1979 Eastern Championship
Tournament Report
Final Championship
From the American Go Journal: The final match of the United states Championships was played Sunday Sunday, 18 November, at Japan Airlines headquarters in New York.
Kyung Kim, the powerful West Coast Champion, flew in for the event. Shin A. Kang, perennial Eastern Champion, drove up from Baltimore. The Eastern players harbored secret hopes that the "home court" advantage would equalize the match, but Kim was too strong.
Playing quickly and confidently, he refuted Kang's fighting style at several points in early Game 1. A lapse in the middle game allowed Kang to create a huge ko which offered a chance to get back in the game. Once settled, however, Kang was still some points behind. He strained to close the distance, but fell in the late yose to a hanami-ko. Game 2 saw Kang take a slight mid game lead, but Kim turned on full power, caught him, and ran away with the game and the title.
The presentation of the JAL Cup was made by Mr. Ukari, Regional Manager, of Japan Airlines. Both the Champion and the Eastern challenger received cash prizes from the AGA. But the big prize was the "big ticket." Mr. Kim, as 1979 US Champion, will be going to Japan for the 2nd World Amateur Go Championship, to be held in Tokyo this March, and sponsored by JAL. Acknowledged as the AGA's strongest player, Mr. Kim will well represent the top level of American Go.