The final of the 2014 Samsung Cup was held on December 9 and 10, in Xi’an, China.

 

China’s Tang Weixing 9p was hoping to defend his title, while Korea’s Kim Jiseok 9p was aiming for his first international title.

 

Korea’s drought finally broken

Kim delighted Korean fans by defeating Tang 2-0 and finally breaking Korea’s recent international title drought.

This is the first time a Korean player has won a major international title since Lee Sedol 9p won the 2012 Samsung Cup.

(Note: Lee Sedol also won this year’s 26th Asian TV Cup, but that’s a lightning tournament and doesn’t have the same stature as tournaments like the Samsung Cup.)

Here’s some brief commentary on the games, with a more detailed review to come later:

Game 1

Tang played black against Kim.

The opening was well balanced between Black’s territory and White’s influence up to Black 35.

Black 57 and 59 were strong, and the first fight began!

White 68 and 70 formed a nice combination, and the game was still well balanced up to Black 79.

White 104 and 106 stubbornly resisted Black, and White started to attack with White 114.

However, Black 123 and 127 were very effective, which meant the result through to 139 was still even.

White made an error with 160. Black 161 was a very good way to save Black 55 (K15), after which Black took the lead.

However, Black 195, 215 and 225 were all mistakes and the game was reversed.

Game 2

Kim played black against Tang.

The new opening up to Black 25 produced an even result.

Black 33 started a successful invasion up to Black 43.

White 56 and 58 were unusual moves. However, Black was still slightly ahead up to Black 69.

White 76 to 80 was a clever tesuji combination, but White 88 was a mistake.

Black established a clear lead by capturing two stones with 101.

White 102 was a nice move, and White 118 was interesting, but Black’s responses were perfect.

White went all out with 134 and 136, to stay in the tournament. But once again Black answered impeccably, with 143 and 145.

White 148, 156, 160, 170 were all tricky moves. However Kim didn’t lose his cool and his play remained calm and solid.

Black 171 was a brilliant tesuji, and by now the game was basically over.

Kim and Tang’s head to head record now stands at 5-1 in Kim’s favor.

Kim’s amazing record

Kim’s 2014 individual record in international matches has been near perfect, at 15 wins and 1 loss. He was only defeated by Qiu Jun 9p in the quarter finals of the 2nd Bailing Cup.

(Note: 15-1 excludes team tournaments like the Zhaoshang and Nongshim Cups.)

In addition, Kim still has the 19th LG Cup final against Park Junghwan 9p to look forward to in February 2015.

What a fantastic year for Kim!

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

Tang Weixing vs Kim Jiseok – Game 1

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Kim Jiseok vs Tang Weixing – Game 2

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