The 4th Zhaoshang Cup was played on March 21 and 23, 2014, in Hangzhou, China.

An hour glass full of ‘Go stones’ is started at the opening ceremony of the 4th Zhaoshang Cup.

Teams China and Korea competed in a seven board team tournament of the top players from the two countries.

Round 1 was held on March 21 and Team Korea won 4-3 against Team China.

Round 2 took place on March 23 and Team China came back with a 4-3 win or their own.

Almost a tie

This resulted in a tie, with a total score of 7-7 over the two day event.

To resolve the tie and decide a winner, the result from the captains’ match was used as a tie breaker (according to the tournament rules).

Shi Yue 9 dan (left) plays Park Junghwan 9 dan play the captains’ match.

Park Junghwan 9p represented team Korea as captain and Shi Yue 9p played as captain for team China. Both Park and Shi are both currently ranked #1 in their own countries.

Park won his game against Shi, which meant that Team Korea won the 4th Zhaoshang Cup by a whisker.

Echoes of 2013

Last year, at the 3rd Zhaoshang Cup, there were five boards and the match was also tied (at 5-5). Like this year, the captains’ match was used as a tie breaker and Korea won after Kim Jiseok 9p defeated Fan Tingyu 9p.

Lee Sedol meets Gu Li

There was an interesting match in round 2. Gu Li 9p and Lee Sedol 9p played one another, and Gu Li won the game by resignation after 162 moves.

Lee and Gu are going to play the 3rd game of their jubango this Sunday (March 30), so this game was something of a prelude for them. Hopefully this win will serve to bolster Gu’s confidence, as he currently trails 0-2 in their ten game match.

It also provides another exciting game record for fans of these two players.

Gu Li 9 dan (left) and Lee Sedol 9 dan’s match at the 4th Zhaoshang Cup served as a nice interlude in the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango.

Park Junghwan vs Shi Yue

The captains’ match between Park Junghwan and Shi Yue was the most important game in this competition. It was much more important than a normal game.

Park lost to Shi in the final of the Nongshim Cup about a month ago and their head to head record stood at 5-1 in Shi’s favor. Because of that, many Go fans expected that Shi would win again, but Park prevailed this time.

Positive news for Korean baduk

All the players who represented Team China are world champions, but only three of Korea’s members are world champions. Despite this, they were able to tie the match at 7-7 and eventually win the competition.

This is positive news for the Korean baduk world, and should help the players to regain some much needed confidence against China’s top players.

Team Korea receive the winner’s check, along with personalized caricatures for each player.

An unusual tournament

All 14 games in this tournament ended in resignation, which is very unusual. I thinks that’s because the players played more aggressively, and less cautiously, possibly because it was a team competition.

When I reviewed the game records, I could see many complicated games. The games generally seemed more complicated than those seen in other individual tournaments or the Nongshim Cup. You might feel that too if you review the games from this tournament.

It looks like there are more and more new international events and tournaments being established and held in China. That’s because they’ve been doing very well for the last few years, but I still think it will be more fun and interesting if top Korean and Japanese players can compete on an equal footing.

Team China won the 1st Zhaoshang Cup with a 7-3 score, and they also won the 2nd (6-4). However, Team Korea won the 3rd (5-5, captain’s win) and 4th by (7-7, captain’s win) to make the overall record in this tournament a tie.

The number of players on each team was increased from five to seven this year, but I’m not sure whether they’ll continue with this arrangement next year.

