Usually professional Go players spend all their time in serious competition, but once a year there is a tournament they can experience with pleasurable excitement. The Professional Pair Go Championship 2010 got off to a start at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya, Tokyo on Saturday, 5 December 2009.
This is the 16th year of the tournament, and the professionals with the best results for the year were all competing, including regulars who take part every year, veterans returning after an absence, and tense young players making their debut. Beginning with this tournament, competition was being conducted in two blocks, A and B, so two winning pairs were to be decided. Both these pairs would take part in the world championship scheduled to be held in China in March of 2010.

In the anteroom waiting for the Opening Ceremony, 25th Honinbo Chikun (Cho Chikun) and Kobayashi Koichi 9-dan took up position in the centre and were engaged in a lively discussion. Whenever they meet, they always have a lot to say to each other.

The pair of Keiko Kato 6-dan and Naoki Hane Honinbo won the previous tournament, so this time they were the defending champions.
Kato said: ‘We were together last year, so somehow we understand each other. We hope to have fun and to play well. In Pair Go, you can’t win just by wanting to win.’ As always, they were relaxed.

Satoshi Kataoka 9-dan, who hadn’t appeared in the tournament for a while, was paired with Kaori Chinen 4-dan. There were sitting opposite their opponents, Narumi Osawa 4-dan and Yuta Iyama Meijin, waiting for play to begin. They were confirming the order of play with Osawa: ‘Both women play, then both men play, right?’ Then they asked: ‘What happens if you play out of turn?’ They nodded on hearing her reply: ‘There’s a 3-point penalty.’
Narumi Osawa 4-dan and Yuta Iyama Meijin were a fresh pairing. Recently Iyama Meijin has become more imposing and his youthful image is changing. He makes a good impression, and Osawa always has a cheerful, maidenly atmosphere. The two of them are the picture of youth.

Chien Cho 1-dan was playing for the first time. She was paired with a player very senior to her, Norimoto Yoda 9-dan, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if she were tense. Moreover, their first-round opponents were the pair of Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan and 25th Honinbo Chikun. From the start, she played with her gaze downcast, perhaps because of nerves; possibly she was reminding herself to concentrate on the board.

　Keiko Kato 6-dan, as you might expect, was quite at her ease. She got up and went to get two bottled drinks, one of which she gave to Hane Honinbo.

< The Opening Ceremony >

The 16 pairs had taken their seats in accordance with the draw for the first round on the 3rd floor of the Nihon Ki-in.
To open the tournament, Ms. Hiroko Taki, Director and Secretary General of the Japan Pair Go Association, stood up to give an address. ‘Next year in March, a Pair Go world championship will be held in China. This tournament will be conducted in two blocks, and the two winning pairs will take part in the world championship. I hope you will all do your best with the aim of becoming the world’s number one pair,’ she said, giving the players encouragement. ‘We hope you will enjoy yourselves. We have prepared a special training program for the winning pair.’ When she said this, there was a buzz of excited chatter among the participants.
Honorary Gosei Hideo Otake, the tournament’s Chief Referee, looked sorry he was not playing. ‘Pair Go is a lot of fun,’ he said.

Two indispensable figures at any Pair Go event are 24th Honinbo Shuho (Ishida Yoshio) and Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan, who were to do public commentaries on the games. Pair Go games are liable to become very fierce, but Honinbo Shuho gives detailed, easy-to-understand commentaries for the benefit of his amateur audiences. Sometimes when the play becomes heated Ogawa 6-dan explains it clearly and simply so that the amateurs understand what is going on.
Miyoko Goto, the MC, explained the rules. Games are played on even, with Black giving a komi of 6.5 points. From the beginning, the time allowance is 30 seconds per move, with 10 minutes’ thinking time that can be taken at will in one-minute units. Giving advice is, of course, taboo, but the players can confer about whose turn it was. There is a penalty of three points for rotation errors. Finally, the first round got under way.

Once the games started, one could hear here and there the voices of the timekeepers reading out the seconds. ‘Ten seconds . . . 20 seconds . . .’ There was a flurried atmosphere right from the start.
At the commentary venue on the first floor, Honinbo Shuho and Ogawa 6-dan analysed the most noteworthy games. The hall was packed, with the fans at the back of the hall standing to catch the commentary.

< Round One >

[White] Akane Ishii 1-dan & Hideyuki Sakai 7-dan VS
[Black] Aya Okuda 2-dan & Yokoku So 8-dan

Ishii and Sakai were both making their debut. Sakai: ‘We were probably well matched. We played in a haphazard fashion, but we were able to play calmly, with self-control.’ As his words indicate, they meshed well and won easily.

