Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

Find the right shape to make a second eye.

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

White just played A. First figure out what white’s plan is, then plan your counter attack.

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Hard Go problem

Knowing that sometimes offense is the best defense – worth four stones. Knowing the best time to ease off – priceless.

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Weekly Go problems: Week 28
• Weekly Go problems: Week 29
• Weekly Go problems: Week 24

A promising start for Dang

Baek Hongseok 9 dan, winner of the 4th BC Card Cup World Baduk Championship.

Dang started well, winning the first game on May 12.

For much of the second game on the following day, it seemed that he would win again and seize a 2-0 lead.

Sensing the championship slipping away, Baek dug his heels in.

Turning point

When black invaded white’s top left area in game 2, Baek saw his chance and started an attack that would decide the game. Baek won the second game to equal the score at 1-1.

Unstoppable

From this point on, there was no stopping Baek. Returning refreshed from a rest day, Baek won game 3 on May 15.

Dang Yifei (4 dan, left) and Baek Hongseok review the third game.

The game on May 16 was Dang’s last chance to stay in the title match. However, he lost by half a point against Baek’s thick play.

Congratulations to Baek Hongseok on his first major international win and Dang Yifei on his impressive performance in reaching the finals.

A bittersweet victory

Baek, who’s 25, has to complete his military service in Korea now, so we might not see his face again for a couple of years. We will surely see more of 17 year old Dang Yifei, who’s only just getting started, in the near future.

More photos from the 4th BC Card Cup

Baek Hongseok.

Dang Yifei.

A commemorative Go board signed by the players. Dang Yifei's signature is on the left and Baek Hongseok's is on the right.

About the BC Card Cup

The BC Card Cup is an international Go tournament sponsored by BC Card, Korea’s largest credit card company. The inaugural tournament was held in 2009.

The format is a single knockout of 64 players: 3 from Korea, 2 from China, 2 from Japan, 1 from Taiwan, 2 wild cards (chosen by the Korean Baduk Association) and 54 players who qualify through the preliminary rounds.

Game records

Baek Hongseok vs Dang Yifei – Game 1

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Dang Yifei vs Baek Hongseok - Game 2

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Baek Hongseok vs Dang Yifei – Game 3

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Dang Yifei vs Baek Hongseok - Game 4

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• 4th BC Card Cup finals about to begin!
• 4th BC Card Cup: Down to the final four
• Go Commentary: Dang Yifei vs Park Younghun – 4th BC Card Cup

Park Younghun (9 dan, left) and Dang Yifei (4 dan) play the opening game.

Park Younghun

Park Younghun defeated Hong Seongji (8p) and Lee Wonyoung (3p) (both are Korean) in the main tournament before this game.

He’s ranked number 3 in Korea, and he’s very good at the endgame and counting.

Dang Yifei, new kid on the block.

Dang Yifei

On the other hand, Dang Yifei is a new face.

He was ranked number 54 in China before this tournament, but he beat Lee Sedol (9p) and Tan Xiao (7p) before this game.

Lee and Tan are currently number one in Korea and China respectively, so it was very sensational.

Lots of Go fans have started to watch him.

His style of play is not clear, as he’s still young, but his moves are sharp and solid at the same time.

Let’s have a look at the game.

Commented game record: Dang Yifei vs Park Younghun

[Embedded SGF File]

Park Younghun and Dang Yifei after the game finished.

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• China on a roll in 4th BC Card Cup
• Go Commentary: Jiang Weijie vs Park Younghun – 2nd World Meijin
• 4th BC Card Cup: Down to the final four

Baek Hongseok

Korea's Baek Hongseok 9 dan. 4th BC Card Cup finalist.

On May 9, 2012 Baek defeated China’s Hu Yaoyu (8p) to reach the final of the 4th BC Card Cup.

It’s goes without saying that this delighted Korean Go fans, who’ve been following him since the quarter finals.

Dang Yifei

The following day, China’s Dang Yifei (4p) defeated fellow countryman Piao Wenyao (9p), to join Baek in the finals.

Dang has had a dream run at this year’s tournament, beating Lee Sedol (9p) and Park Younghun (9p) along the way.

A turning point for both players

This final marks a crucial point in both players’ careers.

