January 1993

Much of the action in Japanese go this month took place overseas. Five students from The University of Tokyo started the year auspiciously on January 4 and 5 at the 1993 Asian University Go Championship in Beijing. The skipper and first mate of the Japanese team ran afoul of strong Chinese and Korean opponents and eked out only one meager victory between them, but their three teammates sailed through with nary a loss, propelling Tokyo U. to a 3-2 triumph over Shanghai Foreign Studies University, a 4-1 shellacking of Seoul University, and a second straight Asian championship. In the other match Seoul subdued Shanghai 3-2.

Next the scene shifts to Hong Kong, for the first game of the Kisei title match on January 13 and 14. Two years ago challenger Kato Masao, in the midst of a horrible slump, still managed to take Kobayashi Koichi the full seven games before losing 4-3. This year Kato's slump is over-- he carried a 16-game winning steak into the series opener, which he won by resignation. The second game was closer but Kato won it too, by 2 1/2 points on January 27-28. So Kobayashi is down 0-2, but of course that was how he started his successful Kisei defense last year.

Meanwhile, on January 16-18 five-man Chinese, Japanese, and Korean professional teams were battling each other in Seoul for the second SBS World Baduk Championship. The first six games had already been completed in December. The results of those and the next six games, played at the rate of two games per day, were:

          Miyazawa Goro (Japan)  beat Shao Weigang (China)
          Yoo Changhyeok (Korea) beat Miyazawa Goro (Japan)
          Yoo Changhyeok (Korea) beat Yu Bin (China)
          Yoda Norimoto (Japan)  beat Yoo Changhyeok (Korea)
          Cao Dayuan (China)     beat Yoda Norimoto (Japan)
          Cao Dayuan (China)     beat Jang Suyeong (Korea)
          Cao Dayuan (China)     beat Awaji Shuzo (Japan)
          Lee Changho (Korea)    beat Cao Dayuan (China)
          Rin Kaiho (Japan)      beat Lee Changho (Korea)
          Rin Kaiho (Japan)      beat Liu Xiaoguang (China)
          Suh Bongsoo (Korea)    beat Rin Kaiho (Japan)
          Suh Bongsoo (Korea)    beat Ma Xiaochun (China)

Aoki Kikuyo is trying again to regain the Women's Meijin Title she lost to Sugiuchi Kazuko in 1991, but as she said, "Sugiuchi is more to be feared in this tournament than in any other." Sugiuchi breezed to victory in the first game on January 20.