Top 20 Go Players: Lee Sedol and Kong Jie

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This is the final article in our series about the top 20 Go players of 2010. Lee Sedol was ranked number 1 and Kong Jie was ranked number 2. Kong Jie was born in 1982 and became a pro in 1994. He suddenly became perfect and unbeatable in 2009 and 2010. Lee Sedol was born in 1983, on a small island in the south west part of Korea…

Lee Sedol wins 17th GS Caltex Cup

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Lee Sedol defeated Park Younghun in the 5th and deciding game of the 17th GS Caltex Cup finals, on May 6, 2012. Lee won the first game on April 25, but Park responded by winning games 2 and 3 on April 30 and May 1, making Lee’s fans nervous…

Go Commentary: Lee Sedol vs Qiu Jun – 9th Chunlan Cup

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This game is from the second round of the 9th Chunlan Cup. It’s between Lee Sedol (9p) and Qiu Jun (9p). In this game there was a huge life and death battle and an enormous group was killed. It’s really rare to see such a huge group get chased and captured in top pros’ games, so I hope you enjoy watching it. Let’s have a look at the game…

Just 8 players left in the 9th Chunlan Cup

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On March 30, 2012, the quarter finalists for the 9th Chunlan Cup were decided. The Chunlan Cup is an invitational Go tournament for 24 top players from around the world. Play started on March 28 in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. After two days of play, 16 of the 24 contenders had been eliminated…

Go Commentary: Yamashita Keigo vs Lee Sedol – 1st World Mind Games

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This game is from the final round of the 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games. It’s between Yamashita Keigo and Lee Sedol. Lee Sedol is currently ranked number one in Korea, and Yamashita currently holds the Honinbo and Meijin titles in Japan. After round 4, Korea and Japan were tied at 3-1 each. China swept all rounds, so this Japan vs Korea match was the decider for the silver medal.

Lee Sedol wins 2nd Olleh KT Cup

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On December 22, 2011, Lee Sedol (9p) defeated Lee Changho (9p) in the much anticipated 2nd Olleh KT Cup final, winning 3-1. After Lee Changho won the first game in early December, many of his fans hoped this would be his comeback match. Unfortunately though, it was not to be. Lee Sedol fought back with three consecutive wins. In the end, Lee Sedol won the 4th game by just half a point.

Amateur Go players rub shoulders with pros at 2011 World Mind Games

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On December 9, 2011, the inaugural Sports Accord World Mind Games kicked off in Beijing, China. Participants from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe and gathered to pit their minds against each other in Bridge, Chess, Chinese Chess, Draughts and Go. There are two Go events held at the games – mixed Pair Go and the mixed team competition.

16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho

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The round of 16 in the 16th Samsung Cup concluded today, with two highly anticipated games. In one corner, Korea’s Lee Sedol and Lee Changho stood ready to do battle. In the other corner China’s Kong Jie and Gu Li were ready to rumble. Unfortunately for Korea, China came out 2-0. Meanwhile Kim Jiseok, Lee Younggu, Chen Yaoye, Na Hyun, Won Seongjin and Park Younghun also made it through to the quarter finals.

Olé olé! 2nd Olleh Cup enters quarter finals

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The quarter finals of the 2nd Olleh KT Cup are nearly upon us and soon the top professional players in Korea will be pitted against one another. Park Junghwan (9p), Lee Sedol (9p), Kim Jiseok (7p), Kang Dongyun (9p) and Heo Youngho (9p) have already qualified. The final two places will be decided between Cho Hanseung (9p) and Lee Younggu (8p) on September 23, 2011. And Lee Changho (9p) and Kang Yootaek (4p) on September 25.

The 16th Samsung Cup begins

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On August 24 2011, Go professionals from China, Japan and Korea gathered in Beijing for the main tournament of the 16th Samsung Cup. Some had won a spot in the main draw by playing through preliminaries, others were seeded based on last year’s performance. Lee Changho (9p) of Korea received this year’s wildcard. The Samsung Cup draw is convoluted, though arguably fairer than a straight knockout format…