On December 28, 2011, the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament started in China as part of the 12th Liguang Cup.
Ricoh Cup or Liguang Cup?
On left: Nie Weiping (9 dan) partners with Tang Yi (2 dan). Zhou Ruiyang (and partner not facing the camera) on the right.
The Liguang Cup is also referred to as the Ricoh Cup because Ricoh is the tournament sponsor.
The tournament features a main draw, a ‘new talent’ draw and on the lighter side, a Pair Go tournament.
In a somewhat confusing turn of events, there’s also a Japanese Pair Go tournament sponsored by Ricoh…
Enter Nie Weiping
Never one to shy away from joining in the fun, the legendary Nie Weiping 9p also took part in this year’s pair Go draw, partnering Tang Yi 2p.
The Pair Go draw is a lightning (30 seconds per move with 10 x 1 minute byoyomi) draw and offers players light hearted respite from the main draw.
Pair Go semifinalists
From left: Tan Xiao, Zhang Xuan, (unknown game recorder), Zhang Yueran and Kong Jie play Pair Go.
The semifinalists of the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament are:
- Qiu Jun 9p and Wang Xiangyun 2p
- Huang Yizhong 7p and Wang Chenxing 2p
- Chen Yaoye 9p and Zhang Peipei 1p
- Kong Jie 9p and Zhang Yueran 1p
The 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament will continue into January 2012.
More photos from the 7th Liguang Pair Go tournament
Chang Hao (9 dan) offers "on the spot guidances" 
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About Jing
I always wondered how it would be if THREE top players would play such a team game: all then alternate between black and white of course, it is not really possible to bond to a side, to plan ahead. I once tried it in a bar where there were three of us, it is kind of fun, a bit strange really.
Kind regards,
Paul
We used to play that way with three people at go club sometimes. It’s quite funny and I’d like to see pros play a game like that too. I wonder if it would be easier for them since they’re good at anticipating what their opponent will do anyway
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Have you ever played six player rengo? With three to a side one of the goals is to avoid being one of people who spends a large part of the game capturing kos on every turn
. There are also some people in Australia who play three color go and that really is strange!
Three color Go hurts my brain. It’s not a very well balanced game either and things like seki and ko don’t really work anymore… I think stick to Chinese Checkers for that sort of thing.