This year, too, it is the season of the Professional Pair Go Championship 2011. For professional go players, who spend their days in rigorous training and competition, this is the only tournament that they can really enjoy, so both the male and female players seemed relaxed before play began. Thirty-two top professionals, 16 male and 16 female, had assembled at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya in Tokyo.

Two of the pairs, Ayumi Suzuki 5-dan and Satoshi Yuki 9-dan and Chiaki Mukai 4-dan and Shinji Takao 9-dan, were the same pairs that participated in the Asian Games. Because of their experience, they were naturally regarded as favourites. Three rounds were held on this day, from the first round to the semifinals.

The pairs took their seats, exchanged greetings and waited for the tournament to begin. Professionals don't meet each other very often when they are not playing, so this was an opportunity for lively conversation. Players who hadn't played Pair Go for a while were checking up on the order of play and the rules.

< Opening Ceremony >

Ms. Hiroko Taki, Director and Secretary General of the Japan Pair Go Association, gave an address. 'Sixteen pairs of top professional players are participating in this tournament. In the recent Asian Games, the Suzuki/Yuki and Mukai/Takao pairs took part as the representatives of Japan. They enjoyed themselves and did well. They will probably display their ability in this tournament, too. I hope Japanese players will do their best so that, in Pair Go, too, they don't lose to Korea and China.' Ms. Taki thus encouraged the participants.

Hideo Otake, Honorary Gosei, the Chief Referee, also gave an address. 'It's exciting to see so many top players gathered here,' he said. 'For everyone, this is like a dream.' He then mentioned that the four Asian Games representatives were wearing their uniforms, and there was a round of applause.

Mr. Otake told some stories from the games. It was a rigorous environment for go, with doping tests being held for the first time, and all talking during games, including talking to oneself, was forbidden. The reason was to avoid suspicions that the players were giving advice to each other in code. This would happen only at an international tournament. Listening to Mr. Otake, 25th Honinbo Chikun muttered, 'Not talking to oneself is unreasonable.' This tournament was for everyone to enjoy Pair Go, so there were no such petty restrictions.

< Beginning of the tournament >

When the games began, the hitherto friendly atmosphere was transformed, and the room was filled with tension. Voices here and there reading out 'Ten seconds.... 20 seconds....' overlapped, and the tournament rapidly got under way. Players had 30-second byo-yomi x 10 times.

Simultaneously a public commentary was held and was conducted by 24th Honinbo Shuho (Yoshio Ishida 9-dan) and Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan. As always, Ishida's commentary was precise and severe. He went off the rails a bit, saying, 'The bad moves are usually played by the women players.' Ms. Ogawa defended women players, saying, 'I don't know what you mean.' They started with the most noteworthy encounters and presented the games in an easily understandable way to the assembled fans.

< Round 1 >

(White) Yimin Xie, Women's Honinbo & Meien O 9-dan vs. (Black) Chiaki Mukai 4-dan and Shinji Takao 9-dan
The Mukai/Takao pair competed in their Asian Games uniforms. Both of them sat on their heels on chairs. Having been used to sitting Japanese style since childhood, presumably they couldn't relax with their legs dangling from chairs. Xie played for Taiwan in the Asian Games and she also paired with O in the 2010 tournament. This was a first-round clash between tournament favourites.

O put pressure on himself, saying: 'Last time we lost because of me, so this time I have to make up for that.' Since it was their second time playing together, their timing in starting fighting was good, and they scored a convincing win in this game to storm through to the second round.

(White) Kazuko Konishi 8-dan and Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan vs. (Black) Kaori Mimura 2-dan and Cho U Kisei
Mimura 2-dan was making her debut and she was a little nervous facing the strong pair of Konishi 8-dan and Kobayashi 9-dan. However, she was paired with Cho Kisei, who had represented Taiwan and who had a lot of experience and so was a player who could be relied on. Ishida praised the game in his commentary as a spectacular contest. 'It's an even game,' he commented. In the end, the Konishi/Kobayashi pair won, so Mimura and Cho were eliminated in the first round.