[Black] Kana Mannami 4-dan & Satoru Kobayashi 9-dan VS
[White] Ayumi Suzuki 4-dan & Kimio Yamada 9-dan

White played awkwardly at the top, and the assessment at the public commentary was: ‘Black is leading. The game is lost for White.’ However, Pair Go often sees turnarounds. After a while, the position became confused. ‘Until recently, White was behind, but now the lead is unclear,’ was the assessment. In the end, there was an upset and White, that is, Suzuki and Yamada, won.

[Black] Narumi Osawa 4-dan & Yuta Iyama Meijin VS
[White] Kaori Chinen 4-dan & Satoshi Kataoka 9-dan

This game featured furious fighting, and Honinbo Shuho made the assessment: ‘Until a little while back, Black was ahead, but now I’d back White.’ However, the result was a win for the Black pair of Osawa and Iyama.
We saw Kataoka 9-dan leaving by the front door and ran after him to the smoking area in front of the building, where there were some ashtrays. ‘Did you lose?’ we asked him. ‘You were ahead.’ ‘We were ahead,’ he replied, shrugging his shoulders. ‘But our group died. It’s a long time since I played Pair Go. It was a lot of fun.’
It’s a knock-out tournament, so if you lose that’s it. Having finished so earlier, you might have expected Kataoka to be a loss what to do, but not so. ‘I lost early, but it’s Saturday, so I can find something else to do,’ he said. Perhaps he was referring to a different sport, with four-footed competitors.

[White] Mika Yoshida 8-dan & Iso Ko 7-dan VS
[Black] Chiaki Mukai 3-dan & Rin Kono 9-dan

When the Yoshida/Ko pair wins the first round, they always go to the final. Ko seemed to be relying completely on his partner. ‘Yoshida Sensei is strong,’ he said. ‘I am of no use at all.’

[Black] Chien Cho 1-dan & Norimoto Yoda 9-dan VS
[White] Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan & 25th Honinbo Chikun

Ishida: ‘Cho and Ishii have won places in this tournament though they are just 1-dans. Participating is based on rankings from actual results, so that’s really admirable. I am surprised that such a strong player as Kumiko Yashiro 5-dan is not playing.’ Referring to Cho Chikun 9-dan, he commented: ‘Before, he used to get angry when his female partner made bad moves.’ His commentary partner Ogawa 6-dan pointed out: ‘When you were my partner, you got angry with me. You scolded me so much that some fans got angry with you.’ Amid the laughter, Ishida was at a loss for a comeback.
In the game, Cho and Yoda hallucinated that one of their living groups was dead, so they switched elsewhere, and the group was really killed, leading to a big upset. Perhaps Aoki got away without being scolded.

[Black] Keiko Kato 6-dan & Naoki Hane Honinbo VS
[White] Yi Min Hsieh, Women’s Honinbo & Meien O 9-dan

Black played thinly at the bottom, and a fight started. Black took the lead, and Ishida commented: ‘Hsieh will be scolded by Meien when the game ends.’
This was the last game to finish in the first round. O’s muttering was incredible at the end: ‘Idiot! My head’s funny . . . I don’t understand anymore. I regret this . . . What’s this?’ It was no different from his games played one-on-one.
In the review after his team’s loss, O criticized his own moves. ‘This move was terrible,’ he said and apologised to Hsieh. ‘That’s OK’, she said. O’s muttering continued, but then he wound up the review, showing consideration for Kato and Hane. ‘I was overoptimistic,’ he said. ‘Oh, you must be tired. You’ve got another game, so please take a rest.

[Black] Yukari Umezawa, Women’s Kisei & Shinji Takao 9-dan VS
[White] Terumi Koyama 6-dan & Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan

Terumi Koyama 6-dan was paired with Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan. He’s a famous player, but ‘Koichi Sensei has mellowed,’ she said. ‘Both of us have,’ laughed Kobayashi. ‘Do you mesh well?’ we asked. ‘Well, we lost,’ replied Kobayashi. ‘It’s really difficult. You don’t know what’s going to happen until you start playing.’ And he took off.

[White] Yoko Kuwabara 5-dan & Satoshi Yuki 9-dan VS
[Black] Akino Izawa 4-dan & Keigo Yamashita Kisei

With his clean-shaven head, Yuki looked the picture of seriousness. Usually he seems a happy-go-lucky person, but when he started playing there was a sharp glint in his eye - it was almost frightening. Oh! Kuwabara sitting next to him also had a very stern expression on her face. They were smiling so cheerfully just a few moments ago. Professionals are, after all, real competitors.
The comments by the losing team. Yamashita: ‘I played a move that made Yuki angry. Things should have gone well for us after that, but I spoiled the game by playing a bad move.’ Laughing, Izawa followed up with: ‘I’m sorry for causing you trouble. I played an awful move that made Yuki angry and caused you trouble.’
Yamashita: ‘Pair Go has a different atmosphere from ordinary games.’ He may have lost, but he didn’t seem to feel bad about it.