The 2014 Samsung Cup semifinals were played from November 5-7, 2014 in Daejeon, Korea.

The semifinal pairing saw China’s top ranked Shi Yue 9p pitted against Korea’s number 2, Kim Jiseok 9p, and China’s number 9, Tang Weixing 9p, take on Korea’s leading player, Park Junghwan 9p.

According to Dr Bai Taeil’s world rating system, Shi, Park and Kim were ranked 1, 2 and 3 as of October 2014.

Tang, the defending champion, was ranked a few places below at number 11.

Day 1 – Shi vs Kim

Shi played black against Kim in their first game.

There was an interesting fight on the right side, and the result up to White 80 was even.

White 98 was a nice invasion, and Black 103 and 105 were very severe.

White 112 was a brilliant tesuji, and the result up to White 122 was still about even.

However, White took a slight lead with move 134.

White 160 was a skillful way to steal Black’s eye shape, which also supported his stones in the lower left.

White’s cut at 166 consolidated his advantage. Tang tried to reverse the result in the endgame, but Kim didn’t give him any chances.

Day 1 – Tang vs Park

Tang played black against Park in their first game.

Black 25 was a mistake, and White 26 was a good way to respond. The result up to Black 33 was very good for White.

White lost the momentum briefly with moves 52 and 54, which were slack, and Black tried to catch up with Black 53 and 55.

However, White 72 and 74 were nice and thick, which allowed White to maintain his lead.

Black 91 to 95 were practical moves but White 96 was a mistake. White should have extended to G6 instead.

White 102 and 104 were overplays, and White 112 was yet another mistake. It should have been at 115 (G6) instead.

Even though White captured the corner group, Black captured White’s two stones up to Black 141.

The game was completely reversed up to Black 147.

White would eventually have to play many moves to win the capturing race in the bottom left (semedori) so his territory there was smaller it looked.

Day 2 – Shi vs Kim

Kim played black against Shi in their second game.

White 62 and 64 should have been played in the reverse order with the cut followed by the atari. The game was slightly better for Black up to move 67.

Black 87 was a strong counter (against 86), but White 96 was also a very nice tesuji. The result up to White 110 still slightly favored Black.

When Black attacked White’s left center group, White 140 and 142 formed a good combination, and the game became even up to move 160.

White 178 was a mistake. He should have played at L12.

White 186 was the losing move. Black cut the center stone in sente and built a huge territory in the center up to Black 191.

Day 2 – Tang vs Park

Park played black against Tang in their second game.

White 36 was an overplay and Black attacked effectively with move 37.

Park didn’t really give Tang any chances after he took this early lead.

White 62 should have been the push at 63 (N11). The game became very good for Black up to move 73.

White saved his group up to White 96, but Black was still ahead with Black 97.

Black 125 was a nice tesuji, and White 132 was necessary to maintain the balance of territory.

However, Black’s attack was very severe and accurate from Black 133, and White didn’t have any opportunities to live.

Day 3 – Tang vs Park

Park played black against Tang in their third game.

The big trade up to white 26 was interesting but Black 27 was a mistake which left bad aji.

Black should have reinforced the bottom instead of playing at Black 47 (C14).

White 58 and 60 were an effective combination and Black 71 was a bit slack.

White 80 was what Tang had been aiming for since the opening, and it was very hard for Black to capture.

When White’s group at the bottom was resurrected, the game became very good for White.

White 124 was a mistake and Black 141 and 143 worked well together to reduce White’s territory on the left.

The result up to Black 159 was successful for Black, but White was still slightly ahead.

Tang’s endgame was flawless, and there were no chances for Park to catch up.

When Park resigned, Tang was winning by 2.5 points.

Kim’s first international final

Play will resume from December 9-11, with the final of the Samsung Cup being held in Xian, China.

This will be Kim’s first appearance in an international final while Tang will be hoping to defend the title he won last year.

For the record buffs out there, Kim and Tang’s head to head record currently stands at 3-1 in Kim’s favor.

The Samsung Cup

The Samsung Cup first started in 1996 and uses a rather convoluted draw. Though, arguably, it is fairer than a straight knockout format.

The 32 players in the main draw are split into 8 groups of 4. Players must win two games in order to proceed from the first stage; two players from each group will advance to the knockout stage.

In some ways it’s similar to the group stage of the FIFA World Cup, except that only two wins are necessary to continue.

The round of 16 and the quarter finals are played as a straight knockout.

The semifinals and the final are played as a best of three matches.

The time limit for games is 2 hours and 5 x 1 minute byo-yomi.

Samsung is a well known Korean conglomerate.

Game records

Shi Yue vs Kim Jiseok – Game 1

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Tang Weixing vs Park Junghwan – Game 1

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Kim Jiseok vs Shi Yue – Game 2

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Park Junghwan vs Tang Weixing – Game 2

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Park Junghwan vs Tang Weixing – Game 3

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Younggil An, with Jingning Xue and David Ormerod

via Go Game Guru http://ift.tt/13TQWD7