< Tournament goals >

After the draw was decided, the players were interviewed about their ambition in the tournament. Here are some of the fun comments they made.

Kaori Chinen 4-dan & Naoki Hane 9-dan
Chinen 4-dan seemed to be at a loss on being interviewed immediately after doing the draw. She asked Hane 9-dan to help her out by talking first. Hane agreed and stepped forward. He started by saying, 'This is the first time I've been paired with Ms. Chinen,' but she butted in, 'It's the second.' Hane looked embarrassed. Chinen followed up by saying, 'The result wasn't good, but I remember that we played a good game. I hope we do better this time.'

Akiko Tsukuda 5-dan & Norimoto Yoda 9-dan
Tsukuda 5-dan spoke first. 'I like the excitement and tension of each move in Pair Go. My moves always surprise the male player, so please bear with me.' Yoda 9-dan's answer of 'Please surprise me' drew laughs from the audience.

Yimin Xie, Women's Honinbo & Meien O 9-dan
O 9-dan was absent, so Xie stood on the stage alone. 'Actually I was paired with O Sensei last year too and we lost in the first round. I think it was probably my fault, but this year I'm not going to drag my partner down,' she said modestly. The only thing is that when that game had finished O had immediately apologised to her. It was a touching scene.

Nao Mannami 2-dan & 25th Honinbo Chikun
Mannami 2-dan was making her debut. 'I'm nervous,' she said. 'If possible, I wanted to be paired with a gentle sensei.' The audience burst into laughter. She hurriedly added, 'Chikun Sensei is gentle.' That only made everyone laugh all the more. Even so, Mannami wrapped up things well by saying, 'I want to make sure a gentle teacher's face doesn't become stern because of me.'

Terumi Koyama 6-dan & Satoru Kobayashi 9-dan
Koyama 6-dan seemed relieved when she was paired with Kobayashi 9-dan, who is one of the leading gentlemen of the go world. 'He is gentle to women, so I'll be able play in a relaxed way,' she said candidly. 'But we face tough opponents in the first round in Suzuki and Yuki,' she added, already psyching herself up. The opposing pair represented Japan in the Asian Games, so playing them should be a valuable experience.

Yoko Kuwabara 6-dan & Honinbo Dowa
Honinbo Dowa is the name Yamashita Keigo 9-dan has taken as Honinbo. 'There are traumas in Pair Go. I've had the experience of losing a game by half a point after making a mistake in the playing order and paying a penalty. My wife is good friends with Ms. Kuwabara, so I'm going to play properly so I won't be scolded by my wife,' said Yamashita without confidence. His partner Ms. Kuwabara said, 'I am pregnant now, so there will be three of us playing in the first round.' There was warm applause. 'The baby will have been born by the time of the final, so we'll be back to a genuine pair,' Kuwabara added cheerfully, in what amounted to a vow to win the tournament. There was hearty applause. The Honinbo's trauma looks like being cured.

Kana Mannami 4-dan & Kimio Yamada 9-dan
After drawing the lot, Yamada smilingly said before the microphone, 'I'm glad I was able to pair with Ms. Mannami.' He seemed excited and added, 'I hope I don't play a strange move on the day because I'm rejoicing too much.' The audience laughed along with him, but their feelings seemed mixed, partly envious and partly urging him to play properly.

Kaori Mimura 2-dan & Cho U Kisei
三村二段は初出場で緊張気味。「張棋聖と組むことになって、なおさら緊張しています。でも、勝てば次に妹(向井千瑛四段)と当たるかもしれないので、頑張りたいと思います」と姉妹対決を楽しみにしているという。

Mayu Hosaka 3-dan & Yuta Iyama Meijin
Iyama Meijin spoke first. 'I look forward to this tournament every year. Ordinary games are full of suffering, so Pair Go is a chance to forget that and have fun. Since I'm taking part, I'm aiming at the top place.' Iyama was the only player who so explicitly vowed to win the tournament. It's what you would expect from him. The only thing is that his partner Hosaka 3-dan looked troubled as she listened. 'I'm happy to be paired with Iyama Meijin. I've used up ten years' worth of luck,' said Hosaka, looking satisfied.

Round 1 to the semifinals were held on Saturday, 11 December 2010, and the final was held on Saturday, 29 January 2011, with the venue on both days being the Nihon Ki-in at Ichigaya.