Detailed 4th Zhaoshang Cup results

	Team Korea	Color	Result	Color	Team China
Round 1
	Park Junghwan 9p		O X	(B)	Zhou Ruiyang 9p
	Kim Jiseok 9p	(B)	X O		Fan Tingyu 9p
	Na Hyun 3p		O X	(B)	Chen Yaoye 9p
	Byun Sangil 3p	(B)	O X		Gu Li 9p
	Lee Sedol 9p		O X	(B)	Mi Yuting 9p
	Lee Jihyun 4p	(B)	X O		Tang Weixing 9p
	Choi Cheolhan 9p		X O	(B)	Shi Yue 9p
Round 2
	Park Junghwan 9p	(B)	O X		Shi Yue 9p
	Kim Jiseok 9p		O X	(B)	Zhou Ruiyang 9p
	Na Hyun 3p	(B)	O X		Fan Tingyu 9p
	Byun Sangil 3p		X O	(B)	Chen Yaoye 9p
	Lee Sedol 9p	(B)	X O		Gu Li 9p
	Lee Jihyun 4p		X O	(B)	Mi Yuting 9p
	Choi Cheolhan 9p	(B)	X O		Tang Weixing 9p

The Zhaoshang Cup

The Zhaoshang Cup is an annual team tournament between China and Korea, which started in 2011. Each country sends a team to play a multi-board match, with two games each over two days.

For the first three years of tournament, there were five boards. In 2014, the number of boards increased to seven.

The time limit for games in the Zhaoshang Cup is 2 hours and 45 minutes, with 5 x 1 minute byo-yomi for each player.

The prize money for the winning team is 1,000,000 RMB (approximately $161,000 USD at the time of writing). The losing team receives 500,000 RMB.

4th Zhaoshang Cup photos

Game records

Park Junghwan vs Shi Yue

[Embedded SGF File]

Lee Sedol vs Gu Li

[Embedded SGF File]

Kim Jiseok vs Fan Tingyu

[Embedded SGF File]

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Iyama Yuta 9p, the strongest Go player in Japan, successfully defended his Kisei title against challenger Yamashita Keigo 9p, on March 13, 2014.

Iyama Yuta 9 dan plays the sealed move against Yamashita Keigo 9 dan – Game 6 of the 38th Kisei title match in Japan.

This year’s 38th Kisei was the first time Iyama went into the title match as the title holder.

He took the Kisei title from Cho U 9p in 2013.

The final game

Game 6 of the match was played on March 12 and 13, in Uonuma city, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

The game finished with Yamashita’s resignation, after 229 moves, at 7:51 pm.

Both players were playing under byo-yomi by that stage, after spending their full 8 hour time allocations.

Iyama Yuta

After securing this win, Iyama still holds six of the seven major Japanese domestic titles. The only one he doesn’t hold is the Judan, which he lost to Yuki Satoshi 9p last year.

Iyama Yuta still holds six of the seven major Japanese titles.

Iyama also lost the challenger decision match for the 52nd Judan to Takao Shinji 9p, in January, 2014.

Because of that, he want be challenging Yuki for the title in 2014, so it’s not possible for him to achieve the ‘grand slam’ of Japanese Go this year (by holding all seven major titles – something no modern Go player has achieved yet).

However, if he can accomplish the incredibly difficult feat of defending all his current titles, he’ll have another chance to become the challenger for the Judan next year.

Yamashita Keigo

Returning to the present match, Yamashita Keigo was playing to win his 6th Kisei title (he last held the Kisei in 2009), but he was unsuccessful this time.

It appears that Yamashita’s powerful and creative attacking style doesn’t work well against Iyama’s flexible and solid style of play.

Iyama won the first three games of the final, but Yamashita fought back to win the next two games. If Yamashita had won this game, he’d have been in a good position to win the title in a reverse sweep, but it wasn’t to be.

Yamashita Keigo (right). His style powerful and creative attacking style doesn’t seem to work well against Iyama Yuta’s solid and flexible style of play.
However, Yamashita is determined to regain his previous position as the top player in Japan.

A treat for Spanish Go players

The first game of the final was held in Madrid, Spain, and it would have been a very special event for Spanish Go fans.

Did any Go Game Guru readers attend the event or meet the players? If you did, please leave a comment to share your experience with Go fans around the world.

An interview with the players

There were interviews with both players just before this final match.

