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Professional Go Player of 5 Generations formed for the First Time in History
Sekiyama Honoka
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The Japan Go Association announced on the 31st that Sekiyama Honoka (17) has been approved as a professional Go player through the special womenâs selection recommendation. Coming from a Go family with her great-grandfather being the first Honinbo in the modern era, Honinbo Risen (Sekiyama Riichi, 9P, 1909-70) , Sekiyama becomes a professional Go player of five generations. This is the first time in the history of the Japan Go Association and the Kansai Ki-in that a professional Go player has emerged spanning five generations.
Sekiyama achieved excellent results, ranking 5th (1st among women) in the Kansai Headquarters Insei League of the Japan Go Association. She was recommended by an Insei instructor for âhaving the qualities to contribute to the development and popularization of Go in Kansai,â and subsequently approved by the review board and the board of directors.
Sekiyamaâs father is Sekiyama Toshimichi, 9P (51). Her grandfather is Sekiyama Toshio, 9P (1937-1992). Her great-grandfather is Sekiyama Riichi, 9P. Her great-great-grandfather, Sekiyama Moritoshi, 4P, passed away in August of 1939. Toshimichi 9P and Toshio 9P belong to the Kansai Ki-in (Kansai Go Association). Riichi 9P transferred from the Nihon Ki-in (Japan Go Association) to the Kansai Ki-in. Itâs confirmed by records from 1935 that Moritoshi 4P was a member of the Nihon Ki-in.
Sekiyama will participate in official matches starting in April. She learned Go around the age of three and reflects, âGo was naturally (close to me).â Upon achieving the rank of professional, she released a statement saying, âI feel relieved. I want to do things that only I can do.â
Source: èŠȘć5代ăźăăæŁćŁ«ăćăăŠèȘçă17æłăźéąć±±ç©éŠăă | æŻæ„æ°è
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I would have chosen a photo of hers to go with the magnificence and joy of the achievementâŠ
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Thatâs Japan for youâŠ
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Park Hamin and Kim Chaeyoung: First âIpsinâ Couple in Korea
A couple who have brought a pink hue to the Wangsimni Go neighborhood will be tying the knot. Another professional Go couple will be born. Park Hamin 9P and Kim Chaeyoung 9P will be married on the 8th of next month.
Park Hamin was born in 1998, and Kim Chaeyoung was born in 1996. They are a married couple, with Park Hamin being younger, and they are the first couple in Korea to both reach the level of âipsinâ (ć „ç„, a high-level Go professional). Park Hamin 9P is the same age as Kim Chaeyoung 9Pâs younger sister, Kim Dayoung 5P, who is a close friend. Kim Chaeyoungâs father is Kim Sungrae 6P, making them a family of three professional Go players.
Park Hamin and Kim Chaeyoung have been a well-known, openly dating couple in the Wangsimni Go community for a long time. They have been cultivating their love for six years since they began dating seriously. When Park Hamin was in the military, Kim Chaeyoung frequently visited him, confirming their unwavering love.
Park Hamin joined the professional Go World in January 2015 through the yonggusaeng league and reached 9P in March 2022. He achieved his first professional victory in the Crown Haitai Cup in February 2019 and added another win in the New Stars Future Strongest Battle the following month. In November 2020, he won the Presidentâs Cup National Go Championship. His current ranking is 23rd.
Kim Chaeyoung is a star player representing the womenâs Go world. She became a professional player in April 2011 through the womenâs professional qualification tournament and reached the level of âipsinâ in August 2024. She has won a total of 4 championships. She won the Womenâs Kuksu Championship in 2014 and the Wu Qingyuan Cup in 2018. She currently holds the IBK Industrial Bank Cup and the Womenâs Kuksu Championship, which she won last year. She is ranked 3rd in the womenâs rankings.
