Pairing and matching of the 1st round are decided and the place was filled with atmosphere of calmness and also excitement. Mukai 2dan and Okuda 2dan were saying to each other, ‘getting nervous’. Sakai 7dan and Huang 7dan were making sure the rules and saying, ‘when we play a wrong turn, how many stones for the penalty?’ Each pair was already thinking of the game 2 months later.
The event is nearly at the end and Tomoko Ogawa 6dan who will be the assistant of the commentary this year was given the microphone on the stage. She said, ‘This time, there are many young female professionals, and I am looking forward to the games. This championship is being eagerly anticipated by many Go fans, and I hope this championship will keep going on for a long time.’ Then, at last, as usual, Yoshio Ishida 9dan’s ‘guessing winner pair’. Ishida 9dan started, ‘Everyone says my expectation never comes true.’ And he declared, ‘My prospective winner is Shei and Kono pair. And they will play against Umezawa and Huang pair. That’s all.’ Sure enough, will it be right!? |
