This is a game between Shin Minjoon and Shin Jinseo from the Under 14 Korean Pro Qualifiers (Prodigy Pro Draft). It was played on July 30, 2012. Shin Minjoon plays black and Shin Jinseo plays white.
Both youngsters qualified to become some of Korea’s newest pros – congratulations to Shin Minjoon and Shin Jinseo!
Shin Minjoon vs Shin Jinseo
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Transcript of the video
Translated by Eugene Lee 5d for GoGameGuru.com
Edited by David Ormerod 5d
Hello everyone. It's time for the best game of the day.
Today we have a game from a special rookie tournament.
Hong Sungji 8p will be our commentator today.
Hello.
Recently, because China's young players are improving quickly,
The Korean Pro-Draft system has been revamped.
The Prodigy Pro-Draft is a new event and it's one of the biggest changes of them all.
By the way, you (Hong Sungji) became a pro at quite young age too, right?
Yes, I became a pro at the age of 14.
But at the time, I thought it wasn't that early to become a pro.
It was a bit earlier than most new pros these days.
Let's enjoy the game!
Shin Jinseo vs Shin Minjoon at the first Prodigy Pro-Draft competition.
The match was played at the Korean Baduk Association on July 16, 2012.
Shin Minjoon.
He's meditating.
This is Shin Jinseo.
Minjoon plays black.
This is the final match for both. They're both on an 11-0 record so far.
Whoever wins this game will qualify to be a pro.
But the loser will have to play one more game to qualify.
As this is a very important match, both players start with a peaceful opening.
Yes.
So far, this looks like pro's game.
It's a standard opening.
Normally, black cuts here.
Jinseo tried to make a new variation.
Do you think they've already researched this variation?
Yes, many games have been played like this.
They've likely researched the position before playing it, I think.
I see, black takes the corner anyway.
Up to here, the opening has been settled.
But this variation is slightly better for black.
The opening looks a bit better for black overall.
Yes.
Ah, black switches to play there after probing in the corner.
Right, black just wanted to see white's response.
It's more urgent for black to play at the top now.
Black just probed the corner before playing at the top.
Black suddenly played on the lower side, instead of attacking white's group at the top.
I think this is a slack move.
It seems that this is a very good place.
Yes, white escaped from black's sphere of influence.
White has the better position now.
Black should have kept chasing white's group.
You're right.
It's interesting to see their fighting here.
Black took the corner.
White tries to capture black's center stones.
It looks like a big trade.
White needs to attack black's center group severely,
because he lost a lot of points in the corner.
Yes, if white can't attack the center effectively,
White will probably be short on territory.
Black wants to capture these two stones in the corner, but
that's what white wants black to do.
Black plays in the center first.
If black takes white's two stones, black's center group will be in danger.
Yes, it's because white would be able to seal off the left side in sente.
It looks quite hard for black to make two eyes here.
White's still attacking black's group.
Black's shape isn't good, so white looks better at the moment.
Black was slightly better in the opening,
But the situation changed in the middle game.
I think it was a bit too early for white to capture those two stones.
White had to attack more.
Both players wanted to play a stable game, because this is a very important match.
Now, white also needs to take care of the center group.
Not only is the center white group in danger, the top white group isn't alive yet either.
The game becomes chaotic.
They both play very hard in this game.
Both players prefer territorial games, but they like fighting as well.
This fight will decide the winner of the game.
Neither one of them backs down from the battle.
It looks better for black, because white's group is split in two.
I see.
White plays here first,
and makes eye shape.
Yes.
White can't make two eyes on the inside.
That's why white played on the right side.
For black, the left corner is not yet completely alive.
If black doesn't reinforce the corner...
Black can normally live with the atari here,
But in this case, black doesn't have enough liberties and it would become a ko.
When white hanes here, black's jump is a good answer.
Making life.
White tries to play here, but he's almost dead.
He doesn't give up.
White can't live,
But, the center black group isn't alive yet either.
So, white just forces black to spend some more moves capturing later.
Black played a big move.
White makes the ko he's been aiming for.
This ko threat is no good, but white doesn't care now.
It looks as if black doesn't think he has a big advantage.
Black chooses a big move, because the game's still close.
Black keeps his spirit up.
White fills black's liberties.
It's a one step ko for white.
So black plays another big move.
White's three stones were cut.
Since black doesn't have any good ko threats anymore, he fills the liberties.
Black holds on to the ko fight.
Black kept answering white's ko threats.
Black has many ko threats here.
White has to answer the ko threats.
Otherwise, white's top group will be in trouble after the ko fight ends.
Where's white's ko threat?
White has no more good ko threats.
So, white plays on the right side.
Black didn't eliminate the ko, he took more points instead.