Iyama Yuta

I expected that Yamashita would be the challenger for the Kisei, because he’s very strong and was in good form.

Yamashita’s style of play is very powerful and active. He often plays nice moves which I don’t expect, and whenever I see such moves, I feel that he’s extraordinary.

I was very lucky to defeat him in the final of the Meijin, and I’m still focused on the goal of sweeping all the seven major titles. This final is the hardest match for me on the road to that goal so far. I’m very excited to have a chance to play with Yamashita in the final of the Kisei.

Yamashita Keigo

The Meijin final was awful for me, but I’m challenging Iyama again. His perception throughout the game is outstanding, and his moves are flexible. He never loses a game easily.

However, I don’t want to let him to sweep all seven titles. I’ll stop him in order to become #1 again, and that’s why I’m here as the challenger today.

Actually, both Iyama’s and my style of play are based on fighting. Recently, he starts fighting rather often, and some of his moves defy my imagination, which sometimes discourages me.

Anyway, I’ll do my best, and I’ll fight openly and squarely against him. By the way, I’m still improving. I might have been better at reading in the past, but my perception of the game is still improving. I want to create better games in this Kisei final.

Let’s have a look at the game.

Commented game record

Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo

[Embedded SGF File]

38th Kisei photos

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An exhibition match between Choi Cheolhan 9p and Chen Yaoye 9p was played in Jingdezhen, on March 9, 2014.

Chen Yaoye 9 dan (left) plays Choi Cheolhan in Jingdezhen.

This was the third iteration of this invitational match and Choi Cheolhan won by 1.5 points.

The first of these matches was played in 2012 and the players were Ma Xiaochun 9p and Liu Xiaoguang 9p. Ma won the game.

In 2013, Lee Sedol 9p and Gu Li 9p were invited to play in Jingdezhen, and Lee emerged victorious.

An interesting opening

Chen held black and the opening of the game was interesting.

Chen Yaoye 9 dan.

Chen started the game with a variant of the Micro Chinese opening, and established some territory at the top.

Choi responded by attacking Black’s left side group, with alternating jumps in the center and at the bottom, up to 40.

Black dies, but maintains balance

The middle game started with move 41. Black built a large territory at the top up to 73, while White continued attacking Black’s left side group.

After White cut at 78, Black’s left side group was captured. However, Black 93, 99 and 101 were a good combination, and the game was still well balanced up to 109.

Black started a leaning attack against White’s center group with 111 and 113, but the result up to 134 wasn’t particularly successful, so the game was still even.

Both players falter

Choi Cheolhan (center) reviews his game with Chen Yaoye.

White 142 was a mistake, and Black punished White with the powerful combination of 149 and 151. As a result, Black captured some of White’s stones and took the lead.

Black 169 was a mistake, and Choi didn’t miss his chance.

White 170 and 172 were good endgame tesuji, and the game became very close.

Black 181 was another questionable move and the game was reversed when White played at 182.

After that, both players’ endgame was perfect, and Chen didn’t get any more chances to reverse the game.

Choi Cheolhan conquers his demons

Before this game. Choi’s head to head record against Chen was 4-10 in Chen’s favor. We’ve talked about how Chen seems to be Choi’s Go nemesis on several occasions.

In particular, Chen defeated Choi in eight consecutive games, from 2007 to 2012.

However, Choi defeated Chen once again in Jingdezhen and their head to head record since 2013 is actually 3-1 in Choi’s favor now.

Choi Cheolhan delivers a post-game commentary for the audience at the event.

About the Jingdezhen matches

Last year, this exhibition match was called the Tianxin Pharmaceutical Cup, but it’s also sponsored by the city of Jingdezhen itself.

At the 2013 match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol, there was also a meeting to finalize details about the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango.

After that meeting, the jubango was realized.

The winner’s prize is 150,000 RMB (approx $24,500 USD at the time of writing) and the runner up receives 100,000 RMB (approx $16,000 USD).