The Park Hamin and Kim Chaeyoung couple are currently playing in the 2024-2025 KB Baduk League, which started last December. They plan to go on their honeymoon in April after the tournament ends. They have set up their new home near the Korea Baduk Association.
The marriage between professional Go players in Korea began with Kim Youngsam and Hyun Mijin in 2004, followed by Lee Sanghoon and Ha Hojeong, Park Byunggyu and Kim Eunsun, Choi Cheolhan and Yoon Jihee, Yoon Jaewoong and Kim Sesil, Kim Jinhoon and Kim Hyerim, Kim Daeyong and Kim Sujin, Lee Younggu and Oh Jungah, Heo Youngho and Kim Shinyoung, Park Changmyung and Cho Hyeyeon, Cho Insun and Lee Yujin. Park Hamin and Kim Chaeyoung will be the 12th couple.
In addition, Kwon Hyojin 8P married Yue Liang 6P from China in 2005 (Yue Liang has been active as a guest player of the Korea Baduk Association since 2007), and Kang Taehoon 1P married Li Jingbin 1P from Taiwan in 2021.
P.S. On goratings, Park Hamin is ranked 88 while Kim Chaeyoung is ranked 234. In Korea, âipsinâ is another name that is used to refer to Professional players who have achieved 9P, which is the highest dan rank they can achieve.
Many congratulations to them!! Do check out the nice pictures in the link above too!
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Nong Shim Cup Final Round to start from 17th Feb
The third and final round of the 26th Nongshim Cup will start as planned on 17 February 2025. Here are the remaining players from each country:
China (3): Li Xuanhao, Ding Hao, Xie Erhao (3 wins)
Korea (2): Shin Jinseo, Park Junghwan
Japan (1): Shibano Toramaru
In Game 10 on the 17th, Shibano Toramaru, the last man standing in Japan will challenge Xie Erhao who has won 3 games consecutively against Kim Myunghun, Ichiriki Ryo and Shin Minjun in Round 2. Before that, Kim Myunghun won 4 games consecutively and Ke Jie won 2 games consecutively before losing to Kim Myunghun by time.
Games will be played every day at 3pm KST until all players from the countries other than the winning country are eliminated. There will be a minimum of 3 games and a maximum of 5 games. Games would be broadcast on most Asian Go servers. There will also be video streams on channels such as BadukTV.
The winning team of Nongshim Cup will receive a prize of 500 million won. An additional prize of 10 million won will be awarded for three consecutive wins (an additional 10 million won will be paid for each additional win after three consecutive wins). Each player is given one hour of thinking time with one 60-second overtime.
Will Shibano Toramaru break through Xie Erhao and help Japan survive a bit longer? Stay tuned to find out!
@discobot quote
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The aim of life is self-development. To realize ones nature perfectly â that is what each of us is here for. â Oscar Wilde
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The state of the lids (and stones everywhere on the table) made me laugh
But maybe they are already reviewing their game.
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Actually if you look at the video streams of the past games, especially Ke Jieâs games, the stones are really everywhere. Sometimes it was even difficult to find them when counting lol
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[Nongshim Cup] Shibano stops Xie Erhao, Park Junghwan to challenge tomorrow
Shibano Toramaru (left) wins against Xie Erhao (right)
Shibano Toramaru (Black) wins against Xie Erhao (White)
In Game 10 of the 26th Nongshim Cup, Shibano Toramaru, the last man standing in Japan, won against Xie Erhao and stopped him from getting his fourth consecutive win. From the start of the game, Shibano played strong moves, which allowed him to gain an advantage in the opening. However, that advantage didnât last long and Xie quickly got back the lead in the middle game after Shibano played some loose moves. In the last fight on the right, Shibano played the strongest moves to attack white. When white couldâve sacrificed some stones and played lightly, Xie chose to play strongly instead even though he was deep inside blackâs influence. In the end. white had no choice but to start a ko that he couldnât win, and resigned from the game soon after.
With that, here are the remaining players from each country.
