Life In 19x19

Sumire is going to play her first final in Korea.

A couple days ago, Sumire played Kim Minseo 4-dan, an usual rival in last games. I didn't know, but it was the semifinal of the Korean female Kisei (or whatever name it has in Korean). Sumire got a good win (B+9.5), and is now 4-1 against Kim.

Her rival in the final will be Choi Jeong 9-dan. Best of 3, so at least Sumire will play 2 games against Choi. Probably only 2.

Reminder: Sumire played and lost the female Kisei in Japan 0-2, and won it next year.

The first game of the Korean women's Kisei final has ended, and Nakamura managed to eke out a solid 0.5-point win. Maybe Kisei is the title for her; she did manage to claim it once in Japan after all. We'll see. She only needs to win one more game!

Second game, and... what a pity, Sumire lost!

From the beggining, it was clear that Choi didn't want to lose again. She played agressively and got an early lead. I thought, no way Sumire is going to win this, against a stronger and more experienced player. But the gap didn't increase. Rather, both players made some mistakes here and there (according to AI, of course), and it looked like anything could happen. Or that none of them wanted to win

Sumire made the game even, and got a good advantage after it. The game was as good as 99% in her favour. But the difference in points was still small, and after some yose and some ko fighting, Choi turned the tables again, this time for good, and got the win. W+2.5

Last game, tomorrow. On one side, I think that Sumire has a fighting chance. She has won one game, and put up a very decent fight in the other. But, on the other hand, experience is an important factor, and here Choi is obviously ahead. So, my bet is that Sumire will have to wait for another chance to grab her first title. I wish I will be wrong.

Third game of the female Kisung (Korean Kisei), and Choi Jung is the new champion.

This game was even more aggressive than the previous one. Sumire resigned after losing a big big group. Not immediately, she kept on playing even after she had no chance. Probably, was a bit shocked. And also, probably, the lost chances from the previous game (just the day before) were in her head.

She played another game the next day (today, as of when I am writing this). U-23 Championship, 2nd round. Against a 1-dan. And lost too. It's not that Sumire can't lose a game like this. But, the same player who pushed Choi Jung to the limit, lost an easier game the next day... it seems to me that her mental skills need more work.

Oh, and she is going to play another final match. Starting tomorrow (dec 12th), female Kuksu. Against Kim Jaeyoung 9-dan.

Perhaps Sumire needs some rest, too.

Sumire 3-dan is now Sumire 4-dan

Thanks to https://gorisenri.livedoor.blog/, we can follow her progress.

She played in the GS Caltex Cup and won 3 games. One of those earned her the last point she needed for the promotion. But it was unclear (again, according to Gorisenri) whether she was officially promoted or not. But today, I see that she is already 4-dan, and the countdown for 5-dan has already started. It took Sumire less than one year. Promotion from 2-dan to 3-dan took her 2 years.

About the promotion system in Korea: it is similar to Japan. You can get promoted if you win titles, or qualify for... things, but mostly, you are promoted if you win enough. Some games score 4 points, some score 1 point. A 4-dan needs 140 points to be promoted to 5-dan. All official games are worth at least 1 point. Right now, she is 135 points away. It is not clear when she got promoted, so it is not clear how many games she has already won as 4-dan.

Can she become 5-dan in 2025?

Thank you for the most recent update and explanations of the ranking system. 140 points, averaging 2.5 points/win requires 56 wins. If she is playing slightly better than 50%, that's 130-150 games. If she plays only 4pt games and wins 50%, that's 70-80 games. How many pro games can a young man or woman play in Korea, including travel, recovery, and continued training?

bogiesan02 wrote: 140 points, averaging 2.5 points/win requires 56 wins.

Most games are worth 1 point. In 2024, starting in March in Korea, she played 26 4-point games (10-16), and 106 1-point games (73-33). Besides, 4-point games are usually against harder opponents. So in the end, it will take more games than you calculated.

That was 132 games, a lot, more than anyone else. Probably because she played many preliminary games. If things are a bit like in Japan, she will play in more advanced rounds. Harder and fewer games.

Sumire played and won a league game in April 16th. I don't know if she is in more than one league.

Anyway, this was her 100th since she moved to Korea, barely one year after her first game since she transferred (March 3rd, in a different league).

Overall record in 100/58. How is this compared to other players? Honestly, no idea. But this year, she is 18-8 (67%), which means, currently, 7th best record in Korea. I'd say it's not bad at all.

Edit: That 100th win was a default one. Her opponent didn't show up. Pity...

This youtube short from Baduk TV featured Sumire. https://youtube.com/shorts/-6FO1Ijptic?feature=shared