Top players at congress

[vash3g]

Kim Seong-yong recently sat down with Chris Garlock for an interview in the E-Journal. The result of that will be posted in the EJ soon.

[xed_over]

Now I understand Magicwand's dislike for Seong-Yong Kim 9P

RUDE, CRUDE AND INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING
Aug 03, 2010 06:22 pm | Chris Garlock

Go commentator Seong-Yong Kim 9P once got a very long and formal letter from a viewer admonishing him to “Be quiet!” Kim chuckled happily. For fifteen years he’s been shaking up the go commentary world with his pungent – and entertaining – commentaries. “People call me rude and say ‘that guy’s too loud,’” Kim told the E-Journal Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Go Congress, where he’s one of the roster of visiting professionals. “Now,” he smiled broadly “they love it.” When Kim – who was Best Rookie of the Year in 1995, semi-finalist in the 1996 Samsung Cup, and won the 2004 Electronic Land Cup and the first King of Kings tournament – first began, “TV go commentaries used the Japanese style, very formal, and focused on technical details. They would only talk about the good moves, to be polite.” But during a 1993 visit to the United States, Kim – an avid baseball fan — admired the lively style of American baseball commentators on television, and thought it could be applied to go, which was now being treated as a sport back home in Korea. “So if I thought a move was a mistake, I’d say so, bluntly.” Initial audience response was uniformly negative, so much so that Baduk TV had to shut down their website’s comment section to avoid crashing the server. But Kim kept at it, filling the long empty spaces between moves, not just with his pungent commentary, but detailed background on the players and the moves, “when a move was first invented, and how trends have changed over the years.” Figuring that baseball’s fascination with stats would also translate well to go, he compiled over a thousand pages of statistics about the game and players, “What kind of joseki a particular players uses, the openings he favors, how many times he’s played black or white.” All commentators use stats now, Kim said, and they can reveal fascinating insights. “Lee Changho 9P says he prefers to play black, but the stats show that he has a higher winning percentage as white.” They also show that in a close game, Lee Changho – well-known for his strong endgame – “has a 90% chance of winning.” Kim is so popular that he’s done commentary for several Korean baseball games, which he says was much easier than go. “In baseball, it’s all about what’s already happened, while in go we’re trying to figure out what might happen.” Five years after receiving the “Be quiet” letter, Kim ran into the fan, who enthusiastically shook his hand, apologized for his letter and thanked him for helping generate interest in go with his “interesting, lively and frank” commentaries. “Hey, things change,” Kim – who also now does game commentaries on CyberOro and Tygem — shrugged with another broad smile.
- report by Chris Garlock, photos by Todd Heidenreich. Special thanks to Jonathan Kim 1D for translation

I think I like what he's trying to do

[Kirby]

I like Kim Seong-ryong. I attended a baduk event in Daegu, and he was speaking there. He noticed that I was a foreigner in the crowd, and was very kind to me. He also gave me some baduk materials for free.

I have seen him on BadukTV a few times commentating both for go and for Batoo. I still think that he is a nice guy.

I am not fluent in Korean, though. I can get some basic meaning from what is being said, but there are still many words that I don't know.

Still, I have no reason to dislike him at this point. My opinion may be biased by my experience in meeting him.

Edit: Also, he may not be at the top of the top in Korean go these days, but he is still certainly strong.

...i believe his ranking is not in top 100 profesional)
..

For example, from this set of total rankings (although, yes, it's not only for the current year), he places 45th:
http://www.baduk.or.kr/record/total.asp?jan=2&cntnum=50

[hyperpape]

RUDE, CRUDE AND INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING
Aug 03, 2010 06:22 pm | Chris Garlock

“TV go commentaries used the Japanese style, very formal, and focused on technical details. They would only talk about the good moves, to be polite.” But during a 1993 visit to the United States, Kim – an avid baseball fan — admired the lively style of American baseball commentators on television, and thought it could be applied to go, which was now being treated as a sport back home in Korea. “So if I thought a move was a mistake, I’d say so, bluntly.”

