Cho Chikun 9-dan won the 19th NEC Cup on 4 March 2000 by defeating Kato Masao 9-dan by 5.5 points in the final, played before a large public in the Tokyo International Forum C Hall.
Cho had made his way to the final via a semi-final against Kataoka Satoshi 9-dan in Shizuoka on 29 January, whilst Kato earned his passage with victory against Kobayashi Koichi 9-dan in Osaka on 19 February.
Older News From 19 October 1999: SECOND ROUND PROGRESSES
The 19th NEC Cup, a lightning tournament for the top 13 money winners in Japan - is into its second round.
Kobayashi Koichi 9-dan booked the first semi-final place when he defeated the new Honinbo Cho Sonjin 9-dan in Kanazawa. He won despite a bad oversight, which proves yet again that the players in form get the lucky breaks.
Earlier results are as follows:
Round 1: Yamada K. 1-0 Ryu, Yamashita K. 1-0, Kobayasahi S, Kataoka 1-0 O Rissei, Kato M, 1-0 O Meien, Cho S. 1-0 Yoda.
Round 2: Kobayashi K. 1-0 Cho S.
HOW DOES THE NEC CUP WORK?
The special feature of the NEC Cup, a year-long lightning tournament, is the attempt of the sponsors (Nippon Denki; NEC is its global brand) to bring go to the public. The games are played in a different city every week, and form part of a public presentation that includes the junior NEC Shun'ei Cup.
Many of the games are played in the Melparque complexes, which are leisure resorts for customers of the Japanese National Savings Bank. The games in the regional cities are also broadcast on local television, whilst the final, which is always in Tokyo, is broadcast on Channel 12 Tokyo.
Top prize is 15 million yen, very large for a lightning tournament. Second prize is 3 million yen. The tournament is limited to the top 13 money winners of 7-dan and under, and up to age 25, in Japan. Ten play in the first round, and the five winners join the top three to produce an 8-player knockout. The final is in the Spring.
Time limits are 10 minutes each with overtime of 30 seconds a move. Komi has always been 5.5 points. Note: apart from the NEC Cup and the Shun'ei in Japan, NEC also sponsors tournaments in China, and international events between the two countries.
