This is game 5 from the 70th Honinbo final.

The game was played between Yamashita Keigo 9p and Iyama Yuta 9p on June 29 and 30, 2015, in Osaka, Japan.

Yamashita Keigo 9 dan (left) and Iyama Yuta 9 dan at the 70th Honinbo, Game 5.

70th Honinbo title match

Yamashita Keigo won six games out of seven in the 70th Honinbo league, and he became the challenger.

Game 1 of the Honinbo title match was started on May 13 and 14, 2015, and Iyama Yuta had a nice start with winning that game.

2nd day of game 5 from the 70th Honinbo.

Iyama won next two more games, and Yamashita had to face a kadodan (a potentially match deciding game) in game 4.

Yamashita showed his strength and power in game 4, and Iyama resigned early at the move of 128.

This was game 5 of the 70th Honinbo, and the score of the series was 3-1 for Iyama’s favor before this game.

Iyama Yuta

Iyama Yuta 9 dan at the 70th Honinbo final.

Iyama Yuta has been arguably the strongest Go player in Japan for quite a few years now.

He was holding four major titles, including the Kisei, Meijin and Gosei when this match was played.

Iyama challenged Yamashita Keigo for 67th Honinbo in 2012, and won his first Honinbo title with a 4-3 score.

In 2013, Iyama defeated Takao Shinji 9p 4-3 to defend the title and in 2014, he defended again against Ida Atsushi 8p, winning the title match with 4-1.

Iyama’s style of play is thick and powerful, and his reading is sharp and accurate as well.

Many of Go fans might want to see him more often in the international scene, since he’s the best player from Japan, and I also hope he’ll have more chances to participate international tournaments while he’s in his prime.

Yamashita Keigo

Yamashita Keigo was playing to win his 3rd Honinbo title.

Yamashita Keigo 9 dan at the 70th Honinbo final.

Yamashita challenged Hane Naoki 9p for 65th Honinbo in 2010, and won his first Honinbo title with a 4-1 score.

In 2011, Hane Naoki was the challenger, but Yamashita won the return match again with a 4-3 score to defend his Honinbo.

However, he was defeated by Iyama Yuta in 2012, and this final was his first return match since he lost the Honinbo title.

Yamashita’s last title was the 22nd Ryusei in 2013, and his last major title was the 37th Meijin in 2012.

After that, he hasn’t gained any titles, partly because he’s lost many important matches against Iyama Yuta.

His style of play is creative and solid, and he’s been doing quite well against other top Japanese players. However, when he plays against Iyama Yuta, it doesn’t seem to work very well.

It seems as if Iyama Yuta is a big obstacle for Yamashita to win a title again, and that’ll be interesting to see if he will find Iyama’s weaknesses in his games in the future or not.

Let’s have a look at the game 5 from the 70th Honinbo title match.

Commented game record

Yamashita Keigo vs Iyama Yuta

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Related Articles

• Iyama Yuta wins 40th Gosei, 3rd victory against Yamashita Keigo in 2015
• Iyama Yuta wins 70th Honinbo, holds title for 4th consecutive year
• Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Takao Shinji – 40th Tengen Final
• Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo – 39th Kisei Final
• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Rules Rule – Chen Yaoye vs Iyama Yuta

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Iyama Yuta 9p defended his Gosei title, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9p with a 3-1 score in the 40th Gosei title match.

Game 4 of the final was played on August 07, 2015, in Tokyo, Japan, and Iyama Yuta won by resignation after 122 moves.

Iyama Yuta 9 dan (left) and Yamashita Keigo 9 dan at the 40th Gosei final.

Title deciding game

Game 4 was very exciting with chain battles from the beginning of the game.

Yamashita started attacking White’s reducing stones from the top, but Iyama cut in the center and fought back, and he took the lead of the game from there.

Iyama was holding the initiative of the game for a while, but Yamashita made a nice counter with 83, and the game became very complicated.

However, Yamashita played a thank you move at 97, and the game was suddenly ended very soon afterwards.

Iyama is becoming the natural enemy of Yamashita

Iyama Yuta 9 dan at the 40th Gosei final.

Iyama Yuta and Yamashita Keigo already played each other in the 39th Kisei final and the 70th Honinbo final in this year.

Iyama barely defended the Kisei title with a 4-3 score. Iyama won the first three games, but Yamashita won next three games to go to the title deciding game.

