Life In 19x19

With limited time for go at the moment, the app I use most (by far) is GoQuest.
It's great for a quick game on 9x9 or 13x13, or for watching strong players (professional level) at those board sizes.

Having said that, I think SmartGo Kifu is the one that best qualifies as "must have".

韓国棋院のスケジュールに「Googleイベント対局」がある。AlphaGoとの対局かな。予定は10/3-4、10/17-18、10/24-25、10/31-11/2。毎日19:00から。

"The calendar of the Korean Baduk Association has entries with the title 'Google Event Baduk Game(s)'. Could this be games with AlphaGo? The schedule is 10/3-4、10/17-18、10/24-25、10/31-11/2, each day ...

Thanks, very interesting.
It would be nice to see the nationality next to the players.

I sometimes check the following page (it's in Japanese), which you may also be interested in:
http://sports.geocities.jp/mamumamu0413/total.html
The 2015-07 rating looks like this:

1. 朴廷桓 ...

Seconded.
I think it is perfect for children too. My six-year old really likes the app - you can always get a game just about instantly (there are bots as a backup if no suitable human players are available). The interface couldn't get easier. The games are fast: 3 minutes with no byoyomi on the 9x9 ...

The Japanese representatives:
http://m3.biz.itc.cn/pic/new/n/10/96/Img7059610_n.jpg
From left to right: Murakawa Daisuke, Takao Shinji, Goto Shungo

Via https://twitter.com/gona_t

I have also seen the word 活路 (かつろ; katsuro) used to mean liberty/liberties in Japanese.
The individual kanji mean something like "living" and "line". The usual meaning of the word, as found in dictionaries, is "means of escape".
I think that 活路 as a word to describe liberty/liberties is used ...

(from the @asahi_igo Twitter account)

Takao: I never felt self-confident. Playing Iyama is a good opportunity to learn so I kept trying to do my best. I've been away from the titles for some time now so I will try hard [in the title match]
Iyama: The opening was difficult to assess. From the middle ...

A clip from just after the game, when photographers are allowed into the room.
It's hard to hear anything they are saying, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

http://youtu.be/GdR6WSjewVQ

The game between Iyama Yuta and Takao Shinji to decide the Judan challenger has just started.
This may be the biggest hurdle for Iyama in his quest for the last remaining title. You wouldn't expect him to lose another best-of-five series against Yuki Satoshi, and he has already gotten off to a good ...

Yu Zhengqi: his profile page at Kansai Ki-in gives his name as Yo Seiki. That's the Japanese way to pronounce his name, I guess, and possibly the way he will be referred to in the future. In the same way as we know Cho U by his Japanese name.

In other news, Iyama lost today to Cho U in the Meijin league. This leaves Iyama with only theoretical chances to become the challenger.
Things are not going his way at the moment.

Thank you so much for posting these, oren!

This was a really fascinating and entertaining game. I'm very much looking forward to studying the file. I could have sworn Iyama would win after the last big ko was settled.

There is also a new 7x7 set aimed at small children on sale in Japan:
http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/news/2013/03/post_468.html

Edit:
Google search "ななろのご" for better images. The 'stones' have pictures of horses on them and there is a carrot on each intersection.

Iyama just won game 4 (B+R after 179 moves) so there will be a fifth and decisive game for the Judan title (on April 26th).

There's a really nice Japanese TV documentary from this year about Iyama on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtwhLyZzpnE
I think the footage alone makes it worth checking out even if you don't know any Japanese.