Life In 19x19

[sgf-full](;SZ[19]FF[3]
PW[Go Seigen]
WR[8d]
PB[Honda Kazuko]
BR[3d]
DT[Published 1949-03]
OH[2]
HA[2]
RE[B+7]
SO[Igo Kenkyu]
US[GoGoD95]
AB[dp][pd]
;W[cd];B[qp];W[oq];B[kq];W[ko];B[po];W[lq];B[np];W[lr];B[qj];W[fc];B[cj]
;W[nc];B[pf];W[kd];B[cg];W[dg];B[dh];W[cf];B[eh];W[bg];B[ch];W[ck];B[dk]
;W[cl];B[dl];W[cn];B[dn];W[dm];B[em];W[cm];B[en];W[cp];B[cq];W[co];B[dq]
;W[hp];B[bj];W[bq];B[br];W[aq];B[al];W[ar];B[ao];W[cr];B[bs];W[dr];B[er]
;W[eq];B[ep];W[as];B[fq];W[am];B[iq];W[kp];B[jr];W[op];B[oo];W[no];B[nn]
;W[mo];B[oj];W[qc];B[pc];W[pb];B[qd];W[rb];B[rc];W[qb];B[ic];W[hd];B[lc]
;W[kc];B[kb];W[ld];B[mc];W[md];B[nb];W[jb];B[lb];W[jc];B[nd];W[rd];B[re]
;W[sc];B[pr];W[or];B[ec];W[ed];B[fd];W[dc];B[gc];W[eb];B[he];W[gd];B[id]
;W[ie];B[hf];W[fe];B[je];W[nl];B[ol];W[qq];B[rq];W[rr];B[ib];W[rp];B[ro]
;W[sq];B[nm];W[nk];B[nj];W[lg];B[jg];W[li];B[kh];W[mj];B[mk];W[ki];B[ji]
;W[lk];B[ml];W[lh];B[jk];W[kj];B[jj];W[ni];B[im];W[oh];B[jo];W[gg];B[gi]
;W[jn];B[io];W[ll];B[mm];W[qh];B[pp];W[pq];B[ln];W[on];B[pn];W[kn];B[jm]
;W[lm];B[bf];W[so];B[rn];W[ce];B[ne];W[kg];B[jh];W[mn];B[ok];W[in];B[hn]
;W[bh];B[bi];W[be];B[ak];W[bm];B[eg];W[hg];B[ig];W[gf];B[se];W[ob];B[oc]
;W[pg];B[sd];W[oa];B[rc];W[sb];B[gb];W[hi];B[hj];W[ri];B[rj];W[kr];B[jq]
;W[gh];B[fi];W[ho];B[hq];W[jp];B[ip];W[js];B[is];W[ks];B[sn];W[hs];B[hr]
;W[ir];B[rg];W[is];B[ng];W[og];B[nf];W[kf];B[mh];W[mi];B[qg];W[of];B[rh]
;W[qi];B[si];W[pe];B[qf];W[oe];B[ja];W[fr];B[gr];W[fs];B[ah];W[af];B[pi]
;W[ph];B[ke];W[le];B[mf];W[lf];B[df];W[kk];B[jl];W[es];B[eq];W[sp];B[bp]
;W[cs];B[bo];W[ef];B[de];W[oi];B[pj];W[bk];B[do];W[ap];B[ee];W[ff];B[ii]
;W[hc];B[hb];W[hh];B[fa];W[ea];B[fb];W[na];B[ma];W[jf];B[if];W[jd];B[ie]
;W[km];B[od];W[fh];B[rd]
)[/sgf-full]

Here is an early Christmas present (or Chanukah present for tomorrow if you prefer) from us at GoGoD. A newly discovered game (for us) by Go Seigen. We knew about the existence of it because we'd seen a mention by Black that it was a highlight of her career, but not only did she not give the record, she modestly did not even add that she'd won. Suddenly, today, while watching commuters trudge through the snow, T Mark unearthed it in a 1988 magazine. It had escaped the GSG Collected Games, needless to say.

Honda Kazuko was one of three sisters who all became pro - eat your heart out, Mr Polgar - and happily is still with us as Mrs Sugiuchi Kazuko at the age of 83. Until the advent of Rui Naiwei she was the top female player in the world. At the time of this game she was only 21.

The reason the three Hondas became go pros was because their father was a passionate go player. Kazuko was the eldest. She became a pupil of Kita Fumiko in 1937 after she beat Kitani Minoru on five stones in an exhibition game. Kita was watching and the next day hotfooted it to the Honda household in Atami to secure Kazuko as her pupil. She said Kazuko was the first and only pupil she had who was already skilled at go on entry to her school.

I hate comments on screen readers so I'll add some here. They are excerpted from a commentary by Go himself. The first is of special interest in that it uses the word baoliu (reserve, restraint) that tchan asked about in another thread.

Black's press at 8 can be held in reserve.
Black 18 should be at 19 (c14).
Black 32 is better at 35 (c5).
Black 72: Trying attachment at 73 (l17) would be a more beneficial strategy for Black.
Black 94 should be 96 (j16).
White 95 was a mistake. This ought to have been at 96 to punish Black for not playing there.
By move 100 it is evident that White has an inferior position.

At the time of this game Go was in the middle of his ten-game match with Iwamoto, and so could be said to be at the height of his powers. Go played an extra secret game with Iwamoto during this match, for a private sponsor, and Honda Kazuko was the scorekeeper. This game, and the reason for keeping it out of the limelight, may be connected with that.

John should perhaps have also mentioned that the latest update of GoGoD will very shortly be out, just in time for the Christmas rush. There should be over 65,200 games in the database, with 869 played by Go Seigen, and also "new" games of Hashimoto Utaro, Sakata, Kitani, Fujisawa Kuranosuke and Fujisawa Hideyuki and also a much older Castle Game. John has continued to add to the Encyclopaedia, with a PowerPoint presentation called the Incident Room, detailing rules, misunderstandings and misbehaviour problems in professional play. Check the link in my signature for further details about the Database and Encyclopaedia.

Best wishes.

Thanks for posting the game, but I don't think I follow the Polgar comment? Is Sofia not a real 'pro'?, or did the family in question not direct their female infants to study Go at an early age?

Thanks for posting the game, but I don't think I follow the Polgar comment? Is Sofia not a real 'pro'?, or did the family in question not direct their female infants to study Go at an early age?

It's only that much was made of the Polgar experiment being a first. I regard it as a second at best, though I hasten to add that I'm an admirer of the Polgar women's achievements. The go case was also not a planned experiment. We currently have a Honda-type trio in Japan with the Mukai sisters.

John, not everybody here can be expected to recognize a reference to the world of chess.

For the benefit of those who need help with the Polgar reference, the Polgar sisters are all very strong chess players. I haven't followed the chess world in a long time but I seem to recall that when the middle daughter won the Hungarian open she got international grand master ranking a month younger than Bobby Fisher managed that feat.

Wasn't there an old video making rounds recently with Honda Kazuko visiting a go club in USA?

Mike Novack wrote:John, not everybody here can be expected to recognize a reference to the world of chess.

For the benefit of those who need help with the Polgar reference, the Polgar sisters are all very strong chess players. I haven't followed the chess world in a long time but I seem to recall that when the middle daughter won the Hungarian open she got international grand master ranking a month younger than Bobby Fisher managed that feat.

Not only this, but at one point in the late 90's or early 00's Judit Polgar was actually ranked among the ten best players in the world. I believe Sophia Polgar was at one point the women's world champion and Susan Polgar achieved the rank of WGM - Woman Grandmaster.