Go: Shen Zhenzhen, Ke Jie, Lai Junfu advance to the top 16 of the Lanke Cup | Tan Xiao | The Epoch Times

[The Epoch Times, April 27, 2024](Epoch Times reporter Ye Chengyun reported) On April 25, the second “Quzhou Lanke Cup World Go Open” continued fierce battle at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Quzhou, Zhejiang. South Korea, Shen Zhenzhen, the ninth-dan player and Ke Jie’s ninth-dan player in Go, China and China, respectively defeated their opponents and advanced together. Taiwan’s “celebrity” Lai Junsuke successfully avenged the 9th-dan world champion Tan Xiao from mainland China in the 8th dan, becoming the only Taiwanese player to advance to the top 16; Japan’s “hammer girl” Ueno Asaki defeated another mainland Chinese world champion Sherhao in the 9th dan. Stunning the world chess world again.

On April 25, the 32nd round of the “Lan Ke Cup” began. South Korean Go player Shin Jin-soo faced the challenge of the ninth-dan player Zhao Chenyu from mainland China. In the latest ranking of Chinese mainland chess players, Zhao Chenyu ranks seventh. He has played against Shen Zhenzhen 8 times, with a record of 1 win and 7 losses, which puts him at an absolute disadvantage.

In this game, Shen Zhenzhen took the lead with black and started with “Star·Small Eye”. Zhao Chenyu avoided the star position and should use “Opposite Small Eye”, seemingly prepared. The two sides met in close combat in the upper right corner, and each had a lone piece escaping to the midsection.

Zhao Chenyu is in excellent condition. White’s first 100 moves are consistent with nearly 90% of the “top three choices” recommended by artificial intelligence (AI), especially the partial processing on the top and right, which is the “first choice”. Shen Zhenzhen is hard to resist. , at a disadvantage. At this time, since Black has two chess pieces that have yet to be settled, as long as White can connect the left and right sides and avoid being killed by the dragon, he can basically sit back and relax.

Black has three moves of 105, 107, and 109. Shen Zhenzhen intends to forcefully break through White’s chess and give it a try. At this time, White 120 only needs to call for capture in position A, and then capture black 109 in position B, which will make the opponent’s moves invisible. However, after Zhao Chenyu took the exam, he chose to start a robbery with black chess, which was actually a losing move.

The two sides formed a transformation here, which suited Shen Zhenzhen’s wishes. Black’s 121 is called capture, capturing all the pieces in White’s middle; and White’s gain is to break the empty space above Black and capture five pieces. Comparing the two, Black has overcome its decline.

Since the center of black’s chess piece becomes thicker, it also poses a threat to the white chess piece on the left. This is also the added value generated by black’s chess capturing the white piece in the center. After that, Shen Zhenzhen gradually expanded his advantage, leading by about 15 heads on the board. At the 283rd black move, Zhao Chenyu saw that there was no hope of a comeback, so he threw in the towel.

Since Ke Jie returned to being the No. 1 Go player in mainland China, his hand has been very hot. In this round, he met the South Korean player Hao Hyun in the ninth dan. Coincidentally, Ha Hyunjun is also ranked seventh in the latest rankings in South Korea. This game progressed smoothly. Ke Jie controlled the game well and won a complete victory without any bloodshed.

Taiwan’s seed chess player Lai Junfu met his old rival and world champion Tan Xiao from mainland China in this round. The two were “enemies on a narrow road”. In the last “Lanke Cup”, it was Tan Xiao who eliminated Lai Junfu in the top 16 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

In this game, Tan Xiao took the lead with black, and the two men were fighting at the top in the prologue. Bai 58 raised his head and felt quite comfortable. Black’s 59 hangs the corner, invading White’s sphere of influence, and the situation is still two points.

In a battle in an area where the enemy is outnumbered, it is rare to not fall behind. Tan Xiao seems to have ignored this. Even though there were two solitary pieces that were not yet settled, he still chose black 115 to break into the white space below, which was really too strong. Lai Junfu had a clear mind and let black do some work locally, gaining the upper hand. White 134 entangled and attacked two black pieces, and the advantage was clear.

Even though as a world champion, Tan Xiao tried his best, but he had no choice but to rely on Jun Fu to play flawlessly and always maintain a close advantage. Finally, when it came to Bai 222, Tan Xiao had no way to save himself and had to sign an alliance under the city. Lai Junfu avoided falling on the same stone twice, successfully avenged his opponent, and entered the top 16 of the “Lan Ke Cup” for two consecutive years.
Wang Yuanjun, 9th Dan of Haifeng Chess Academy, brings you a wonderful explanation of this game for all chess fans.

What is worth mentioning in this round is that the Japanese female chess player Asaki Merick, known as the “Hammer Girl”, defeated the Chinese world champion Xie Hao, causing the biggest upset in the tournament.

In the first half of the game, Sherhao played black, perhaps hoping for a smooth victory, so he played more conservatively and did not use strength where it should be used. This kept the situation between the two sides from opening up.

The second half of the game entered a complex battle, which is also Asami Ueno’s strength. At this time, Sherhau seemed a little reckless and made miscalculations. After the two sides formed a big transition, White swallowed the black stone, and the victory was unshakable. Xie Erhao sat there for a long time, helplessly accepting the outcome of failure.

After a day of fierce battle, all the top 16 players in this tournament were selected. 18 mainland Chinese chess players participated in the competition, and 8 passed the test, still holding half of the country; South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan had 5, 2, and 1 players advance respectively.

There will be a truce on the 26th, and the top 16 matches will be held on the 27th. Based on the principle that chess players from the same country avoid fighting, the specific matches are as follows:
1. Ding Hao (Chinese) VS (Taiwan) Lai Junfu
2. Xie Ke (Chinese) VS (South Korea) Park Jung-hwan
3. Zhang Tao (China) VS (South Korea) Shin Jin-seok
4. Ke Jie (Chinese) VS (Korean) Jiang Dongyun
5. Yang Dingxin (Chinese) VS (South Korea) Won Sung-chin
6. Jiang Qirun (China) VS (Korea) Byun Sang-il
7. Fan Tingyu (middle) VS (Japan) Yuta Iyama
8. Gu Zihao (middle) VS (Japanese) Ueno Asaki

Shen Zhenzhen and Ke Jie faced off against Zhang Tao and Jiang Dongrun respectively; Taiwan’s “lone seedling” Lai Junfu continued to challenge mainland China’s world champion Ding Hao; and Ueno Asumi will face the defending champion Gu Zihao, whether she can continue to create a new era for female chess players in ” The history of “Lan Ke Cup” is eye-catching.

The “Lanke Cup” is sponsored by the Chinese Go Association and adopts the Chinese Go rules. The black chess piece is posted with 3 and 3/4 pieces. The basic time for each side is 2 hours. A 5-minute countdown is reserved, and the countdown is 5 times of 60 seconds. The championship prize of this event is RMB 1.8 million (approximately USD 248,400), and the runner-up prize is RMB 600,000 (approximately USD 82,800).

Editor in charge: Li Rongshi