The time limit for the game was 2 hours and 30 minutes with 5 x 60 seconds byo-yomi for each player.

The game was played under the Chinese rules, with komi of 7.5 points.

Jingdezhen City

Jingdezhen City (景德鎭) is located in Jiangxi province, China, and is very famous for its China (porcelain). It’s also the hometown of Chen Yaoye’s father.

The popular blue and white porcelain which originated in China is made in Jingdezhen – even the trophy for this match was made in that style. Ceramic Go stones are also made in Jingdezhen and an annual ceramics expo is held there.

Choi Cheolhan receives a porcelain trophy.

More photos

Game record

Chen Yaoye vs Choi Cheolhan

[Embedded SGF File]

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The second game of the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango took place in Pinghu (on outskirts of Shanghai), on February 23, 2014.

This time Gu Li held black and Lee Sedol played white.

Lee won the first game, so it became more important for Gu to even the series by winning this game.

No home turf advantage

Many people expected that Gu Li would have something of an advantage in this match, because most of the games will be played in China. However, it doesn’t seem like Lee Sedol is affected by that so far, since the different food and environment don’t seem to bother him.

Gu Li under pressure

Actually, it looks like Gu Li is under quite a bit of pressure from his fans and the Chinese media. They’re very enthusiastic about this match, and I suspect that this could be creating more psychological pressure and may be distracting Gu.

Gu Li 9 dan played black in the second game of his jubango with Lee Sedol 9 dan.

The rules of the game

The time limit for these games is 3 hours and 55 minutes, with 1 minute x 5 times byo-yomi. It’s traditional to subtract 5 minutes from the 4 hour total, because of the 5 x 1 minute periods.

There’s no lunch break scheduled for these games, but food is provided and the players are free to get up and eat whenever they want, throughout the game.

Anyway, let’s have a look at the second game of the jubango.

Commented game record

Gu Li vs Lee Sedol – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

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Shi Yue and Team China win the 15th Nongshim Cup in a close final against Team Korea.

The 15th Nongshim Cup ended on February 28, 2014, with Team China emerging victorious.

A recap of the 15th Nongshim Cup

The last time we checked in at the 15th Nongshim Cup, at the end of round 2, Japan was all out.

Kim Jiseok 9p was in the chair at the end of round 2 and resumed the campaign for Korea, against China’s Tan Xiao 7p, at the start of round 3.

Park Junghwan 9p also remained in play, as team Korea’s anchorman, at this stage.

Meanwhile, China was sitting comfortably with three players – Tan Xiao 7p, Zhou Ruiyang 9p and Shi Yue 9p – still on the bench.

Kim Jiseok and Tan Xiao start round 3

Tan was able knock Kim out, but didn’t last long. He fell to Park in the next game. Park also made quick work of Zhou.

Kim Jiseok 9 dan (left) plays Tan Xiao 7 dan at the 15th Nongshim Cup.

It was starting to look promising for Team Korea and many Go fans were optimistic that Park could once again bring the cup home, just like last year.

China unleashes its secret weapon

However, China had a secret weapon in Shi, and he defeated Park in 133 moves.

According to An Younggil 8p, Park made a misread which led him to play heavy moves from 98 onwards.

White 98 at M13 would have been lighter, but Park mistakenly believed he could save all his stones.

Shi Yue 9 dan (right) captured Park Junghwan 9 dan’s dragon, after Park played heavy moves in the center.

Out of the five times Park and Shi have played one another, Park has only won once.

Perhaps the Chinese are playing moneyball?

Anyway, whatever the strategy was, China successfully won Korea’s pet tournament and went someway towards correcting it’s highly skewed historical record (which is a legacy of Lee Changho 9p).

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.

15th Nongshim Cup photos

Game records

Shi Yue vs Park Junghwan

[Embedded SGF File]

Zhou Ruiyang vs Park Junghwan

[Embedded SGF File]

Park Junghwan vs Tan Xiao

[Embedded SGF File]

Tan Xiao vs Kim Jiseok

[Embedded SGF File]

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The second game of the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango got underway on outskirts of Shanghai, on February 23, 2014.

