looks like you are our only source for the game records. Is it chinese rules?



my comments on your game. Mostly on the fascinating bottom right corner, and some stuff on what is common in the opening

The top 2 boards are being broadcast, maybe on eweiqi or some other Chinese site. Yes Chinese rules.

Oh and the Chinese Weiqi Association bigwig who did the opening speeches and starts the rounds (on Nie Weiping's right in that VIP photo) is Wang Yi 5p. He likes his baiju!

Lost my 3rd game to Stanislaw Frejlak 6d of Poland. Got some double ponnuki thickness but didn't make many points with it, plus missed a mutual base point for weak groups (it was double sente, but I feared gote for me) so lost by about 20 in the end.



Results: after 3 rounds there are 4 players on 3 wins, all Korean.
Dusan did well with 2 wins, beating Csaba and Chan Yi Tien (Taiwan 7d). Pop also has 2 wins (Stanislaw and Chinese 6d). Andrii got 1 vs Taiwan 6d, Csaba 1 win vs Chinese 5d 10 year old, Surin got 1 win vs Rafif 5d from Indonesia (who I play next), Stanislaw just 1 vs me.

Game 4:

Fate seems to be against me, lost to Taiwanese 6d by half a point, after failing to kill a big group, and then right at the end playing a 1 point instead of 2 point yose...



Choi Woosoo is only one still on 5 wins, I hope he keeps it up because I'd feel bad if he lost first place due to crappy SOS from playing me in the first round... (tiebreak is SOS, then SOS minus first round score, then direct encounter, then "order of opponent's score" whatever that is, then draw lots). Overall Korea is doing well and China badly. European players getting the odd wins against Asians: Pop, Andrii, Dusan, Csaba on 2 wins. I play Surin next.

I lost to Surin, Choi Woosoo kept his winning ways.

Lost again to Taiwan 6d to keep up my perfect score. Kim Kibaek beat Choi Woosoo so my bad contribution to Choi's SOS comes into play. China's disater continues with Kim Jonghae beating Bai Baoxiang and Ma Tianfang yose blundered to gift the win to Song Hongsuk.

1st: Kim Jonghae (6 wins)
2nd: Choi Woosoo (6 wins)
3rd Kim Kibaek (6 wins)
4th Lim Kyoungho (5 wins)
...
Korea got top 7 places!

Thank you for all the updates, Uberdude. I've been following them closely.

Was there any explanation given, or casual discussion overheard, as to why there were no participants from Japan? I find this absence most notable.

Japanese players were able to enter the world group, which had 4 places. I don't know if any did (I think the tournament table may be online somwhere as Andrii played in it and referenced results, but I don't know where), but Taiwanese players got all 4 there. (I thought maybe Victor Chow from South Africa would be here).

Top 16:

Results table:

The Koreans (from left: Lim #4, Kim #3, Kim #1, Choi #2, Song #5, Yoon #7, Chang #6).

I think the world amateur qualifier for Japan was a couple days ago. I imagine that would be a big conflict for many of them.

According to a Chinese report,

1) The reason that Japanese didn't join this tournament is probably because they are against the idea of amateur tournaments with high prizes.

2) The Korean players decided to donate part of their prizes to Xiamen for the typhoon damages.

3) Hu Yuqing, one of the top Chinese amateur players who didn't pass the online preliminary, suggested that there might be some cheaters during the online preliminary for Chinese players.

The Japanese strong amateurs were all at WAGC qualifier on 9/17-18.

http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/event/taikai/38_330.html

That may have had something to do with it as well.

For completeness, my last game (will finish recording later).

Just a little update: watching Haylee's latest video I recognised Song Hongsuk 7d in the line up of the Pair Go World Cup, turns out he won the WAGC in 2010! Hard to recognise from his SL photo (http://senseis.xmp.net/?SongHongSuk) but it's definitely him in http://www.pairgo.or.jp/pgwc/2016/players/index_e.htm and viewtopic.php?p=209917#p209917.