Amazon army

[CDavis7M]

Ueno Asami visited commentator Ohashi Hirufumi as he was finishing up commentary on Ueno Risa's win (Honinbo tournament). She signed some Senko Cup programs and they are being raffled off on Twitter. https://twitter.com/UgenNihonkiin/statu ... 4970982402

The Senko tournament qualifying rounds are close to completion. So the 16-player challenger league should start soon. Maybe it's too far out but I don't see any games scheduled on the Nihon Kiin's channel. Does anyone know where it's covered?

By the way, I realized that Ohashi is the one who wrote the book using AI on Shuwa and Shusaku's games.

[pajaro]

I see that a couple of games still have to be played. Sumire vs. Hoshiai and Chiaki vs. Nyu. Both pairings have happened not too long ago.

But I see that last year, the prelims finished by the end of April (like this year), but the main tournament started in June and finished in September. So don't hold your breath.

Another news: today, in a game for the B prelim of the Judan, Nyu Eiko beat Hirata Tomoya 7-dan. Big win, I think, because he is one of the strong young players. She will play the A tournament. Suzuki Ayumi, on the other hand, lost to Lee Ishu 8-dan, also in the last game of the B prelim of the Judan.

[pajaro]

The Aidu Cup has started. Also known as Tachioi Cup.

In the first round, Kibe Natsuki 2-dan beats Kato Chie 2-dan; Ueno Asami 4-dan beats Takao Mari 1-dan; Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan beats Tatsumi Akane 3-dan and Okuda Aya 4-dan beats Nyu Eiko 4-dan. Factoid: the 2nd player, as written in the chart, always beats the 1st player. Next round will be May 21st, and last round, to decide the challenger, the next day. Title holder is Fujisawa Rina 5-dan.

More interesting, the female Honinbo has started. This is a knock-out tournament with 23 players. Weird number. Ueno Risa 1-dan has already beaten Osuka Seira 1-dan. It was on youtube. The usual names, and some more, are playing. And the usual title holder, Fujisawa Rina, is there too.

Let's see if it is as interesting as the Meijin.

[gazzawhite]

More interesting, the female Honinbo has started. This is a knock-out tournament with 23 players. Weird number. Ueno Risa 1-dan has already beaten Osuka Seira 1-dan. It was on youtube.

Do you have a link?

[CDavis7M]

More interesting, the female Honinbo has started. This is a knock-out tournament with 23 players. Weird number. Ueno Risa 1-dan has already beaten Osuka Seira 1-dan. It was on youtube.

Do you have a link?

Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjpJYn40UOM

Something I've always wondered -- is the YouTube commentator just sitting in a room in the Nihon Kiin that everyone can see as they walk by? I swear so many people just show up to join the various commentators. In this game Fujisawa shows up and then later big sister Ueno shows up. Is this all planned or just coincidence?

[pajaro]

Something I've always wondered -- is the YouTube commentator just sitting in a room in the Nihon Kiin that everyone can see as they walk by? I swear so many people just show up to join the various commentators. In this game Fujisawa shows up and then later big sister Ueno shows up. Is this all planned or just coincidence?

I think so. That's one of the press rooms. Not very open, I guess, to avoid noise. But looks like it's open and anyone can go there, take a peek, or even be invited to talk. You can see that it isn't always planned because sometimes, their names take a long time to be on screen.

[Ferran]

I was wondering... besides the odd YouTube video or blog, is there any media on Japanese Amazons in Western languages? Books? I know some time ago I started checking for Kita Fumiko and similar players, and I could only find Kifu. Do we have any monographs on, say, Fujisawa Rina, Xie Yimin... I think back when, there was some info on Rui Naiwei, but... There's quite a void, isn't there?

In this vein, I've been checking for a couple of days on Fujisawa Rina, Xie Yimin, Hoshiai Shiho... and so on. I don't seem to be able to find any *specific* game that is somehow significant. I mean, all those games are quality games, professional... But I haven't been able to find one that is somehow above the others, in either quality of significance. Any ideas?

Thanks. Take care.

[pajaro]

In this vein, I've been checking for a couple of days on Fujisawa Rina, Xie Yimin, Hoshiai Shiho... and so on. I don't seem to be able to find any *specific* game that is somehow significant. I mean, all those games are quality games, professional... But I haven't been able to find one that is somehow above the others, in either quality of significance. Any ideas?

For this, I think that important games happen in important events. So we have to wait until some of them make it to the big leagues, or in international events.

