On April 20, the tenth “Ying Shi Cup World Professional Go Championship” kicked off with a surprising victory in the first round. Korean teenage prodigy Jin En, with a ninth dan rank, defeated the former top Go player from mainland China, Gu Zihao, also a ninth dan, causing a major upset.
The “Ying Shi Cup” is held every four years and is known as the world’s highest prize money individual tournament in the Go world, often referred to as the “Go Olympics”. It has been held for ten editions since 1988. In line with the wishes of its founder, Taiwanese entrepreneur Ying Changqi, the tournament sponsor, the Ying Changqi Go Education Foundation, aims to promote the development of Go worldwide. This edition has expanded the number of participants from 30 to 58, with both sides of the Taiwan Strait benefiting the most, with 9 additional players from mainland China and 7 from Taiwan.
The tournament has seen unprecedented enthusiasm in its format. Divided into three stages, the cup is planned as follows:
– The first stage consists of two qualifying rounds, with matches played online on April 20 and 21, leading to the top sixteen.
– The second stage involves three knockout rounds, with the round of sixteen on July 3, quarter-finals on July 4, and the semi-finals from July 6 to 9.
– The third stage features a five-game final, with the first two games on August 12 and 14, and the remaining three games on October 24, 26, and 28.
After a draw, except for South Korea’s Shin Jin-yeop (last edition’s champion) and China’s Xie Ke (last edition’s runner-up) directly advancing to the top sixteen, the remaining 56 players are divided into 14 groups for elimination matches, with one winner from each group advancing.
In the first round, a total of 28 Mandarin-speaking players from Taiwan and China faced off against 28 non-Mandarin-speaking players. The matchups included:
– Xie Erhao (China) vs Matthias Surma (Europe); Hsu Haohong (Taiwan) vs An Kook-hyun (South Korea)
– And other matchups as listed.
After a day of fierce competition, mainland Chinese players demonstrated strength and depth, with 14 players advancing to the next round, while South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan each had 6, 5, and 3 players advancing respectively. Players from other countries were all eliminated due to insufficient strength.
In a notable matchup, South Korean teenage prodigy Jin En faced off against former top Go player from mainland China Gu Zihao, causing the biggest upset of the first round. Jin En, playing black, took the initiative and gradually outmaneuvered Gu Zihao to secure victory.
In addition, Taiwan’s top Go player Hsu Haohong, the returning top Go player from mainland China Ke Jie, and South Korea’s second-ranked player, Bian Xiangyi, all defeated their opponents to advance to the next round.
The second round continued online on April 21, with a highly anticipated clash between Ke Jie and Bian Xiangyi. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s top player Hsu Haohong faced off against mainland China’s reigning world champion Xie Erhao, and Jin En challenged mainland China’s rising star Wang Xinghao.
In the nine previous “Ying Shi Cup” tournaments, South Korean players won six times, mainland Chinese players won three times, while players from other countries have yet to clinch the championship.
The championship is organized by the Chinese Go Association and sponsored by the Ying Changqi Go Education Foundation, with a grand prize of $400,000 and a runner-up prize of $100,000.
The tournament adopts the “Ying Shi Scoring System” Go rules, where black gives an 8-point handicap, and matches are played without a time limit. The basic time control varies from 2 hours in the qualifying rounds to 3.5 hours in the final, with extensions resulting in point deductions.
Responsibility Editor: Li Rongshi