Hinoki Press founder Chris Greene passed away last Friday.

Greene, who had cancer, died at home in Libertyville, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Vicky, and his daughters, Melissa and Elizabeth.

“I was lucky enough to work with Chris doing a little copy editing on some of Hinoki’s books, and found him to be a gentleman and a friend to the Go community,” said AGA president Andy Okun. “The books he published represent a lasting contribution to the game and its enjoyment.”

A long-time Go player, Greene started the Go book publishing company in 2006, after retiring from his career as a programmer, and published 18 Go books before selling it late last year to Go Game Guru.

Chris made an immense contribution to the body of English language Go literature in a relatively short time.

He was incredibly modest about his achievements and stoic about his illness.

When I last spoke to him, on Thursday, he was primarily concerned that the material that he’d worked hard to have translated and published in English remain available to future generations of Go players.

His motto for Hinoki Press was, “always carry a Go book in your hand.”

We will miss our friend and fellow Go player and will do everything we can to honor his wishes.

Rest in peace Chris.

(This article was published in collaboration with the American Go Association E-Journal)

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This game is from the 26th Asian TV Cup final, between Kono Rin 9p and Lee Sedol 9p.

Lee Sedol 9 dan (left) and Kono Rin 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup Final.

It was played on August 19, 2014, in Beijing, China.

Lee Sedol

Lee Sedol 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup Final.

Lee Sedol was ranked #3 in Korea at the time, but many of his fans still regarded him as one of the best players in the world.

He defeated Tao Xinran 5p at the first round, and Iyama Yuta 9p at the semifinals, who was the defending champion.

By the time of this final, Lee was leading the Mlily Gu vs Lee Jubango by 4-2, and he was in good form.

Lee Sedol already won the Asian TV Cup twice in 2007 and 2008, but it was Kono’s first time to play in the final.

Kono Rin

Kono Rin was ranked #2 in Japan after Iyama Yuta 9p according to Dr Bai Taeil’s raiting system.

Kono defeated Li Qincheng 1p and Park Junghwan 9p to reach the final.

He was born in 1981, and he was a pupil of Kobayashi Koichi 9p. He became a pro in 1996.

Kono Rin 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup, Final.

He won the 1st JAL New Stars Haya Go tournament in 2004, and it was his first title.

He won the 31st Tengen, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9p 3-2 in 2005, and that was his first major title.

He defended the Tengen title for the two following years, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9p in 2006 and 2007.

He won the 27th NEC Cup and the 17th Ryusei in 2008, and won the 29th NEC Cup again in 2010.

Those were lighting tournaments, and we can assume that Kono Rin is good at lightning games like this Asian TV Cup.

He was the challenger of the 38th Gosei in 2013, but he was defeated by Iyama Yuta.

Their head to head record

Lee and Kono have played together three times before this game.

Kono defeated Lee at the 3rd Zhonghuan Cup round of 16 in 2007, but Lee won both at the 4th Toyota Denso Cup round of 32, and the 13th LG Cup quarter finals in 2008.

It’s already been about six years since they played together last time, so this game would be totally different from their past games.

Let’s have a look at the 26th Asian TV Cup final.

Commented Game Record

Kono Rin vs Lee Sedol

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Park Junghwan 9p defeated Kim Jiseok 9p to win the 19th LG Cup 2-1.

The final of the 19th LG Cup was held on February 9, 10 and 12, in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, Korea.

Kim Jiseok 9 dan (left) and Park Junghwan 9 dan at the 19th LG Cup Final

Park Junghwan’s 2nd international title

Park Junghwan 9 dan at the 19th LG Cup Final

This was Park’s first LG Cup title, and only his second international title since he won the 24th Fujitsu Cup in 2011.

Park is currently ranked #1 in the world according to Dr Bae Taeil’s rating system, which is used by the Korean Baduk Association.

In recent years, many Go fans doubted Park’s #1 ranking, because Park hadn’t won any international titles since 2011.

However, during this LG Cup, he showed his power and strength. Now that he has another title, I hope he can play even better without too pressure much from Korean Baduk fans.

Summary of the final

Park got off to a good start in game 1. He took the lead after a big fight at the top, and he won the game without any significant trouble. Kim couldn’t find any opportunities to fight back.

Kim won game 2 with his excellent sabaki skills inside of Park’s big moyo, and the score was tied at 1-1.

In game 3, Kim took an early lead after the first battle in the top left corner. He maintained his lead very well against Park’s tough and aggressive moves in the middle game.