Actually, he kinda sounds like Magicwand's kind of guy...

[yoyoma]

RUDE, CRUDE AND INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING
Aug 03, 2010 06:22 pm | Chris Garlock

“TV go commentaries used the Japanese style, very formal, and focused on technical details. They would only talk about the good moves, to be polite.” But during a 1993 visit to the United States, Kim – an avid baseball fan — admired the lively style of American baseball commentators on television, and thought it could be applied to go, which was now being treated as a sport back home in Korea. “So if I thought a move was a mistake, I’d say so, bluntly.”

Actually, he kinda sounds like Magicwand's kind of guy...

There can only be one!

[Joaz Banbeck]

Mr Meyer is definitely for real. He beat Burrall 7D, and Qiao Shiyao 1P. ( He lost to Kim 9P, but then who on this continent wouldn't? )

[Joaz Banbeck]

I met Seong-Yong Kim. I like him. He reviewed the fuseki of one of my games, and I played in a simul against him. He has no problem telling you where you played badly. ( As opposed to certain pros - who I will not name - who say things like: "This leads to a difficult fight", when they mean to say: "This is a bad move. You're gonna die!" )

Not only does he tell you where you made mistakes, but he shows the alternate line(s) that you should have played.


He told one amusing anecdote. He had played and taught in Europe for a while, and he said that in big tournaments there, most people speak English when describing games. ( They use phrases like "Opening game" instead of "Fuseki", he said. ) So he learned enough English to talk about go in Europe. He then figured that he would be able to come to America and talk about go just as easily. He came here to America where everybody speaks English, and found that he had to learn Japanese!

[Joaz Banbeck]

If I recall correctly, the old "hemmy" (what's believed to be 김성룡's old account) account from KGS - which is now expired and taken by someone else - used this exact spelling (Kim Seong-yong) in the profile information.

"Hemmy" is his wife's name.

[Kirby]

...
Not only does he tell you where you made mistakes, but he shows the alternate line(s) that you should have played.
...

I agree with this, too. When I was able to meet him, I had to go on stage in front of the audience, and he asked me a question about a move. I played on the big board where I thought the answer was. Apparently, I was wrong, and he thought for a couple of seconds, and said that the move was "안돼" or "no good". It was kind of embarrassing, but I'm glad that he corrected me.

I guess some people might take blunt comments negatively, but I think that they are helpful.

Your story makes me wish I were at Congress even more, Joaz.

[shimari]

Seong-Yong Kim was awesome, absolutely hysterical, and very kind to everyone. He delighted the kids in the youth room, and was happy to take on 8 of them instead of 6, like most pros do. I had dinner with him at a Korean Barbecue place too, and I can assure you the man knows how to drink! Myung-Wan Kim is very mild mannered, so it was really fun to watch the two of them together. The Koreans were very supportive of the congress in general, and donated stacks of Go books and boards for use as prizes in the US Open. Myung-Wan presented formal Korean Dan certificates to winners in certain sections too, which was really cool. We talked about setting up some friendship matches with the Korean Amateur Baduk Association also, and how we might let KABA and AGA members play in each other's tourneys online in the future.

[fwiffo]

About a year ago he beat zchen on KGS and bluntly typed "I give you 2 stone" at the end of the game. Immediately afterward he played bigbadwolf (Andy Liu) who lived up to his pro-killer reputation, winning by half a point. At the end of the game Andy typed "I give you 2 handi" to the delight of spectators.

[daniel_the_smith]

Seong-Yong Kim was quite the character. At one point he got Mwung-Wan Kim to do pushups on the stage...

[Aphelion]

I can understand Magicwand's comment. What he is doing sounds like he is making Go like BSPN, and like all sports fans I hate BSPN with a passion.

[larryr07030]

I attended every one of his lectures and game analysis, and besides being very funny and kind, he is a fabulous teacher...I hope he comes back next year!