The World Amateur Championship 2010 will be held at the end of this month (May 24-31). Who do you think will win? Will it be one of the big three again, or can someone else cause an upset, like Hong Kong did in 1986?

I've listed all players 6 dan and 7 dan. A full list of contestant can be found at: http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/amakisen/wor ... tants.html

I'm hoping to see some upsets from the up and coming younger players, such as Debarre, Mitic and Blomback. Debarre has certainly shown he can do it, defeating both Catalin Taranu and Fan Hui recently.

Although there are not exactly the same people playing as in the past tournament, the ranks are pretty similiar. So I think, the big three will make it again because they have just the better enviroment to become stronger.

But well, maybe one of the not-asian(-country) 7Ds can surprise, you never know =)


post scriptum: Ah, Debarre, right, I heard quite much about him (compared to other amateurs). We'll see ^^

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

I would also like to see some of them get good places.

I'm expecting one of the top three to win it, though. Not knowing the players, I can't really tell which, but the competition to get there seems much fiercer.

_________________
a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

I'm glad you're not burdening me with any unrealistic expectations.


Best wishes.

_________________
No aji, keshi, kifu or kikashi has been harmed in the compiling of this post.
http://www.gogod.co.uk

Sweden - Fredrik Blomback!

... Big Three?

... Guys... North Korea is entering this year. I think we need to change this to Big Four.

Remember how they did at the WMSG?

For those of you who don't, Jo Tae Won took the gold in the ama-only event, with players like Jie Li, Hu Yuqing, and Victor Chow, along with the other Chinese rep, and both South Korean reps, who made it to the top 8.

Yeah. It's going to be a fun tournament to watch.

Hmm, good point.

_________________
a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

Also, is there just no competition in Hong Kong? It seems Chan Nai San goes every single year -_-.

I think Chan Naisan just wins the qualifier every year. I believe the next strongest in HK would be kghin, but I don't think he's ever won the qualifier.

I think North Korea will win but of course I'm rooting for Christoph, hope he can get some formidable result as our german representative!

It takes for than one success to make a "big four". The current "big three" China, Japan and Korea, have been dominating the WAGC for a long time, just as they've been dominating professional go for a long time. If and when North Korea shows consistent long time results internationally, it may be able to lay claim to some kind of "big" status. Maybe ten years from now, but certainly not this year.

Well, North Korea does not have a professional system, so it basically send its best player (if it sends one at all).

Well, with all the times you been, doesn't experience count for anything? How many times is this now?

_________________
Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

ALL the times? I went to the WAGC previously in 1998. Once. Only once. At least I did win half my games, going into the final round with a chance to win 5, but it was not to be. However, as Dirty Harry says, a man has got to know his limitations.

Best wishes.

_________________
No aji, keshi, kifu or kikashi has been harmed in the compiling of this post.
http://www.gogod.co.uk

Hi,

I am not sure if I should vote for the youngest or the oldest. The player from Taiwan
is an 11 year old student. On the other hand the player from Poland has obviously been around
with his 481 years. Cannot make up my mind.

Cheers

hackinger

I thought you had been more than that. Maybe I am getting mixed up with your conversations about other trips to Japan.

_________________
Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I don't know who will win but we have an interesting possibility this year. It seems there are a lot of kyu-ranked players this time, maybe someone will win the championship becayse a kyu player does well against other kyu players. I'm thinking about tiebreakers.

I will win

The problem with the above is the irratic nature of North Korea sending representatives. If they had someone there more consistently, we may have already hit your benchmarks. North Korea should not be underestimated.

For those with long memories, Korea only fairly recently began to win the thing. And, putting my quizmaster hat on...only one other nation has ever won it...

_________________
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle

I'm not suggesting we underestimate North Korea. Far from it, I think they stand a good chance to win it this year. Without a professional go system, they are in a similar situation to China 30 years ago, when they didn't have a professional system yet and players like Nie Weiping, Cao Dayuan and Ma Xiaochun won the WAGC. I just think it takes a bit of time with consistent results for "big" status

So far, it's been China (17x), Japan (8x) and Korea (4x, first time in 1998) that have been dominating the WAGC, with Hong Kong (1986) being the only other winner ever.