Black could have ended the ko fight, but once again he didn't.
It's because black doesn't think he's winning.
He's already counted the game.
Does black still have ko threats?
Black peeps here as a ko threat.
But it seems to be questionable.
Oh, black plays on the right side again!
White fills black's liberties here.
If white can make two ko threats on the right side,
Black won't be able to win the ko,
So, black's cut here becomes bad.
White's second ko threat.
If black answers here.
White would take the ko back, and black wouldn't have a threat.
That's why black had to end the ko now, and white took those stones.
White's got more territory than he expected at first.
Black lost a lot of points while fighting the ko.
Black goes all out here.
The game's over now.
Black resigned here.
Shin Jinseo became a pro by defeating Shin Minjoon.
Q: How do you feel about becoming a pro?
A: I've been studying very hard and I'm very happy to achieve a good result.Q: What are the pros and cons of living in the dojo?
A: Many friends and teachers treat me very well, so it's enjoyable.Q: What are the pros and cons of living in the dojo?
A: I used to play online quite a lot when I was at home, but at the dojo I play 30-60 min games.Q: What are the pros and cons of living in the dojo?
A: The only disadvantage is that I can't eat as much as I would like at the dojo.Q: Who's your favorite player?
A: My favorite player is Lee Changho.Q: Who's your favorite player?
A: It's because even though he was the best player for more than ten years,Q: Who's your favorite player?
A: He still studies very hard. That's why I like and respect him the most.Q: What's your ambition?
A: I'm still weak, but I hope my Go will show great improvement in the future.Q: What's your ambition?
A: I will keep studying very hard and try to become a good player.Q: What's your ambition?
A: Please follow my games.We just saw a game between Shin Jinseo vs Shin Minjoon.
What did you think of the game, overall?
They both played very hard from the beginning.
The game was very complicated, but Shin Jinseo played better in the second half of the game.
Let's review the game more in detail.
When black attaches here.
White connects here and cuts.
White normally plays the hane here instead.
Then black would attach here.
If so, white also needs to answer.
When white extends here.
Black would atari here,
And push here.
Yes.
White captures here.
Black would hane.
White cuts here.
Black plays atari here.
It's a very complicated variation!
When black comes through here.
White should come out.
Black plays atari.
White has to capture.
Yes.
White can't play here either, right?
If white plays here, white's two stones are in trouble.
So it's miai for black.
Then, should white cut here?
White wants to play here.
But black can atari here.
White needs to answer here.
If black blocks here, white would be short of liberties.
White descends here.
Black connects.
This atari is always sente.
White has three liberties while black has five.
So white loses the capturing race.
Then, you meant white couldn't cut here?
If white ataris here, white can keep playing.
This is sente.
Yes.
If white plays here, white can connect using ko.
Black should push here.
What if black starts the ko right now?
If black makes ko now.
White would cut here,
Atari here.
After that,
White doesn't need to fight the ko,
Black would die.
Black can't fight.
Oh I see.
Black pushes here.
White answers.
We can expect this.
The variations are very difficult.
Black's shape at the top is very good.
Shin Jinseo didn't play like this to avoid this variation.
It's a very good combination in this position.
Many pros consider this result to be good for black.
So, white didn't play normally and showed new moves.
White connects here and cuts.
White cuts.
If black plays here directly.
It would be an overplay for black.
So, black attaches here first.
Is this the first time white's connection and cut have been played?
I think so, it's very new for me.
White played new moves in this important game.
He's got a lot of guts.
It looks as if he already researched this beforehand.
Cuts.
Black ataris here.
Yes, it's sente.
White plays a one space jump.
This one space jump was slack move.
It's the vital point of this shape here.
What if black plays a counter attack like this?
Then white would play here.
If black keeps trying to attack, white would block here.
These two white stones are light.
Because black is not strong enough.
Reinforcing here should be better.
In that case, black would have bad shape.
Black's shape becomes good after the reinforcement.
Do you think the opening was good for black?
Yes, because white's stones at the top are thin.
It was a mistake not to reinforce here.
Shin Jinseo defeated Shin Minjoon and was the first to become pro.
Let's look at Shin Jinseo's profile.
This is a photo of Jinseo and Minjoon.
These two passed the first young talented professional qualifier.
This is Shin Jinseo's profile.
He was born on March 17, 2000.
He started to learn Go from his mother.
And he's been studying with Hahn Jongjin 8p at the Choongam dojo in Seoul.
Lee Changho is his favorite player.
Shin Jinseo's career: He won the Jeong Hyunsan Cup and Daehan Life Cup in 2010.
He also won the Prodigy Pro-Draft competition with 12 wins in a row in 2012, of course.
