■First and Second Rounds

In the first round, the pair of Ms. Inori and Mr. Cho won first. In less than 30 minutes from the start, they captured a large number of stones on the upper left corner and made the opponent pair, Ms. Chinen and Mr. Imamura, resign the game in the initial stage.
"Somehow, we've won very smoothly," said Oza Mr. Cho. Next to him, 5-dan Ms. Inori smiled.

Then, the game between the youngest pair (Ms. Kobayashi and Mr. Yamashita) and the oldest pair (Ms. Sugiuchi and Mr. Otake) finished.

The pair of Ms. Kobayashi and Mr. Yamashita was regarded as the top favorite in the tournament because of their ability, but they were defeated by the veteran pair.

Ms. Kobayashi said, "I feel that it is natural for us to be defeated. Mr. Otake and Ms. Sugiuchi displayed excellent partnership. They are too strong."

Mr. Yamashita said, "I am responsible for losing the game. I was not able to play well with Ms. Kobayashi. I am not good at tuning myself to my partner. But if we win the next game, we will be O.K. We are a young pair."

Nine-dan Mr. Otake said, holding up his fist, "We have beaten the top favorite!"

For the first round results, please refer to: report1.htm

The first round winners were veteran pairs. They might have more focused on their game than young pairs because they must win the first round to survive. The first round losers were pairs with low pair points. Therefore, when the first round ended, there was no pair who were qualified or disqualified for the quarterfinals.

Even the losing pairs will be able to survive if they win the second round. On the other hand, the winning pairs will be unable to advance to the quarterfinals if they lose the next game because of their age points. Interestingly, which pairs can advance to the quarterfinals remains unclear until the end of the second round.