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The Power Report: Kisei S League starts; Otake wins 1,300 games; Meijin League; Shibano wins Grand C

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Kisei S League starts: The S League, the last of the 44th Kisei leagues to get under way, got off to a start on April 25 with a clash between two heavyweights. Takao Shinji 9P (W) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by resignation. The second game in the league was played on May 2. Yamashita Keigo 9P (B) beat So Yokoku 9P by resig. In the A League, Ichiriki Ryo 8P and Cho U Meijin, who are both on 2-0, share the lead. In the B1 league, Yoda Norimoto 9P, on 3-0, has made the best start, but Hane Naoki, on 2-0, is also undefeated. In the B2 League, Motoki Katsuya 8P, on 3-0, is the only undefeated player. 

Otake wins 1,300 games: In a game in the 9th Masters Cup played on April 25, Otake Hideo. Hon. Gosei, (W) defeated Hane Yasumasa by resig. This was Otake’s 1,300th win in a go career lasting 63 years. He is the fourth player to reach this mark. He has 820 losses, five jigo, and one no-contest for a winning record of 61%. (Top is Cho Chikun with 1531 wins.) 

Meijin League: Only three games have been played in the 44th Meijin League since my last report. On April 11, Suzuki Shinji 7P (B) beat Son Makoto 7P by 3.5 points. This result slightly improved the former’s chances of retaining his seat and worsened the latter’s. Incidentally, these two featured in the first game in the new NHK Cup, the 67th, and the result went the other way, with Son (W) winning by resignation. On April 25, Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 7P by resig. and Yamashita Keigo 9P (W) beat Mutsuura Yuta 7P, also by resig. As before, Kono Rin, leads the league on 4-0.

Shibano wins Grand Champion Tournament: The Grand Champion Tournament is a fast-go (NHK format) knock-out tournament open to current title-holders plus, if necessary to bring the numbers up to 16, the top players in the previous year’s prize-money list. First prize is a relatively modest one or two million yen (there’s ambiguity because the Nihon Ki-in HP gives both figures). The semifinals and final of the 2018 (6th) Grand Champion Tournament were held at the Nihon Ki-in on May 6. In the semifinals, Iyama Yuta beat Ichiriki Ryo and Shibano Toramaru beat Kyo Kagen. The final was open to the public, being played on the stage of the Nihon Ki-in’s second-story auditorium with a public commentary being given on the same stage at the same time. Presumably the players are so focused on the game they shut out the commentary. Taking white, Shibano beat Iyama by resig. to win this title for the first time. This is his fourth title.

Obituary: Ing Ming-hao Ing Ming-hao, chairman of the board of directors of the Ing Chang-ki Wei-ch’I Educational Foundation, died on April 20, just a few days after making a speech at the opening ceremony of the Changqi Cup. He was 76. As the son of Ing Chang-ki, Ing Ming-hao carried on his mission of promoting and supporting go around the world. The Chinese Weiqi Association called it "an unfortunate loss for us" and go organizations and players around the world benefited from the Ing Family's longstanding efforts to support and promote go across the globe. Players at the Changqi Cup stood in silence to express mourning before the second round of Changqi Cup.