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burp
24th May 2000, 19:02
Howdy!

The first game of the 55th Honinbo championship (the third most prestigous Go championships in Japan - approx. $175, 000 goes to the winner) was played yesterday in Seoul, South Korea. The championship is a best of seven match series. Each game is played over a period of two days with 9 hours of thinking time for each player.

This first game was unusual, since the game ended by resignation on the first day after 59 moves.

Anyway ... for your entertainment value ... here is game 1 (black - Cho Sonjin, Honinbo; white - O Meien, challenger):

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=410710&a=3028903&p=21651759&Sequence=0

The middle game begins with move white 22.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=410710&a=3028903&p=21651529&Sequence=0

Black wins by resignation.

The Honinbo is sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun ... you can follow the coverage there also at http://www.mainichi.co.jp/life/hobby/igo00/01/index.html

Enjoy!

mikehansen



[This message has been edited by burp (edited 05-24-2000).]

burp
24th May 2000, 22:09
I edited the previous post by removing the .sgf formated file. Wanted to save a little space in the message.

Anyone who wants a copy of the game in .sgf format may request it ... I'll e-mail it to you.

mikehansen

burp
24th May 2000, 22:35
Howdy!

I imagine a few people may be wondering why white resigned so quickly. Is white really so bad off that he has no hope of winning?

Look at the white J11 group. Is it dead or alive? If it is dead, then what kind of impact does it have over the whole board? It has a big impact: black would have amazing central influence across the whole board, white's group in the upper left is weak and would come under considerable attack, white doesn't have much potential for territory compared to black. These are the reasons I believe white resigned.

So ... the question at hand is ... Is the white J11 dead or alive? Can white escape for life? Let's look at 2 scenarios: 1) a "crane's nest" type situation, 2) a TRICKY "ladder".

First, what happens if white captures black H12 to try and escape?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=410710&a=3028903&p=21660647&Sequence=0

Almost looks like he can, but ...

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=410710&a=3028903&p=21660662&Sequence=0

Black plays at L12 (sorry no number on the stone, I messed up), white must fill in with 62, black at "a" then captures the group. The key here is that the captured black stone at H12 becomes a sacrifice. The empty space left by the capture is like a nest, which white is forced to fill in. This type of situation is called a "crane's nest".

Ok, that didn't work, so ... next option - white plays at L12 to run out and escape. Can it work?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=410710&a=3028903&p=21660649&Sequence=0

No! Black captures white in a fairly tricky (complicated) ladder. After white 86, black captures with "a". If white tries to play 86 at H13, then Black T13. This reverts back to the previous "crane's nest" scenario ... white must fill the "nest", black captures. (Were you able to read this out? That's a minimum of 28 moves to read ahead on! http://216.10.1.92/ubb/wink.gif )

Final analysis ... white can't escape ... so, it is best not to try escaping and play elsewhere. The problem is by losing this group white hasn't any hope of winning, because of the reasons I outlined in paragraph 2.


Anyway ... I welcome other opinions and questions. If I've made an error, please point it out! http://216.10.1.92/ubb/wink.gif

Enjoy!

mikehansen

wje
26th May 2000, 13:10
Well said! Great diagrams!

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Jared Edge
Farmington,UT