On August 28, 2012, Meng Tailing 6p and Tuo Jiaxi 3p met as the last two standing in China’s 4th Quzhou Lanke Cup.
Meng Tailing (6 dan) winner of the 4th Quzhou Lanke Cup – a domestic Chinese Go tournament.
Prior to this game, Tuo and Meng had only met in two previous tournaments, and the record stood at one win each.
Meng Tailing the underdog
Despite a higher ranking, Meng probably entered the final as the underdog, because Tuo recently won the CITIC Bank Cup (previously the CCTV Cup – in July 2012).
Fans waited eagerly to see how a final between these two lesser known players would pan out.
A game that hinged on a ko
Tuo Jiaxi (3 dan) in the final of the 4th Quzhou Lanke Cup.
As the game entered into what would become a deciding ko, Tuo looked decidedly nervous.
Meanwhile, Meng remained calm and his precise calculation and cool judgement allowed him to claim his first domestic title – not to mention half a million RMB!
Congratulations Meng Tailing!
The Quzhou Lanke Cup
The Quzhou Lanke Cup is the most generous Chinese domestic tournament in terms of prize money.
The winner’s prize is half a million Chinese Yuan (approximately $80,000 USD at the time of writing).
Tuo Jiaxi (left) and Meng Tailing with the Quzhou Lanke Cup trophies.
The format is a straight knockout of 32 players – 24 are seeded directly into the main draw while eight spots are determined through a preliminary tournament.
Players each have 2 hours main time, followed by 5 times 1 minute byo yomi.
It is co-hosted by the Zhejian Sports Department and Lanke City Council. The tournament first started in 2006 and is held only once every two years. So far, a different player has won each time.
About Jing
Would it be possible for this game to be commented? The flow of the opening is so awkward-feeling.
Both players are refusing to follow one another’s plans
I’ll mention it to Younggil and he’ll look into commenting this game.
Hi,
Why W did not play D11 in move 226? That would prevent B from cutting while threatening to make an eye. Like Wd11, Bd10, Wb8. Is it because of Ba9? Quite confusing sequence…
Hi Juho,
I agree it’s a confusing sequence. I think white didn’t play D11 because black can just respond at D10 (and then if B8, A9, B10, B12 works, like you said). Then the question is, why did black play D11?
I can’t quite find the right move order to make something work for white, but it looks like black was worried about the possibility of white exchanging D10 for D11 and then aiming to cut at C9. I think black knew he was winning, so he wanted to clean things up by exchanging D11 for E11 first.
White ignored D11, but after black cut at E11 he was ahead anyway, so D11 was a good move. Pros are good at simplifying the game when they’re ahead
.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?
Yes, it looks like B counted that he can allow W to connect from below and play d11 himself. Going for cut from A9 might cause some unneccessary trouble (though I don’t see how).