Whoever wins the best of 5 matches played over the next week will break through with their first international title.

Dang Yifei (4 dan, right) plays Piao Wenyao (9 dan) in the semifinal.

Dang has yet to win even a domestic title in China, while Baek’s best result to date is runner up at last year’s Asian TV Cup.

Going into the quarter finals, Baek Hongseok and Park Younghun were the only Korean players remaining, with Chinese players taking the remaining six places.

As I mentioned above, Park was knocked out when he met Dang in that round.

Since the BC Card Cup uses a knockout format, a certain amount of attrition was unavoidable between Chinese players, but Baek has done very well to progress to the final.

A dangerous youngster

China's Dark horse: Dang Yifei 4 dan.

Dang is only 17 years old, so winning the final would put him in the record books amongst the best players of the modern age.

He still lacks experience, but his semifinal game against Piao Wenyao shows the dangerous accuracy of his reading.

This pairing will make for a very interesting final and the sponsors will be happy with a China vs Korea showdown.

Watch the finals

You can watch the 4th BC Card Cup live at Go Game Guru on Baduk TV.

The official coverage for game 1 starts at:

• 12:30pm Korean Standard Time, Saturday May 12
• 5:30am Central European Summer Time, Saturday May 12
• 3:30am Greenwich Mean Time, Saturday May 12 (adjust for European Summer Time)
• 11:30pm US Eastern Daylight Saving Time, Friday May 11, 2012.

Who do you think will win?

Will Korea’s Baek Hongseok be the first to cross the finish line or will China’s dark horse, Dang Yifei, overtake him on the last mile? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

Baek Hongseok (left) playing Hu Yaoyu 8 dan.

About the BC Card Cup

The BC Card Cup is an international Go tournament sponsored by BC Card, Korea’s largest credit card company. The inaugural tournament was held in 2009.

The format is a single knockout of 64 players: 3 from Korea, 2 from China, 2 from Japan, 1 from Taiwan, 2 wild cards (chosen by the Korean Baduk Association) and 54 players who qualify through the preliminary rounds.

Game records

Hu Yaoyu vs Baek Hongseok

[Embedded SGF File]

Dang Yifei vs Piao Wenyao

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Baek Hongseok wins 4th BC Card Cup
• 4th BC Card Cup: Down to the final four
• China on a roll in 4th BC Card Cup

Easy Go problem

First things first. It’s important to figure out whether you’re trying to kill or trying to live.

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

White’s isolated some black stones, but there’s a crucial flaw in white’s shape. Can you find it?

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Hard Go problem

Take your time and find the vital points. You could easily make a mistake by rushing here.

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Weekly Go problems: Week 29
• Weekly Go problems: Week 28
• Weekly Go problems: Week 27

Kong Jie (left) and Lee Sedol play in the final of the 23rd Fujitsu Cup (2010).

Lee Sedol (9p) was ranked number 1 and Kong Jie (9p) was ranked number 2, according to Dr Bae Taeil in early 2011.

Kong Jie

Kong Jie was born in 1982 and became a pro in 1994.

He won the National Individual title in 2001, and it was his first domestic title. In 2003, he won both the Ricoh Cup and Xinren Wang (Rookies Cup).

A top prospect in China

At that time, he was regarded as one of top prospective players in China, along with Qiu Jun, Hu Yaoyu, and Gu Li.

Gu Li took the lead among them, and even though Kong was highly regarded, his results in international matches weren’t very impressive until 2009.

Kong Jie becomes unbeatable

In 2009, the situation was reversed, and there was a big change in Kong. At the end of that year, he won the 14th Samsung Cup, defeating Qiu Jun in the final. It was his first major international title.

In 2010, nobody could stop him. He defeated Lee Changho in the final of the 14th LG Cup, defeated Lee Sedol in the final of the 23rd Fujitsu Cup, and then beat Yuki Satoshi in the final of the 22nd Asian TV Cup.

Lee Changho and Kong Jie at the 14th LG Cup (2010).

He won four international titles in a row, and it was both impressive and shocking. He seemed to be invincible at that time and many Korean fans were shocked and in panic by his perfect style of play against top Korean players.

Even if he was already highly regarded as a top player, he had never been that dominant before. He suddenly became perfect and unbeatable in 2009 and 2010.