However, Kim played safely and softly in the endgame, and the game become closer. It was reversed in the end.

Once Park reversed the game, there was nowhere left for Kim to catch up again.

Kim Jiseok’s natural enemy

Kim Jiseok 9 dan at the 19th LG Cup Final

Park Junghwan is #1 in Korea, and Kim Jiseok is #2. However, their games together haven’t been well balanced so far.

The head to head record between these two, before this final, was 16-5 for Park’s favor. And it’s now at 18-6.

Because of that, people in Korea say that Park is Kim’s natural enemy.

If Kim wants to become #1, he has to surpass Park one day, and this final was a very good chance for Kim to do so.

However, Kim missed the perfect chance to defeat his natural enemy in this LG Cup. He failed to extend his good mood from the 2014 Samsung Cup final, and might suffer a psychological setback because of this defeat.

I hope he can become even stronger from this painful experience.

Brief Game Commentary

Game 1

Kim Jiseok vs Park Junghwan

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The opening up to White 28 was Kim Jiseok’s favorite, but Park Junghwan didn’t mind.

White 42 and 44 were a nice combination, and the result up to Black 47 was even.

Black 59 was questionable, and White 60 and 62 were nice moves to extend the ko.

The result of the big trade up to White 74 was better for White, and White took the lead of the game at the same time.

Black 79 to 89 were nice sequence for Black, but White’s responses were accurate.

Black 99 was questionable again, and Black’s center group was isolated after White 110.

White was in a winning position at 138, and the game was decided by 156.

This was a wonderful game for Park Junghwan.

Game 2

Park Junghwan vs Kim Jiseok

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The opening up to Black 21 was normal, but Black 23 and 25 were recently researched moves.

Black 33 was very nice and thick, but White was also fine after settling down up to 42.

Black started to attack White’s lower side group from 43, but White’s responses were nice and calm.

Black tried to attack White’s corner with 69, but White 70 was a good counter, and the game became better for White.

White 88 was a mistake, and the game became complex with the ko fight from 91.

White 114 was questionable, and the game seemed to be reversed with 115.

White 118 was a subtle reduction, and Park tried to attack that stone severely with 119, but it was the wrong decision of play.

The sequence from White 126 to 134 was excellent, and it became hard for Black to capture the whole group.

Black 157 was a severe attack, but White 164 to 168 were nice responses.

White 174 and 176 were brilliant moves, and the trade up to Black 181 was unavoidable.

White restarted the ko with 182, and the game was decided. Black couldn’t win the ko because White was solid and strong everywhere.

Game 3

Park Junghwan vs Kim Jiseok

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The opening up to Black 21 was the same as in game 2, but Kim chose to play the higher extension at 22.

White 30 was interesting, and the result up to White 38 was even.

White 44 and 46 were strong responses, and White 52 was a well timed probe.

Black 53 and 55 were a nice counter, but White 60 and 62 were also nice moves.

The result up to White 70 was satisfactory for White, and Kim took the lead with 76.

White 78 was big, but it was a bit too greedy, and White’s right side group became thin and weak.

Black 99 and 101 were nice tesuji, and Park reduced White’s territory in sente.

Black 113 and 115 were strong moves, but White 120 and 122 formed a nice counter.

Black caught up a bit up to Black 137, but White was still in the lead.

Black 165 and 181 were big reverse sente endgames and the game was reversed.

Black 191 was a small mistake, but 223 was the last big endgame move, and the game was decided. Kim tried to catch up with a ko, but it didn’t succeed.

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This is game 10 of 16th Nongshim Cup.

This game was played between Iyama Yuta 9p and Park Junghwan 9p on December 3, 2014 in Busan, Korea.

Iyama Yuta 9 dan (left) and Park Junghwan 9 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup

Park Junghwan

Park Junghwan defeated Wang Xi 9p, who was winning four consecutive games, in game 9 and this was Park’s second game in this Nongshim Cup.

Park Junghwan 9 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup

Park Junghwan is ranked #1 in Korea for more than a year.

He’s the best in domestic matches in Korea, but his results in the international tournaments aren’t satisfactory.

Park couldn’t add any international titles since he won the 24th Fujitsu Cup in 2011.

He proceeded to the semifinals many times, but he lost many important matches in the final or semifinals.

However, he’s in the final of the 19th LG Cup, and he’s going to play against Kim Jiseok 9p in February 2015.

Park is the second last man from team Korea, and the captain is Kim Jiseok 9p.

