A new Kisei at last emerged as Cho Chikun edged out Fujisawa Hideyuki in a 7-game thriller that had ¥23 million at stake. Cho went 0-3 down before roaring back. The only time such a comeback had occurred in a top title match was in Term 12 of the Old Meijin in 1973 when Rin Kaiho shocked Ishida Yoshio.

Fujisawa had used his charisma to boost the Kisei's image. By repeated use of catch phrases such as "the Kisei is my life" and "match of the century", or the "match to decide Japan's true No. 1", he made sure these games were the focus of attention. He welcomed the challenge of "Chikun-chan" like the arrival of a long-awaited lover, and praised the youngster's ability to fight as if in another dimension. But, still, the Kisei was Fujisawa.

For the first three games that was obvious. But Game 4 was the turning point. Cho ended up with a group that was probably dead but Fujisawa strangely allowed it to live in simple fashion, even though he had a big time advantage with 2 hours 42 minutes left. In Game 4 of Term 2, 1-3 down to Kato Masao, he had spent three hours reading out the way to kill a big group, but this time he seemed not to have the appetite. The momentum shifted to Cho in a big way, and when Fujisawa lost Game 7 through two of his trademark poka blunders in the endgame, it was obvious that Fujisawa was no longer the Kisei.

The English Go World in issues 30 and 31 covered all the title games in depth.