Older News From 17 November 2000:
Zhou Heyang 8-dan, China's last remaining contestant in the 5th LG Cup, has confirmed his status by coming out top in the latest official Chinese Elo-type rankings for November 2000. Zhou clocked up high points for victories against world No. 1 Yi Ch'ang-ho in both the Fujitsu and Samsung Cups, and he is also the current holder of two domestic titles: the Chinese Agon-Kiriyama Cup and the Qisheng. (He also scores high for studying - he still does 8 hours a day.) The top ten are:
- Zhou Heyang 8-dan: 2728 points
- Chang Hao 9-dan: 2701
- Ma Xiaochun 9-dan: 2684
- Luo Xihe 8-dan: 2666
- Yu Bin 9-dan: 2634
- Shao Weigang 9-dan: 2628
- Wang Lei 8-dan: 2612
- Ding Wei 7-dan: 2609
- Liu Xiaoguang 4-dan: 2588
- Kong Jie 4-dan: 2586
*****
Older News From 16 September 2000:
Pair go of a rarified kind: Rui Naiwei 9-dan and husband Jiang Zhujiu 9-dan were welcomed back into the fold of mainstream go in China in September 2000 when they played husband-and-wife Chang Hao 9-dan and Zhang Xuan 8-dan in a special internet match. The Global Link weiqi server (http://www.ourgame.com but in Chinese only) relayed the moves of games played over the board in Beijing to an on-line audience of 20,000 - enormous even by Chinese standards. They began with single pairings in which Chang beat Rui and Jiang beat Zhang, then Chang and Zhang beat Jiang and Rui in the deciding pair go. The winners took away 30,000 yuan and the losers 15,000.
*****
Older News From 13 September 2000:
Ma Xiaochun 9-dan has apparently confirmed that he will not take part in the 2nd Nong Shim Cup. The decision is a little more significant than it might appear, because Chinese players, being nurtured by the state, are expected to make themselves available for international and major events. Yet, apart from Ma, Nie Weiping and Liu Xiaoguang were also excused from the Samsung Cup and Qisheng qualifiers. Wang Runan, deputy chairman of the Chinese Go Association, was quoted as taking a relaxed view and saying this gave more opportunity for younger players. True, but insider gossip suggests there's also an element of player power.
*****
Older News From 9 September 2000:
The Chinese Go Association has decided to resurrect the defunct Women's Mingren tournament at the end of this year, the final taking place in 2001. It ran for three terms, from 1989 to 1991, and the last holder was Ye Gui 2-dan. A notable feature of Term 1 was that Japanese player Miyazaki Shimako was allowed to take part. Miyazaki was seen as a prodigy in Japan bevause she had qualified as a pro the hard way, by competing with the male inseis. She finished a creditable 7th out of 26. The new tournament will be a 16-player knockout with a first prize of 30,000 yuan and second prize of 10,000 yuan. This is apparently part of a recent policy shift to promote women's go in China again.
