Go Commentary: Kim Jiseok vs Lian Xiao – 16th Nongshim Cup

This is game 13 from the 16th Nongshim Cup.

The game was played between Kim Jiseok 9p and Lian Xiao 7p on March 5, 2015 in Shanghai, China.

Lian Xiao 7 dan (left) and Kim Jiseok 9 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup

Kim Jiseok was the last man standing for team Korea, and Lian Xiao was second last, before Shi Yue 9p for team China.

Kim Jiseok

Kim Jiseok 9 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup.

Kim Jiseok has been ranked #2 in Korea for more than a year just after Park Junghwan 9p.

Kim won the 2nd place at the 19th LG Cup in February 2015, but he wouldn’t have been very happy with that.

He played against Park Junghwan in the final, and he missed so many chances to win the final game. So Kim fell into a slump after losing the final.

In this Nongshim Cup, he defeated Iyama Yuta 9p, who was the anchorman of team Japan, before this game.

Kim was behind throughout the whole game, but Iyama made a couple of mistakes and let Kim to reverse the game at the end.

He had to win two more games to bring the Nongshim Cup back home to Korea, including this one.

Lian Xiao

On the other hand, Lian Xiao is ranked #11 in China. Lian was born in 1994, and became a pro in 2007.

Lian Xiao 7 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup.

In 2013, he won the 13th Ahan Tongshan Cup, defeating Fan Tingyu 9p, and it was his first career title.

In 2014, he won the 14th Liguang Cup, defeating Wu Guangya 6p, and that was his first major title.

He was also in the final of the 2nd Luoyang Qisheng, but was defeated by Zhou Ruiyang 9p in the same year.

Lian is not yet very well known in the Western Go world, but he’s already one of the top players in China.

Let’s have a look at game 13 from the 16th Nongshim Cup together.

Commented game record

Kim Jiseok vs Lian Xiao

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