Mizokami Tomochika 7-dan won the 16th NEC Shun'ei Tournament on 17 March 2001 when he beat the Korean Kimu Shujun 6-dan. This event is the junior partner of the NEC Cup, and both are held together in public at the same venue, in this case Melparque Hall in Tokyo.
Mizokami is - a welcome change for Japanese fans - a home-grown talent, from Sasebo City in Nagasaki Prefecture, but he is not from the traditional mould of go players. He is yet another product of the astonishingly successful independent school of top amateur Kikuchi Yasuro, the Ryokusei Academy.
The final of the 16th NEC Shun'ei Tournament will be between Mizokami Tomochika 6-dan and the Korean Kimu Sujun on 10 March 2001 in Tokyo.
Mizokami, 23, secured his place with victory over Yamashita Keigo 6-dan on 27 January, while 22-year-old Kim - who is bidding to play also in China next year - overcame Kono Rin on 24 February 2001.
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Older News From 13 January 2001: SHUN'EI SEMI SLOTS FILLED
The 16th NEC Shun'ei Tournament - the junior partner to the NEC Cup - reached the semi-final stage on 16 December 2000 when Kimu Sujun 5-dan knocked out last year's beaten finalist Hane Naoki 8-dan in Tokushima.
Kim now faces the fast improving Kono Rin 5-dan, who earned his semi-final place by beating Akiyama Jiro 7-dan in Niigata on 7 October.
The other semi is between Mizogami Tomochika 6-dan (victor over Cho U 6-dan in Nagasaki on 23 September) and Yamashita Keigo 6-dan (victor over Yamada Takuji 6-dan in Yamaguchi on 18 November).
The first semi will be on 27 January 2001 in Kumamoto, and the second on 24 February in Osaka.
The NEC Shun'ei Tournament Cup, a year-long lightning tournament, is the junior partner to the NEC Cup in 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. 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 3 million yen. The tournament is limited to the top 13 money winners of 7-dan and under 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 seconds a move but each player may spend up to one minute a move on five occasions. Komi has always been 5.5 points.
Shun'ei means a person of talent, but with a connotation of youth - it is sometimes rendered as New Faces. 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.
