by Albert Yen
The 20th Korean Prime Minister Cup (KPMC) wrapped up last Friday in Taebaek, Korea, where I had the privilege of representing the United States in the national division. I finished with a 5–2 record, placing third overall behind China and Korea — the strongest American result in the 20-year history of the KPMC.
I opened the event against a familiar opponent, François Gonze of Belgium, whom I also faced at the 2019 World Amateur Go Championship. A clean invasion secured the first win. Round 2 brought my toughest pairing of the tournament: China’s Fu Yu 8d, who recently defeated world champion Wang Xinghao 9p in domestic play. Although I lost after a difficult midgame fight, I managed to keep the game close for roughly 100 moves.
Day 2 (Rounds 3–4) came with unexpected hurdles — a sudden fever and severe headache, likely lingering from a cold earlier in the week. Fortunately, I pulled through with two solid wins, defeating Vietnam in the morning and France in the afternoon. After a restorative 12-hour sleep, I entered the final day ready for two critical matches.
Round 5 against Czech player Jan Prokop 6d turned out to be the only game that went all the way to manual counting. I edged out a 1.5-point victory. Both of us had believed we were ahead throughout the game, so the narrow final margin came as a surprise. Round 6, against Hong Kong’s Youngwoon Park — better known as “Baduk Doctor” — was the most thrilling game of my tournament. We fought through four major kos, and the deciding semeai ended with me winning by a single liberty to capture a huge group. That win put me firmly in top-five contention.
Round 7 against Korea’s Hyun-seok Shin was another fierce battle, but I was ultimately outplayed in the complex fighting.
Because nearly ten players finished 5–2, final standings came down to SOS. Miraculously, my opponents won almost all their subsequent games after playing me — Vietnam closed with four straight wins (finishing 8th), and both Hong Kong and Czech ended 5–2 (finishing 4th and 6th). Their strong finishes gave me the highest SOS among all 5-win players and placed me ahead of Taiwan, who had started 4–0.
All game records are posted on my AlbertYen OGS account under demo boards.
Outside the tournament hall, the experience was equally memorable. The locals in Taebaek were incredibly welcoming — at one point we even received unexpected “VIP gifts” while shopping in town — and the views from the iconic Taebaek Mountain trail were breathtaking.
A special shoutout to my wife and newlywed life partner, CiCi, who supported me through my fever and made the trip truly unforgettable.
photos: (top left) Top 3 with KBF President (Yen at far right); (top right) Top 10 (R to L) with personalized fan prize; (bottom right & left) Round 7 vs Korea.