Up to here, Shin Jinseo was leading the game but how about after that?
Let's look at the game again.
The game so far.
White capped like this.
Black peeped here.
But white didn't play as black expected.
This attachment was good.
If black comes through here,
Yes.
White keeps playing like this.
Now, white can wedge here and cut black.
Connect.
White cuts here.
Black's group would be divided, so it's hard for black.
Then, was that peep not good earlier?
Yes, black expected white to connect here.
That was nice counter attack.
So black can't respond right away.
White didn't answer,
White ignores black's move again.
They're both playing on their own.
White plays here.
And white could consider the atari here.
But if white plays here, black might push through here.
Since black can make good shape, it's hard for white to manage the game after that.
White aimed to attack the whole black group.
So black played here to live.
White makes an exchange here now.
And white pushes up.
Black couldn't hane here.
Right, if black captures white's two stones, white can play here in sente.
If white hanes here, black would be in deep trouble.
This is an overplay.
So black devised a counter attack.
By the way, this cut was questionable.
I think black should poke here.
If white captures one black stone.
And black plays here.
It's better than the actual game.
It was bad for black in the game.
White needs to play to connect here anyway.
Yes.
If the sequence is same as the real game, black didn't need to exchange here.
Yes, right.
I thought it wasn't that bad, but it was.
It's an inevitable sequence.
Yes.
Actually black doesn't want to play like this, but there's no other way.
If black connects here.
Black could escape.
But if white blocks here, the flow of the stones wouldn't be good for black.
So, black didn't connect.
White captured black's two stones.
But, he doesn't need to do that yet.
Did white have to keep attacking?
Yes, I think white had better play here.
But in the real game, white played here first, so black got to play in the center first.
White should have played here earlier.
Yes, black should play here in order to live.
And then white has a chance to capture, the result would be better.
But, when white plays here first, can black play strongly like this instead?
Is it the same?
No, because black can't block here in sente,
White's stones can be connected, so it would be easy for white.
I see.
It would have been nice for white make this exchange.
Playing here wasn't good.
So, black gets a chance to reverse the game again with this move.
Black continued to attack.
White's not in a good mood.
White has to cut here and fight anyway.
And black cuts here as well, then white got into difficulties.
(laugh)
Now white is divided in two.
So, the fight is slightly easier for black.
This is an inevitable sequence.
Yes.
Black needs to play to live.
Yes, but if black connects here.
There would be a capturing race.
Right, a capturing race would start.
Connecting here is a vital point in the capturing race.
If white fills the liberties right away.
Black fills liberties as well,
Who's winning?
It looks like white has one more liberty than black.
But, eventually black connects here.
Black can hane here first and fill the liberties from the outside.
White is short by one liberty.
Therefore, white should avoid this.
But white can peep here now.
Yes.
Then white comes out this way.
White gets one more liberty this way.
Black should keep playing atari.
When white comes out.
Black can't play in both places at the same time.
So, black needs to find another way.
It was a good combination play to peep and come out.
That's why black just played the hane here.
Now white also needs one more move here because black's alive.
Ah, they made these exchanges first,
And reinforced.
Now, as you can see, white overplayed here.
Black played here and killed this white group.
Black seems satisfied with this result.
But, actually, it was kind of a slack move.
Then what should black have played?
If black just plays here it would be easy to win the game.
Black lost the game because of this move.
Shin Jinseo won the game in the end.
If black played here, are you sure there's no aji to kill black's group?
Yes, if white comes out, black just jumps here.
White needs to make one eye here.
And another eye here.
But white can't.
So black should play here instead.
Yes, you're right.
Shin Jinseo became a pro after he won this game.
On the other hand, Shin Minjoon had to play one more game.
Let's see one more of Shin Minjoon's games.
Welcome back to the best game of the day.
We've just seen a game between Shin Minjoon and Shin Jinseo.
Do you think the young rookies are weaker than other new pros?
I don't think they're weaker than other new pros.
I see.
We'll review Shin Minjoon's final game from the pro qualifier.
Let's have a look at the tournament the table first.
These are the last four players.
Shin Jinseo was the first to pass, and became a pro.
Shin Minjoon played one more game with Lee Erdeokdoong.
And Shin won the game.
This was the playoff for the chance to turn pro.
How would it feel to be in that situation?
This is the last chance.
I also had to make it through a playoff when I turned pro.
I'd never experienced a feeling like that before.
Do you still recall the feeling?
I'll never forget it.
Let's see.
The 1st Prodigy Pro-Draft competition, Shin Minjoon vs Lee Erdeokdoong in the playoff.
Lee Erdeokdoong plays black.
This is the last chance for both of them.
Lee plays a Chinese style opening, that's a current trend.