China (2): Li Xuanhao, Ding Hao
Korea (2): Shin Jinseo, Park Junghwan
Japan (1): Shibano Toramaru (1 win)
Game 11 will be played tomorrow 18th Feb at at 3pm KST. The game would be broadcast on most Asian Go servers. There will also be video streams on channels such as BadukTV.
The winning team of Nongshim Cup will receive a prize of 500 million won. An additional prize of 10 million won will be awarded for three consecutive wins (an additional 10 million won will be paid for each additional win after three consecutive wins). Each player is given one hour of thinking time with one 60-second overtime.
How far will Shibano Toramaru go? Stay tuned to find out!
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[Nongshim Cup] Park Junghwan overpowers Shibano, Li Xuanhao up tomorrow
Park Junghwan (left) wins against Shibano Toramaru (right)
Park Junghwan (white) wins against Shibano Toramaru (black)
In Game 11 of the 26th Nongshim Cup, Park Junghwan won against Shibano Toramaru, eliminating Japan from the tournament. Shibano had a slight lead in the opening after a problematic move by Park, but after that Shibano played even more problematic moves, causing the game to tilt towards Park completely. Shibanoâs only hope was with the moyo on the right side, but Park managed to live inside easily by making use of blackâs weakness.
Crucial moment in the game. Black shouldâve just played atari at O4 to eat the stone and it is still a long game.
Instead, black played atari at 1 followed by the atari at 3, getting 5, 7, 9 naturally. It looks like a tesuji, but white takes the stone at 10 and black still cannot cut the white bottom group, thus deeming it a failure for black.
With that, here are the remaining players from each country.
China (2): Li Xuanhao, Ding Hao
Korea (2): Shin Jinseo, Park Junghwan (1 win)
Japan (0)
Game 12 will be played tomorrow, February 18th, at 3pm KST. Li Xuanhao will be challenging Park Junghwan. It will be broadcast on most Asian Go servers and streamed on channels such as BadukTV.
The winning team of Nongshim Cup will receive a prize of 500 million won. An additional prize of 10 million won will be awarded for three consecutive wins (an additional 10 million won will be paid for each additional win after three consecutive wins). Each player is given one hour of thinking time with one 60-second overtime.
@discobot quote
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[Nongshim Cup] Park Junghwan stumbles after playing like a robot, Shin Jinseo to challenge Li Xuanhao
Park Junghwan (right) loses to Li Xuanhao (left)
Park Junghwan (black) loses to Li Xuanhao (white)
In Game 12 of the 26th Nongshim Cup, Park Junghwan lost against Li Xuanhao by resignation. Li was not in a good condition and Park played a very good game throughout, almost playing like a robot. However, when Li invaded blackâs moyo on the bottom right for a last fight, Park seemed to have had a serious miscalculation. He couldâve ended the game by killing the group, but white managed to connect back in the actual game. Black had no more chances to come back after having his territory destroyed.
Crucial moment in the game. White loses if this group dies.
Black shouldâve played at L5. If white plays 2, black can play 3 and 5 to connect back underneath. The white group on the side has nowhere to run and white needs to resign.
In the actual game, black connected at K4 instead, eventually allowing white to connect the entire group back by laddering the stone at L7. Even though black can atari at A to eat the two stones, the loss on the bottom was too big and there was no way for black to comeback after this.
With that, here are the remaining players from each country.
China (2): Li Xuanhao (1 win), Ding Hao
Korea (1): Shin Jinseo
Japan (0)
Game 13 will be played tomorrow, February 20th, at 3pm KST. Shin Jinseo, the last man standing in Korea, will be challenging Li Xuanhao. It will be broadcast on most Asian Go servers and streamed on channels such as BadukTV. I will also be carrying out a demo on OGS if I have time. If Li wins the game tomorrow, China will clinch the trophy.
