On May 22, the Round of 16 of the 29th “LG Cup World Baduk Championship” concluded at the Kuncheok Resort in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Defending champion Shin Jin-seo, a nine-dan professional, was surprisingly defeated by his teammate Han Sang-chul, a six-dan professional making his first appearance in the world championship. This unexpected loss marked the end of Shin Jin-seo’s defense of his title, along with the elimination of players from Taiwan and Japan. China’s top Go player, Ke Jie, narrowly advanced in the tournament.
The “LG Cup” has been held since 1996, spanning 28 editions, with no player successfully defending their title. Even the renowned Lee Chang-ho, a nine-dan professional at the height of his career, couldn’t break this historical curse known as the “Go World’s big curse”. Following his victory in the previous championship, South Korea’s top Go player Shin Jin-seo expressed his ambition to defend his title this time. However, the Round of 16 saw him fall victim to this longstanding curse in the Go community.
Shin Jin-seo’s opponent in this round was the first-time world championship qualifier from South Korea, Han Sang-chul. Despite their previous encounters resulting in victories for Shin Jin-seo, this time the tables turned.
As the game progressed, the situation was evenly matched in the opening phase, both players relying on artificial intelligence (AI) moves. In the middle game, a critical moment arose when Shin Jin-seo’s judgment seemed off as he overlooked the safety of his stones in Han Sang-chul’s territory. Han Sang-chul’s brilliant move at 111 sealed off the right side of Shin Jin-seo’s stones and initiated a strong attack, putting Shin Jin-seo in a precarious position.
With move 121, a missed opportunity by Shin Jin-seo and a subsequent mistake at 122 led to his struggle to recover. Despite managing to save a large dragon through a ko fight, his tail was ultimately cut off by his opponent, revealing his losing position. After persisting for several more moves, Shin Jin-seo eventually had to concede defeat at move 225, bowing out in the Round of 16.
In a post-match interview reported by the Korean Baduk Association, Han Sang-chul expressed mixed feelings about defeating Shin Jin-seo, stating his intention to take on a greater sense of responsibility in future matches. He acknowledged the upcoming game against Ke Jie, considering it a valuable opportunity for growth.
In the other two highlighted matches, Taiwan’s top Go player Xu Haohong failed to perform and was defeated by veteran South Korean player Lee Ji-hyun. Meanwhile, China’s Ke Jie showcased his dynamic playing style by turning an unfavorable situation around to defeat the strong South Korean player Lee Chang-suk, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, players from Taiwan and Japan all fell short against their South Korean counterparts, resulting in a clean sweep for the host country. Among the quarterfinalists, South Korea claimed six spots while China retained two. The specific match results are as follows:
– Shin Min-hyuk (KOR) defeated Lai Chun-fu (TWN)
– Lee Ji-hyun (KOR) defeated Xu Haohong (TWN)
– Han Sang-chul (KOR) defeated Shin Jin-seo (KOR)
– Won Seung-jun (KOR) defeated Kojiro Ie (JPN)
– Park Tae-hwan (KOR) defeated Shiyeno Kogamaru (JPN)
– Byun Sang-il (KOR) defeated Yi Yuting (CHN)
– Lee Chang-suk (KOR) lost to Ke Jie (CHN)
– Kim Jin-hui (KOR) lost to Ding Hao (CHN)
Following the matches, the draw for the quarterfinals took place. Adhering to the principle of avoiding matches between players from the same country, the two Chinese players Ke Jie and Ding Hao were drawn against South Korean players Han Sang-chul and Lee Ji-hyun, respectively.
The first stage of this year’s tournament has concluded, with the second stage scheduled to reignite on September 30th.
The “LG Cup” is organized by the Chosun Ilbo and the Korean Go Association, with sponsorship from the LG Group. The competition follows the rules of the Korean Go Association, with Black giving 6.5 komi, each player having a basic time of 3 hours, and 40 seconds per move for overtime. The champion receives a prize of 300 million South Korean Won (approximately 222,000 USD), while the runner-up earns 100 million South Korean Won (approximately 74,000 USD).