On April 25, the second “Quzhou Ranko Cup World Go Open” continued its fierce battles at the Hilton Yilin Hotel in Quzhou, Zhejiang province. The top Go players from South Korea and China, Shin Jin-Seo 9-dan and Ke Jie 9-dan respectively, defeated their opponents and advanced together. Taiwan’s “celebrity” Lai Junfu 8-dan successfully avenged the Chinese world champion Tan Xiao 9-dan, becoming the only Taiwanese player to advance to the round of 16. Japan’s “Hammer Girl” Ueno Asami Meiko 5-dan also stunned the Go world by defeating another Chinese world champion, Xie Erhao 9-dan.
In the round of 32 of the Ranko Cup on April 25, Shin Jin-Seo, the top Go player from South Korea, faced the challenge from the Chinese Go player Zhao Chenyu 9-dan. Zhao Chenyu is ranked seventh in the latest rankings of Chinese Go players and has a record of 1 win and 7 losses against Shin Jin-Seo, putting him at a significant disadvantage.
Shin Jin-Seo made the first move with the black stones and initiated the game with the “star point.” Zhao Chenyu deviated from the star point and responded with the “3-4 point,” seeming to be well-prepared. The two sides clashed in the upper right corner, each having an isolated stone fleeing to the center.
Zhao Chenyu was in an excellent state. The compatibility of his moves with the top three recommendations by artificial intelligence (AI) was nearly 90% in the first 100 moves with the white stones, especially excelling in the local handling in the upper and right sides, making it difficult for Shin Jin-Seo to resist, putting him at a disadvantage. With two black stones yet to stabilize, as long as the white stones could connect on both sides and avoid being cut off, they could essentially rest easy.
With moves 105, 107, 109, Shin Jin-Seo attempted a bold cut to break through the white stones, taking a gamble. However, Zhao Chenyu, after a long thought, chose to start a ko fight with the black stones, which turned out to be a losing move.
The situation turned in favor of Shin Jin-Seo, and with move 121, he captured the white stones in the center while the white stones gained five captures breaking through the black territory above. Compared to before, the black stones had overcome their earlier disadvantage.
As the center of the board strengthened for the black stones, posing a threat to the white stones on the left side, which was an additional value gained from the capture in the center. Shin Jin-Seo gradually extended his lead, being ahead by about 15 points on the board. By move 283, Zhao Chenyu saw no chance of a comeback and resigned.
Since Ke Jie reclaimed the position of the top Go player in China, his performance has been outstanding. In this round, he encountered South Korean player Seol Hyeon-Jun, a strong opponent. Coincidentally, Seol Hyeon-Jun is also ranked seventh in the latest Korean rankings. The game progressed smoothly, with Ke Jie displaying excellent control and achieving a complete victory.
Taiwanese seeded player Lai Junfu faced his old rival, Chinese world champion Tan Xiao, in this round, a case of “narrow road for enemies.” In the previous Ranko Cup, Tan Xiao eliminated Lai Junfu in the round of 16, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Tan Xiao made the first move with the black stones, and the two players engaged in a struggle in the upper area. With move 58, Lai Junfu pushed his advantage, feeling quite comfortable. Despite having two isolated stones yet to stabilize, Tan Xiao still chose to invade the empty space below with move 115, being overly aggressive. Lai Junfu stayed clear-headed, making the black stones live locally and taking the lead with move 134 by attacking the two black stones above and below.
Even though Tan Xiao, as a world champion, tried his best, Lai Junfu played flawlessly, maintaining a slight lead throughout. By move 222, Tan Xiao had no way to turn the tide and had to accept defeat. Lai Junfu avoided stumbling on the same stone twice, successfully avenging his opponent and advancing to the round of 16 in the Ranko Cup for two consecutive rounds.
Master Wang Yuanjun from Haifeng Go Academy provided a detailed analysis of this game for all Go fans.
Notably, the Japanese female Go player Ueno Asami Meiko, known as “Hammer Girl,” defeated the Chinese world champion Xie Erhao, causing the biggest upset of the tournament.
Xie Erhao made the first move with the black stones, aiming for a stable victory in the first half of the game. However, Ueno Asami Meiko excels in complicated fights, and as the game entered the latter part, Xie Erhao appeared somewhat reckless, making errors. After a significant shift in the game, with Ueno Asami Meiko swallowing the black pieces in the center, her victory was assured. Xie Erhao sat motionless for a while, unable to change the outcome of defeat.
After a day of intense battles, the round of 16 of the tournament was set. Of the 18 Chinese players participating, 8 advanced, maintaining a strong presence in the competition. South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan had 5, 2, and 1 player(s) respectively making it to the next round.
A day of rest was scheduled for the 26th, with the round of 16 scheduled for the 27th. Based on the principle of avoiding matches between players from the same country, the matchups would be as follows:
1. Ding Hao (China) vs. Lai Junfu (Taiwan)
2. Xie Ke (China) vs. Park Tae-Hoon (South Korea)
3. Zhang Tao (China) vs. Shin Jin-Seo (South Korea)
4. Ke Jie (China) vs. Kang Dong-Woon (South Korea)
5. Yang Dingxin (China) vs. Won Seung Jin (South Korea)
6. Jiang Qirun (China) vs. Byun Sangil (South Korea)
7. Fan Tingyu (China) vs. Yuta Iyama (Japan)
8. Gu Zihao (China) vs. Ueno Asami Meiko (Japan)
Shin Jin-Seo would face Zhang Tao and Ke Jie would play against Kang Dong-Woon. Taiwan’s lone representative Lai Junfu would challenge the Chinese world champion Ding Hao, while Ueno Asami Meiko would encounter the defending champion Gu Zihao, drawing attention to whether she could continue the legacy for female Go players in the Ranko Cup.
The Ranko Cup is hosted by the Chinese Go Association, using Chinese Go rules with a 3 and 3/4 stone handicap for black, each player has a basic time of 2 hours with 5-minute overtime periods, limited to 60 seconds per move, 5 times during overtime. The champion prize money for this tournament is 1.8 million RMB (about $248,400 USD), with the runner-up earning 600,000 RMB (about $82,800 USD).