Pair Go Ricoh Cup 2000 The Final

On January 8, eager fans formed a queue in front of the IMP Hall long before the opening of the match. The players and staff members hesitatingly passed by them when they entered the hall. The atmosphere of the waiting room was so peaceful that it was almost difficult to believe that the final would start soon. The players enjoyed talking as if in a dressing room of a Go festival. Ms. Yoshida 6-dan said, "I have advanced to a pair Go tournament final for the first time, but this atmosphere makes me feel relaxed unlike other finals." She seemed to feel as if it were not her own affair. She easily received an interview by a local TV and there were sometimes bursts of laughter among them. Such an easy atmosphere must be peculiar to pair Go that doubles the joy of winning and reduces by half the pain of losing the game.

Fans formed a queue one hour before the opening.

At the reception, a lottery was held to present the folding fans with the names of the 32 players.

The hall was packed with spectators.

At the opening, Mr. Hisao Taki, Council Member and Chief Secretariat of the Japan Pair Go Association and Vice-Chairman of the Ricoh Cup Executive Committee, and Mr. Seigen Go 9-dan, Chief Judge of the Ricoh Cup Championship, made addresses and the players were introduced to the audience. Then, the game started. When asked about the point of this match, Mr. Masaki Takemiya 9-dan, acting as a commentator, answered, "I am not sure about it, but this match must be a hard game as both teams have won their way through hot competition." Another commentator Ms. Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan said, "The players looked at ease in the waiting room but seemed to conceal their will to win. I look forward to watching a nice game."

Ms. Miyoko Goto as MC; Ms. Akino Izawa (Kansai Area Department of the Nihon Kiin) as the assistant.

Address by Mr. Hisao Taki, Council Member and Chief Secretariat of the Japan Pair Go Association and Vice-Chairman of the Ricoh Cup Executive Committee

Address by Mr. Seigen Go 9-dan, Chief Judge of the Ricoh Cup Championship

(from the left) Mr. Hisao Taki, Council Member and Chief Secretariat of the Japan Pair Go Association and Vice-Chairman of the Ricoh Cup Executive Committee; Mr. Seigen Go 9-dan, Chief Judge of the Ricoh Cup Championship; Mr. Hisao Yuasa, Director of Ricoh Co., Ltd. and Representative of the Ricoh Cup Sponsor Mr. Masamichi Kawamura, Managing Director of the Nihon Kiin

Introduction of the commentators, Mr. Masaki Takemiya 9-dan and Ms. Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan

Introduction of the two pairs

Bouquets were presented to the two pairs by Ms. Yuko Taki, Director of the Japan Pair Go Association.

For this game, Ms. Naoko Goto acted as the recorder and Mr. Bungo Taga as the timekeeper. They, as the pair representing the Kinki block, won the 10th International Amateur Pair Go Championship held last fall. Interestingly, they also have a connection with the Kansai area. The large board was operated by Mr. Hiroshi Furuya 5-dan and Mr. Shuya Fujii 4-dan, both belonging to the Kansai Kiin.

The pair of Ms. Hosaka and Mr. Yamada took the first move by nigiri.

The team of Ms. Hosaka and Mr. Yamada took the first move by doing a toss for Go or nigiri. As expressed by Mr. Takemiya as, "a very unique Go", the game started with a strategic placing of stones that was unusual. A battle which broke out on the right side spread to the overall board and continued until the end of the game. The development of the game was thrilling.

The pair of Ms. Yoshida and Mr. Tono

The pair of Ms. Hosaka and Mr. Yamada

Commentary: The large board was operated by Mr. Hiroshi Furuya 5-dan and Mr. Shuya Fujii 4-dan, both belonging to the Kansai Kiin.

During the game, there was fujite. Fujite is a question of what is the next move. Before making the move, the player writes the answer on a paper and seals it in an envelope, so that spectators can guess where the next move will take place. On this day, prizes were presented by lottery to some of those who guessed correctly. As the decision of the move for fujite had been left up to Mr. Takemiya 9-dan, he could not easily decide it because of the seesaw development of the game. The 65th move, which was during the middle stage of the game, was chosen for fujite. Before the envelope was opened, Mr. Takemiya said there were three alternative moves for the fujite. After Ms. Hosaka 2-dan sealed the answer, the game was suspended.

The audience in the hall

During the intermission also, the players enjoyed a friendly chat with each other. Something that had happened a little before became the topic of their conversation. "My heart almost stopped." "I was completely at a loss." "I've sweated." "I tried to keep myself calm as possible as I could." What had happened --- off the record.

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