Then, the quarterfinals started.

he participation professional go player who attends the opening ceremony

Ms. Kumiko Yashiro & Mr. Koichi Kobayashi, pair (left) Ms. Ayumi Suzuki & Mr. Ryu Chikun, pair (right)

Ms. Keiko Kato & Mr. Oh Rissei, pair (left) Ms. Yumiko Okada & Mr. Masaki Takemiya, pair (right)

Ms. Yukari Umezawa & Mr. Oh Meien, pair (left) Ms. Kazuko Konishi & Mr. Yoshio Ishida, pair (right)

Ms. Hyunjung Kim & Mr. Naoki Hane, pair (left) Ms. Kikuyo Aoki & Mr. Tomoyasu Mimura, pair (right)

Mr. Michel Redmond, the 9-Dan is a commentator in the commenting session with a big board, the same as on the tournament-opening day. The partner is Ms. Konyu Han, the 1-Dan.

The situation in the description hall

The game of the Ms. Ayumi Suzuki, the 3-Dan & Mr. Chikun Ryu, the 9-Dan pair vs. the Ms. Kumiko Yashiro, the 5-Dan & Mr. Koichi Kobayashi, the 9-Dan pair was a hot battle from the very beginning. All the galleries were haunted by the game, as forecasted by Mr. Redmond, “Both the pairs have 2 weak stones. The game seems to be complicated. It must be an exciting game.” As the result, the Ms. Suzuki & Mr. Ryu pair won the game by Chu-Oshi (without counting due to the opponent’s surrender), after taking out a large group of stones similarly to the first round and the second round games.

Ms. Ayumi Suzuki 3-dan & Mr. Ryu Chikun 9-dan, pair VS Ms. Kumiko Yashiro 5-dan & Mr. Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan, pair

In the players’ common room after the game; Ms. Yashiro said, “I am sorry. The Warikomi (place a stone cutting in between) was terribly bad, wasn’t it?” Mr. Kobayashi replied with a gentle smile, “I didn’t think that stone would die. If it were alive, we would not have lost that game.” Ms. Yashiro said, “Yes, that’s true. I thought the game was competitive.” Mr. Kobayashi replied, “No, the game was not competitive, but the white stone controlled the game.” (The Ms. Yashiro & Mr. Kobayashi pair played with the white stone.)