Honinbo/Gosei

[hailthorn011]

It seems like Iyama Yuta is rather busy these days, what with having a 3-2 lead as a challenger for the Honinbo title, and a 1-0 lead over Hane Naoki as a challenger for the Gosei.

So, would it be inaccurate to think that Iyama Yuta, Yamashita Keigo, and Hane Naoki are sort of the best professionals in Japan right now? I can't follow the Pro scene as much as I'd like, but I see their names a lot when it comes to title matches. Especially here recently.

[emeraldemon]

I think most people would put Cho U on that list. Of the "big 7" titles, the holders are:

Cho U - Kisei, Oza
Yamashita Kiego - Meijin, Honinbo
Hane Naoki - Gosei
Iyama Yuta - Tengen, Judan

[hailthorn011]

I think most people would put Cho U on that list. Of the "big 7" titles, the holders are:

Cho U - Kisei, Oza
Yamashita Kiego - Meijin, Honinbo
Hane Naoki - Gosei
Iyama Yuta - Tengen, Judan

I actually meant to put him down, too funnily enough!

[Uberdude]

I'd add Takao Shinji to that list. He's not holding anything currently, but is one of the top players recently. See http://senseis.xmp.net/?BigTitles

[hyperpape]

My mental list: where > means stronger than, >? means probably stronger than, but we don't have a long enough history, and ? means I don't know.

Cho > Yamashita
Cho ? Iyama
Iyama >? Yamashita

Cho, Iyama, Yamashita > Hane Naoki > Takao Shinji.

Yuki Satoshi is a wild-card. He has not done well in titles, but if you search for him on the boards, you'll find several posts by John Fairbairn attesting to his impressive performance.

I wish someone were still doing the ratings for Japanese players.

[hailthorn011]

My mental list: where > means stronger than, >? means probably stronger than, but we don't have a long enough history, and ? means I don't know.

Cho > Yamashita
Cho ? Iyama
Iyama >? Yamashita

Cho, Iyama, Yamashita > Hane Naoki > Takao Shinji.

Yuki Satoshi is a wild-card. He has not done well in titles, but if you search for him on the boards, you'll find several posts by John Fairbairn attesting to his impressive performance.

I wish someone were still doing the ratings for Japanese players.

I just wish it was easier to follow the pro scene for people who aren't in Japan. For the most part, I use http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/news.html or wbaduk.

[helofloki]

Honinbo's all tied up. Epic game 7 on it's way next week. Who's excited? Do you think it'll make it past the first day? And what do people think about the games so far?

[hailthorn011]

Honinbo's all tied up. Epic game 7 on it's way next week. Who's excited? Do you think it'll make it past the first day? And what do people think about the games so far?

I'm rooting for Iyama Yuta. It would be his first Honinbo title, too.

[Laman]

Honinbo is really exciting and so were all the games i've seen so far. lot of fighting spirit from both players. Yamashita could have gotten 3-2 lead on the game #5, but he did a very basic mistake in the endgame due to time pressure, which let a big group of his die and instead of lead he had to face the first kadoban this Monday and Tuesday.

i cheer for Yamashita though Iyama is apparently a cool guy

now i am waiting for the second Gosei game, starting in 44 minutes

[hyperpape]

Unless I'm wrong about who's playing each side, Iyama is channeling Takemiya.

[hailthorn011]

Iyama Yuta now leads 2-0 in the Gosei series. And as noted before, the Honinbo series between Iyama Yuta and Yamashita Keigo is going to come down to a decisive Game 7.

So my question for y'all is:

Will Iyama Yuta come away with two titles, one title, or none? Can Iyama Yuta sweep Hane Naoki for the Gosei?

My predictions: Iyama Yuta wins both. And he'll sweep Hane Naoki.

[Joaz Banbeck]

... he'll sweep Hane Naoki.

I'd never count Hane Naoki out until the last dame. Remember the 2008 Honinbo? He was down 3-0 in best of seven. He then beat Takao 4 straight to take the title.

[hailthorn011]

... he'll sweep Hane Naoki.

I'd never count Hane Naoki out until the last dame. Remember the 2008 Honinbo? He was down 3-0 in best of seven. He then beat Takao 4 straight to take the title.

Well, fair point. I can't say I remember that though since I started watching the pro scene in late 2010, but I will say Iyama Yuta is playing at an incredibly high level right now. Coming back from being down 2 is never easy, but not impossible. He proved that in the last Gosei title series after falling into the two game hole to Sakai Hideyuki. Either way this is going to be incredibly fun to watch.

[helofloki]

... he'll sweep Hane Naoki.

I'd never count Hane Naoki out until the last dame. Remember the 2008 Honinbo? He was down 3-0 in best of seven. He then beat Takao 4 straight to take the title.

wow that's impressive. In big team sports that's only happened 4 times (thrice in hockey, once in baseball). Anybody know the statistics for seven game Go series'? Is this as much of an anomaly?

[hyperpape]

It happened six times (unless it's happened since then): http://senseis.xmp.net/?HaneNaoki.