ida Atsushi – Game 4
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Other game records
Byun Sangil vs Ichiriki Ryo – Game 1
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Tuo Jiaxi vs Ichiriki Ryo – Game 2
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Kang Dongyun vs Tuo Jiaxi – Game 3
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