Game 4 of the 3rd Chikurin Cup, published in the April 2001 edition of Go World, was between Takao Shinji 7-dan of Team D and Takemiya Masaki 9-dan from Team B - the earlier the letter the older the player.
Takemiya, as White, tried his usual centre-oriented strategy but Takao sliced through like a hot knife through butter, and forced resignation after just 159 moves.
Now the going gets tougher for Takao. This is a quick-play event - not as fast as tv tournaments but still one minute a move. The players left include a clutch with a fearsome reputation as quickplayers: Ishida, O Rissei and the eponymous Chiku (Otake) and Rin.
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Older News From 2 March 2001: KATAOKA REPLACES KOBAYASHI
The third game of the 3rd Chikurin Cup, published in the March 2001 edition of Go World, saw Kataoka Satoshi 9-dan take over from the banned Kobayashi Satoru 9-dan. But Kobayashi's photo and name still feature, which may suggest to the Kremlinologists among us that there is a possibility of his early reinstatement.
Kataoka's opponent from Team D was Takao Shinji 7-dan, but Takao came out a comfortable winner by 5.5 points.
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Older News From 27 January 2001: NEW CHIKURIN CUP THROWN INTO DISARRAY
The second game of the 3rd Chikurin Cup, evidently played in December 2000 though published in the February 2001 edition of Go World, was won by Kobayashi Satoru 9-dan, which left the organisers in a pickle.
Kobayashi was banned from all go-related activities for a year by the Nihon Ki-in after he accidentally but culpably gashed the cheek of Ryu Shikun 7-dan during a bar conversation in the Chunlan Cup in December. See International News in Brief for the full story.
The new Chikurun Cup is a win-and-continue team tournament, the winner of each game being able to select his opponent from the players left. Kobayashi won Game 1 for Team C against Kudo Norio (Team A) and challenged Kato Masao 9-dan of Team B in Game 2. He won that too, but is now no longer able to play.
The sponsors, after talking with Rin Kaiho and Otake Hideo who give their names to the cup, have decided that the tournament will continue but with another member of Kobayashi's team taking over from him.
Since it will be a while before we see another game from Kobayashi, let us wish him well by giving Game 2 from the Chikurin. It shows a brand-new line in the Magic Dirk opening, which slowly seems to be creeping back into favour.
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Older News From 3 January 2001: NEW FORMAT BRIDGES THE GENERATION GAPS
The 3rd Chikurin Cup has started in December 2000, but with a totally new format.
Four teams of three players are meant to represent four generations. One player from Team A starts by selecting an opponent from any of Teams B, C or D. The loser drops out, but the winner then has the similar right to choose an opponent from any other team. The team with at least one player left when all other teams have none is the match winner.
Team A is the eldest (Otake Hideo 9-dan [Chiku-], Rin Kaiho 9-dan [-rin] and Kudo Norio 9-dan) and they began with Kudo challenging Kobayashi Satoru 9-dan in Team C, the third eldest. Unfortunately for Kudo, he lost. Kobayashi's team mates are O Rissei 9-dan and Kataoka Satoshi 9-dan.
Team B (second eldest) comprises Ishida Yoshio, Kato Masao and Takemiya Masaki, all 9-dans. The youngsters in Team D are Yamashita Keigo 7-dan, Hane Naoki 8-dan and Takao Shinji 7-dan (winner of the 2nd Chikurin Cup).
The games will appear monthly in Go World (the Nihon Ki-in version, not the English one), the first game being in the January 2001 edition.
The Chikurin Cup is sponsored by the magazine Go World (the Japanese one; and its defunct predecessor Igo Club) and supported by Otake Hideo and Rin Kaiho, after whom it is named.
Top prize is 1 million yen. The runner-up receives 200,000 yen.
The eight players are selected in three ways from Nihon Ki-in professionals aged 24 or less and ranked 6-dan or less. The first five places go to those with the best winning record in the previous year. One place is given to a women player (so far selected on the basis of most wins), and the remaining two places are awarded on the recommendation of the promoters, Otake Hideo 9-dan and Rin Kaiho 9-dan. They also comment on the games.
They play a straightforward knockout, the games being published monthly in Go World. The final is a best-of-three.
Time limits are now 2 hours each (1 minute overtime). Komi is 5.5 points.
Chikurin is from the -take in Otake, in its Sinified reading, and Rin is from Rin Kaiho.