Iyama Yuta

Iyama Yuta is also ranked #1 in Japan.

Iyama Yuta 9 dan at the 16th Nongshim Cup

Iyama is holding five major titles out of seven in Japan, and he’s still very powerful and dominant.

However, he was defeated at the 62nd Oza final, against Murakawa Daisuke 8p in December 2014 (two weeks after this game).

It seem to be getting more difficult for Iyama to challenge of achieving the gland slam of Japanese Go, by claiming all seven major titles simultaneously.

By the way, Iyama is absolutely the best player from Japan at the moment, and he’s last man standing of Team Japan.

Their head to head record

This is their third game between Park and Iyama. Park won their first game in the 24th Fujitsu Cup semifinals in 2011, and Park won his first international title with defeating Qiu Jun 9p in the final.

Their second game was the 25th Asian TV Cup final in 2013, and Iyama revenged the match to win his first international title.

This is their third game, which is another very exciting match to watch.

Let’s have a look at the game.

Commented game record

Iyama Yuta vs Park Junghwan

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This is game 3 from the 33rd Japanese Women’s Honinbo final. The game was played between Mukai Chiaki 5p and Fujisawa Rina 2p on November 7, 2014, in Tokyo, Japan.

Mukai Chiaki

Mukai Chiaki 5p (left) and Fujisawa Rina 2p at the 33rd Women’s Honinbo

Mukai Chiaki 5p was born in 1987, and became a pro in 2004.

She’s challenged Women’s Honinbo and Women’s Meijin five times altogether from 2010 to 2012. Her opponents in those finals were all Xie Yimin 6p, and Chiaki was defeated them all.

However, in 2013, Chiaki eventually defeated Xie Yimin by 3-2 to win the 32nd Women’s Honinbo which was her first career title.

Therefore, this final against Fujisawa Rina was her first defensive final match.

Fujisawa Rina

Fujisawa Rina 2 dan at the 33rd Women’s Honinbo

On the other hand, Fujisawa Rina 2p was born in 1998 and became a pro in 2010 at the age of 11 years and 6 months. It was the youngest age to become a pro in Japan, and the previous record for the youngest age was Cho Chikun’s 11 years and 9 months.

In June 2014, Rina won the 1st Aizu Center Hospital Cup by defeating Okuda Aya 3p in the final, and it was her first career title.

Rina is the most prospect young women player in Japan, and this final was her first challenge for a major women’s title in her career.

She is also well known as a grand daughter of Fujisawa Shuko 9p (passed away in 2009).

Women’s Honinbo

Women’s Honinbo is the ranked #1 title for Women’s tournament in Japan. The winner’s prize is ¥5,800,000, which is around US$49,000. Let’s have a look at game 3 from the 33rd Japanese Women’s Honinbo final.

Commented game record

Fujisawa Rina vs Mukai Chiaki

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This is game 2 from the 2014 Samsung Cup final.

The game was played between Kim Jiseok 9p and Tang Weixing 9p, on December 10, 2014, in Xian, China.

Tang Weixing 9 dan (left) and Kim Jiseok 9 dan at the 2014 Samsung Cup final

Kim takes an early lead

Kim Jiseok 9p won game 1 of the final. Tang was ahead at the beginning of the endgame, but he made a couple of mistakes and lost the game.

It was very unusual to see the endgame mistakes from Tang, because he’s generally good at endgame. Anyway, it was unfortunate for Tang, and Kim had a nice start in this final.

Head to head record

The head to head record before this final was 3-1 for Kim’s favor.

However, Kim’s losing game was in the quarter final of the 2013 Samsung Cup, and eventually Tang won his first international title with defeating Lee Sedol by 2-0 in the final.

In the group stage of round of 32, Kim and Tang already played each other, and Kim won that game. Tang had to play one more game, and he defeated Choi Cheolhan 9p to proceed to the round of 16.

Earlier in the Samsung Cup

Tang defeated Murakawa Daisuke 8p and Kang Dongyun 9p in the round of 16 and quarter finals respectively, and he defeated Park Junghwan 9p in the semifinals by 2-1.

On the other hand, Kim defeated Rui Naiwei 9p and Rong Yi 4p in the round of 16 and quarter finals respectively, and he defeated Shi Yue 9p in the semifinals by 2-0.

Both Kim and Tang defeated the #1 players from China and Korea in the semifinals, and this final was expected as a very interesting match.

Tang was aiming to win the Samsung Cup again as the defending champion. Meanwhile, it was the first time for Kim to be in the final of an international tournament.

