Well, at least, any female in japan hoping to lead female go internationally would have to stomp all over the "second rank" Japanese pros. Though we should probably look at the insei league first and foremost for any signs. Which takes one back to the fact that you need a teaching program and teachers that pass on knowledge and experience (top korean pros sometimes visit training schools in korea).



Hmm, Gu Li 9p seems to be not quite up to his full strength recently, but it's worth reminding he's peforming at a top-ten level, a testament to his ability at least.

_________________
On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

Gu Li is to start his degree study in history at Tsinghua University. So he is certainly distracted.

The most recent Weekly Go has a review. Yoda feels the losing move was 141, where he could connect out in sente and take a big endgame... against at 145 had an easier connection and finally the throw in at 167 was the last chance to not lose the point.

Samsung Cup Round of 16 hype! In parenthesis are rankings and elo according to http://www.goratings.org . Games are in order from most to least exciting

Shi Yue (#4, 3507) vs Kim Jiseok (#12, 3472)
These players are very close, WHR gives Shi Yue a 55% chance to win. They have played each other 8 times, with 4 wins each. Kim Jiseok is the defending champion of the Samsung Cup. This game is actually a rematch of last year's Samsung Cup semifinal, where Kim knocked Shi Yue out before winning the final 2-0 against Tang Weixing. Shi Yue has fallen a bit from his peak strength in 2013, when he won the LG Cup; he is still very strong and this should be an exciting game to watch/replay.

Ke Jie (#2, 3576) vs Na Hyun (#38, 3364)
WHR predicts 77% for Ke Jie.
Ke Jie is on an incredible hot streak, the best player in China and battling Park Jungwhan for best in the world at age 18. Last year he won the Bailing Cup and became 9p. Recently he advanced to the Semifinals in the MLily Cup. In the last two months he won the Baiyunshan Cup and went 11-1 overall. Na Hyun is a Korean 6p who has done well in the Korean League and won the Korean Prices Information Cup last year, and the Chunwon in February. They are actually tied 2-2 head to head, but the odds strongly favor Ke Jie.

Park Jungwhan (#1, 3581) vs Zhou Hexi (#45, 3357)
78% Park Jungwhan.
By WHR Park Jungwhan 9p has been the best player in the world for the last three years, and he shows no sign of slowing down; he won the LG Cup in February. Zhou Hexi is a Chinese 5p with a good record in the Chinese A League, but he hasn't won any titles, and his chance at the Samsung Cup is likely to be stopped here by his first game against Park.

Park Yeonghun (#9, 3476) vs Zhang Tao (#99, 3293)
74% Park Yeonghun.
Park Yeonghun 9p is on a 9 game win streak, and advanced to the MLily Cup semifinals last month. He hasn't won an international title since the Fujitsu Cup in 2007, but he has returned to form lately and has a strong edge over Zhang Tao 4p, a relatively unknown Chinese pro. They have never played each other.

Lee Sedol (#3, 3529) vs Yu Zhiying (#147, 3232)
85% Lee Sedol.
By WHR Yu Zhiying 5p is currently the second strongest female pro, behind Choi Jeong. She took down #14 Choi Cheolhan last round, but WHR gives her only a 15% chance against the legendary Lee Sedol. Lee has already won the Samsung Cup a record four times, if he wins this year it will be his 5th. It would be cool if he got a special title the way Japan gives Honorary Kisei and Honorary Meijin for winning five of those titles. Not that Lee Sedol really needs more accolades.

Tang Weixing (#19, 3434) vs Lee Changho (#78, 3315)
66% Tang Weixing.
Lee Changho is also a legend of course, but it's been almost a decade since he was #1 in the world, and his strength has declined sharply in the last few years. He won three Samsung Cups back to back in 1997-1999, but unlike Lee Sedol he is a long shot to win this year. Tang Weixing 9p won the Samsung Cup in 2013, and made it to the Samsung Cup final last year. He is favored to win here, but not by a huge margin; this is the second closest match of the round, after Shi Yue vs Kim Jiseok.

Jiang Weijie (#15, 3444 ) vs Kim Dongho (#173, 3205)
80% Jiang.
Jiang Weijie won the LG cup in 2012, he has slumped slightly this year but is still strong. Kim Dongho 4p got somewhat lucky in the group draw, getting relatively easy opponents other than Lee Changho, who got out first in the group. This is the second most lopsided matchup in the round of 16.