The winning team of Nongshim Cup will receive a prize of 500 million won. An additional prize of 10 million won will be awarded for three consecutive wins (an additional 10 million won will be paid for each additional win after three consecutive wins). Each player is given one hour of thinking time with one 60-second overtime.
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[Nongshim Cup] Shin Jinseo dominates the game against Li Xuanhao, only Ding Hao left
Shin Jinseo (left) wins against Li Xuanhao (black)
Shin Jinseo (white) wins against Li Xuanhao (black)
In Game 13 of the 26th Nongshim Cup, Shin Jinseo won against Li Xuanhao by resignation. It was a quick game that ended in about 2 hours. Liâs slump continued as he didnât get a good result after the taisha joseki. The game was still difficult but Shin chose to sacrifice stone after stone, thus simplifying the game. Territory-wise Black was okay, but Black had two groups that were not alive and it was difficult to settle both groups properly. Eventually, Black managed to live one of the groups but was already behind on territory and the other group was still weak.
Q1 is a good move and Li may have missed this move. The capturing race result is a ko that white takes first, and black only has E16 as a ko threat which is not big enough.
White chose to sacrifice the entire left side, making himself thick in the process. Black chose to run the two stones but got the bottom wall attacked. White gained a lot from the attack, making it a perfect win for SJS.
With that, here are the remaining players from each country.
China (1): Ding Hao
Korea (1): Shin Jinseo (1 win)
Japan (0)
Game 14, the final game, will be played tomorrow, February 21st, at 3pm KST. Ding Hao will be challenging Shin Jinseo, and the winner will get the Nongshim Cup trophy. It will be broadcast on most Asian Go servers and streamed on channels such as BadukTV. I will also be carrying out a demo on OGS if I have time.
The winning team of Nongshim Cup will receive a prize of 500 million won. An additional prize of 10 million won will be awarded for three consecutive wins (an additional 10 million won will be paid for each additional win after three consecutive wins). Each player is given one hour of thinking time with one 60-second overtime.
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[Nongshim Cup] Shin Jinseo conquers Ding Hao after a complicated game and gets 18th consecutive win; Korea clinches the trophy for the 5th time in a row
Shin Jinseo (left) wins against Ding Hao (right)
Shin Jinseo (white) wins against Ding Hao (black)
Shin Jinseo helps Korea clinch the title once again
Full kifu here and more details here.
Itâs the most exciting game of this yearâs Nongshim Cup so I recommend taking a look
@discobot quote
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I like those AI graphics they always show that those games have alternative winners all along until one get a dominance late in the game. With a graphic like this you canât say one is better as the other. I suspect that itâs not always as clear for humans, be the commentators or the players.
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Nanyang Cup Finals between World No. 1 and No. 2 to start tomorrow in Singapore!
In the 1st Nanyang Cup, the finals between World No. 1 Shin Jinseo and World No. 2 Wang Xinhao will start tomorrow 26th February. It will be a best of 3 held in Singapore. Game 2 will be played on 28th February and Game 3 on 1st March if needed. Their current head-to-head score is Shin Jinseo 2 â Wang Xinghao 1, with Shin just defeating Wang recently in last yearâs Samsung Cup. The match to decide the 3rd place will also be played between Li Qincheng and Dang Yifei on 26th February.
The games will start at 12pm GMT+8 and should be broadcast on most Asian Go servers. It would also be streamed on channels such as BadukTV.
This is the first major world tournament using Fischer time control. Each playerâs main time is 2 hours, and an additional 15 seconds are added for each move. Chinese rules are used, with black giving a komi of 7.5 points. The championâs prize money for this competition is 250,000 Singapore dollars and the runner-upâs prize money is 100,000 Singapore dollars.
If you happen to be in Singapore, many events are lined up such as live commentary and post-game analysis. You may even be able to meet the players themselves!
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I see the tournament organizers concur with my opinion that a relatively short increment, relying on main time to achieve the game length you want, is the way to go
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