Let’s have a look at game 2 of the 2014 Samsung Cup final.

Commented game record

Kim Jiseok vs Tang Weixing

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Over the last four years Go Game Guru has evolved a lot.

Kuro the ninja is also hard at work.

When we started, it was just Younggil and I moonlighting on a hobby project.

Then Jing joined us to help with Go news. And later we met Josh, who created Glift, and he started working with us too.

Also, we have ninjas, and a cat!

With the encouragement and support of many readers and customers, we’ve gradually started doing more and more different things.

We now ship Go equipment locally in six different countries and offer a Go TV service, for example. Someone has to manage all that.

Cutting back on editing

From the very beginning, I’ve edited nearly all the content that’s been published on this website, to maintain a consistent style and level of quality.

However, anyone who’s followed Go Game Guru for a long time would have noticed that updates became less regular throughout 2014. The problem is that we’ve been trying to do too much.

For several years Younggil and I have worked together on game commentaries, with Younggil doing the bulk of the analysis and me pointing out things that required more explanation and helping with the English.

But Younggil’s English has improved a lot since we started and he’s also developed a better feeling for what the average Go player would want to know, thanks to readers who ask questions.

Younggil and Jing take over the blog

So from today, Younggil will be publishing his own articles without any help from me – the first of which will be published shortly. Jing will also start publishing her news articles without me proofreading them.

This will mean that articles get published more quickly and more often again – like it used to be. It will also mean that I have more time to keep everything running properly behind the scenes, look after customers and have more freedom to post occasional articles or videos on a wider variety of topics.

In the short term, we’re going to put the weekly Go problems on hold. They’ll restart again when Younggil’s ready to take over, but he’s going to focus on getting the commentaries right first.

Please be patient during this change

There might be some bumps along the way, but in the long term this will mean that we can do more. Please be patient and understanding while this change takes place and if you notice any problems, please let us know and we’ll still fix them.

Also, please keep in mind that none of us can work on the website full time for now and that we’re doing our best.

Thanks!

David

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Want to try Baduk TV English for free?

From now until the end of January (2015), you can get two months of free access to Baduk TV English (valued at $40) when you join the American Go Association (AGA).

Simply join the AGA, or renew or extend your membership before the end of January to qualify.

Click here to join the AGA now.

Once you’ve sorted out your AGA membership, get your free Baduk TV here.

Baduk TV studios in Korea. Join the American Go Association to watch Baduk TV for free.

What’s Baduk TV English

Baduk TV is a cable TV channel in Korea, which broadcasts Go programs 24/7.

Baduk TV English is a service from Go Game Guru. We take the best of Baduk TV and subtitle it in fluent English for you.

Baduk TV English provides you with the best of Baduk TV, translated into English.

You can learn more about it here.

What if I already have Baduk TV?

If you’re already a Baduk TV subscriber at Go Game Guru, we don’t want you to miss out.

In fact, thank you for subscribing and helping us to keep this site going. You’re awesome!

To say thanks, we’re going to send you a free Go book instead.

Choose your free Go book here

What if I don’t live in America?

This offer is something that was arranged in partnership with the American Go Association, but we’re happy to work with any Go organization to do something similar.

We started Go Game Guru to promote Go and we want to do what we can to help Go associations build their memberships and reward their members.

If you want to do something similar, organize it with your local Go association first and then get in contact with us once you have a firm plan.

You probably have a national Go association (check our list of known Go associations here), but if not maybe you can start one!

Join the American Go Association now

So what are you waiting for?

There are plenty of other benefits to joining the AGA and $40 worth of Baduk TV alone is worth more than the $30 yearly membership fee ($10 for students). So you’re already coming out ahead.

Click here to join the AGA now

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Ke Jie 4p defeated Qiu Jun 9p to win the 2nd Bailing Cup final, and become a new world champion, on January 14, 2014.

No early lead in November

The first two games of the final were held on November 27 and 29 in Hefei, Anhui, China. Ke Jie won game 1, but Qiu won game 2 by half a point to tie the score at 1-1.

Ke Jie 4 dan (left) and Qiu Jun 9 dan at the final of the 2nd Bailing Cup.

The match resumed in January

After a long break, games 3 to 5 of the final were played on January 11, 13 and 14, in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.

Qiu Jun won game 3, taking the lead in the series. In the opening of game 3, Ke made a crucial mistake in the bottom left and Qiu didn’t give Ke any chances afterwards.

