Li League - Match 8 Igo & Shogi vs Wakagoi

 

The 8th match is almost here - We have the interesting match up of Igo&Shogi (2 wins 1 loss) versus Wakagoi (1 win 1 loss). Igo will want to keep their 2nd place behind Senko and Wakagoi will want to match it..

Pairings!

Well both teams went for varied placements here and both teams have reset to their start lineup. Board 1 features the only non captain gain with Moro Arisa versus Okuda Aya so 2952 against 2972 both very close in rank. Rather than Captain against Captain on board 2 we have the rather juicy Xie Yimin 3073 versus Ueno Risa 3179 with Yimin being no doubt keen to dethrone one of the Ueno sisters.. Finally on board 3 we have the captain- co-captain mirror match of Fujisawa Rina 3228 versus Suzuki Ayumi 3035. There is not a huge amount between the ratings of any of these players so they could go either way. 

Board	Fukuoka	Senko	Result	Winner
Board 1	Moro Airsa	Okuda Aya	W+2.5	Moro Airsa
Board 2	Xie Yimin	Ueno Risa	B+R	Ueno Risa
Board 3	Fujisawa Rina	Suzuki Ayumi	W+6.5	Fujisawa Rina

Full youtube cast is here 

Board 1 — Moro Arisa (White) vs Okuda Aya (Black)

Opening

This was an interesting start with Aya going for SanRensei - very traditional and not that common in Professional play currently, it certainly caused surprise with the watchers. I wonder if it was part of a ploy to try and push Arisa off balance..

To counter Arisa low knight approached the bottom right, Aya attached and an interesting Joseki played out which seemed to give a heavy advantage to Aya

As you can see the cutting 2 stones are trapped and Black has a decent amount of secured territory and white has.. Not much. White then aimed at trapping the M4 group by sliding up to L4 (and getting out) and Black ignored going for a 33 invasion bottom left to possibly prevent the right white group generating territory of its own. White went for a 3 stone pillar and sente and Black knighted off the top. White used the sente to re-attack the 4 M4 stones at N6 which bar some reinforcements of the right Black ignored to low knight approach the top left star point. White pincered high and Black knighted out. 

Middle Game

Though there was plenty of opening territory left to the top and right both players not focused on the running fight on the top left. I'm not sure if that 33 was entirely a good idea as some of the sente moves done elsewhere had allowed Arisa to threaten the group with B2 on move 56 which led to several crawling moves for life which admittedly also undercut the higher white group which in turn was undercutting the higher black group making several slices of stones none of which were safe.

Arisa managed to force the J17 stones across to ensure safety for her central group which led to some confused fighting in the center whilst the top right was still unsecured..until at move 120 Arisa sent this deep stone in play as a potential sacrifice to make a position.

Now Aya didn't take and just took territory but the result of the play was a stone at Q15 and soon after R8 which had the capacity to eat the heart out of Blacks potential on the right

The end result was the 136 group was killed whilst the 125 stones group lived so neither player gained territory really.

Endgame / Conclusion

Aya now had an issue in that White had most potential in the biggest remaining area of the board and couldn't eat into it. White winning by 2.5 points. Impressive by Arisa as Black was dominant through most of the early/mid game and it was that top right reduction that pulled it back for White.

Arisa might be turning into one of my favourite players, she is certainly a character in the casts and is borderline hilarious sometimes and seems very relatable. Here she is realising after the team setup to case that she wasn't in the webcams zone..

Summary

White handled the centre‑board fights with impressive precision, repeatedly reducing Black’s territorial frameworks while keeping her own groups light and flexible. Black built several promising spheres of influence, but White’s invasions and reductions landed cleanly, especially in the lower‑right and centre. The endgame was sharp and close, but White’s earlier efficiency paid off, securing a narrow 2.5‑point victory.

Board 2 — Xie Yimin (Black) vs Ueno Risa (White)

Opening

Both players played the same opening, dual 34 with 1 facing same 1 facing opponent, Risa then 1 space high approached the bottom left allowing the common under attach Joseki to start, Yimin didn't complete it though and attached to the bottom right 34 stone making a base on the right, Risa then used the sente from this to high approach the top left 34 stone and rather than respond Yimin now took the final Joseki move bottom left and now Risa didn't complete but attached to the top left 34 stone and another Joseki played out

Middle Game

Risa now attached to 26 and a melee broke out at the top before Black returned to the bottom left with an interesting push and sacrifice move played before invading the 3 space  White extension  on the right and it looks like Black wanted to take away White's base and force her into the center. Both players then played big moves, Black enclosing center left and White knight approaching the remaining 34 point  (Black Shusaku'd) white threatened any base and Black instant attacked..

Multiple fights now exploded on the right and top center

Rina was in control but there was potential for White to squeeze Black. The caster suggested 2 attacks in the same area. The first was as follows

Basically threatening the bottom to eventually squeeze the top. Whether that would have been compensated for elsewhere or would be counterable have a look yourself...

Endgame

Risa was around 14 points ahead and did not lose that lead in endgame, winning through resignation.

Summary

A dynamic opening quickly turned into a large‑scale running fight across the right side. Black consistently won the tactical exchanges, capturing key cutting stones and turning influence into solid territory. White attempted to counterattack in the centre, but Black’s shape was too resilient. Once Black secured both territorial profit and attacking momentum, White’s position collapsed mid game, leading to an eventual resignation.

Board 3 — Fujisawa Rina (Black) vs Suzuki Ayumi (White)

Opening

Rina opened 44 then 34 facing self and white dual 34'd one to self one to opposition. Rina then 2 space high approached the bottom left with white knighting forward before Black took an extension  mid right. Ayumi then knight approached Rina's top right 34 and a curtailed simple version of the step away Joseki occurred allowing Black sente to knight approach the remaining corner with Ayumi pincering. White tried to surround and Black dived in the left to connect up before  White took the final (bottom) side. Black solidified and white took a base. Nice to have a corner, side opening complete...

Middle Game

Both players solidified the edges of territory for the next few moves with Black building an impressive potential on the right.. I do like the way Rina plays. Black now sent some exploratory stones slap bang into Ayumi's potential in the top with this mistake forcing White behind a whole (5...) points.

Black used this mistake to basically soak up all the upper territory whereas White now had to build in the center but with Black there at the bottom this was quite a big ask.. Now white managed to get back to evens here

But at this point the AI bar had suddenly switched to white 90% win chance from Black 90% win chance and amusingly I could see the move Ayumi needed to play (and this is rare - now admittedly the AI is saying there is a key move for White but I'm pleased to have recognised it) Anyway the move I saw was M9 essentially trapping the upper 2 black stones and giving White just enough central moyo to have a decent chance in end game. Anyway Ayumi played other moves and eventually Black took that and walked into the space with move 129 and move 130

Endgame

Both these players are elite end game players so as you would expect there was no sudden swing to victory and Rina won by 6.5 points.

Summary

A balanced opening gave way to a territorial contest where Black steadily accumulated points on the right and lower sides. White aimed for influence‑driven counterplay, but Black’s reading in the middle game was cleaner, neutralizing White’s frameworks before they could mature. The game stayed competitive, but Black maintained a small, stable lead throughout, closing out a solid 6.5‑point win.