Kong Jie’s style

Kong Jie’s style of play is basically very solid and thick. You can feel some cool and nice shapes in his games. The strong points of his style are accurate counting, balance and endgame.

His opening sense is good and he likes tidy, peaceful games. He never rushes when his opponents have a big moyo, because he’s very good at maintaining balance.

If you watch him playing a reduction or invasion in his games, you’d feel he takes it easy, but if you try to do that, you’ll realize it’s actually very hard.

Kong Jie and his wife.

Time trouble

On the other hand, he used to have trouble with time management.

When he was in time trouble, he often made simple mistakes and lost won games, but it looks as if he overcame that in 2009 and time doesn’t seem to be an issue for him anymore.

He must have tried his best to cover his weaknesses, and eventually he reached the top of the Go world.

Meeting Kong

I met him for the first time in 1998, when he visited Korea for the ‘Rookies’ friendship matches’ – between Korea, China and Japan. We couldn’t talk a lot because of the language barrier, but we could still communicate with body language and Go.

We enjoyed dinner, drinking, karaoke, and bowling together, with many other young players. He was shy and modest, but I don’t know if he’s still shy. Anyway, he’s become quite a favorite with female Go fans and his big smile is still attractive. [Editor: even Jing thinks Kong looks pretty good in a suit .]

Kong Jie and Choi Cheolhan.

Human after all

He reached the final of the LG Cup in early 2011, but was beaten by Piao Wenyao (9p). Since that final, we haven’t seen his name in the line-up for any semi finals, or above, in international matches.

His recent results in international Go haven’t been as good as before. It’s because many strong young players are coming through the ranks, and they might have figured out the weaknesses in Kong’s style of play.

Though he’s been in a slump in recent times, I hope to see his beautiful and tidy style of play for a long time to come.

Lee Sedol

Lee Sedol was born in 1983, on a small island in the south west part of Korea.

He learnt Go from his father when he was very young, with his elder brothers and sisters. He lived on that small island until he went to Kwon Gapryong’s dojo, when he was 9 years old.

His strong mind and will could be due to the nature of that island.

Lee Sedol’s early years

He became a pro when he was 12 years old, but his first couple of years after becoming a pro weren’t yet remarkable.

He won both the 5th Chunwon and the 8th Baedalwang in 2000, and he became one of the top players in Korea from that period on.

Of particular note was when he defeated Yu Changhyeok in the Baedalwang title match. It was sensational because Yu was regarded as the best attacker in the world at that time. It was Lee Sedol’s turning point, and after beating Yu, Lee seemed to be full of confidence and he started to dominate the Korean Go world.

He also won 32 games in a row (the 3rd best record in Korea) and was selected as best player at the Korean Baduk Awards in 2000.

Lee Sedol and Lee Changho

In 2001, he was in the final of the 5th LG Cup and his opponent was Lee Changho, the invincible. Sedol won the first two games and lots of Go fans were shocked, even though Sedol was regarded as the next Lee Changho.

Presentation at the 7th LG Cup. Lee Changho and Lee Sedol (2003).

Sedol was already playing at quite a high level, but people still thought that beating Changho was impossible, especially in a five game series.

This time they were right. Lee Changho made a comeback and won the title in a reverse sweep, but it was just beginning of their matches together.

Breakthrough

In 2002, Lee won the 15th Fujitsu Cup, defeating Yu Changhyeok, and it was his first international title. The game was hopeless, but Lee miraculously reversed the position and won by half a point. It was another turning point for Lee.

In 2003, he beat Lee Changho in the final of the 7th LG Cup and was finally recognized as being on par with Lee Changho in Korea.

World number one

Since 2003, he’s become one of the strongest players in the world, and you can easily find more information about his career on the internet. Therefore, I’d like skip his career and talk about some other things.

Lee Sedol’s older brother, Lee Sanghun (8p), is also a pro and his sister, Lee Sena, used to be the strongest female amateur player in Korea. They’re a real Baduk family.

Sena lived in Sydney for a time, so I was able to talk to her about Sedol and other things after I came to Australia.

Still a student

Sena said, Sedol regards Lee Changho very highly, so whenever he plays against Changho, he treats him like a teacher. Even after Lee Sedol became number 1 in Korea, he still considered Lee Changho to be better than himself.

