< Round 2 >

(White) Yimin Xie, Women's Honinbo and Meien O 9-dan vs. (Black) Kazuko Konishi 8-dan and Koichi Kobayashi 9-dan
Xie played an original move in the middle game, leading Ishida to exclaim: 'I've been playing go for 50 years and I've never seen this.' She regularly studies with O 9-dan in a study group. She's not timid and she plays freely. Her pair duly won in the second round.

(Black) Kana Mannami 4-dan and Kimio Yamada 9-dan vs. (White) Narumi Osawa 4-dan and Hideyuki Sakai Gosei
Sakai Gosei is apparently the type who thoroughly studies his opponent's game records. That's not possible in Pair Go, but he's extremely strong at the endgame, so he has stable results. Ishida 9-dan commented that this game looked like becoming an endgame contest, so it was thought this was favourable for Sakai. However, the result was a win for Mannami and Yamada, who advanced to the semifinals.

(Black) Ayumi Suzuki 5-dan and Satoshi Yuki 9-dan vs. (White) Nao Mannami 2-dan and 25th Honinbo Chikun
25th Honinbo Chikun won the tournament three years ago when he was paired with Osawa 4-dan. Ishida 9-can commented: 'In the old days he would jump up in surprise at the moves played by his female partners, but he's calmed down recently.' Ishida is good friends with 25th Honinbo Chikun, so he has plenty of stories about him. Mannami commented later: 'He was kind and I enjoyed the game.' However, their opponents were too strong, so they were eliminated. The Suzuki/Yuki pair went on to the semifinals.

(White) Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan and Yokoku So 8-dan vs. (Black) Kaori Chinen 4-dan and Naoki Hane 9-dan
In the middle game, the Chinen/Hane pair had the lead, and Ishida 9-dan predicted confidently that it was almost certain to be a resignation. However, they suddenly started to play erratically. A large group was captured, leading to an upset. 'I can't believe it!' Ishida commented in astonishment. Sometimes in Pair Go you can't stop once you start going off the rails. Aided by some luck, Aoki and So stayed alive in the tournament.

< The semifinals >

(Black) Yimin Xie, Women's Honinbo and Meien O 9-dan vs. Kana Mannami 4-dan and Kimio Yamada 9-dan
O 9-dan launched a bold sacrifice strategy and Xie Women's Honinbo coordinated well with him and participated in a fierce attack. They attacked and attacked and sported with the Mannami/Yamada pair. One of the favourites, the Xie/O pair advanced to the final.
The defeated Yamada commented: 'Our go styles were similar, so it was easy to play with Mannami 4-dan. I'm satisfied with having been able to play three games, but losing is, after all, painful.' Mannami commented: 'We were overcome by the forcefulness of our opponents. I thought we would die at any minute. When you lose this badly, you don't have any regrets.' She really seemed unaffected.

(White) Ayumi Suzuki 5-dan and Satoshi Yuki Tengen vs. (Black) Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan and Yokoku So 8-dan.
When you come this far, you want to go to the final. Ishida commented: 'When you win at Pair Go, people think you have a good personality. [Laughter] You get praised for something besides your go strength.' There's something in what he says. Aoki and So had the lead, and Ishida had just declared there was no chance of an upset when Aoki and So failed to settle the game at a decisive point. The issue was deferred and finally there was an upset. Tenacious play earned Suzuki and Yuki a win. What with all their experience, it's not so easy to beat them.

Suzuki 4-dan, Yuki Tengen
Suzuki: 'We played better than in the Asian Games. We shed tears of mortification in Guangzhou, but this time it was worth wearing the uniform.'
Yuki: 'In Guangzhou, we lost because I made an error in judgement and I had dreams about it. I'm glad we won this time.'
Suzuki: 'Our opponents in the final are strong, but we're not going to lose without putting up a fight.'
Yuki: 'If it becomes an endgame contest, Suzuki is strong, so I'll be relying on her. If we can play as tenaciously as we did in the semifinal, we have a chance.'

Xie Women's Honinbo, O 9-dan
Xie: 'In the previous tournament, I lost in the first round, so I'm really relieved we won this time.'
O: 'I learnt the principles of Pair Go from Cho U. If we'd lost, the male player would have been blamed, so I felt some pressure. But I'm not as strong as Cho, so if we'd lost I was going to blame it on Xie. [Laughter] I'm happy that, thanks to her, we have reached the final.'
Xie: 'This will be my third final, so I hope it's third time lucky.'
O: 'I'll do my best.'