However, Ke Jie won games 4 and 5 to win his first career title and promotion to 9p. In doing so, Ke Jie also became the youngest current world champion (though he didn’t break any records – Lee Changho 9p’s record still stands).

Ke Jie receives prize money from Wang Runan (President of the Chinese Go Association).

Ke Jie

Ke Jie was born in 1997 and became a pro in 2008. His performance wasn’t especially notable until 2013, but somehow he became very strong and powerful in 2014.

He defeated Choi Cheolhan 9p and Park Junghwan 9p in the quarter finals and semifinals of this tournament respectively. Many Korean Go fans were shocked when Park Junghwan was defeated 2-0 by Ke Jie.

Ke and Park were team mates (with Team Dalian) in the Chinese A League. Team Dalian won the 2014 A League with the help of these two powerful players.

Ke Jie reviews game 3 of the match with Hua Xueming.

Ke is four years younger than Park and wasn’t yet well known when he reached the semifinals last year.

He was ranked #8 in China at the time, while Park was #1 in Korea. However, Ke became stronger and more competitive throughout 2014.

Ke won 12 consecutive games in the 2014 Chinese A League, and was finally recognized as one of the rising stars in China.

After this final, Ke Jie was promoted directly from 4p to 9p, because he won an international title.

Ke is 17 years and 4 months old, making him the 3rd youngest world champion ever, after Lee Changho 9p (16 years and 6 months) and Fan Tingyu 9p (16 years and 7 months).

Qiu Jun

On the other hand, Qiu Jun missed another good opportunity to win an international title.

Qiu Jun’s patented look of concentration.

He reached the final of the 14th Samsung Cup in 2009, but he was defeated by Kong Jie 9p.

Qiu also proceeded to the final of the 24th Fujitsu Cup, in 2011, but Park Junghwan won.

This Bailing Cup final was Qiu’s third loss in an international final. Qiu defeated Kim Jiseok 9p and Ahn Kukhyun 5p en route to the final, but he couldn’t make it all the way.

The Bailing Cup

The Bailing Cup is a biennial international Go tournament (not to be confused with a now defunct Chinese women’s tournament of the same name), which started in 2012.

It’s sponsored by the Guizhou Bailing Pharmaceutical Group.

The winner receives 1.8 million RMB (about $290,000 USD at the time of writing) and the runner up receives 600,000 RMB. This puts the tournament in the same league as the Samsung Cup in terms of prize money.

The format is a straight knockout of 64 players, with the final played as a best of five match.

Brief commentary of game 5

(Comments are below)

Qiu Jun (black) vs Ke Jie

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There was an interesting new pattern in the bottom right, and the result up to White 60 was slightly better for Black.

Black 89 was a mistake, and the result up to White 114 was successful for White. White 120 was a strong move, and White 134 and 142 were nice, strong moves too.

Black 161 was a mistake, and White 162 and 164 were very sharp. White took a clear lead at this point.

There was a big ko fight starting with Black 181. It was Black’s only hope, but Black didn’t have enough ko threats to win.

When White eliminated the ko with White 258, the game was practically over.

This was a very nice game and congratulations Ke Jie!

Download all five game records

If you’d like to review all five games from the 2nd Bailing Cup final, you can click here to download them.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about the games, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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The Oza is Murakawa Daisuke 8 dan’s first major title.

The final game of the 62nd Oza title match was played on December 16, 2014, in Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Murakawa Daisuke 8p defeated Iyama Yuta 9p with a 3-2 score, to become the new Oza title holder.

This is the first time a player from the Kansai Kiin has won the Oza since Hashimoto Shoji 9p did so in 1981 (33 years ago).

The Oza is Murakawa’s first major title.

Murakawa Daisuke 8 dan (left) defeated Iyama Yuta 9 dan to win the best of five Oza title match.

A blow to Iyama Yuta’s ambitions

The result of this match attracted a lot of attention in Japan, because the former Oza, Iyama Yuta, currently dominates the domestic Japanese Go scene.

Before this match Iyama still held six of the seven major Japanese titles.

Are Iyama Yuta 9 dan’s hopes of claiming all seven major Japanese titles slipping away?

However, in snatching the Oza, Murakawa has reduced that total to five.

This will further frustrate Iyama’s hopes of achieving the gland slam of Japanese Go, by claiming all seven major titles simultaneously.

Iyama currently holds the Kisei, Meijin, Honinbo, Tengen and Gosei titles, but not the Oza or the Judan.

