RUI NAIWEI IS NEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPION

Rui Naiwei 9-dan marked her return to competing on home soil by winning the first China Eastern Airlines Cup, the new (self styled) women's world championship. She overcame Beijing's Xu Ying 3-dan, a surprising contender, rather better known for compering a popular television programme than for her exploits on the go board. She did have the benefit of a much easier draw.

Only two games of the best-of-three final were needed, on 20 and 21 August 2000 in Shanghai, for Rui formally to assert her superiority over Ying. Rui, however, kept telling everyone she was happy just to be able to play go again.

After Round 1 it was always likely that Rui would have any easy passage to the cup, because she was drawn there against her most serious rival Feng Yun 9-dan, a game she won by just 1.25 points. One unusual feature of this new event is that, even though it was by invitation only, the draw was totally free - there were no seeds and no attempt was made to avoid competitors from the same country being drawn against each other.

One of the young Koreans that Rui is helping nurture through her guest stay at the Korean Go Association, Pak Chi-eun 2-dan, also helped Rui by disposing of big threat Zhang Xuan 8-dan.

FULL RESULTS

Round 1
18 August 2000

Kobayashi Izumi 4d 1-0 Ogawa Tomoko 6d
Rui Naiwei 9d 1-0 Feng Yun 9d
Pak Chi-eun 2d 1-0 Ye Gui 5d
Zhang Xuan 8d 1-0 Zhang Zhengping 1d
Li Chunhua 4d 1-0 Yi Chi-hyeon 2d
Svetlana Shikshina 6d ama 1-0 Janice Kim 1d
Xu Ying 3d 1-0 Diana Koszegi 5d ama
Hua Xueming 7d 1-0 Shinkai Hiroko 5d

Round 2
19 August

Xu Ying 1-0 Svetlana Shikshina
Rui Naiwei 1-0 Kobayashi Izumi
Pak Chi-eun 1-0 Zhang Xuan
Li Chunhua 1-0 Hua Xueming

Semi-finals
19 August

Rui Naiwei 1-0 Pak Chi-eun
Xu Ying 1-0 Li Chunhua

*****

Older News From 15 August 2000:
LINE-UP FOR NEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The sixteen players invited to compete for the 1st China Eastern Airlines Cup are now known.

China, the host nation, will be represented by Feng Yun 9-dan (currently in the USA with her businessman husband), Zhang Xuan 8-dan, who is in the top ten male and female at present in China, Hua Xueming 7-dan, Ye Gui 5-dan, Li Chunhua 4-dan and Xu Ying 3-dan.

Korea's three representatives are Rui Naiwei 9-dan, a Chinese guesting at the Korean Go Association and almost certian favourite, Pak Chi-eun 2-dan, the "female Yu Ch'ang-hyeok", and Yi Chi-hyeon 2-dan.

Japan is sending Ogawa Tomoko 6-dan, Shinkai Hiroko 5-dan and Kobayashi Izumi 4-dan.

The other flour places are divided between Taiwan, USA, Europe and Russia. Taiwan's representative is Zhang Zhengping 1-dan. She was born there but moved back only early this year after living in Korea and becoming the first foreigner to qualify as a pro from within Korea. She is the niece of O Rissei 9-dan.

Janice Kim is the USA's representative. She will be well known to many because of her series of introductory go books and as founder of the go equipment company Samarkand.

The European flag will be flown by Diana Koszegi 5-dan (amateur) of Hungary. She finished 16th in the superstrong European championships just completed in Berlin, with a score of 6 out of 10. Her co-invitee, Russia's Svetlana Shikshina, amateur 6-dan, finished 10th in the same event with the same score.

More news on the prizes: 1st prize will be 90,000 yuan and 2nd prize 30,000 yuan. There will also be game fees of 2000 yuan.

Komi will be 5.5.

Round 1 is scheduled for 18 August, Round 2 and the semi-final are on 19 August. Game 1 of the final is on 20 August, and Games 2 and 3 on the day after. The games are topped and tailed by opening and closing ceremonies on 17 and 22 August, so we may have to wait an extra day to see who is voted the World's Best Mannered Female Go Player.

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A new women's international invitation event, inevitably styling itself a world championship, is to run from 17 to 22 August 2000 in Shanghai. Sixteen of the world's best females, apparently including Rui Naiwei 9-dan, Feng yun 9-dan and Zhang Xuan 8-dan, have been invited to take part in a four-round knockout. The good news is that they will play for a first prize of 90,000 yuan in a best-of-three final. The bad news is that there will also be prizes for Best Manners (2,000 yuan) and Best Dresser (also 2,000 yuan), though this may be excused by the fact that the event will be televised.

They will play for the China Eastern Airlines Cup. CEA (Dongfang Hanggong), a new sponsor to go, is one of the new airlines that sprang up after the restructuring of the Chinese aviation industry in 1988. With over 50 new or nearly new Airbus and Boeing aircraft, it was the first Chinese airline to be listed on the New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges - Shanghai being its home base.

It is not yet clear whether this is intended to be an annual event. The current one is simply labelled the 2000 Invitation Tournament. But players from seven areas have been invited: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Russia, North America and Europe. The Japanese contingent has been weakened by the fact that the prior arranged Women's Kakusei final clashes with this event, but they are sending Ogawa Tomoko 6-dan, Shinkai Hiroko 5-dan and Kobayashi Izumi 4-dan.

Time limits will be 70 minutes each.

CEA CUP WINNERS