Yamashita was looking for a reverse sweep with his sweeping upturn, but Iyama didn’t let it happen with his victory in game 7 in March, 2015.

In the 70th Honinbo final, Yamashita was challenging again, but Iyama defended easily with a 4-1 score in June, 2015.

This Gosei final was their 3rd title match in 2015, but Yamashita didn’t get revenge for his earlier defeats. It looks as if Iyama is becoming the natural enemy of Yamashita.

Yamashita is still superior against other top Japanese players, but only except against Iyama. Apparently, that doesn’t seem easy for Yamashita to overcome since he’s more than 10 years older than Iyama.

The goal of Honorary Gosei

With this victory, the goal of becoming Honorary Gosei, by defending the title for one more year, is within Iyama’s grasp along with the Honorary Honinbo.

The title of Honorary Gosei is bestowed upon players who hold the Gosei title for five years in a row.

Since 1976, only two players have received this title, including: Otake Hideo 9p and Kobayashi Koichi 9p.

Iyama Yuta 9 dan (left) and Yamashita Keigo 9 dan, just after the final game finished.

The 40th Gosei Series

Game 1

White 12 to 16 were the new style of play, and the attachment at White 22 was sharp.

White 36 was sharp, and Black 37 to 39 were fighting spirits.

White 40 was questionable, and that should be better to cut at 43 to make a ko.

Black 57 and 59 were practical, and Black took the lead up to 75.

Cutting at Black 83 was a nice tesuji, and Black solidified his lead up to 87.

White 98 and 100 were severe attack, but Black 99 and 101 were sharp and creative to invade and live on the left side.

The sequence from Black 155 to 167 was brilliant, and the game was decided.

Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo – Game 1

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Game 2

Black 9 t0 15 were unusual, and Black 17 and 19 were creative.

White 20 was questionable, because White’s right side group became weak after Black 23.

The opening up to Black 37 was favorable for Black.

Black 55 was practical, and Black 75 was very nice to threaten White’s weaknesses.

White 86 and 88 were strong, and a big ko fight was emerged up to Black 103.

White 108 was the losing move, because that ko threat didn’t work.

Black’s sabaki from 115 to 125 were sophisticated, and Black 131 to 135 were calm and accurate.

White went all out with 172, but Black captured White’s huge dragon up to 179, and White soon resigned.

Yamashita Keigo vs Iyama Yuta – Game 2

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Game 3

Black 19 and 21 were strong, and the result up to Black 39 was slightly better for Black.

Black  49 t0 65 were good sequence to make a ko, and the trade up to Black 87 was still favorable for Black.

White’s cutting from 88 was severe, and the game became more complicated up to White 102.

Black 121 was necessary to take care of this group, and White 134 was a good sequence, and the result of the ko fight up to 164 was successful for White.

Black 171 and 173 were a good decision, and the game was still slightly better for Black up to 191.

Black 193 was careless, and White 194 was a nice response to take sente.

However, Black 201 to 213 were bold and accurate, and Black successfully reduced White’s territory up to 222 in sente.

Black 223 was big, and Iyama’s endgame was perfect to save the small margin.

Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo – Game 3

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Game 4

The opening was well balanced between territory and influence, and Black started to attack White’s reducing moves with 21 and 23.

Black 31 was interesting, and White 32 was the correct response.

White 36 and 38 were nice haengma, and White took the initiative of the game with 46.

Attaching at White 56 was a nice tesuji, and the result up to Black 65 was successful for White.

White 78 and 80 were too much, and Black 83 was a nice counter.

White played strongly from 86 to 92, and the game became very complicated.

Black 97 was a crucial mistake, and that should be hane at 99.

White 100 and 104 were cool and flexible, and Black’s big dragon became in great danger up to White 116.

Yamashita couldn’t find any way to save his dragon, and he soon resigned.

Yamashita Keigo vs Iyama Yuta – Game 4

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Reviewing the game after the final game finished.

Related Articles

• Iyama Yuta wins 70th Honinbo, holds title for 4th consecutive year
• Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Takao Shinji – 40th Tengen Final
• Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Yamashita Keigo – 39th Kisei Final
• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Rules Rule – Chen Yaoye vs Iyama Yuta
• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Last men standing – Kim Jiseok vs Iyama Yuta

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This game is from the Korean Baduk 70th Anniversary Match – an exhibition match to celebrate 70 years of modern Korean baduk.

Cho Chikun 9p played Cho Hunhyun 9p on July 11, 2015, in Seoul, Korea.

