American Go E-Journal » World

With his fourth-round win in the Honinbo on Friday, Yamashita Keigo 9P has taken a 3-1 lead over Hane Naoki 9P. This would be the first Honinbo title for Yamashita; Hane has held the title for the past two years. The fifth round will be played on June 28-29.
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Lee Changho 9P announced his engagement to Cyberoro reporter Yi Doyun on Tuesday. Miss Yi Doyun is a strong baduk player as well, and the couple said they plan to have between one and three children.
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While top professionals do lose big games now and again, it seems a bit unusual for so many to be struggling at the same time. In the past few weeks, Korean pro Lee Sedol 9P has lost a few important games he was expected to win, and Lee Changho 9P has been in a painful slump. Now, it looks possible that things could get rocky for a few Chinese players as well.

Kong Jie 9P, Chang Hao 9P, and Nie Weiping 9P were all eliminated in the first round of the 3rd Quzhou-Lanke Cup, which ended this Wednesday. Nie Weiping’s loss to Shi Yue 4P was not too surprising, as Shi Yue is one of China’s better mid-level pros and may move to the top level in the future. Chang Hao lost to Li Zhe 6P, a mid-level pro, who has played very competitively against Kong Jie, Gu Li 9P, Chang Ho, Lee Sedol, and other top players.

The big surprise in the first round came when Jiang Weijie 5P defeated Kong Jie. Jiang Weijie turned pro in 2005 and is a solid player, but has yet to win a major tournament. Gu Li, the defending Quzhuo-Lanke Cup champion, was the only top Chinese pro to make it out of the first round, defeating Zhong Weijing 5P by resignation.
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Yamashita Keigo 9P took a 2-1 lead in the 65th Honinbo Wednesday when he defeated defending title-holder Hane Naoki 9P by resignation. The fourth round will be played on June 17-18.
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Lee Changho 9p’s troubles continue to plague him. Playing in the second round of the 15th GS Caltex Cup on Saturday, Kim Junghyun 2P defeated Lee Changho 9P by resignation. Kim Junghyun is relatively new to the professional scene, turning pro in 2009 and gaining the rank of 2 dan on April 8th, 2010.
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Korea exacted a measure of revenge Wednesday when Korea’s An Choyeong defeated China’s Gu Li by a half point in the second round of the 15th LG Cup. Gu Li had defeated Lee Sedol in the first round, eliminating Korea’s strongest player in this tournament. Lee Changho, who defeated China’s Tuo Jiaxi by resignation, is now Korea’s leading hope in winning this year’s LG Cup. Choi Cheolhan is also a strong contender for Korea and is currently playing extremely well. In a rather surprising outcome, China’s Hu Yaoyu defeated fellow teammate Chang Hao by resignation. Of course, China’s Kong Jie is the defending title-holder and the favorite to win the LG Cup for a second year in a row. He defeated Korea’s Mok Jinseok by resignation and will face his fellow teammate Hu Yaoyu in the third round, which will be played on November 8th.
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Lee Sedol 9P (l) ranks well above second-ranked Lee Changho 9P in the Korean Baduk Association’s ranking system’s latest standings. Lee Sedol has 9732 points to Lee Changho’s 9598 points, with Park Junghwan 7P and Park Yeonghun 9D close behind at 9581 and 9580 points, respectively. CLICK HERE for the complete Top Ten list.
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Kong Jie narrowly defeated Yoda Norimoto by half a point in the first round of the 15th LG Cup, and Lee Changho (at left in photo) defeated Wang Xi by resignation after 231 moves. In a major victory, Gu Li defeated Lee Sedol by resignation after 291 moves; Gu has been in a slump lately, and his win was a major defeat for Lee Sedol who was the favorite to win this year’s LG Cup.  After the dust settled, China emerged with a commanding 11 out 16 wins in the first round, while Japan and Taiwan were eliminated, leaving Korea with the remaining five wins. The second round will be played on June 9th.
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