Older News From 20 February 2000:
The slightly farcical state of affairs in international go was highlighted by a recent survey in China. Judged by prize money won, the top ten players in the world in 1999 were, in order: Cho Chikun, Yi Ch'ang-ho, Kobayashi Koichi, Cho Sonjin, Yu Ch'ang-hyeok, O Rissei, Cho Hun-hyeon, Ma Xiaochun, Yoda Norimoto and Kobayashi Satoru. (Cho Chikun's total was 87 million yen.)
It hardly accords with most fans' perception of reality for Japan to have six of the best and China only one, but the Japanese may counter that their players don't try so hard internationally because all the big money is at home. It is also noticeable that, although the Japanese are sometimes accused of not taking enough interest outside their domestic scene, three of the players in their six are actually foreigners who have been welcomed to Japan (the two Chos and O Rissei).
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Older News From 09 February 2000: Chang Hao 9-dan and wife Zhang Xuan 8-dan, who married in January 1999, are now the proud parents of a 3400g baby girl born on 6 February 2000.
This is a record for the baby with the most talented go parents. Kobyashi Izumi 4-dan was born to Kobayashi Koichi 8-dan (now 9-dan) and wife Reiko 6-dan in 1977. In China, Kong Lingwen, 1-dan in the Nihon Ki-in where he is known as Ko Reibun, was born to Nie Weiping and Kong Xiangming in 1981, before China adopted professional grades. But as Nie was awarded 9-dan and Kong 6-dan shortly afterwards, they might plausibly have claimed the record. But now Zhang and Chang have trumped everyone.
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Older News From February 2 2000
A stone go board of 14 x 12 lines from the time of the semi-legendary King Yao was reported in the Japanese press in January 2000. No evidence to explain the dating or to prove it was a go board was proferred, but apparently a scientific paper is being prepared for publication in China. A rubbing of the board (made in 1997) is in the Chinese Go Association headquarters, but the actual board is in Shanxi Province. There is a persistent legend that Yao invented go to educate a stupid son, and this is the source for the equally persistent remark that go is 4,000 years old. More details are in Shukan Go (Go Weekly) 2000-12-24, page 18.
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Older News From January 19 2000
The latest Elo-type ratings for Chinese pros was issued on 13 January 2000, covering results up to 31 December. Just as when the first list was issued in February 1997, Ma Xiaochun 9-dans heads the rankings, while top woman (in the absence of Rui Naiwei) is again Zhang Xuan 8-dan.
The top placings are:
1. Ma Xiaochun 9d: 2747 points 2. Chang Hao 9d: 2698 3. Zhou Heyang 8d: 2678 4= Luo Xhihe 8d and Wang Lei 8d: 2650 6. Shao Weigang 9d: 2633 7. Yu Bin 9d: 2632 8. Ding Wei 7d: 2617 9. Liu Xiaoguang: 2610 10. Kong Jie 5d: 2570 11= Nie Weiping 9d and Cao Dayuan 9d: 2558 13. Zhang Xuan 8d: 2555
Apart from 16-year-old Kong Jie's stunning performance, watch out in future for Huang Yizhing 5d, in 18th place with 2525 points, Qiu Jun 5d (20th, 2517) and Gu Li 4d (27th, 2483).
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WORLD RECORD!
A new world record for simultaneous games of go has been claimed by Liu Xiaoguang 9-dan. He played 139 games in Guilin, southern China, on 9 January 2000, from 9:40 am to 7:40 pm, without a lunch break or rest periods His score was 123 wins and only 16 losses. Representatives from the Guiness Book of Records gave certificates to every participant. This breaks the record of 130 games by Wang Haijun in 1998. Liu had to walk 200 metres to cover all the boards, and it was estimated that he walked 20 miles throughout the day. All his opponents were amateur dan players.
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Older News: January 7 2000 China Old and New
The modern Chinese have a saying: "Don't think you're brave until you've been to Manchuria; don't think you're learned until you've been to Beijing; don't think you're rich until you've been to Shenzhen."