Cho Hunhyun 9 dan (left) and Cho Chikun 9 dan at the 70th Anniversary Exhibition Match.

Korean Baduk 70th Anniversary Match

Both Cho Hunhyun and Cho Chikun are two of the greatest Go players born in Korea, along with Lee Changho 9p and Lee Sedol 9p.

Korean baduk fans wanted to see a game between these two players for the Korean Baduk 70th Anniversary Match, and the players granted their wish with this game.

This exhibition match celebrated 70 years since a group of players, led by Cho Namcheol 9p, established a professional system for Go players in Korea.

Cho Hunhyun has been the most popular and strongest Go figure in Korea for a long time. He’s been credited with raising the level of modern Korean baduk to a higher level, and making Korea competitive with China and Japan.

The majority of Cho Chikun’s professional Go career has been spent in Japan, but he was born in Korea, and most of Korean Go fans are very proud of him.

That’s not only because what he’s achieved, but his way of playing, thinking and his passion for Go.

The head to head record between Cho Hunhyun and Cho Chikun before this game was 8-5 in Cho Hunhyun’s favor, including unofficial matches.

Cho Hunhyun

Cho Hunhyun 9 dan (left) and Cho Chikun 9 dan at the post-game review.

Cho Hunhyun 9p was born in 1953, in Korea. He became a pro when he was 9 years old, and he still holds the record as the youngest player to turn pro in Korea.

When he was 10, he went to Japan to learn and play Go, as the best option to further his Go career at the time.

He studied under Segoe Kensaku 9p, who was famous as the teacher of Go Seigen 9p and Hashimoto Utaro 9p.

In 1967, when he was 14, he became a pro in Japan. That was because the level of Korean baduk was far below that of Japan at the time, and Japan didn’t accept Korean pro qualifications.

In 1972, unluckily, he had to go back to Korea to complete his compulsory military service for two and a half years. After that, he won the 14th Chaegowi (the Top Position tournament), defeating Kim In 9p in 1974. It was his first career title.

On three occasions Cho won all the Korean titles in one year. In 1980, he won 9 out of 9 titles, and he repeated the feat in 1982 (with 10 titles) and 1986 (with 12 titles). He also became the first 9p in the history of Korean baduk in 1982.

In 1989, he won the 1st Ing Cup (an international title), defeating China’s Nie Weiping 9p in the final, and it was very sensational in Korea. The second big baduk boom in Korea occurred after Cho won the Ing Cup (we’ll come to the first boom below).

Cho Chikun (left) and Cho Hunhyun just after the game finished, with Lee Sedol (center).

At the 1st Ing Cup, Cho was the only participant from Korea, because Korean baduk was still regarded as being inferior to Japanese and Chinese Go.

However, Cho defeated all the strong players at that time and became the world champion.

The 1st Ing Cup was the catalyst for the success of modern Korean baduk. Yu Changhyuk 9p and Lee Changho 9p emerged to compete against top Chinese and Japanese players on the international scene soon afterwards.

Cho also won the 7th Fujitsu Cup, defeating Yu Changhyuk 9p and the 5th Tongyang Cup, defeating Yoda Norimoto 9p, in 1994.

He won the 8th Tongyang Securities Cup, defeating Kobayashi Satoru 9p, in 1997, and he won the 1st Chunlan Cup, defeating Lee Changho 9p, in 1999.

Cho won the Fujitsu Cup twice more, in 2000 and 2001, and he also won the Samsung Cup twice, in 2001 and 2002. He won the Asian TV Cup in 2000 and 2001 as well.

All in all, he’s won 159 titles in his career, which makes him absolute #1 in terms of titles, and he’s won 10 international titles as well.

Cho Hunhyun only had one pupil in his lifetime, and that was Lee Changho 9p.

Cho Chikun

Cho Hunhyun 9 dan (left) and Cho Chikun 9 dan in front of a poster promoting the match.

Cho Chikun 9p was born in 1956, in Korea, and he went to Japan to study Go when he was 6 years old. Cho Namcheol 9p, the ‘father’ of modern Korean baduk, was Cho Chikun’s uncle.

When he was still young, Cho Chikun promised himself that he wouldn’t return to Korea until he’d won the Japanese Meijin title, and he achieved his dream after defeating Otake Hideo 9p, in 1980, in the 5th Meijin title match.

