June 1991

In the 19th China-Japan go exchange, a team of eight young Japanese professionals played seven rounds against some 30 opponents in three Chinese cities and went down to defeat: 20 wins, 35 losses, one annulled game. This was not the first time the Japanese side has lost this exchange, but it was the first time they have lost on Chinese soil. Many of the players on both sides were teen-agers, raising the question of how long Japan's predominance in go will continue.
Among the Chinese players were two former World Amateur Champions, Zhang Wendong and Chang Hao, who managed one win apiece. The Japanese team included two women title-holders and six former winners of various dan sections in the Kisei tournament. The best record, a perfect seven wins and no losses, was turned in by the Japanese team captain, Moriyama Naoki, 7-dan.

June was a busy and successful month for Rin Kaiho on the international circuit. First he traveled to Seoul, Korea to play a best-of-three match against Cho Chikun in the semifinal round of the World Baduk Go Championship Tongyang Securities Cup. Rin won, 2-0. In the other semifinal Lee Changho downed his mentor Cho Hunhyun 2-1, so Rin will play Lee for the cup in September.

Next Rin Kaiho journeyed to Beijing, China to take on Nie Weiping in a three-game match between the Japanese Tengen titleholder and the holder of the equivalent Chinese Tianyuan title. Nie, who had never beaten Rin before, promptly won the first game, but Rin displayed his famed tenacity in the next two games (especially the 368-move third game) to win the match 2-1.

Before these overseas exploits, Rin Kaiho had scored his sixth straight win against no losses in the Meijin league, making it highly probable that he will challenge Kobayashi Koichi for the Meijin title in the fall.

Cho Chikun has evened up the Honinbo title series by winning games three and four.