by James Sedgwick 6D
In Group 2, Guanyu Song, who’s won two Canadian Open titles in recent years, came in as the favorite. But Eric Yoder, known for big wins in past pro qualifiers against top contenders, played a difficult joseki variation -- a first-line hane that gains a liberty, which is key when white wedges (s17 in diagram) -- that Guanyu hadn't studied, and when he couldn't find the right way to handle it, Guanyu fell behind. Guanyu then launched a sequence of really difficult fights trying to get back into the game; there were some dicey moments, but Eric showed his fighting power and closed out the game.
In Group 1, Bill Lin, as expected, is looking hard to beat, and indeed was 2-0 at the end of the day. But who can claim the second spot in the group has been hard to judge. A key moment came in the afternoon, when, facing 11-year-old Michael Xu, Ben Mantle fell badly behind in the early fighting, failing to find a good way to deal with a weak group. But when Michael played passively with his lead, Ben came back and held a small lead until, trying to close out the game, Ben misread a connection problem and the game slipped away. Maybe the nearly 10 hours battling on the board at that point had something to do with it! Michael now seems to have a chance at that prized second playoff spot.
Sedgwick is President of the Canadian Go Association
photos: left: Thomas Hsiang checks out the Ben Mantle-Michael Xu game; bottom right: Eric Yoder (left) vs Guanyu Song. photos by Chris Garlock