Byun Sangil (#49, 3351) vs Gan Siyang (#182, 3198)
71% Byun Sangil.
Gan Siyang is a Chinese 4p famous for opening on both 6-4 points almost every game, black or white. It worked against Yoda Norimoto, but it will be harder against Byun Sangil 4p. Byun became pro in 2012, he probably won't win the tournament, but he gets a relatively easy opponent in Gan Siyang, the lowest-rated player still in the competition.

"Honorary Samsung" doesn't quite have that same ring to it, does it? (Pun intended)

Great summary. Honestly, the AGA and EGF should consider doing the same before their tourneys. A bit of background, ratings, and head-to-head records. Succinct and interesting.

_________________
- Brady
Want to see videos of low-dan mistakes and what to learn from them? Brady's Blunders

Samsung will give a 100% discount lol

Predictions:

Kim Jiseok > Shi Yue
Ke Jie > Na Hyun
Park Jungwhan > Zhou Hexi
Park Younghun > Zhang Tao
Yu Zhiying > Lee Sedol
Tang Weixing > Lee Changho
Jiang Weijie > Kim Dongho
Byun Sangil > Gan Siyang

Seahawks > Lions

im agree ,but come on lee sedol is not gonna lose against yu .

They can call him "World Baduk Master" (That is the title of the tournament -- Samsung Cup World Baduk Masters)

And he's ranked higher than Ida 9p.

_________________
On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

Elo gives Zhang Tao 50.6% over Ida, so they are essentially even. Zhang Tao did beat Ida in the last round, it's the only time they've played. Zhang hasn't played too many games against Japanese players, he beat Akiyama Jiro in the Bailing Cup last year. He lost against Iyama Yuta in the LG Cup in 2013. I guess in the end it comes down to how much you trust the algorithm and the database.

Round of 16,

Lee Sedol defeated Yu Zhiying by resign.


Park Junghwan defeated Zhou Hexi by resign.


Shi Yue defeated Kim Jieseok by resign.


Jiang Tao defeated Park Younghoon by resign.


Kim Dongho defeated Jiang Weijie by resign.


Byun Sangil defeated Gan Shiyang by resign.


Ke Jie defeated Na Hyun by resign.


Tang Weixing defeated Lee Changho by 1.5.

Pictures are from cyberoro and tygem.

Round of 8 - 10/8/15 (Korea time)

I am sitting in a church to watch the live games of Sumsang Cup, any better place. Seven games completed so far, the biggest surprise being Zhang Tao's victory against Park Younghoon. Also Jiang Weijie's loss to Kim Dongho.

The final outcome of this round - Korea and China 4-4

Next round:

Tang Weixing (#19) vs Park Jungwhan (#1)
Zhang Tao (#97) vs Lee Sedol (#3)
Shi Yue (#4) Vs Kim Dongho (#172)
Ke Jie (#2) vs Byun Sangil (#48)

It is good that the top four players in the world do not need to face each other until a later time. Tang Weixing - Park Jungwhan game should be the most interesting to watch. Park has a 4-2 lead. But Tang conveniently won his two games in the best-of-3 match in Samsung Cup last year.

Cool. Very exciting! Are the semis and finals soon?

edit - nevermind, I just re-read trout's post and see that it starts in two days. Yay!

_________________
- Brady
Want to see videos of low-dan mistakes and what to learn from them? Brady's Blunders

What does the Korean team do on the day off between the RO16 and RO8? Yoga class!

http://www.cyberoro.com/news/news_view. ... 69&cmt_n=0

Round of 8;

Lee Sedol defeated Zhang Tao by resign.
Ke Jie defeated Byun Sangil by resign.
Shi Yue defeated Kim Dongho by resign.
Tang Weixing defeated Park Jungwhan by resign.


3rd round(Semi fianl 3 games match);11/3,4,5
Final;12/8,9,10


Pairing for Semi Final;

Lee Sedol vs Ke Jie
Shi Yue vs Tang Weixing

I think it's interesting that in both this tournamnent and the MLily Cup, Ke Jie and Lee Sedol made it to the semifinals, but Park Jungwhan didn't. It would be really interesting if we had Ke Jie vs Lee Sedol in the finals for both tournaments, could make a very interesting "old guard vs young talent" rivalry.

Reminder!!!!!

3rd round(Semi fianl 3 games match);11/3,4,5
Final;12/8,9,10

Pairing for Semi Final;

Lee Sedol vs Ke Jie
Shi Yue vs Tang Weixing

Still waiting for the Official announcement from the AGA EJournal... but plans are that Myungwan Kim 9p will be doing English language commentary of the Lee Sedol vs Ke Jie game on the Official AGA YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/USGOWeb)