Fujisawa Rina will play soon to be top 4 in the Tengen. If she wins, in the future when people look for her significant games, this one will show up. Also, to qualify for the Judan, she beat Ichiriki.

It takes time to see what games are worth remembering.

[John Fairbairn]

I was wondering... besides the odd YouTube video or blog, is there any media on Japanese Amazons in Western languages? Books? I know some time ago I started checking for Kita Fumiko and similar players, and I could only find Kifu.

I have written a long piece on women in go, going back to Han times in China and Yokozeki Iho in Japan, that you can still find in Go World (the English version), and I regularly include anecdotes about the likes of Hayashi Sano, Kita and Suzuki Hideko in my other books.

But books on female players in Japan are, if not like hen's teeth, rather rare, and rather different in tone. There was Kobayashi Reiko's autobiographical love story book, and the paean to Oyama Toshiko by her pupils. Perhaps the best book for a western audience would be the book on the then current up players (from Sugiuchi Kazuko down) issued by the Nihon Ki-in Female Pros Association to mark their 30th anniversary in 2004. This includes biographical sketches and highlight games of over 20 players, all bar Ito Tomoe still playing. The situation is similar in China, and there is even less in Korea.

In general, those seeking info on female go have to be truffle hunters rather than supermarket customers. Hard work but you get to enjoy it more.

[Ferran]

I have written a long piece on women in go, going back to Han times in China and Yokozeki Iho in Japan, that you can still find in Go World (the English version), and I regularly include anecdotes about the likes of Hayashi Sano, Kita and Suzuki Hideko in my other books.

Yep, I've read it.

But books on female players in Japan are, if not like hen's teeth, rather rare, and rather different in tone.

I was afraid of that, yes.

Perhaps the best book for a western audience would be the book on the then current up players (from Sugiuchi Kazuko down) issued by the Nihon Ki-in Female Pros Association to mark their 30th anniversary in 2004.

That would be cool, although I'm not sure how deep the entries would be.

In general, those seeking info on female go have to be truffle hunters rather than supermarket customers. Hard work but you get to enjoy it more.

Indeed. What I was observing these days is that everyone seems to choose his (IME, mostly *his*) pet game, or maybe most accessible sgf or... to comment. But there doesn't seem to be something like "Well, this is the game that put X on the spotlight" or... Damn, I don't even think I've found comments on Rui Naiwei's Kuksu, or more than one or two about... Fujisawa Rina's Al Cup? I'm quoting from memoery, but I think that was it.

There are events that are kind of equivalent to, say, the 7th Kisei, or Shibano Toramaru's rise, and their players will get some screen time... but the games chosen are all over the place.

I'll have to think a bit. Take care. And thanks

[Elom0]

. . . Indeed. What I was observing these days is that everyone seems to choose his (IME, mostly *his*) pet game, or maybe most accessible sgf or... to comment. But there doesn't seem to be something like "Well, this is the game that put X on the spotlight" or... Damn, I don't even think I've found comments on Rui Naiwei's Kuksu, or more than one or two about... Fujisawa Rina's Al Cup? I'm quoting from memoery, but I think that was it . . .

I mean, and the closest thing I know to what you describe, is they used to have My Most Memorable Game from 2002 to January 2016, however 2002, 2003 and 2004 are missing

[John Fairbairn]

That would be cool, although I'm not sure how deep the entries would be.

Biographically it is very sketchy, but the book is fascinating in one unique way. Most of the book comprises commented games in which the player explains why the game was special to them. E.g. Sugiuchi Kazuko losing to Takagawa at the peak of his powers by just 2.5 points was a landmark game for her (understandably enough) and it also contributes to a big theme in the book, which was the then recent rise in female go power that was making them formidable opponents (nigate) for the men.

But there were sidelights that showed a more conventional feminine slant, such as Kobayashi Izumi playing against her father Koichi, and wearing the mantle of her mother of course. Or Chinen Kaori playing in a maternity smock in a title match not long before giving birth (father was Yo Kagen). I always had a soft spot for her because she kept racking up title wins and stayed at 3-dan throughout. She was also used as a national poster girl in adverts to attract foreigners when Japan was selling itself to the world on the occasion of the 2000 economic summit in Kyushu (she is from there). I had hoped to meet her there but she was by then based in Tokyo, and I was diverted away from Okinawa. But I still remember the smiling face on the huge ads as I travelled round the rest of the country.

