In the previous break there was a comment that a US soldier saw go as an inappropriate militaristic game. He was dissuaded, but the winner of this game (Black, taking three stones) was highly militaristic. He was the warlord Duan Qirui, at the time - 1919 - Army Minister of the Chinese Republic. He features often in go tales of the period, and of course he was the first patron of Go Seigen. Go almost fluffed his opportunity, beating his patron in their first game and causing him to storm off in high dudgeon, much to the alarm of other subsidised players.

Fortunately, Duan kept Go on the payroll, but avoided playing him again.

What is remarkable about the present game is that Honinbo Shusai finished it. He was notorious on his China trip for leaving games unfinished whenever he was losing. Other Japanese players were furious with him, because he was accepting very generous hospitality. But he was stubborn, as well as being the senior player. In this game, however, it may be that even he saw the need for a little diplomacy, though the game was one of a series of three "Japan-China Games" sponsored by the Tokyo Asahi Shibun and so destined for publication. In fact, he also finished and lost the previous game in the series, against Prince Su, a Chinese minister. He won the third against Gu Shuiru. The unfinished games never saw the light of day, though a game he lost to Gu on this trip - by strange coincidence omitted from Shusai's Collected Games - has since turned up (and is in the GoGoD database).



Although Duan won this game with just three stones, and he liked to boast he was the strongest player in Beijing, Go thought he was very weak.