He’s won 74 titles in his career so far, and that’s a record in Japan. He recently added one more title to the list; the 5th Igo Masters Cup, defeating Takemiya Masaki 9p in the final.

Cho was regarded as a national hero in Korea after he won the Meijin title in Japan. The first big baduk boom began in Korea after that, and Lee Changho was one of the children who started to play Go during that boom.

In a post game interview, after this match, Cho said that he still studies hard, but the problem is that he soon forgets what he’s studied these days. However, he keeps studying because he doesn’t want to play a shameful game if he’s getting paid to play.

He still plays right down to the last byo-yomi in nearly every game he plays, and that’s long been his way of doing his best in Go.

Many fans watch a live commentary at the Hankuk Kiwon (Korean Baduk Association).

Unfortunately this game ended abruptly, because of a shortage of time, but the game was still interesting so we’re going to review it together anyway.

Let’s have a look at the Korean Baduk 70th Anniversary Match.

Commented game record

 Cho Chikun vs Cho Hunhyun

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• Go Commentary: Takemiya Masaki vs Cho Chikun – 5th Igo Masters Cup
• Go Commentary: Cho Chikun vs Kobayashi Satoru – 4th Igo Masters Cup
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• Go Commentary: Liu Xing vs Cho Chikun – 7th Ing Cup
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Here are the weekly Go problems for week 136.

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

Easy Go problem

There’s more than one solution, but it’s all about finding the vital point.

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Intermediate Go problem

Never give up just because it looks like stones might escape. That’s the very moment when you’ll see how to capture them!

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Hard Go problem

Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but thinking about your opponent’s plans more than your own is one of the secrets of playing well.

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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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This is game 2 from the 1st MLily Cup final.

The game was played between Gu Li 9p and Mi Yuting 4p on December 2, 2013, in Jiangsu, China.

Gu Li won game 1 of the final, so if Gu wins this game again, it’d be an easy series for him in the best of five.

Gu Li 9 dan (left) and Mi Yuting 4 dan, at the 1st MLily Cup final.

Gu Li

Gu Li was ranked #3 in China by the time of this final, and he’s still one of the most popular players along with Lee Sedol 9p in the world these days.

Gu’s already won seven international titles in his career before this final, and the last time he won was the 15th Samsung Cup in 2010. (He added another international title – 10th Chunlan Cup, in June 2015)

Gu Li 9 dan at game 2 from 1st MLily Cup final.

His style of play is quite unique. His opening is outstanding, and he often played creative moves which soon become popular for other pros.

His haengma is strong and firm, and his power in the fighting is destructive.

Most of his games are dynamic and thrilling with his brilliant and creative moves, and that’s the main reason why people like to watch his games so much.

In this Mlily Cup, he defeated Na Hyun 3p, Hu Yaoyu 9p, Wang Lei 6p, and Zhou Ruiyang 9p to proceeded to the final.

Mi Yuting

Mi Yuting was born in 1996, and he became a pro in 2007. His ranking was #7 in China by the time, but he was yet unknown internationally by then.

Mi Yuting 4 dan at game 2 from 1st MLily Cup final.

His best results in the international tournaments before this MLily Cup was round of 16.

He proceeded to the round of 16 both at the 2012 Samsung Cup and the 4th BC Card Cup in 2012.

However, his performance in this MLily Cup was very impressive and sensational.

He defeated Lee Sedol 9p, Kang Dongyun 9p, Kong Jie 9p, Dang Yifei 4p and Wang Xi 9p to reach the final. All of his opponents were either world champions or finalists of international tournaments, and Mi defeated them all.

He was relatively unknown, but his reading was already propound and accurate especially at the close combat. He’s also got strong mind as well, so he maintained his calm when he was in trouble or behind, although he was only 17 year old boy.

Let’s have a look at game 2 of the 1st MLily Cup final.

Gu Li 9 dan (left) and Mi Yuting 4 dan, reviewing the game.

Commented game record

Mi Yuting vs Gu Li

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Related Articles

• An Jungki turns pro at the 2nd MLily Cup
• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Liu Xing vs Lee Donghoon – 2nd MLily Cup
• Go Commentary: Gu Li vs Zhou Ruiyang – 10th Chunlan Cup
• One broken leg and a Taiwanese import – 20th LG Cup
• Gu Li back on top, wins 10th Chunlan Cup

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This game is from the final of the 5th Igo Masters Cup.

The game was played between Takemiya Masaki 9p and Cho Chikun on July 11, 2015, in Tokyo, Japan.

