YI HOLDS OFF CH'OE TO TAKE 30th MYEONGIN
Holder is Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan held off the still improving Ch'oe Myeong-hun 7-dan to take the last Myeongin title under the old format. It takes on added gravitas by changing to a league, along the lines of the Wangwi. Yi won 3-1 on 4 October. Ch'oe had beaten Yang Chae-ho 9-dan to win the challengership in June.
HOW DOES THE MYEONGIN TOURNAMENT WORK?
The Myeongin (sometimes spelt Myungin) tournament is sponsored by Han-kuk Il-po (Korea Daily News). From term 27 inclusive it has been played also for the Yukong Cup then the SK Yukong Cup (Yukong Limited is a company in the Sunkyong or SK group, which became co-sponsors from Term 28, replacing Daewoo Securities). SK Corporation describes itself as "the first and biggest energy and chemicals company in Korea" based on a complex in Ulsan.
The total prize fund was increased in 1997 to 300 million won (winner 40m won; second 8m won) from 130 million won (winner 11m won), but has been reduced (apparently temporarily) to 200 million won (winner 24m won) at present as a result of the recent crisis in Asian financial markets.
Up to Term 30 the format was for twelve qualifiers to join four seeds in the main tournament, a 16-man knockout, which culminated in a best-of-three final to find a challenger to the holder. From Term 31 this has been changed to an 8-player league with a repechage knockout for the qualifiers. The title-match final, a best of five, takes place in early Autumn.
Time limits are 5 hours each in the title final, 4 hours in the knockout and 3 hours elsewhere. Komi was 5.5 points up to Term 30 inclusive. It is now 6.5 points.
Myeongin, although originally a Chinese word denoting a Master of some esoteric science such as medicine, in its go context was, like the Chinese Mingren, copied from the Japanese Meijin. The event is sometimes called the Korean Meijin.
Click here for a list of MYEONGIN FINALISTS.
