After the 1st round, Cho U Meijin honinbou ouza who could not perticipate in the tournament for some unavoidable reasons did a speach for a lot of pair go and Ricoh Cup fan.

Mr. U Cho the Meijin, the Hon-in-bo and the OZa speach for pair go and Picoh Cup fan

Mr. U. Cho stood on the stage in the commenting session. Mr. Redmond asked for a comment on the game between the Ms. I. Kobayashi & Mr. Yamashita pair and the Ms. Chinen & Mr. Yokota pair.

Mr. U Cho the Meijin, the Hon-in-bo and the OZa stood on the stage in the commenting session

The commenting session is a good atmosphere

Cho commented, "I guess that Izumi is much fond of this Joseki, maybe." Mr. Redmond asked, "This pair lost the first round game. So, they must drop out if they lose this game." Mr. Cho quickly judged the game, "Well, they will be all right." Ms. Konyu Han, a partner of the commentator, asked, "Do you play Go with Izumi often at home?" He answered, "We do not play so often as we did in the past. Because we are busy. In addition, a man is scared of his wife at home", followed by a wave of laughing.

After that, there was a long line of fans who ask Mr. Cho for his autography. Mr. Cho took time to talk to everyone of his fans, while giving them his autographs and his smiles.

Mr. U Cho the Meijin, the Hon-in-bo and the OZa who sign

Similar to the first round game, the Ms. Ayumi Suzuki, the women's Saikyoi & Mr. Chikun Ryu 9-Dan pair challenged a hard battle. The opponent was the Ms. Kazuo Konishi 8-Dan & Mr. Yoshio Ishida pair. As the result, the Ms. Suzuki & Mr. Ryu pair got a large number of stones, and won the game by Chu-oshi (intermediate win without counting).

Ms. Ayumi Suzuki Woman's Sai-kyo-i & Mr. Ryu Chikun 9-dan, pair VS Ms. Kazuko Konishi 8-dan & Mr. Yoshio IShida 9-dan, pair who did challenge a hard battle

"I don't know why such a large number of stones die", said Mr. Ishida regretfully. Mr. Ryu replied with smile innocently, "It's because we are playing so it goes." Mr. Ryu was so excited even after he returned to the players' common room, "We have got a large number of stones today. Let's count the stones we got. Oh, we got as many as 56 stones totally in 2 games." This pair's strategy might be that Mr. Ryu should adjust himself to Ms. Suzuki who may be aggressive as usual.

As the result from heated battles, the Ms. Suzuki & Mr. Ryu pair, the Ms. Okada & Mr. Takemiya pair, the Ms. Umezawa & Mr. R. Oh pair, and the Ms. Aoki & Mr. Mimura pair proceeded to the semifinal round due to second straight winning. On the contrary, the Ms. Yoko Inori 5-Dan & Mr. Masao Kato 9-Dan pair, the Ms. Isoko Ashida 6-Dan & Mr. Kaiho Rin the honorary Tengen pair, the Ms. Mannami & Mr. Takao pair, and the Ms. Chinen & Mr. Yokota pair unfortunately dropped out due to second straight losing.