Lee Sedol’s character

Lee Sedol and his daughter in 2008.

He has a strong character. He’s humorous and jolly, but he’s also very strict with himself.

People say he’s a genius, but actually he also studies very hard.

He’s obviously gifted, but he wouldn’t have reached the top without the hard work.

He used to like to play sports and computer games and watch movies with other pro friends, but after his marriage in 2006, he dedicated most of his spare time to his family and studying Go.

He’s very busy, but he also teaches Go in his dojo in Seoul, with Lee Sanghun (his brother).

Lee Sedol’s critics

Because of his strong character, he has many critics. Those people prefer Lee Changho’s mild, calm and gentle character, which is considered ideal for a Go player by the older generation.

But, in contrast, Lee Sedol is active, energetic and outgoing, so the younger generation tend to prefer Sedol’s character.

Conflict with KBA

In June 2009, there was a big affair in the Go world. Lee decided to retire early from his career in Go.

It was because of deep and long conflicts between KBA (Korean Baduk Association) and Lee Sedol. At the time, lots of Baduk fans in Korea criticized Lee as being egotistical, but actually he fought against KBA for the rights of professional players.

Lee Sedol at an interview about his retirement in 2009.

However, even a man like Lee Sedol can’t win a dispute against a whole organization, so he decided to retire. He was sick of it. But, a lot of his friends tried to dissuade him, and at last he decided to take an 18 month leave of absence instead.

He was ranked number 1 in Korea, with many titles, so lots of Go fans were in panic. Once Lee Sedol left, KBA realized the problem was more serious than they’d initially thought. Many of the people who’d criticized Lee before, had turned to criticize KBA instead.

A positive outcome

After 6 months, KBA agreed to Lee’s claims and made a revised bill for pros’ rights. Lee came back to the Go world and most fans welcomed him. It was a positive end to a painful affair.

Chang Hao and Lee Sedol play in the 2nd BC Card Cup (2010).

Just after his return in 2010, Lee won 24 consecutive games, and won the 2nd BC Card Cup, defeating Chang Hao in the final. He showed his powerful style of play and once again demonstrated his ability and strength.

I’m glad that Go fans around the world can now continue to watch and learn from Lee Sedol’s exciting and entertaining games and I hope that we can continue to do so well into the future.

Lee Sedol and his daughter at the Korean Baduk Awards in 2011.

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• 16th Samsung Cup: Kong Jie, Gu Li knock out Lee Sedol, Lee Changho
• Top 20 Pro Go Players of 2010
• Lee Sedol beats Lee Changho: 6th Prices Information Cup

Lee Sedol 9 dan continues to expand his trophy cabinet.

No sure thing

Lee won the first game on April 25, but Park responded by winning games 2 and 3 on April 30 and May 1, making Lee’s fans nervous.

Lee, unruffled as always, equaled the scored at 2-2 on May 5, taking away Park’s hopes of an early win.

He followed up with another win the next day to claim the Cup.

GS Caltex Cup

The GS Caltex Cup is one of the most generously sponsored Korean domestic Go tournaments, with the winner taking away 70 million Won (approximately $60,000 USD).

Until 2004, when LG restructured into LG and GS, the tournament was known as the Korean LG Cup.

Park Younghun (9 dan, left) plays Lee Sedol (9 dan).

Professionals play in a knockout format with the final decided by the best of 5 matches. The tournament structure has changed several times over the years.

Up until the 15th year, the tournament was played with a challenger facing the defending title holder. The challenger has been decided by both round robin and single knockout formats.

GS Caltex is a South Korean oil and energy company.

Lee Sedol and Park Younghun

Park Younghun reviews the third game with Lee Sedol.

Lee and Park are no strangers to the GS Caltex Cup, both having won this tournament twice in previous years.

Lee won the tournament in 2001 and 2006 and Park in 2007 and 2008.

Congratulations Lee Sedol!

17th GS Caltex Cup Photos

Game records

Lee Sedol vs Park Younghun – Game 1

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Park Younghun vs Lee Sedol – Game 2

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Lee Sedol vs Park Younghun – Game 3

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Park Younghun vs Lee Sedol – Game 4

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Lee Sedol vs Park Younghun – Game 5

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Park Younghun wins 12th Maxim Cup
• Lee Sedol wins 2nd Olleh KT Cup
• Park Younghun wins 39th Myeongin

China's Chen Yaoye 9 dan, unstoppable in the Tianyuan.

