 |
| Now, next to the tournament hall, there was
a commentary room with a big board which begins as the game start.
Same as last year, the commentator and assistant were Micheal Redmond
9dan and Akiko Tsukuda 5dan. This pair, too, is very popular and
when the room was opened, the seats were occupied by fans in an
instant. Redmond 9dan’s commentary has a reputation which is easy
to understand with full of wit. Tsukuda 5dan often makes the audience
laugh with her comments to Micheal. |
Kana Mannami Women’s Kisei and Keigo Yamashita
Kisei pair played against Kumiko Yashiro Women’s Honinbo and Satoshi
Yuki 9dan. Redmond 9dan explained around the half way, “A spirited
game, isn’t it? White (Yashiro pair) has a big damage at the bottom
part. Black (Mannami pair) is waiting for a chance at the left part.
Oh, it started to move. White seems to be losing.”
Ayumi Suzuki 3dan and U Cho Oza/Gosei pair who won last year keeps
the pair by the rule. This pair is full of confidence. They played
against Yumiko Okada 6dan and Kimio Yamada 9dan pair. Redmond 9dan’s
judgment of the situation was, “It is a difficult game but black
(Suzuki pair) is a little better.” |
| The first pair who won a game was Imin Shei
3dan and Satoru Kobayashi 9dan pair. Rissei O 9dan was saying with
confidence, “From the 1st round, I will play against a pair who
is a likely winner. But if we win, we might be the winner.” Redmond
9dan commented, “Shei san plays strict moves. On the other hand,
O san, too, plays strict ones. Very intense game, isn’t it?” Then,
he guessed “Black (Suzuki pair) is slightly better.” and soon, O
and Akino Isawa 3dan pair gave up the game. |
| In contrast to severe games, the game of Mika
Yoshida and Shinji Takao pair against Yoko Inori 5dan and Toshiya
Imamura 9dan was surrounded by relaxed laughter. When Yoshida 8dan
screamed, “Please help me.”, Takao Meijin started laughing and then
Inori 5dan and Imamura 9dan, too, started laughing. Soon later,
again, 4 of them were laughing. This time, to Yoshida 8dan’s move,
Takao Meiji nodded and said, “Yes.” And to that, Imamura 9dan murmured,
“I see.” This game was a close game till the end. Yoshida and Takao
pair won with 2 and a half stones. |
| The result of the 1st round is as follows. |
After the 1st round, Tomoko Ogawa 6dan and Koichi
Kobayashi 9dan pair was reviewing and having a strategy meeting.
They are fellow disciples so they never stop talking about Go.
Keiko Kato 5dan and Norimoto Yoda 9dan pair who won against Yukari
Umezawa and Rin Kono pair was relieved. Kato 5dan said, “At the
beginning, I played thin.” Yoda 9dan said, “At the beginning, I
thought it was dangerous but I regained the stance.”
Izumi Kobayashi Women’s Saikyo said with smile, “It was a difficult
Go and I was nervous and excited.” Her partner, Chikun Cho 10dan
said, “I tried not to make a mistake with my turn. Izumi chan is
very strong. So I was just sitting next to her. I am so happy.”
Naoki Hane 9dan was saying that he never won in Pair Go. By the
way, last year or the year before, I remember that when he was leaving
home, his wife said to him, “I hope you win this time for a change.”
But with his partner, Narumi Osawa 3dan, they won against Kazuko
Konishi 8dan and Yoshio Ishida 9dan pair. Hane 9dan said sitting
next to smiling Osawa 3dan, “It is unusual!” |
| The break after the 1st round was short but
the professionals seemed as if they could not stop talking about
Go with excitement even though they won or lost. Most of them were
surprised when the staff said, “The 2nd round will start soon.”
Soon, the 2nd round started. In the 2nd round, the winners played
against the winners and the losers played against the losers but
same as the 1st round, you could not take your eyes off from all
the games. |
|
|