It’s worth noting that no Japanese Go player has ever held all seven at once.

Iyama’s best chance to do so may have been to reclaim the Judan from Yuki Satoshi 9p earlier this year (Yuki took the title from Iyama in 2013).

Unfortunately, he lost the challenger decision match to Takao Shinji 9p and wasn’t able to challenge Yuki after all. Takao went on to take the title from Yuki in April 2014.

Takao Shinji 9 dan (right) took the Judan title from Yuki Satoshi 9 dan in April 2014.

It may be too early to say for sure, but at this stage it seems like Iyama’s prospects of a grand slam are slipping away.

Professionals associated with the Kansai Kiin are proving to be Iyama Yuta’s kryptonite. Both Murakawa Daisuke and Yuki Satoshi are Kansai Kiin players.

Murakawa Daisuke

Murakawa Daisuke was born in 1990. He became a pro in 2002 at the Kansai Kiin. The Kansai Kiin is a Go association in Japan, like the Nihon Kiin, but based in Osaka.

Murakawa Daisuke 8 dan (left) reviews a game with Sakai Hideyuki 8 dan (facing camera) and Kono Rin 9 dan.

Murakawa won the rookie of the year award in 2006.

In 2011, he won the 36th Shinjin-O, which is a tournament for young players, like the Chinese Xinrenwang tournament.

He was awarded the prize of ‘best player of the year’, by the Kansai Kiin, in 2012.

Murakawa has also been doing reasonably well on the international scene.

He proceeded to the main tournament of the 15th Samsung Cup in 2010, and was the only Japanese player to survive the preliminaries at the time.

He defeated Tuo Jiaxi 9p, the current LG Cup title holder, in the 17th LG Cup preliminaries (2012).

And he came 2nd in the Hase Cup, in February 2014, after losing to Shi Yue 9p in the final. However, in this exhibition match, Murakawa defeated Lee Sedol 9p.

After taking the Oza title from Iyama Yuta, Murakawa was promoted to 8p (from 7p) by the Kansai Kiin (based on the Kiin’s promotion rules).

The Oza

The Oza (王座 – literally king’s seat, or throne) is one of the seven big titles on the Japanese professional Go circuit.

The Oza follows a similar format to other big Japanese titles. A preliminary tournament is held for qualification into a 16 player single knockout tournament.

The winner of this knockout tournament challenges the defending title holder to a best of five match.

The sponsor is the Nihon Keizai Newspaper, and the winner’s prize is currently 14 million Yen (approximately $120,000 USD at the time of writing).

Since the Oza is one of the ‘Japanese big seven’ titles, a challenger is automatically promoted to 7 dan, while winning the title gains promotion to 8 dan. Winning the title twice results in acceleration to 9 dan.

An Younggil’s brief commentary

Younggil has kindly provided the following commentary, on game 5 of the Oza title match, for Go Game Guru readers (you can find the game record below):

Iyama Yuta held black.

The opening up to 21 was peaceful, but fighting began with White 22.

White 28 was a creative leaning tesuji, and the result up to White 42 was even.

Black 43 was questionable, and the result after the ko, up to Black 63, was favorable for White.

Another big ko started after White 70, and White was successful again up to White 84.

Black 111 was a nice move, which enlarged the right side, but White’s combination with 116 and 118 created yet another ko.

This ko fight made the game complicated, but White was still ahead through to White 124.

Black tried to catch up with Black 133 and 135, but White 138 and 142 were strong moves in the center fight.

White 150 was a brilliant way to take sente. After that, Black 155 was necessary, because White was aiming to play at G16.

White countered Black’s attack powerfully, with 156 through to 160, and White 168 was the coup de grâce.

Black’s dragon in the center was captured, so it looks like Iyama must have misread something around here.

Black tried to minimize the damage from 173 to 181, but it wasn’t good enough to catch up.

Murakawa played safely in the endgame and Iyama didn’t have any more chances to reverse the game.

62nd Oza title match results

Game 1: Oct 21, 2014 – Iyama Yuta (black) won by 0.5 points
Game 2: Nov 18, 2014 – Murakawa (black) won by 1.5 points
Game 3: Nov 20, 2014 – Iyama Yuta (black) won by 2.5 points
Game 4: Dec 08, 2014 – Murakawa (black) won by resignation
Game 5: Dec 16, 2014 – Murakawa (white) won by 1.5 points.

You can download all five games here and replay game 5 below.

62nd Oza title match – Game 5

Iyama Yuta vs Murakawa Daisuke

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