Lee Sedol vs. Kong Jie! Highlight of the tournament so far, if you ask me.
Here is my quick translation of the commentary from TOM. The commentary is from a Korean pro, and other Koreans are mentioned. Normally I search for them online to find their romanized Korean name, but it is getting late, and it is not worth the hassle.
September 9, 2010. The 15th Samsung Cup Round of 32, double elimination round two continues in Suzhou. Kong Jie takes white against Lee Sedol. The winner continues into the round of 16. Korean pro, Bai Daxuan 7p [Chinese name] provides commentary.
1. Hi everyone, I am Bai Daxuan 7p. Lee Sedol 9p and Kong Jie 9p meet again two months after the finals of the Fujitsu Cup. In this game Lee Sedol takes black.
26. Lee Sedol prefers to play white. Right now it is unreasonable to play away from the upper left corner.
29. The thing to watch will be how White invades or reduces the framework on the right. Perhaps white will jump at L3 or approach the right side at P13.
30. Kong Jie simply makes the high approach. However, the lower side does not have much potential for development. I (Bai Daxuan) would not play this move. In this way, Black will be able to greatly expand his influence on the right.
33. Black can be satisfied with this position.
34. Black can cut here.
41. The territory is large, and Black can be satisfied. Right now, Black's opening has been successful.
42. Is White trying to kill Black? Black is painfully smothered here. Today is my research group's meeting day, so An Zuoyong 9p, Liu Caixin, Li Xixing 8p, Li Xianxu 7p, Pu Zhixun 4p, etc. and I will study this game.
43. As usual, Lee Sedol plays a high-level, hard to predict move. Although White has no choice but to cut this stone, the following variations get extremely complex. My study group's general opinion is that this knight's move attachment is extremely sharp.
45. One could expect the sequence up to here. The tricky part is the variations that follow. White will probably play atari, Black will press on the white stone at C8, White extends at E7, Black extends at C10, White invades the corner at P2.
51. Apparently Lee Sedol feels that playing this way is satisfactory.
54. By firmly capturing the stone, White takes aim at Black's dragon.
60. Black simply played tenuki from the lower left, confident that he can handle the group. This is typical of Lee Sedol's "fish for gain first, manage weaknesses later" fighting style.
62. Now Black can jump, play the k5 knight's move, or press down at L5; this move requires much consideration. Right now black is somewhat ahead in territory, so White will need to profit from an attack on the lower left.
67. Lee Sedol loves sharpness and fervent attacks.
71. Kong Jie awaits his chance to strike back.
73. This is the calm before the storm.
74. White's cut is imposing. Black can also consider extending at M5, discarding stones.
75. Black simply extends, electing to discard some stones.
76. So... White winds around the stones, crossing underneath. But, this gives Black more to think about: rescue those stones, or give them up?
79. Lee Sedol thinks to finish the game here? Playing this severely?
81. Black first makes an asking move.
82. White adds support to his group, even though the shape is not particularly elegant. Actually, this move is rather efficient.
87. Black has played the most severe sequence and was determined to cut here.
89. If Black can handle his weaknesses, his territory should be superior.
96. Right now Black has the advantage.
97. He will extract even this little tail? So cruel.
99. A prepared sequence.
102. White 100 was a mistake.
104. White now wants to kill these stones?
107. Black first plays on this side to see how White will respond.
109. White has already raised the executioner's sword. For White, simply killing the lower dragon will not be easy. However, the black stones on the upper side could fall into peril.
111. It seems as though the center is becoming the final battlefield.
112. Sente. If Black plays elsewhere, the upper left black stones will not be alive.
113. Huh... tenuki. Planning to discard this group? It is not good for White to immedately swallow the upper left stones, because Black can also cut White and kill.
115. Right now there is a thunderstorm in Seoul--just like this game. After White settles the life and death status here, he can continue the attack on the lonely black dragons.
116. White proceeds to brandish his executioner's sword.
120. Black could escape with one group with F12, but this would be untenable. Therefore, a probe at L13 would be good. "To be or not to be, that is the question." The study group prefers life.
127. Lee Sedol is confident about leaving stones behind. Black has the possibility of ko with H15 to make an eye. Liu Caixin 9p believes that this group is hard to kill. White could play at B14 with the intent to kill, but once the ko starts, White will have insufficient ko threats. Perhaps this is a case of "big dragons never die."
132. White is unable to continue his effort to kill.
133. Black is finally able to gasp for breath.
134. Though White has not killed the dragon, Black has no one move to cleanly secure life.
135. We can say that it is basically alive, but there is still some bad aji. If White tries to smash in with A12, Black can use the hane at the star point on the left side as a technique to secure life.
A quick look at the situation, White has about 35 points, Black has about 50. There is a 15-point disparity on the board, and Black has no particularly weak points left.
Lee Sedol is extremely strong at handling weak groups. Will Kong Jie have to resign here?
146. White plays do-or-die moves. Lee Sedol never backs down, but rather always looks for the strongest way. This is Lee Sedol's strength, but it is also his weakness.
147. A sudden change in direction?
148. The situation on the board is changing...
151. Black has given way a little, so the territory disparity is shrinking. Right now the difference is about 10 points.
152. Right now White has thickness aji in the center, so it is hard to predict the outcome of this game.
153. Lee Sedol is sagging a bit and needs to tighten up his game.
154. Right now my study group is developing more and more views about the situation.
155. But the consensus is that Black is still looking strong.
157. If Lee Sedol plays a little loosely he will a turn for the worse.
159. Li Xixing 8p believes that this is a 0.5 point game.
164. Very thick.
165. The aji of a White wedge at N8 still exists.
166. Now calculation is more important than imagination.
168. The white stones on the right side cannot be killed.
169. Now that White is secure on the right side, the A12 ko aji is becoming more interesting.
171. An asking move.
172. The strongest move is the cut at R5.
183. Right now black is better in territory, but White is very thick. Therefore it is hard to predict the outcome.
194. After Black blocks at P13, this area is not very clean.
203. The endgame is basically settled,
210. Black has secured a half-point victory, at most 1.5 points?
211. Right now Black leads on the board by 8-9 points.
219. This is the win-or-lose ko, but White will have a hard time fighting the ko. Black has played a suitable endgame, ensuring the win.
227. Now only small endgame remains, and there is no possibility of changing the outcome. After calculating, the lead on the board is more than 10 points.
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Peter Hansmeier
