I have just been reading a Japanese round-up of the 2010 Asian Games last November. I have an impression that the results were not well reported to the western audience and so I have appended a summary below, but what I wanted to do here mainly was to share a few things that made an impression on me. They are in no special order and no special significance is intended.

1. Players were required not just to wear a uniform but one that was sporty, so as to create an image of go as a sport. Apart from track suits, this meant polo-neck shirts and sports shoes (trainers). My perhaps peculiar mind wondered whether this included jockstraps or cups and sports bras. It was also difficult to see where the breathing masks worn by some players fitted in. Perhaps the free meals just included too much garlic.

2. The Japanese were clearly thrilled to be involved as a team, but just as clearly were somewhat unworldly. The Chinese, of course, were well prepared, but they have been treating even individual international competitions as team events for years now, sending trainers, seconds and even friends to support individual competitors, quite apart from the pre-event support. The South Koreans were also more street-wise than the Japanese, having their own team doctor.

3. The Japanese perhaps had extra pressure put on them by being sent off with a message of Prime Minister, who is a very keen go player himself. Certainly, the ladies team were very tearful when they failed to win a bronze against Taiwan.

4. A traumatic event in the ladies competition was in Round 1 when Yoshida Mika got sucked into a triple ko against South Korea's Kim Yun-yeong in a game she should have won. The resulting replay ten minutes later was a crapshoot at 10 seconds a move and Yoshida lost. That made the score 2-1 in favour of South Korea.

5. In the Pair Go, teams were issued with a pair of paddles. Even though English was not the main language of any team there, these were written in English and Chinese. One said Continue and the other Resign. Obviously these were meant to overcome language problems, and perhaps also to minimise cheating opportunties. The Continue paddle was meant to be used in case of rule infringements (e.g. retaking a ko illegally does not result in a loss in Chinese rules; the move is retracted and a pass is assumed). I rather like the idea of the Resign paddle. It could be (mis)used as an offensive weapon - thrust into the face of an opponent who plays on in a resignable position, but even in its intended use it could be supplemented by making the loser not just stick up a paddle announcing his loss, but also making him wear sackcloth and ashes, or maybe a dead goat round his neck. This would provide an extra element of the necessary theatre that these Olympic-style jamborees now seem to think is so essential, and rather better than the free onions they give out to the medal winners on the podium. It could also add a little something to the local weekend tournament over here.

6. Guangzhou is associated with a legend about five sheep that gives it the nickname "Sheep City". The event was therefore graced with five mascot characters called Le Yangyang. Whilst they were clearly not in the class of Phillies Phanatic (who could be?), this too struck me as a great idea to be copied by tournaments over here. To have your tournament director dressed up as a green bug with a purple probiscus might mean you listen to his announcements for a change. It doesn't have to be a bug, of course, although the mint-sauce tesuji might inhibit sheep-like mascots.

7. Talking of theatrical ideas, Ichigaya station beside the Nihon Ki-in now has a "monument" (they call it) in the form of a large floor area with an eternal life problem displayed. That makes me wonder whether the short walk to the Ki-in could be turned into a Walkway of the Pros where title winners get to display their hands in the pavement in Hollywood fashion. You read it here first!

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

The 1st Asian Games took place at the Guangzhou Qiyuan, Guangzhou city, China from 23 to 26 November 2010. The main results are below. Time limits were 45 minutes each, sudden death. Chinese rules.

MEN’S TEAM
Final: South Korea beat China 4-1
3rd Place Playoff: Japan beat Taiwan 3-2

Preliminary league
1. South Korea 6-0
2. China 5-1
3. Taiwan 4-2
4. Japan 3-3
5. Thailand 2-4
6. Vietnam 1-5
7. Malaysia 0-6
Noteworthy result: Bencharit Rit, 6-dan amateur from Thailand, beat Liu Xing 7-dan pro in Round 4.

WOMEN’S TEAM
Final: South Korea beat China 2-1
3rd Place Playoff: Taiwan beat Japan 2-1

Preliminary league
1. China 6-0
2. South Korea 5-1
3. Taiwan 4-2
4. Japan 3-3
5. North Korea 3-3
6. Malaysia 1-5
7. Thailand 0-6

Noteworthy results: Kim Yu-mi of North Korea beat pro Yi Seul-a of South Korea in Round 3. In Round 7 the North Koreans Kim and Cho Sin-seong beat pros Joanne Missingham (= Hei Jiajia) and Wang Jingyi (= O Keii when playing in Japan - O Rissei's daughter).

PAIR GO
Final: Pak Cheong-hwan & Li Seul-a (South Korea) beat Xie He and Song Ronghui (China)
3rd Place Playoff: Ch’oe Ch’eol-han & Kim Yun-yeong (South Korea) beat Zhou Junxun & Joanne Missingham (Taiwan).

Pak and Li won despite being involved on the losing side in an irregularity in Round 2 of the league. Sudden death time limits were being used. There was a rule that a referee could intervene when one side played abnormal moves just to win on time. The Chinese pair had about 1 minute left, the Koreans 4 minutes. Chinese chief referee Wu Yulin consulted Korea referee Kim Su-chang who spoke to the Korean pair and they then resigned.