(1-50)
Pair Go protocol says the sequence of plays sets off female-female-male-male. Therefore: 1 was played by Monika Reimpell (Germany); 2 by Diana Koszegi (Hungary); 3 by Franz-Josef Dickhut; 4 by Gabor Szabics. Then this order continues through the whole game.
Comments on the game by Seong-June Kim (6 dan):
37 A quiet opening up to this point.
42 is a bit deep. Black could cap at A for a strong attack.
43 is not bad. The direction is correct, anyway.
(51-100)
7 Clamp at B, or attach at C? Those are more dynamic. This is too plain. White can afford to sacrifice the marked stone.
30 This seems a bit vague. Black has secure territory on the left, but White's centre is wide open.
31 Timing is wrong - this is a poor exchange for the Black team, if the cut at 33 comes next. A Pair Go effect of clashing plans.
(101-150)
4 Horrible shape for White. Nothing is actually captured, you might argue.
15 A possible way to play. But peep at D first is better. More complex too (Black's follow-up would be 18, and White's bad shape comes into play). Possibly Black ducked this deliberately.
22 etc. The central exchange is good for White. Black collects only two stones and one eye, meaning the connection at 31 is required
34 The exact order of subsequent moves isn't warranted.
The endgame proceeded in an orderly fashion, with White having a solid 10 point lead.
However in time trouble (limits 50 minutes sudden death - time management is another problem for the pair relationship to cope with) this disaster happened to the White team. The loss of the four marked stones was enough to reverse the result, Black winning by 9.5 points.
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| The winning German pair of Monika Reimpell and Franz-Josef Dickhut. |
| Photos Zoran Mutabzija by permission. |
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| Runners-up Diana Koszegi and Gabor Szabics (Hungary). |
| Photos Zoran Mutabzija by permission. |
HOW PAIR GO WORKS
Go is one individual mind sport in which women shine, at least if they are Chinese. No one besides the 9 dan champions is keen to take on Rui Naiwei, currently playing in South Korea, and they have recently had cause to become even less confident after she defeated Cho Hun-hyun in a title match.
Pair Go is a form of mixed doubles that has been energetically promoted by its Japanese sponsors with the express idea of bringing women into the game, all over the world. A team of one male and one female player play alternately, without consultation.
No verbal communication is allowed, but (as in bridge) there are some partnership tactics and signals that are considered legitimate. At its crudest, one player may play a move of kothreat type (forcing but irrelevant) in lieu of directly answering the opponents' last play - but, as all experienced players appreciate, that does incur a loss. The final order in the tournament was by no means what one would predict simply by taking the average strength of the pairs, so it is apparent that pairwise co-operation also matters greatly.
The official handbook on Pair Go expounds on the scope of acceptable tactics of this sort, as well as other matters (male players are requested to wear ajacket and tie) calculated to make for an elevated tone.
Resonances of Old Battles
The Brno tournament took place in Moravia, close to the site of the battle of Austerlitz (now going under the Czech name of Slavkov). The participants, 14 visiting national teams in all plus Czechia A and B, were bussed to the monument there on their afternoon off. The evocation of the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot have passed by totally the appropriately-named joint winner (and reigning German champion) Franz-Josef Dickhut.
Possibly the intention was to induce some contemplation of battles past, including that "of the sexes". According to British team member Francis Roads:
"Pair Go is supposed to be as much a social activity as a competitive one, and this championship was outstandingly successful in that respect. Whether it be politically correct to say such a thing or not, there is a very pleasant atmosphere when the sexes are balanced, which you don't get at the usual male-dominated tournaments."