Chen won the first game on May 2 and followed up with a second win on May 4 to make the score 2-0.

The Tianyuan

Tianyuan is the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Tengen title.

The tournament uses knockout format consisting of 48 players vying for the right to challenge the previous year’s winner. 16 players are seeded into the second round of the knockout tournament.

Zhou won the right to challenge Chen in February, defeating Tan Xiao.

The title match is decided over the best of three games. The current winner’s prize is 150,000 RMB (approximately $25,000 USD).

Chen Yaoye (left) plays Zhou Hexi 4 dan.

History repeats

Better luck next time? Zhou Hexi still agonisingly close to taking his first title.

Interestingly, this year’s Tianyuan title match was an exact replay of last year’s, where Chen also defeated Zhou 2-0.

Perhaps Zhou can shoot for third time lucky in 2013?

Later this year, Chen will face the Chunwon winner (yet to be played) in the annual China Korea Tengen playoff, which he also won last year, against Korea’s Choi Cheolhan.

Game records

Chen Yaoye vs Zhou Hexi – Game 1

[Embedded SGF File]

Zhou Hexi vs Chen Yaoye – Game 2

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Zhou Hexi to challenge Chen Yaoye in the 26th Tianyuan
• Chen Yaoye holds 25th Tianyuan against tiger cub
• Chen Yaoye wins 15th China Korea Tengen

Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!

Easy Go problem

Sometimes you need to play in a way that prevents your partner from sacrificing stones.

[Embedded SGF File]

Intermediate Go problem

It looks like white A was a bit too greedy. Time to school white.

[Embedded SGF File]

Hard Go problem

Don’t be seduced by the obvious. Ask the relevant questions first…

[Embedded SGF File]

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Weekly Go problems: Week 28
• Weekly Go problems: Week 27
• Weekly Go problems: Week 29

Watch Baduk TV at Go Game Guru.

I just want to let all Go Game Guru readers know that, due to the generosity of Baduk TV in Korea, the live stream of Baduk TV will be available for free for a little while. Probably until July.

Baduk TV felt that Go players outside of Korea might not know who they are and wanted to give everyone a chance to see their programs.

You can go and have a look at it now and discuss the games with other viewers, here.

Beta testing

In addition, we’ve started beta testing our paid Baduk TV On Demand service, which lets you replay games whenever you want to. If you want to sign up for a beta subscription (and get a monthly discount for as long as you’re a member), you can find out how to do so here.

Bear in mind that beta testing means there will still be some bugs and that’s partly why there’s a discount.

Free Baduk TV On Demand demo

If you’re not sure whether this is something your interested in, you can also register for a free demo of the on demand service first, and then decide.

Translations

Since it’s undoubtedly going to come up again, I’ll say clearly here that there are no subtitles (or dubbed videos) at this stage. It is something we want to look at once we’ve laid the basic foundations of being able to stream videos worldwide, let people log in and watch them, and so on. Whether we can go ahead with translations will depend on how popular this service is.

If you feel like you absolutely need translations even after watching the free demo videos then that’s no problem, it just means the service isn’t for you at this stage, so don’t subscribe. You might decide to subscribe later, once the situation changes.

Questions?

When I first mentioned in March that we were partnering with Baduk TV to bring you this service, there was a lot of discussion. If you didn’t see that, you can read through the earlier discussion here.

If you’re having trouble getting the live stream working on your computer, you can ask for help here and I’ll try to help you if someone else in the community doesn’t point you in the right direction first.

Please have a look at the Troubleshooting section on the Baduk TV Live page first though, and note that we don’t currently control the hardware, software, format etc because you’re getting it for free.

The paid version of the live stream will run off Go Game Guru’s media server, and be more compatible with non-Windows and mobile devices, because it uses a totally different setup.

If you have any other questions please go ahead and ask below.

Related articles at Go Game Guru:

• Baduk TV is coming to Go Game Guru!
• The Instant Go Set: A free printable Go board and stones
• Free Go lesson competition: Game review attached