Lee Sedol 9 dan (pictured) takes a comfortable 2-0 lead in his 10 game match with Gu Li 9 dan.

In what can only be described as a very disappointing game for Gu Li 9p, Lee Sedol 9p snatched the game from the jaws of defeat in the late endgame, to win by 1.5 points.

Lee Sedol now has a 2-0 lead in the best of 10 series, which will increase the pressure on Gu in game 3.

An Younggil 8p commented the game live for viewers at Baduk TV Live and a more detailed game commentary is coming soon.

Gu Li starts well

Gu Li, playing black, started the game with nice opening.

Black 27 showed Gu’s delicate sense of play, and he took the lead up to black 45.

Gu Li 9 dan got off to a good start playing black.

A failed attack reverses the game

Black 55 looked questionable, and white lived at the bottom fairly easily up to white 64.

Gu had been aiming at black 65 throughout the fight in the bottom left, but white 74 was a nice move, and black’s strategy proved unsuccessful.

White reversed the game up to 78.

A ko fight backfires on Lee

Black 93 was a nice way to attack white’s center group, after which white started a ko with 102-110.

However, it seems like Lee may not have anticipated black’s ko threat at 121, and the game became even again up to 129.

Lee Sedol (left) and Gu Li – Jubango, Game 2.

Gu regains the lead in the early endgame

White 142 was questionable, and black 143 was a big endgame move, after which black regained the lead.

The game was close, but black 169 was another good (sente) endgame move, and black was still leading up to 189.

Professional Go players analyze the game together. From left: Chang Hao, Joanne Missingham, Osawa Narumi and Xie Yimin.

Gu Li stumbles at the finish line

Black 209, 229, and 245 were mistakes, and black lost about 2-3 points because of them.

As a result, Lee Sedol was able to turn a probable half-point loss into a win by 1.5 points.

A painful result for Gu Li

This was a very painful defeat for Gu Li, because he lost a ‘won game’ right at the very end.

Gu will have to overcome this disappointment and regain his focus before the next match.

Fortunately, he has about five weeks to do so. Game 3 will be played in Chengdu on March 30, 2014.

More news and commentary are coming soon! Check our Lee Sedol – Gu Li jubango page, or subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates.

David Ormerod, with An Younggil 8p.

Gu Li vs Lee Sedol photos

Game record

Gu Li vs Lee Sedol – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

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Here are the weekly Go problems for week 114.

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

You can’t let white have more than two liberties.

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

How can black make use of his captured stone?

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

Sometimes you need to ask a question before answering one.

[Embedded SGF File]

Still want more Go problems?

You can find Go books packed full of life and death problems, tesuji problems and other valuable Go knowledge at the Go Game Shop.

Discuss other possible moves

If you have any questions or want to discuss any of these problems, please leave a comment below at any time. You can use the coordinates on the problem images to discuss a move or sequence of moves.

You can also download the solutions as a PDF or SGF file by clicking the links below each problem.

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The last game of the 18th LG Cup final was played on February 13, 2014, at Seoul National University, in Korea.

Tuo Jiaxi’s first international title

Tuo Jiaxi wins his first international title and earns a promotion to 9 dan at the 18th LG Cup.

Tuo Jiaxi 3p defeated Zhou Ruiyang 9p, with a 2-1 score, after winning game 3 by resignation.

This is Tuo’s first international title!

According to the Chinese promotion rules, Tuo will now be promoted to the rank of 9p (9 dan pro).

The final game

After 254 moves, the game was actually finished, but Zhou resigned. If he hadn’t resigned, white would have won by 2.5 points.

It was a very interesting game, right from the beginning.

The first fight started on the right side with 22, and the result up to 42 seemed to be slightly better for black (Zhou Ruiyang).