Shenzhen City, in Guangdong Province, is something of an artificial construct built around one of the special economic zones. It is generally regarded as being at the opposite pole to Beijing on the cultural scale.
In October 1999, however, it organised the first ever go match - and you can't get more cultural than that! - between stock exchanges. It was also a little bit of a trailer for the 3rd game of the Mingren which was due to be played in the city in November. The participants were the stock exchanges of Shenzhen, Shanghai and Nanjing, plus the Securities Clearing House. The latter team won and Nanjing was second. This struck MindZine as a curious blend of old and new in the modern capitalist China.
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Older News: November 10 1999
International Cities Weiqi Competition
The first International Cities Weiqi Competition was held in Guilin, Guangxi Province, on 26-28 November 1999. Although all the players were amateurs, the senior professional and head of the China Sports Federation, Che Zude 9-dan, came from Beijing with star of the national tv go programme, Xu Ying 3-dan. They commented on one of the games for an audience of aspiring pros, including a 5-year old prodigy, Liao Xingwen, who gave Chen a run for his money on 6 stones.
The Guilin men's team took first place in the tournament, ahead of Taipei, Tokyo and Macao. The London team came fifth after a tie-break with Hong Kong, and they were followed in by Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Guilin women's team, Johannesburg and Singpaore.
Your Mindzine go editor was there and hopes to have made contacts that will lead to a significant Chinese presence at MSO 2000.
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New Women's Mingren Scheduled
Yet another international tournament is on the way - and with it a lingusitic headache for the west. The Chinese Women's Mingren tournament is due to start in May 2000, with a prize fund of 30,000 yuan. First prize will be 10,000 yuan and second 5,000 yuan. 16 players will be invited, though on what basis is not yet clear. The most intriguing possibility is the return to Chinese soil of Rui Naiwei 9-dan, currently playing in Korea. The linguistic poser is over the word Mingren. The characters are the same in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, but Japan already has a domestic woman's tournaments of this name (Meijin). The Chinese do not at the moment, but have had in the past (1989-91). The common, though slightly inadequate, translation Master does not seem entirely appropriate here, not least because men's tournaments of the same title exist.
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Chang Hao tops list
The latest Elo-type rating used by the Chinese shows Chang Hao increasing his lead, but otherwise the top ten does not show much movement. Chang's new wife Zhang Xuan 8-dan also creeps in at No. 10 and is the top woman player.
The list is issued in January and July.
The latest top ten is: 1. Chang Hao 2757 2. Ma Xiaochun 2699 3. Liu Xiaoguang 2651 4. Luo Xihe 2649 5. Yu Bin 2642 6. Zhou Heyang 2624 7. Shao Weigang 2623 8. Wang Lei 2592 9. Zhang Wendong 2579 =10. Cao Dayuan, Zhang Xuan, Qiu Jun 2570
Older news: Ma Xiaochun 9-dan of China, winner of one of the world championship events in 1995, has announced that, starting in early November, he will play the rest of the world on the internet in a Trans-Millennium game.
He will take White and the Rest of the World will be aided by a panel of five Chinese 9-dans. They will give a list of recommended moves. Ma will play a move each day from his base in Beijing. The Rest play the move that wins most votes.
The game could easily last up to a year. This event is organized by Ma XiaoChun's "Spring Morning Weiqi Cultural Propagation Company", China Weiqi Server's parent company, and other organizations. Go to http://www.weiqi.net for sign-up info. (From a report by Ming Yuean Choy)
This will not be the first such go game on the internet. In March 1999 Yoda Norimoto 9-dan played on the NHK server in Japan, but the game was not properly finished - it was adjudicated a win for Yoda.
The Ma vs. the Rest has the potential to be the first truly worldwide event of this type.
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BEIJING:
Chang Hao and Liang Weitang were both promoted to 9-dan at the National Promotion Tournament held in Beijing from 11 to 25 July. Zhou Heyang, Luo Xihe and Wang Lei all advanced to 8-dan. Ding Wei was promoted to 7-dan.
20 new 1-dans were created, making 34 new promotions in all.
