A Yoda ( Norimoto ) replacement.

[calm2]

Sigh. one of the problems with Go in the US is being out of touch with the Go scene.

For a long time Yoda Norimoto has been my favorite player to watch. But I get the feeling that he is no longer in the top level of players in Japan. ( Either because he is getting a bit long in the tooth or some personal problems--I don't really know ). He rarely plays in the top level of league play anymore.

So I am starting to look around for a new player, hopefully a young and upcoming player, who has a style similar to Yoda's. Can anyone make any suggestions?

[gowan]

Don't give up on Yoda. There is something of a pattern in Japan of players reaching the top in their late twenties and thirties then seeming to drop down but making a comeback in middle-age. It's hard to say which of the current top players have styles like Yoda's. As I recall Yoda occasionally plays unusual moves and if that's what you like then how about Yamashita Keigo?

[emeraldemon]

I don't really know Yoda's style (or styles in general I guess), but I suppose I'd just try playing over some games from different top pros and seeing who you like. Do you know Mr Kin's Go News?

http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/news.html

For what it's worth, Yoda is actually 2-0 in his group in the Kisei League right now, here's a recent victory over Mizokami Tomochika(8d)

http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/37kiseib01.sgf

[calm2]

Don't give up on Yoda. There is something of a pattern in Japan of players reaching the top in their late twenties and thirties then seeming to drop down but making a comeback in middle-age. It's hard to say which of the current top players have styles like Yoda's. As I recall Yoda occasionally plays unusual moves and if that's what you like then how about Yamashita Keigo?

Though this looks like the end of his comeback, not the end of his early years.

As for occasional unusual moves, in the top tier of Japanese play half the players make unusual moves, and Yoda and Yamashita's styles are nothing alike.

[calm2]

For what it's worth, Yoda is actually 2-0 in his group in the Kisei League right now, here's a recent victory over Mizokami Tomochika(8d)

That's the B league.

[ez4u]

There is no difference between 'a' and 'b'. This isn't the Chinese city league!

[emeraldemon]

As ez4u said, A isn't better than B. At the end of the round robin, the top ranked from A and B leagues play each other to decide who challenges for a title.

But just after I posted that, Yoda lost to Iyama Yuta, pushing him into 2nd place...

[jts]

As ez4u said, A isn't better than B. At the end of the round robin, the top ranked from A and B leagues play each other to decide who challenges for a title.

But just after I posted that, Yoda lost to Iyama Yuta, pushing him into 2nd place...

Ouch... he lost to a B-league has-been like Iyama Yuta?

[Blake]

There are a lot of pros. What I recommend is looking for commented games; An Younggil's commentaries at Go Game Guru are very good. This will help you to genuinely understand what's happening in the games, and may help you find a player you enjoy following. For example, I used to subscribe to GoGameWorld (no longer). Through reading the commented games there, I discovered that I like the style of Park Yeonghun, who plays patiently (somewhat passively?) but has an extremely good endgame. I also like the style of Iyama Yuta and Xie He.