Li League Round 1 Match 1 - Team Igo&Shogi vs Fukuoka
1st Match is here! This will be fascinating for many reasons beyond the Go played itself mainly as it will give better information as to how the format will operate and coalesce guesses into information. So we should find out how the teams announce who is on what tables, whether they will go for the 1st board having the stone count for colour or not (and if that rolls down to the subsidiary tables, we wont find out if the opposing team auto gets the opposite colour in the Blitz games until those start - no guarantees this will happen as it could also be home team gets black/white/black etc etc)
Another thing which leaps to mind is in the league match logo above shows 3 of each team members and not 4 so are these the players who will be playing? will is be in that order? At a guess this is a composite shot and not a taken shot?
Another thing which leaps to mind is in the league match logo above shows 3 of each team members and not 4 so are these the players who will be playing? will is be in that order? At a guess this is a composite shot and not a taken shot?
And an update. Since the match is now 3 days away we have a pairings image
So the boards are not following the above image, Fukuoka went for their captain on table 1 whereas Igo & Shogi put their's on table 3. In terms of ELO strength all of Igo and Shogi are higher than their opponents but that doesn't cover matching/opposing skill sets.
The following will be filled in as the links become available. If any notable casters later cover the games as well in any lecture series then I will eventually add those in as well.
Summary
Team Igo & Shogi Channel opened the season with a 2–1 victory over Team Fukuoka. Fujisawa Rina lost a close captain’s game to Hoshiai Shiho, but Xie Yimin and Moro Arisa secured wins on Boards 1 and 2 to clinch the match - Xie Yimin also gained won her revenge match versus the team who had failed to retain her.
| Board | Igo & Shogi Channel | Fukuoka | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board 1 | Xie Yimin | Yanagihara Saki | Black win by Resignation | Xie Yimin |
| Board 2 | Moro Arisa | Jo Bun'en | White win by Resignation | Moro Arisa |
| Board 3 | Fujisawa Rina | Hoshiai Shiho | Black win by Resignation | Hoshiai Shiho |
Link to Game play Game 1 from start, Game 2 from 1 hour 8 minutes in approx, Game 3 was started not long after game 2 so coverage kept switching
Board One Xie Ximin 3073 #408th vs Yanagihara Saki 2922 #604th
So this will be interesting and not unsurprising. Saki is the lady who replaced Ximin as Captain of Fukuoka so you would expect the Igo team wanted this match as an extra impetus for 'you got rid of my but look what you actually lost' Buuuut that only works if she wins. No pressure. Saki is a balanced player so no major style mismatches.
Black opened dual 34 facing and white dual 44 with an eventual low night approach to the nonextended 34
Things were equal throughout the opening until Ximin took advantage of an elephant eye and corner weakness to restrict white bottom left corner whilst simultaneously trapping the bottom right behind a wall
Problems then arose because the four white stones on the 8 line were very close to black strength (perhaps white was trying to kill but they connected up) with a Black wall above. These are Professionals so White lived but the points Black gained more than compensated for the loss of points in that area.
Not unexpectedly Ximin won the revenge match as Black when Saki resigned.
Link to Game Record for Board One
Board Two Moro Arisa Rating 2952 #578th vs Jo Bun'en 2849 #690th
These are both the weakest players of the team with regard to ELO ratings. Moro apparently favours territorial games and Bun'en Moyo so we have a potential style difference here.
White opened dual 44 with Black 44 and 34 facing. Black then 1 space extended and White invaded the other 33 leading to a common Joseki that gives Black sente - unusual (to me) use of that sente to try to seal the corner, White seemed to be aiming for a Moyo game so a switch potentially.
The game was even until around move 60
Black has a strong bottom right and white potentially a huge left side of the board but black also has a way in at the top, Black then proceeded to attack that huge space and white essentially wiped out most of the attackers.
End - Both have big territories but white has many more kills. White up by 16 points.
Black has a strong bottom right and white potentially a huge left side of the board but black also has a way in at the top, Black then proceeded to attack that huge space and white essentially wiped out most of the attackers.
End - Both have big territories but white has many more kills. White up by 16 points.
Arisa wins as white.
Eek Shiho has a task on her hands but you would also say that they are friends and familiar opponents so there is no 'new task' pressure here. This is another Territorial (Rina) vs Moyo mix though at this level these are apparent player preferences.
Interestingly Fukuoka had Black here which either indicates each game is choosing colour independently or the fact Fukuoka was two games behind led to a switch in colour, maybe someone who has better Japanese then me can confirm or deny?
(NOTE Counting_Zenist on OGS has confirmed that the designated home teams Captain and 3rd player will play white and the Vice Captain will play Black thus explaining the stone choice switches between team members - thank you)
(NOTE Counting_Zenist on OGS has confirmed that the designated home teams Captain and 3rd player will play white and the Vice Captain will play Black thus explaining the stone choice switches between team members - thank you)
Black opened dual 44 and white went 44 and 34 facing. Black then instantly knight approached the sole white 34 stone with white playing the Shosaku diagonal black ignored and knight approached the 44 stone with some interesting switches of focus.
The key move that set of Blacks win was the knight approach of the 34. White chased and forced it out into the center having a 5-7 point advantage through most of the early game. Black though counter surrounded and started to threaten the surrounding central groups life leaving to a long KO fight which Black eventually won with white losing a small group of stones but Black both living and white living small
Here was when the KO started and White is 97% ahead at this point!
And here is where the KO ended with Black now 80% ahead
Black now had a lead of 12 at has killed off most of the right side white stones! Rina drew back to 5 through a slightly stronger end game. Points wise Black had 69 ish points and white 61 but Komi puts white on 67.5 so Black being about 5.6 ahead means it got the better of previous captures (not on board at end) as well
End position
The key move that set of Blacks win was the knight approach of the 34. White chased and forced it out into the center having a 5-7 point advantage through most of the early game. Black though counter surrounded and started to threaten the surrounding central groups life leaving to a long KO fight which Black eventually won with white losing a small group of stones but Black both living and white living small
Here was when the KO started and White is 97% ahead at this point!
And here is where the KO ended with Black now 80% ahead
Black now had a lead of 12 at has killed off most of the right side white stones! Rina drew back to 5 through a slightly stronger end game. Points wise Black had 69 ish points and white 61 but Komi puts white on 67.5 so Black being about 5.6 ahead means it got the better of previous captures (not on board at end) as well
End position
And Shiho won with an upset!
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