However, what really makes the book stand out for me is the second part where each pro gives a couple of examples of next-move problems from their own games. Except that they are not really problems. They are more to do with on-the-board satori moments in the lady's career, the sort of thing I don't think I've seen in men's go.

Here's an example. This is from Kanno Naomi 3-dan, who has a notable go pedigree. She was Black and knew the focus was on her moyo on the lower side. But she didn't know how to surround it directly (the answer to that is A, AI shows), so she played something else. It was an a-ha moment for her as she experienced playing with kiai, or fighting spirit. He choice was actually a rather bad move according to AI, but the point was she apparently learnt something deeper about go that day.



Another example, this one from Kin En, mother of new pro Jo Bunen.



White had just played at the triangled point and Kin said the conventional way to play would be to answer that. But she also noticed that White's kamae (as opposed to moyo framework) at the top was thin and Black's position in the lower right was strong. Her a-ha moment was realising she could therefore seize the initiative (as opposed to sente). Appreciating the difference would be a big step in anyone's go career - even for a pro!

There is a general sense in this book that female pros had not been asserting themselves properly, and it was moments like these two cases that illustrated why they were becoming nigate for the men.

However, let me conclude this sample with a more conventional example which could make a reasonable claim to be up there with a famous example from Yi Se-tol. This one is by Tanimiya Ayako 2-dan, wife of Tanimiya Teiji. This is a case where one says "ah-a!" at the end rather than at the beginning. (All three examples here are instances of female pros having their go careers interrupted by marriage to male players, incidentally). Black to play.

[CDavis7M]

Indeed. What I was observing these days is that everyone seems to choose his (IME, mostly *his*) pet game, or maybe most accessible sgf or... to comment. But there doesn't seem to be something like "Well, this is the game that put X on the spotlight" or... Damn, I don't even think I've found comments on Rui Naiwei's Kuksu, or more than one or two about... Fujisawa Rina's Al Cup? I'm quoting from memoery, but I think that was it.

Which commentaries are you talking about? Videos online? Or in books/magazines? These days there are more and more low effort videos fueled by AI. We will soon see compilation AIs that can analyze the games, create variations, automatically generate commentary, and generate speech and the video to go with it... like the guy on Reddit who wanted to make a video about the Blood vomiting game can't be bothered to spend $80 for copies of Go Review and instead asks for piracy.

Anyway, I guess it's hard to know which games were truly memorable unless you hear it from the player themselves. Firsts seem to be memorable in general. First challenge, first title, first big defeat. But many memorable games may just be the environment and not the competition. Fujisawa Rina posted on Twitter about the Pair Go tournaments she would play in as a kid.

Is making the cover of Go World memorable? Maybe the first time... Fujisawa Rina and Ueno Asami have multiple photo shoots commemorating their victories. Xie has been on a cover recently too I think. Iyama is probably best friends with the photographer.

Besides Iyama's 7 title spotlight books I haven't seen any books about non-retired players. There are a few books written by players themselves. Cho U has a book but I believe it is less about Go and more about life philosophy. Michael Redmond has a similar philosophy style book and there is not a single Go diagram in it. Though Redmond does have a biography with pictures and diagrams. I pulled it out and his diagrams are mostly from his teaching at NHK but he does have one game and its's his half point win against Cho U back in 2010 (in the Agon Kiriyama cup) when Cho was Kisei. But from the whole book it seems like Redmond's most memorable aspects of Go are his teaching.

We might be waiting a long time to see Fujisawa Rina's book. I'll pre-order Sumire's book for my grandkids.

----------

Is it only memorable if you have to get dressed up?

[bugcat]

Kanno Naomi is married to Kanno Masashi. Masashi studied under Kanno Kiyonori.

Is Kiyonori the father of Masashi (and the father in law of Naomi)?

[bugcat]

Also,

> Sugiuchi Kazuko losing to Takagawa at the peak of his powers by just 2.5 points was a landmark game for her

This statement confuses me. Both Waltheri and Go4Go date this game to 1981. Surely Takagawa was not at his peak over twenty years after losing the Honinbo, and well over a decade after winning the Meijin. Are these sites misdating the kifu?

There might have been a confusion between the 7th "Old" Meijin (1968) and the 7th "New" Meijin (1982), since Waltheri places the game in the Meijin preliminaries. The exact date given by both sites is 1981-09-24.

Hmm, with my common sense hat on I can see that it's doubtful that Kazuko, born in 1927, would be experiencing a "landmark game" in her mid-50s.