Takemiya Masaki 9 dan (left) and Cho Chikun 9 dan at the 5th Igo Masters Cup

The Igo Masters Cup

The Igo Masters Cup is a Japanese Go tournament for veteran players over the age of 50.

There are preliminary matches, but former major title holders don’t need to play in the preliminaries and can start in the round of 16.

Cho Chikun defeated Hane Yasumasa 9p, Hikosaka Naoto 9p and Kobayashi Satoru 9p to proceeded to the final, and Takemiya Masaki defeated Rin Kaiho 9p, Ishida Yoshio 9p, Yamashiro Hiroshi 9p.

The prize money for the winner is ¥5 million Yen (approximately $40,000 USD), and ¥1.5 million Yen for the runner up.

Cho Chikun

Cho Chikun 9 dan at the 5th Igo Masters Cup.

Cho Chikun 9p was born in 1956, in Korea, and he went to Japan to study Go when he was 6 years old.

He became a pro in 1968 when he was only 11 years old, and he took his first major title (the Pro Best Ten) in 1975.

He never stopped playing throughout his career, and he’s won 73 titles in total. That’s a record in Japan.

The former record holder was Sakata Eio 9p (1920-2010), with 64 career titles.

Cho also won two international titles – the 4th Fujitsu Cup in 1991, and the 8th Samsung Cup in 2003 (defeating Park Younghun 9p).

At the time of the 8th Samsung Cup, Cho was 47 years old, and Park was only 18. It was amazing to see Cho defeating a far younger opponent to win another international title.

In 2012, he achieved 1400 career wins, which was also a new record in Japan, and he’s still going.

Cho won the 1st Igo Masters Cup, defeating Kobayashi Koichi 9p in 2011, and he won the 4th Igo Masters Cup, defeating Kobayashi Satoru 9p in 2014. He was aiming for a third win in this final.

Takemiya Masaki

Takemiya Masaki 9 dan at the 5th Igo Masters Cup.

Takemiya Masaki was born in 1951, and he became a pro in 1965.

He won the 31st Honinbo title, defeating Ishida Yoshio in 1976, and it was the first major title of his career.

In the following year, he lost Honinbo title to Cho Chikun, but he came back to win the Honinbo again, and won it five more times afterwards.

He held the Honinbo for four consecutive years, from 1985 to 1988, and was hoping to become an Honorary Honinbo by defending the title for one more year. However, Cho Chikun was the challenger in 1989, and Takemiya didn’t succeed.

In 1988, the Fujitsu Cup was established as the first international title, and Takemiya became the first international champion of the historic title. He defeated Rin Kaiho 9p in the final.

He wasn’t satisfied with one victory though, and he won the 2nd Fujitsu Cup too (defeating Rin Kaiho again) in 1989.

In the same year, the first international lightning Go tournament was established. Takemiya became the inaugural winner of that too, after defeating Kobayashi Satoru 9p in the final.

He performed very well in that tournament, and continued winning the title for another three years; defeating Lee Changho 9p, Cao Dayuan 9p and Cho Hun Hyun 9p in the finals.

In 1995, he won the 20th Meijin, defeating Kobayashi Koichi 9p, and it was his first Meijin title. However, he lost the title to Cho Chikun in the following year.

In 2009, he proceeded to the final of the 56th NHK Cup, but lost to Yuki Satoshi 9p.

This was his first appearance in the final of the Igo Masters Cup, and Go fans were expecting an exciting match for the final.

Opposing styles of  play

Takemiya Masaki 9 dan (left) and Cho Chikun 9 dan, when the game was finished.

Both Takemiya and Cho are from the Kitani dojo (Kitani Minoru 9p, 1909-1975). However, ironically, their styles of play are complete opposites.

Cho’s style of play is very dynamic and passionate. He used to play extremely territorial games when he was in his 30s, and he was also famous for spending a long time to think and making accurate moves in byo-yomi.

He’s regarded as the master of two day matches, like the big three Japanese titles (Kisei, Meijin and Honinbo), and he was nearly always playing frantically, in the last byo-yomi, by the end of his games.

On the other hand, Takemiya was very famous for his cosmic style of play. He preferred to call it ‘natural style’ himself, but most people call it cosmic style.

His large scale style of play was very new and sensational at the time, and many Go fans were impressed and fascinated by his humongous moyo games.