(White) Narumi Osawa 4-dan and Hideyuki Sakai Gosei vs. (Black) Akiko Tsukuda 5-dan and Norimoto Yoda 9-dan
The children in Osawa 4-dan's go class had come along to cheer her on, so she pledged to do her best. Her partner Sakai was riding the crest of a wave, having won the Gosei title. Their pair was the centre of a lot of attention. Tsukuda 5-dan had come from Osaka to participate. Her partner Yoda 9-dan is one of the senior players on the go scene. He was late arriving, however, so the team did not have time to bond before starting play.

Osawa and Sakai won. After the game review, the players all left their seats, but Sakai went and reviewed the game again on the computer used to record the game. Later, Osawa joined him and they studied together for a while. One is always surprised by how zealous Sakai is.

(White) Kana Mannami 4-dan and Kimio Yamada 9-dan vs. (Black) Mika Yoshida 8-dan and Rin Kono 9-dan
The older Mannami sister and Yamada 9-dan are both strong players, so their pair has outstanding destructive power. Opponents have to approach them with caution. Yoshida 8-dan is an orthodox player and plays flexibly. The pairing with the calm Kono 9-dan seems to be just right.

(Black) Ayumi Suzuki 5-dan and Satoshi Yuki Tengen vs. (White) Terumi Koyama 6-dan and Satoru Kobayashi 9-dan
Suzuki 5-dan is known as a strong player, and she also has a good reputation at Pair Go. She paired with Yuki Tengen in the Asian Games, so the players understand each other. Yuki commented, 'We won't lose to anyone on the amount of practice we've done.' Not surprisingly, their pair is one of the favourites. Koyama 6-dan was happy because 'I'm paired with the kindest Sensei.' Kobayashi 9-dan adapts to his partner and doesn't do anything unreasonable. His team will be hard to beat.

Ishida 9-dan chose the Suzuki/Yuki pair as the top favourite. He gave his reason as follows: 'Before, Yuki's go was hard to understand, but recently he's become an adult. It's really tough for a female player paired with a male player who is difficult to understand.' His comments were appreciated by the audience. The Suzuki/Yuki pair was certainly in good form; they gained good momentum by winning this opening game.

(Black) Nao Mannami 2-dan and 25th Honinbo Chikun (Cho Chikun) vs. (White) Keiko Kato 6-dan and O Rissei 9-dan
The younger Mannami sister was paired with the individualist 25th Honinbo Chikun. Mannami 2-dan was making her debut, but she's a TV MC, so she has plenty of pluck. She was paired with a great player, but Cho is said to have mellowed a lot, so they might match each other surprisingly well. Kato 6-dan won the tournament the year before last when she was paired with Naoki Hane 9-dan. If she could mesh with the free and original O Rissei style, her team might do well.

(White) Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan and Yokoku So 8-dan vs. (Black) Yoko Kuwabara 6-dan and Yamashita Dowa Honinbo
Kuwabara 6-dan and Yamashita's wife are good friends, which oddly put some pressure on Yamashita. He commented, 'I have to do my best.' However, the pair of Aoki 8-dan, who has won the tournament in the past, and So 8-dan looked strong, so they could not be underestimated.
Yamashita lost the Kisei title, but he showed his resilience by immediately taking the Honinbo title. Ishida praised him highly: 'Yamashita's thick style is highly regarded. Cho Kisei has started to play Yamashita style.' However, things didn't go well in Pair Go: Kuwabara and Yamashita lost to the Aoki/So team and disappeared after the first round.

(White) Kaori Chinen 4-dan and Naoki Hane 9-dan vs. (Black) Mayu Hosaka 3-dan and Yuta Iyama Meijin
Chinen 4-dan is always smiling, but her go is aggressive and severe. Hane 9-dan has also completely switched over to a fighting style, so if their game became a violent one this team should be really strong. Hosaka 3-dan was a big nervous about being paired with Iyama Meijin, but he is a redoubtable partner.
Ishida 9-dan gave his own analysis of Hane's style. 'Usually he looks mild, but when he plays go he's incredible. You definitely can't call him courteous. [Laughter] He's really bold and decisive.' This was meant as praise. He meshed well with Chinen, who's strong at fighting; they beat the Meijin's pair and proceeded to the next round.