Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan imperiously clocked up his ninth win in a row in the Kiseong as he brushed aside the first challenge of Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan. Yi won Game 4 of the 12th final on 21 February 2001 in Seoul to take the title 3-1. It also brought Yu's recent resurgence to an abrupt halt.
In the process Yi moved to within a couple of titles from the magic 100. He still has a long way to go to catch up with his teacher Cho Hun-hyeon 9-dan who has 152 titles to his credit, but Yi shades Cho 14-7 in the internationals.
His recent first victory in the Ing Cup brought his total of international titles (Ing, Fujitsu Cup, Tong Yang Securities Cup, Samsung Cup, LG Cup, TV Go Asia Championship) to 14. All he needs now for a full set is the Chunlan Cup.
Follow the countdown to Yi's 100th title on our new Yi Milestones page. He is now on 98.
Click here for Game 4. A rather old-fashioned looking opening, though in a new sort of way.
*****
Older News From 5 February 2001: YI BACK IN THE DRIVING SEAT
Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan moved into the driving seat by winning the critical third game of the best-of-five series to decide the 12th Kiseong final on 5 February 2001.
He created a position in which he was able to exercise his trademark endgame skills and beat challenger Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan by 2.5 points.
The significant point about Yi's endgame is that it starts in the middle game, and his special ability is to be able to assess the endgame value of plays in the centre. The exemplar move in this case was Black 81, though accurate play in the endgame proper was also required to keep Yu at bay.
Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan was able to win Game 1 of the 12th Kiseong final by imposing his superior endgame technique on Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan. But in Game 2, on 28 January 2001, played in Thailand, Yu was able to exploit his own trademark - superiority in fighting. He won in just 165 moves to square the best-of-five series at 1-1.
Click here for Game 2. Yu began with a Shusaku opening, and then all bar two early moves were part of a huge northeast corner fight until move 90.
Game 3 is on 5 February.
*****
Older News From 6 Janaury 2001: YI HOLDS ON TO TAKE GAME ONE
The 12th Kiseong final, which began on 5 January 2001 at the Hanguk Kiweon (headquarters of the Korean Baduk Association), has a nostalgic look to it. Was it only about three or four years ago that Yi Ch'ang-ho and Yu Chang-hyeok seemed destined to rule the go world unchallenged for decades? Now a game between them seems a rare event.
We can, however, look forward to the best of five here. Game 1 was in vintage style with Yi having to hold on for a narrow victory by using his vaunted endgame skill.
Older News From 19 December 2000: YU BEATS OFF ONE YI TO FACE ANOTHER
Yu Chang-hyeok 9-dan fought off a strong challenge from teenage wonder Yi Se-tol 3-dan in the challenger's section final of the 12th Kiseong. Play began on 8 December 2000 but the decisive game on 18 December gave Yu a 2-0 victory. He now goes on to challenge Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan for the title.
Yu and Yi are also locked at 2-2 in the 8th Paedal Wang final. The decisive game there will be on 20 December.
*****
Older News From 2 December 2000: CHALLENGER'S FINALISTS KNOWN
The main challengers' section to find who will play holder Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan for the 12th Kiseong title approached resolution when the second semi-final was completed on 27 November 2000. The best-of-three final will be between Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan, still enjoying his form revival, and Yi Se-tol 3-dan on dates yet to be announced.
Here are the results from the early rounds:
Round 1
Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong 9d 1-0 Cho Hun-hyeon 9d
Yang Chae-ho 9d 1-0 Kang Chi-seong 3d
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9d 1-0 An Cho-yeong 6d
Kim Seung-chun 6d 1-0 Ch'oe Myeong-hun 7d
Yi Se-tol 3d 1-0 Kim In 9d
Chang Su-yeong 9d 1-0 Kim Myeong-wan 5d
Yi Sang-hun 6d 1-0 An Yeong -kil 3d
Mok Chin-seok 5d 1-0 Weon Seong-chin 3d
Round 2
Yang Chae-ho 1-0 Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 1-0 Kim Seung-chun
Yi Se-tol 1-0 Chang Su-yeong
Mok Chin-seok 1-0 Yi Sang-hun
Semi-finals
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 1-0 Yang Chae-ho
Yi Se-tol 1-0 Mok Chin-seok
Also known as: Kisung; Korean Kisei or Baduk Saint, the Kiseong is sponsored by the Se-kye Il-po (World Newspaper).
First prize in 1989 was 27 million won out of total prize money of 160 million won, but in 1998 this dropped to 18 million won (second prize 3 million won), out of a total of 75 million, and the final was cut back from a best of seven to a best of three.
The main tournament is an 8-player league (all-play-all once) to find a challenger to the holder. The bottom four in the league drop out. In the first term, the first two in the league played off.
Komi is 5.5. Time limits are 5 hours each in the final and league, 4 hours elsewhere. The final used to span December-February but is now scheduled to start in January.
Kiseong means Go Sage and has traditionally been regarded as a supreme accolade for a go player. It goes back almost 2,000 years to Han times in China. It is also used as Kisei in Japan and Qisheng in China. The tournament is sometimes known as the Korean Kisei, because of the preeminence of the Japanese Kisei tournament.