His unique center oriented style of play, with his creative point of view, was like a romantic dream. Practically nobody else could mimic Takemiya’s style and win, so he was very highly regarded by other top players.

When I was an insei, I liked their styles of play very much and I greatly enjoyed replaying their games. Their games were always exciting and fun to watch, with their opposing, colorful styles of play.

Let’s have a look at the final of the 5th Igo Masters Cup.

Takemiya Masaki 9 dan (third from the left), and Cho Chikun 9 dan at the presentation.

Commented game record

Takemiya Masaki vs Cho Chikun

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Here are the weekly Go problems for week 135.

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

Easy Go problem

Sometimes groups have fewer liberties than they seem to. The key is to hit all the vital points.

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Intermediate Go problem

Do you get the sense that White’s shape is quite short of liberties?

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Hard Go problem

There are many cases where exchanging a hane on the second line just reduces your liberties.

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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 main tournament of the 2nd MLily Cup began in Beijing this week, with the round of 64 and the round of 32 played on July 7 and 9 respectively.

The round of 64 at the 2nd MLily Cup, in Beijing, China.

Round of 64

China dominates the draw

Many Chinese players progressed through the preliminaries in late May, to join the round of 64.

Overall, there were 38 players from China, 17 from Korea, 3 from Japan, 2 from Taiwan, 2 from Europe and 2 from the US in the round of 64.

After the dust settled, 22 Chinese players and 10 Korean players proceeded through to the next round. Sadly, all other countries were eliminated.

Favorites knocked out

Lee Donghoon 5 dan (left) and Mi Yuting 9 dan at the 2nd MLily Cup.

Mi Yuting 9p, the defending champion from the 1st MLily Cup didn’t show his power this time and lost to Lee Donghoon 5p.

Gu Li 9p, the finalist from the 1st MLily Cup, faced Shi Yue 9p and was defeated.

Kim Jiseok 9p, who is ranked #2 in Korea, was also defeated by Wang Zejin 3p, who is a 16 year old boy. Korean baduk fans were shocked by the news.

An Jungki turns pro!

An Jungki 5 dan defeated Hu Yuqing 8 dan (left) to become a pro.

An Jungki 5d (amateur) defeated Hu Yuqing 8d (amateur).

In the process he achieved the 100 points necessary to qualify as a pro in Korea!

Under a relatively new qualification system, amateur players can earn points towards turning professional by qualifying for and performing well in professional level tournaments.

We recently interviewed An Jungki and you can learn more about him here and review one of his games here.

Yu Zhiying and Wang Chenxing

Two women also proceeded to the next round. Yu Zhiying 5p and Wang Chenxing 5p defeated Huang Yizhong 8p, and Chen Yusen 2p respectively.

However, the other two women in the draw, Rui Naiwei 9p and Park Jiyeon 4p, were defeated.

Tuo Jiaxi 9 dan (left) plays Wang Chenxing 5 dan in the round of 32.

North America and Europe

Europe’s Ilya Shikshin 1p played against Park Junghwan 9p. Shikshin played quite well, but Park was just too strong for him in the end.

Meanwhile, North America’s Eric Lui 6d (amateur) faced Byun Sangil 3p.

A new pattern in the Taisha joseki appeared and Lui tried to attack Black’s weaknesses. However, Byun managed the game very well and Lui couldn’t catch up.

Alexander Dinerchtein 3p (Europe) was defeated by Kim Sedong 5p and Yang Huiren 1p (North America) lost to Lian Xiao 7p.

Round of 32

Park Junghwan edges out Chen Yaoye

In the round of 32, 11 players from China and 5 from Korea proceeded to round of 16.

Park Junghwan 9p, ranked #1 in Korea, defeated Chen Yaoye 9p, who is ranked #6 in China.

Their head to head record before this game stood at 14 all, and Park won their 29th game together.

Chen Yaoye 9 dan (left) and Park Junghwan 9 dan at the 2nd MLily Cup.

Meanwhile, Park Younghun (Korea’s #5) bested Lian Xiao 7p (China’s #4) by a half a point.

Chang Hao is back!

Veteran, Chang Hao 9p defeated the much younger Shin Minjoon 3p to proceeded to the round of 16.

The last time Chang reached the round of 16 in an international tournament was at the 1st Bailing Cup in 2010.

Won Seongjin 9p was defeated by Xie Ke 1p, and that was the biggest upset in the round of 32.

