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Now, this year, too, 32 male and female professionals were chosen by title holders, top prize rankings and so on. The system of this tournament, `The Ricoh Cup Pair Go System’, has already been settled. The pair who will win the 1st and 2nd round on the first day will go to the next round. The pair who loses these games will drop out. The 8 pairs which win once and lose once, same as last year, will go to the quarterfinals using 9X9 Go boards. From the 2nd day, it will be a tournament system.
As it is, the way to win is long and severe. When the lottery was about to begin, the place was filled with a restless atmosphere. |
While the stage was getting ready for the lottery, Masaki Takemiya 9-dan who started to learn social dance recently was talking to Ms. Takanishi who knows how to dance.
Takemiya 9-dan said, “The most tiring dances are cha-cha and waltz, aren’t they?”
Ms. Takanishi said, “They make you tired differently, don’t they?”
Takemiya 9-dan said, “Oh. I can’t tell the difference, yet.” |
A big board with the letters A to O written was ready, and the lottery started.
The pair who won last year, U Cho Meijin/ Oza /Gosei and Ayumi Suzuki 3-dan, keeps the same pairing as the regulation. So the lottery was for 30 players. 2 boxes with balls with the letters A to O inside were prepared and males and females were divided and picked balls from each box. First, instead of the male professionals who were absent, guests came up on the stage and picked the balls. When half of the male professionals’ draw was finished, it was the female professionals’ turn. |
The first pair which was decided was Chikun Cho 10-dan and Izumi Kobayashi, Women’s Saikyo. There was a stir among the audience. There is no doubt that from the first day of the tournament, they will attract a large audience. Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan, the father of Izumi, too, was laughing happily.
When Takemiya 9-dan picked the ball of Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan, he said, “Oh, it’s you, Aoki kun.” And his eyes were shining. Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan selected the ball that matched Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan. When her pair was decided with her fellow disciple, the same as last year, when she paired with Yoshio Ishida 9-dan, she was covering her mouth with her hand but seemed as though she was slightly smiling. Being paired with fellow disciples who know each other well must be embarrassing.
Keiko Kato 5-dan who was paired with Norimoto Yoda 9-dan said, “Oh!” and looked surprised and happy (?). Yoda 9-dan, too, seemed surprised.
The one who choose Naoki Hane 9-dan was Narumi Osawa 3-dan. When they found each other from far away, they smiled to each other. |
| Of course, all the pairs are strong. Any of the pairs could win. All the pairings of the Ricoh Cup Professional Pair Go Championship 2007 were decided as below. |
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