After white’s (Tuo Jiaxi’s) invasion at 46, the battle resumed. The result up to 63 was still playable for black.

Tuo Jiaxi 3 dan (left) captured the group in Zhou Ruiyang 9 dan’s lower left corner, to reverse the game.

Black 75 looked questionable, and the game was reversed after white 100.

White 110 and 112 were nice tesuji, and white took the lead.

White 140 and 142 were also good moves, after which black was in trouble. Up to 158, white was clearly winning.

White 160 was careless, and black caught up again, but Tuo still maintained a small lead.

Tuo’s endgame was perfect, so Zhou didn’t get any further chances to catch up.

The players

Zhou Ruiyang (foreground) and Tuo Jiaxi arrive at the venue for the match.

Zhou Ruiyang is ranked #5, and Tuo Jiaxi is #6 in China, as of February 2014.

They both were born in 1991.

Zhou defeated Tuo in the final of Luoyang Longmen Qisheng (Chinese Kisei) in 2013, with a score of 3-2.

Tuo started out leading the series 2-0, but Zhou clawed his way back to win the title in a reverse sweep.

However, Tuo had his revenge in today’s 18th LG Cup final.

Earlier in the match

Game 1

Tuo (playing white) won game 1 of the final by 1.5 points, after 274 moves. He was behind, but he staged a reversal in the endgame.

Game 2

Zhou Ruiyang (left) fought back to tie the match, in game 2 against Tuo Jiaxi.

Zhou fought back in game game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. He won by resignation after 208 moves.

Zhou got off to a nice start in the opening, and maintained his lead throughout the middle game.

Tuo had one good chance, to attack white’s group at the top, but he made a mistake. He couldn’t find any other opportunities to catch up afterwards.

The LG Cup

The LG Cup is a major international Go tournament. It started in 1996 and the prize money is currently 300 million Won. The runner up receives 100 million Won.

The main draw of 32 players is part invitational, comprising of 5 Korean players, 5 Chinese players, 4 Japanese players, 1 Taiwanese player and including the previous year’s winner and runner up.

The rest of the main draw is determined through a preliminary tournament. The format is single knockout, with the final played as a best of 3 games.

The tournament is sponsored by LG Electronics, a multinational consumer electronics company whose headquarters are in South Korea.

The time limit is in the final is 3 hours and 5 x 40 sec byo-yomi for each player.

18th LG Cup photos

Game records

Zhou Ruiyang vs Tuo Jiaxi – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

Zhou Ruiyang vs Tuo Jiaxi – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

Zhou Ruiyang vs Tuo Jiaxi – Game 3

[Embedded SGF File]

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This was the first game of the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango, played between Gu Li 9p and Lee Sedol 9p on January 26, 2014.

Lee Sedol 9 dan plays the first game of his jubango with Gu Li.

This event will almost certainly be the most popular and exciting match of 2014.

Top two

These two players have been the top two in the world over the last 10 years, and their head to head record before the match stood at 17-1-16 in Gu Li’s favor (with one draw).

Among those 34 official games, there have already been many exciting and spectacular contests between these two players.

Gu Li and Lee Sedol in good form

Even though they both lost in the finals of international matches in 2013, They both took domestic titles just before starting this match in 2014.

Gu Li 9 dan has been making serious preparations for this match and recently won the Longxing Cup in China.

Internationally, in 2013, Gu Li was defeated by Mi Yuting 9p in the 1st MLily Cup final and Lee Sedol was defeated by Chen Yaoye 9p and Tang Weixing 9p in the 9th Chunlan Cup and 2013 Samsung Cup finals respectively.

However, in January 2014, in China, Gu Li won the 5th Longxing tournament, defeating Li Zhe 6p in the final. Meanwhile, in Korea, Lee Sedol won the 32nd KBS Cup, defeating Park Junghwan 9p.

Closely matched

It’s very hard to guess who will win this jubango, but it’s surely a special gift for Go fans to be able to watch these two play a series of high quality games together.

