1974 Eastern Honinbo
Tournament Report
From the American Go Journal:The tournament began at 10:30 AM as players arrived at New York City's Hotel Lexington to be registered by Mr. Mattias Thim, AGA Secretary/Treasurer. One of our two adjoining suites was set aside for the exclusive use of American Honinbo semi-finalists, to afford them as much peace and quiet as possible.
The first round saw Mr. Kwon, former U.S. Honinbo, paired against Mr. Kang, the Baltimore representative. Not much was known of Mr. Kang in New York City, but it was rumored that he could possibly defeat Mr. Matsuda, past American Honinbo for eight out of eleven years! How he fared against Mr. Kwon, who was himself always a strong contender for the title, would test those rumors. Hardly had the fuseki begun when close and fierce fighting spread over an entire edge. Some say that is indicative of the Korean style of Go. In any case, Mr. Kwon was tripped up, and Mr. Kang's first appearance in an AGA tournament saw him defeat a former American Honinbo.
Meanwhile, Mr. Matsuda was piling up steady wins, something nowadays taken for granted by so many Go enthusiasts. It became clear that the game between Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Kang would decide the tournament.
Although Mr. Matsuda has held the championship title more often than any other player, he too must begin each new tournament at the bottom stages, and so started equal to everyone else. But this year two important things had changed. First the time limit was shortened to only one hour per player, with thirty seconds byo-yomi. Second, the double-knockout feature was eliminated so that the tournament could be finished in one day. This increased the chance that one overlooked tesuji, one misread variation, or one sudden opponent's inspiration could stop the champion right in his tracks. Such was the added tension surrounding the game between Mr. Kang and Mr. Matsuda.
But in the end Mr. Matsuda's stern consistency prevailed. Despite the onslaught of large scale fighting, Mr. Kang was forced to resign. Mr. Matsuda was once again declared the Eastern Honinbo and is ready to face the Western Champion in the telephone link match.
Tournament Grid
Eastern Honinbo Playoffs
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kang, 5d | X | 0 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 3-1 |
| 2 | Matsuda, 6d | 1 | X | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4-0 |
| 3 | Kwon, 5d | 0 | 0 | X | 1 | - | 1 | 2-2 |
| 4 | Goto, 5d | - | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 1 | 1-3 |
| 5 | Chen, 4d | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | X | 1 | 2-2 |
| 6 | Ryder, 5d | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0-4 |
Kyu Championship Playoffs
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eguchi, 5k | X | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2-2 |
| 2 | Harvey, 2k | 1 | X | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 3-1 |
| 3 | Dubois, 2k | - | 0 | X | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2-2 |
| 4 | Hou, 1k | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | - | 1 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Stringfellow | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | X | 1 | 3-1 |
| 6 | Rusher | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | X | 0-4 |
Handicapped Inter-Chapter tournament
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell, 4k | 7 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 3-1 |
| 2 | Gonshor, 5d | 3 | 1 | 11 | BYE | 1-2 |
| 3 | Hodis, 3d | 2 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 4-0 |
| 4 | Zar, 4k | 8 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 3-1 |
| 5 | Shrauf, 5k | 9 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 4-0 |
| 6 | Kaladish, 6k | 10 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 2-2 |
| 7 | Seidler, 10k | 1 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 0-4 |
| 8 | Sarno, 8k | 4 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 0-4 |
| 9 | Barnhorst, 6k | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 2-2 |
| 10 | Newman, 7k | 6 | 5 | BYE | 1 | 0-3 |
| 11 | Takabe, 1d | 12 | BYE | 2 | 4 | 0-3 |
| 12 | Powell, 6k | 11 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 4-0 |
| 13 | Takahashi, 4k | BYE | 3 | 7 | 12 | 1-2 |