Never mind the grammar, feel the komi. Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan became the holder of the 2nd Maxim Cup for the Strongest 9-dan title by the slenderest margin of half a point as White. In other words he was the beneficiary of the large Korean komi of 6.5 points in deciding Game 3 of the final on 19 February 2001 in Seoul.
Older News From 13 February 2001: STRONGEST 9-DAN STILL IN DOUBT
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan fought back to level terms against Yang Chae-ho 9-dan in Game 2 of the 2nd Maxim Cup on 13 February 2001 in Seoul. He forced resignation after just 179 moves. Click here for the game.
The final game of the best-of-three series to decide the strongest 9-dan in Korea is on 19 February.
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Older News From 6 February 2001: YANG MAXIMIZES HIS TITLE CHANCES
Yang Chae-ho 9-dan gave himself an early birthday present and staked his claim to the 2nd Maxim Cup on 6 February 2001, when he beat Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan by a comfortable 6.5 points in Game 1 of the best-of-three series.
Yang is 38 on 8 February. Although his name may not be very familiar to western readers, he was once the youngest 9-dan in Korea, and is still the youngest to have earned it the hard way (age 31 in 1994). Yi Ch'ang-ho and Yu Ch'ang-hyeok overtook him, but they were given 9-dan by recommendation.
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan proved a mite too strong for Chinese guest player Jiang Zhujiu 9-dan as he took the remaining slot in the final of the 2nd Maxim Cup on 17 January 2001. A close game ended in a mere 1.5 point victory.
He now meets Yang Chae-ho 9-dan in the final, a best-of-three series which starts on 6 February.
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Older News From 17 January 2001: YANG IS FIRST TO MAXIM FINAL
Yang Chae-ho 9-dan took the first slot in the final of the 2nd Maxim Cup when he defeated last year's winner Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong 9-dan on 15 January 2001.
On the same day, Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan beat Im Seon-keun but he now has to play Chinese guest player Jiang Zhujiu 8-dan on 17 January to decide the second final place.
The format is that holder Ch'oe, plus Yang and Jiang who both scored 3 wins in the main event, were seeded to play just one game to reach the final. Yu and Im won just two so had to play two games.
The final will be a best-of-three series.
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Older News From 11 Janaury 2001: MAXIM TOP GUNS DECIDED
The preliminary stage of the 2nd Maxim Cup concluded on 9 January 2001. Yang Chae-ho reached his full allowable complement of three wins and so matched Jiang Zhujiu's feat. They go into the final stage with Im Seon-keun and Yu Ch'ang-hyeok, who both notched up two wins, and with holder Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong.
RESULTS
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Kim Il-han
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Cheong Su-hyeon
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Seo Pong-su
Im Seon-keun 1-0 Rui Naiwei
Im Seon-keun 1-0 Kang Hun
Yang Chae-ho 1-0 Im Seon-keun
Yang Chae-ho 1-0 Seo Neung-uk
Yang Chae-ho 1-0 No Yeong-ha
Kim Su-chang 1-0 Chang Su-hyeon
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 1-0 Chang Su-hyeon
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 1-0 Cho Tae-hyeon
Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong 1-0 Yu Ch'ang-hyeok
We have not yet seen the format or the schedule for the final stage.
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Older News From 2 December 2000: COFFEE MAKERS JUST MISS PERFECT BLEND
The 2nd Maxim Cup - the Battle of the 9-dans - approached the halfway stage when Yang Chae-ho took over the baton from In Seon-keun 28 November 2000.
Jiang Zhujiu repeated his splendid performance of last year with a three-game winning streak, but left everyone dissatisfied with the special rule limiting players to three wins, because had he been allowed to continue, his next opponent would have been his wife Rui Naiwei. Just imagine how that could be worked into a coffee commercial!
Jiang Zhujiu
Here are the results so far, the field of 15 being smaller than last year's 18:
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Kim Il-han
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Cheong Su-hyeon
Jiang Zhujiu 1-0 Seo Pong-su
Im Seon-keun 1-0 Rui Naiwei
Im Seon-keun 1-0 Kang Hun
Yang Chae-ho 1-0 Im Seon-keun
To come:
Seo Neung-uk
No Yeong-ha
Chang Su-hyeon
Kim Su-chang
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok
Cho Tae-hyeon
Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong (holder)
Sponsors of this event, televised on Baduk TV, are the Dong Suh Foods Co., specifically advertising coffees and teas under the Maxim (Maxwell House) banner. The full title is the Strongest 9-dans Win & Continue Tournament for the Maxim Cup.
First prize 10 million won out of total prize money of 66 million won.
The tournament starts with all active and available 9-dans (eighteen in Term 1) playing a win & continue tournament in which the first pair is drawn by lot, and the winner remains in place, taking on the next players in turn until he is beaten. The new winner then occupies the hot seat in the same way. However, a special rule was imposed limiting the maximum winning streak to three games.
The top four players (longest winning streaks) then go into an all-play-all mini-league, and the top two play off in a best-of-three final.
Komi is 6.5. Time limits are 30 minutes each plus 40 seconds for one critical move.
MAXIM CUP FINALISTS
Year
Term
Winner
Score
Loser
2000
1
Ch'oe Kyu-pyeong 9d
2-1
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9d
2001
2
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9d
2-1
Yang Chae-ho 9d
Note: All Korean names are in McCune-Reischauer transcription.
