Here is an article about the preparations for the Asian Games. The reporter makes allusions to 三国演义 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), one of the four great Chinese classics. This is a common reference for the obvious numerical comparison. Three states (Wu, Wei, Shu) fought for dominance within China in a turbulent period as the Han Dynasty lost power, while three countries (Japan, China, and Korea) now vie for dominance in the Go world.

When the Asian Games announced the three gold medals they would offer in Go (men's individual, women's individual, Pair Go). China, Japan, and South Korea began their preparations to capture the medals at the inaugural event. Each country is keen to win these historic medals, and each country has its own reasons.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Japan uses the Asian Games to reverse its decline.

According to this reporter's understanding, the Japan Go world views the Asian Games as a matter of great importance. Last month Japan established the "All-Japan Go Alliance" [I do not know the official English name.] in relation to this event. This group works with the Nihon Kiin, Kansai Kiin, The Japanese Pair Go Association, and other Go groups and with the approval of the Japanese Olympic Committee. Furthermore, the Nihon Kiin will select titleholders and big money winners to participate in the Asian Games. As this reporter understands, the entrance of Go in the Asian Games could raise the importance of Go in Japan. Also, the position of Go in Japan is important; Japanese Go has languished under the direction of the department handling cultural affairs. One could say that in recent years Japan has not had good results in international tournaments, and this is related to the classification of Go as a "cultural pursuit." No doubt the Japanese Go world wants to use the Asian Games to reverse this situation. [translator note: China classifies Go as a sport, and Chinese sources report a movement in Japan to follow this model.]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: South Korea's powerful "Two Lees" should be sufficient.

South Korea also looks at the Asian Games as a matter of importance, and has set up a special tournament to select the participants and has assigned a special coach. Last month, the Korean Baduk Association announced that Lee Changho and Lee Sedol would be exempt from the selection tournament and will represent South Korea at the Asian Games. According to reports, the men participating in the tournament will be selected on the basis of the May rankings. From the Top 20, 16 players will participate. The process for selecting the women's delegation is more complicated. Starting December 7, 2009, the women have been playing in a round-robin tournament that will conclude in May. The top two finishers will participate in the Games. The other two spots will be awarded on the basis of a selection tournament to be held in July.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The smoke has not yet cleared from the battles that will determine China's representatives.

Even though the Asian Games are still distant, because Japan and South Korea have already jumped to initiate selection programs, as one of the premier Go-playing counties, China naturally could not lag behind. The other day, the Zhongguo Qiyuan announced its selection plan. The men's delegation will include both winners of a selection tournament and direct nominations. The top 14 players will play 26 games in a double round robin tournament, and the top 3 finishers will participate at the Games. The women's team will select the best two players, and the others will be nominated. Right now the women are in the second stage of a double round-robin tournament. Zheng Yan 2d, Li He 2d, Song Ronghui, 5d, Lu Jia 2d, Fan Weijing 2d, and Rui Naiwei 9d compete for the two spots on the women's delegation. Quite clearly, the taste/smoke gunpowder from these selection battles is at least as intense as that of the equivalent struggles staged in Japan and South Korea.

EDIT: Made the suggested correction.

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I am Tartuffe from GoDiscussions.com

You got the last sentence wrong. The original Chinese text (from http://post.weiqi.tom.com/s/1E0008F13076.html) is "此次选拔赛的火药味比之日韩可谓有过之而不及", which means, to adapt from your translation, "the taste/smoke gunpowder from these selection battles is as intense as, if not more intense than, in the equivalent struggles staged in Japan and South Korea." (changed text in bold faces)

Edited: (This may be a bit off-topic, but...) It should be pointed out that the original Chinese text contains a common error that would certainly confuse the non-native speakers: "有过之而不及" should read "有过之而无不及", which Yahoo babel fish would correctly translate into "going beyond".

Thanks for the correction!

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I am Tartuffe from GoDiscussions.com

That was interesting to read, thank you for sharing it. I only just learned of the "Asian Games" and look forward to following them, hopefully we will see even more international Go competitions in the future.

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