John Fairbairn wrote:
This is anecdotal and not evidence for anything. Every generation (and country) has had players who resign earlier or later than their peers. Without looking anything up I can take you back as far as the 1930s: Miyasaka Shinji was prone to resign if he fell behind by a small amount. Sakata didn't like resigning and several times played on even when over 20 points behind, even in title games. We even have claims that Otake Hideo would resign games if he made bad shape!
Fair enough, I will concede that my assertion was based primarily on casual observation and is not a hard proof.
I'd like to point out however that I clearly talking about a very specific type of resignation - one that occurs in the late end game, with only a small number of obvious moves remaining, and the resigning player trailing by a small margin. Judging by the examples given above, you seem to have the understanding that I am talking about a wider range of resignations.
Based on my casual observations of pro games in the past, the outcomes of +2.5 to +5.5 were often played to the final move, resulting in a W+2.5 or B+5.5 result.
Based on my casual observations of pro games recently, the outcomes of games where pro commentators say that the margin is only 2.5 to 5.5 points is often resigned in the latter stages of the end game when the losing player could have played out a few more moves and lost by a few points rather than by resignation.
I also distinctly remember pro commentators mentioning this behavior in the past so that added to the confident manner in which I made this statement. Do I have a tape recording or do I remember the exact commentator and date when this comment was made? I do not, so if that is the bar to convince you, then I must admit I fall short and we must agree to disagree.
John Fairbairn wrote:
Incidentally, I also don't accept the alleged embourgeoisement of go as a reason for the upturn in Korean go (or in China). I suspect it's only a factor in accelerating the rise. The initial impetus had to come from elsewhere, and in fact from the fledgeling pro community itself. Cho Nam-ch'eol had laid the ground work, and the likes of the Japanese-trained Kim In, Ha Ch'an-seok and Yun Ki-hyeon ensured that a decent standard of play was maintained, but it was the return of Cho Hun-hyeon from Japan that attracted major sponsors. The fact that the Japanese were then still top dogs and so were the target to beat played nicely into nationalist feelings (and let us not forget that Cho himself suffered from these, especially during his air force days, so to say it wasn't present is bunkum). It was only when these players and their sponsors had done their work that the middle classes could even begin to think about setting pro go up as a career path for their sprogs. In China the equivalent process, also driven by a "let's beat the Japanese 9-dans" slogan among the pros, was provided by the state.
I would accept that the talent pools that subsequently became available did then come into play as a major growth factor, but it is still a case of jumping on the bandwagon as opposed to creating it.
Statement 1: Japanese Go played a crucial role in the development of Korean and Chinese Go. Without the foundation that Japanese Go built, Korean and Chinese Go would not be close to where it is today.
Statement 2: The development of Korean and Chinese Go was driven "to a large degree" by "nationalism" and an urge to "beat the Japanese"
I completely agree with statement one and totally disagree with statement two. Two completely different conclusions that you are conflating. The bandwagon that you are talking about is Japanese Go as a whole that is described in statement one. The love of the game, a drive to be the best at what you love (regardless of the nationality of the opponent) and financial rewards are in my opinion the primary motivating factors for any Go professional, regardless of nationality. The urge to beat the Japanese is so far distantly behind that it isn't even on the map. Again, my opinion and not a scientific proof.