■The final game

"I don't feel at all that I played a pair game," said Mr. Cho. "I am happy about the championship, but more delighted that I can pair with Mr. Cho, again next year," said 5-dan Ms. Inori (Under the Ricoh Cup rules, the champion pair will attend next year's championship with the same players paired).

The pair of Ms. Kusunoki and Mr. Yoda failed to win two consecutive championships to their regret. Before the microphone, Meijin Mr. Yoda revealed his complicated feelings, saying, "It is often said that pair Go doubles the joy of winning and halves the regret of losing games. I have found it wrong. Now, I cannot talk because I have been greatly shocked. But it is my first time to see Mr. Cho expressing his joy of winning a game. I somehow feel pleased about this."

The curtain dropped on the stage for this event with the championship won by the Ms. Inori and Mr. Cho pair. A part of the winning prize will be used as a fund to donate Go sets to elementary and junior high schools all over Japan.

At the party after the final game, the four players made the following remarks:

Ms. Inori "I will leave Japan for China tomorrow to participate in an international tournament as a representative of Japan. I have renewed my determination not to easily lose games since I have experienced today's victory." Mr. Cho "I am thankful and pleased that I can play in a tournament like this. We, professional players, can convey our appreciation to fans and sponsors only by always devoting ourselves to Go. I will continue making efforts." Ms. Kusunoki "I feel that my regret over the defeat has become stronger than immediately after the game. I'll do my best again next time!" Mr. Yoda "Mutual trust and communication are essential to win pair games. Ms. Kusunoki from the bottom of her heart trusted me, undependable player, in making moves in this tournament. To meet her trust, I tried to do my best. That is why we have been able to achieve these good results. Today, I felt that the Ms. Inori and Mr. Cho pair also had such mutual trust."

All the programs for the Pro Pair Go Ricoh Cup 2002 finished, leaving a large number of exciting games and interesting scenes. Go fans look forward to next year's tournament already.

by Taeko Ishii, Go game reporter