A Go book about this match

Over the last few years, many readers have emailed us and suggested that we should publish a Go book of my game commentaries.

We’ve been too busy to do so up until now, but this match is special, so we’ve decided that our first Go book will be about Lee Sedol and Gu Li’s jubango.

In order to make the book special, we’ll add extended discussion on the opening of each game and modern fuseki, as well as extra variations to make the games understandable to players of all levels. So the book will contain even more commentary than you usually see in my game commentaries on our website.

Help us to make the book as good as possible!

Please help us to make our first Go book as good as possible. There are several ways you can help us to improve the commentary below:

1. Ask questions about the game – if anything is unclear, please let us know so we can explain better!
2. Point out any typos or other mistakes – our first draft is below, because this is going to be a book, even small mistakes need to be fixed.
3. Help us come up with a great name! The first thing we came up with was Inimitable: Gu Li vs Lee Sedol – unfortunately, we think it sounds too much like Invincible. Your suggestions are most welcome and if we choose to use the name you come up with, I’ll send you a signed copy of the first edition.
4. Tell your friends and ask them to help too.

We appreciate all your help and hope that we’ll be able to make a great book together. Here’s the official page for the Lee Sedol vs Gu Li Go book.

Now let’s have a look at the game!

Commented game record

Lee Sedol vs Gu Li – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

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Go fans around the world watched as the first game of the long awaited jubango between Lee Sedol 9p and Gu Li 9p was played in Beijing, on Janurary 26, 2014.

Lee and Gu bring their supporters

Lee Sedol’s wife and daughter returned from Canada (where his daugter is studying) to support Lee for the first game of the match.

Lee Sedol 9 dan and his daughter.

In Gu Li’s corner, the legendary Nie Weiping 9p was present to support his former student.

Nie Weiping 9 dan drops in for the show.

The opening

Lee Sedol and Gu Li start the first game of their 10 game match.

Lee Sedol, playing black, started with the micro Chinese formation (3, 5 and 7), and white 6, 8 and 10 were typical of Gu Li’s powerful style.

After white’s jump at 22, the flow of the stones seemed good for white.

However, when white tried to consolidate the corner with 28, jumping at black 29 was a good response and white 30 was questionable.

Black 37 and 39 was a good combination, and the game became even again.

Black takes the initiative

White 60 was a probe, but the timing was questionable. When Lee counter-attacked with 61, he took the initiative.

After the moves up to 71, the game became good for black.

Black 95 and 99 were a sharp combination which created trouble for white’s center dragon.

A made-to-order leaning attack

When white tried to break out up to 116, black 117 was a textbook example of a leaning attack. White had to give up his corner, but he successfully complicated the game up to 130.

Black 117 is a perfect example of a leaning attack. White’s large group in the center is threatened indirectly.

However, black didn’t experience any serious trouble managing his groups, and white 140 was questionable.

Black 149 to 153 was a nice combination, which simplified the game.

Black shows how to win a won game

White lived with 174, but it wasn’t enough to catch up and black took sente to begin the endgame.

Black 183 was an excellent endgame tesuji, which relied on black’s earlier tesuji at 39 to make miai of connecting.

Black 191 was the finishing blow.

With 250, Gu Li was looking for an appropriate place to resign. After black 251, which made miai of ko or seki in the corner and destroyed white’s only big territory, Gu resigned.

An interesting start to the series

The first game of the jubango was exciting to watch, with both players coming up with many unexpected moves.

However, Gu Li may have been dissatisfied with his play in the middle game.

Gu Li and Lee Sedol give a post-game commentary.

Game 2 of the series will be played in Shanghai, on February 23.

Younggil will be back with a game commentary soon! You can keep an eye on this page for updates.

What did you think of the game?

What did you think of the first game of the MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango?

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

David Ormerod, with An Younggil 8p.

Gu Li vs Lee Sedol photos

Game record

Lee Sedol vs Gu Li – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

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