This is a model opening as well.
Now, when black invades the corner, if white answers here, black creates some aji for later.
The timing of this shoulder hit is a bit strange.
The shoulder hit here is against the flow of the stones.
But black ignores it as well.
Yes.
Ah, they show their fighting spirit from the beginning of the game.
Now white plays here, and it's a bit strange.
In the real game, black just descended here,
But if black just blocks.
White would block here and build thickness in the center.
Black connected all his stones along second line as a result.
Black played lots of moves on the second line during the opening!
To some extent it looks like white's attacking black.
So, white feels better.
But black got some territory anyway.
Up to here, the opening has been settled.
What do you think about it?
Is it an even result?
I think it's even, more or less,
because black can approach here in sente.
If white doesn't answer, bad aji will remain.
So white reinforced here.
Black reduces white's thickness.
I think playing in the upper right corner is better.
But black didn't want to let white build a big moyo.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
Anyway black reduced white's moyo.
Black has been aiming to invade here since his reducing move.
White plays strongly.
But here, I don't understand why black cuts here.
Black should hane here instead of cutting.
Ah, these black stones are captured, with nothing to show for it.
Right, black didn't gain anything from the invasion.
Black loses more than he gains.
Right, black would have lost about 10 points here.
Black needs to catch up now.
Black played in the upper right.
Normally, black just connects.
However, black pressured white's stones severely, trying to make up for earlier.
I see, it means if white cuts, black will resist with a ko.
Black is sure that he has enough ko threats because he has many dead stones at the bottom.
Both players show great fighting spirit.
Yes.
White will win the game if white wins the ko fight on the right side.
Because white already has much more territory.
White also invades black's area in the lower right corner.
White gets some more profit during the ko fight.
Ah I see.
White plays here as a ko threat.
Yes, white just needs to settle things on the right, because white's lower side is very big.
Black doesn't have any big territories like that.
I see.
What do you think of the position after white's capture?
Well, black has no chance to catch up anymore.
Actually, the game is practically over.
Black played some more moves, but they were meaningless.
White won by resignation.
Shin Minjoon became a pro after winning this playoff.
Let's look at Shin Minjoon's profile.
He was born on January 11,
and started to learn Go at the age of 6.
His mentor is Ok Deukjin 7p, at the Yangcheon dojo.
Park Junghwan 9p is his favorite player.
Shin Minjoon's career:
Shin won the Daehan Life Cup and the Cho Namcheol Cup in 2011.In this situation.
White played the shoulder hit here.
Black didn't answer, because he was losing the game.
White didn't answer black either, but blocked here.
Black wants to connect under.
But then white would cut here.
If black connects here.
Black can live in the corner, but it's not good enough.
White would get thickness across the whole board.
Black wouldn't feel satisfied with the result, right?
No, the ko on the right side is the most important part of this game.
They both need to think about the ko very carefully.
Black cuts now.
But white didn't answer right away.
And white tried to create something here.
Yes, white prepares to create some ko threats here.
I see.
Black must answer somehow.
So, white just needs to win the ko fight after creating many ko threats.
I see.
As I said, white has a big territory on the lower side.
White can win the game easily, if he handles this situation well.
So, black needs to think carefully before answering.
Black would like to block here.
But if he does, white will gain many ko threats.
Therefore, black answered simply.
After that, white got some more points here.
Right, white gained many points here.
Black answered here,
But black should have taken the ko now.
I see.
But it's really painful for black to suffer this atari in sente.
Yes, it's painful for black.
White still has more ko threats here.
But black had only one chance to win, by attacking this white group.
Answering here was the last losing move.
White played atari here first.
And this cut would be very good here.
Ko threat.
This cut is good, because,
Ko threat.
Black answers.
If black plays a ko threat on the lower side.
White doesn't need to take the stone.
White can make a ladder instead.
Ah, black might be in trouble.
If black keeps running away, white will capture them all in a ladder.
Ah, it's an interesting shape.
It isn't ko anymore.
White can simply atari here.
It's a ladder.
Yes, you're right.
Does black have any chance to win the ko fight?
That cut was the winning move.
So, black has no other options.
The game's over after white eliminates the ko fight.
Black extended.
After white won the ko fight.
Black's position became hopeless.
Black played the hane here.
But white answered correctly, and black can't do anything here.
Today we saw two games from new pros:
Shin Minjoon and Shin Jinseo.What do you think about their future?
They both have a lot of potential.
Shin Jinseo's style of play is similar to Lee Sedol's.
Shin Minjoon is regarded as a rival of Lee Donghoon 1p.
Let's keep an eye on these new young pros.
Thank you!
Baduk TV English at GoGameGuru.com