NEW LEAGUE READY TO GO
Some kind of record must have been set when the qualifiers for the 35th Wangwi League were decided on 14 December 2000. Apart from Cho Hun-hyeon 9-dan (47), Seo Pong-su 9-dan (47) and Yang Chae-ho 9-dan (37), the oldest player is 20! The youngest is 15: Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 3-dan. The average age is 27. Bear in mind that leagues tend to be dominated by older players because of the seeding system. Indeed, the three oldies retained their places from past year, but the four new qualifiers had an average age of 17.
Pak Cheong-sang can probably claim a record too. He qualified in his first year as a pro at age 16.
The full line-up, with ranking used to split ties, is:
1. Seo Pong-su 9d
2. Yi Se-tol 3d
3. Yang Chae-ho 9d
4. Cho Hun-hyeon 9d
5. Yi Heui-seong 3d
5. Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 3d
5. An Yeong-kil 3d
5. Pak Cheong-sang 1d
The eventual winner will challenge holder Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan, now an oldie of 25.
WANGWI ARCHIVES
HOW DOES THE WANGWI TOURNAMENT WORK?
The Wangwi tournament is sponsored by the Chung-ang Il-po (Central Daily News).The main tournament is an 8-man league (all-play-all once) to find a challenger to the holder. The bottom four in the league drop out.
Komi is 5.5. Time limits are 5 hours each in the final and 4 hours elsewhere.
The final was a best of seven from terms 16 to 31 (otherwise best offive).
The prize fund was increased to 270 million won (winner 35m won; second 6m won) in 1996 from 230 million won (winner 30m won).
Wangwi (Japanese Oi, Chinese Wangwei) means Throne.
Click here for a list of the WANGWI WINNERS AND CHALLENGERS.