Wu Guangya 6p knocked out Shi Yue (#1 in China), paving the way for his second career appearance in the round of 16 of an international tournament.

The two remaining women, Yu Zhiying and Wang Chenxing, were defeated by Zhou Ruiyang 9p and Tuo Jiaxi 9p, and didn’t proceed further.

Zhou Ruiyang 9 dan (left) and Yi Zhiying 5 dan at the 2nd MLily Cup.

An Jungki too excited?

Having already succeeded in turning pro, An Jungki was knocked out by Kim Sedong after 81 moves.

Perhaps the excitement got the better of him. Who could blame him?

Round of 16 draw

The date and venue for the round 16 haven’t been decided yet, but play will resume with the following pairings:

• Park Junghwan 9p vs Zhou Ruiyang 9p
• Lee Sedol 9p vs Ding Hao 2p
• Park Younghun 9p vs Chang Hao 9p
• Tuo Jiaxi 9p vs Ahn Seongjun 6p
• Kim Sedong 5p vs Rong Yi 4p
• Tang Weixing 9p vs Li Qincheng 2p
• Ke Jie 9p vs Wang Zejin 3p, and
• Wu Guangya 6p vs Xie Ke 1p.

The MLily Cup

The MLily Cup is a biennial international Go tournament, which started in 2013 and is sponsored by MLily Meng Baihe – a mattress and bedding company.

It’s intended that it will alternate with the (also biennial) Bailing Cup, every other year.

The draw consists of 16 seeded players from China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan and 48 players from preliminary rounds, including 4 women and 4 amateurs.

Each player receives 2 hours thinking time and 5 x 1 minute byo-yomi. The main time is increased to 3 hours each for the final. The semifinals are played as best of three matches and the final is a best of five match.

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 Bailing Cup and Samsung Cup, in terms of prize money.

The official name, ‘MLily Meng Baihe Cup World Go Open Tournament’ (try saying that 10 times) uses the sponsor’s double barrel English and Chinese names.

The Chinese name, 梦百合 Meng (=dream) Baihe (=lilies), translates literally to ‘dream of lilies’. A looser, but more natural translation would be something like ‘sweet dreams’. This explains the somewhat cryptic ‘MLily’ moniker.

Game records

Mi Yuting vs Lee Donghoon

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Gu Li vs Shi Yue

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Wu Guangya vs Ida Atsushi

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Chen Yaoye vs Park Junghwan

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Lian Xiao vs Park Younghun

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Shin Minjoon vs Chang Hao

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Byun Sangil vs Eric Lui

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Ilya Shikshin vs Park Junghwan

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Related Articles

• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Liu Xing vs Lee Donghoon – 2nd MLily Cup
• Go Commentary: An Jungki vs Chen Yaoye – 20th LG Cup
• An Younggil’s Pro Go Videos: Wu Guangya vs Huang Yunsong – Chinese A League Round 8
• Go Commentary: Gu Li ve Zhou Ruiyang – 10th Chunlan Cup
• Almost pro: An interview with An Jungki

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Younggil: I’m going to show you a game played between Liu Xing 7p and Lee Donghun 5p from the 2nd MLily Cup, Preliminaries, final.

Liu Xing is well known for his unique and creative style of play. He won the Ahan Tongshan Cup a couple of times and he was ranked #3 in China in 2009.

Lee Donghun is one of rising stars in Korea, and he recently won KBS Cup as his first career title defeating Park Junghwan 9p.

You’ll see the fighting spirits from both sides, and you’ll learn how to play when you’re in a close combat in the center area.

You can also learn how to deal with ko fights and ko threats from the game.

 
Please subscribe to the Go Game Guru Youtube channel for updates.

Game record

Liu Xing vs Lee Donghun

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Related Articles

• One broken leg and a Taiwanese import – 20th LG Cup
• Go Commentary: Gu Li vs Park Junghwan – 2013 Samsung Cup
• Go Commentary: Park Junghwan vs Kim Jiseok – 19th LG Cup
• Park Junghwan wins 19th LG Cup – Breaking international title drought
• Go Commentary: Iyama Yuta vs Park Junghwan – 16th Nongshim Cup

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Here are the weekly Go problems for week 134.

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

Easy Go problem

Liberties are important in life and death problems too.

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Intermediate Go problem

Once work out why normal moves aren’t good enough, the solution may present itself.

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Hard Go problem

Being quick to spot vital points can sometimes cause a kind of blindness.

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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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