Cho Hwan-hyun, Lee Chang-ho and Choi Kyung (from left) will represent South Korea in the China-Korea Classic Super Tournament that kicks off on January 10. They will fight a decisive battle with the Chinese team composed of Liu Xiaoguang, Chang Hao and Yu Zhiying
The 34th anniversary of the "Go War" between China and South Korea will also start a head-to-head confrontation from the beginning of this year
Although Go has a history of thousands of years, it has not yet achieved globalization, including European and American countries. Although there are Japanese players and Chinese Taipei players, they are basically supporting roles, and most of the finals of the World Series are contests between Korean and Chinese players. If it were not for the final between Chinese and Korean chess players, the ratings would have fallen sharply.
The two Go powers of South Korea and China have been proven many times. In 2021 alone, the finals of the 25th LG Cup (Shen Mincheng vs Ke Jie) and the 13th Chunlan Cup (Shin Jin-jin vs. Tang Weixing) will be played between Chinese and Korean chess players, and the team competition Nongshim Cup is also a competition between the two countries. According to statistics from the Korean Chess Academy, chess players from the two countries fought a total of 224 games last year, and Korean players won 134 games, with a winning rate of 59.8% (including all official matches).
In the historical record, the overall record of Korean players and Chinese players in 34 years is 4810 wins and 5763 losses (45.5% win rate) slightly behind. However, in the tournament (2642 wins, 2 draws, 2206 losses, 54.5%), the final (115 wins, 104 losses, 52.5%) and the World Series final (27 wins, 23 losses, 54.0%), the Korean team has the advantage. On the whole, with South Korea slightly ahead, the fighting between the two sides continues.
Liu Xiaoguang, Chang Hao and Yu Zhiying represented the Chinese team in the 2022 "Nongshim Cup China-Korea Elite Super Match"
The stage of the International Competition in the New Year of Nongyin will also start from the Sino-Korean War, which is called "Nongshim Cup China-Korea Elite Super Match". From January 10 to 12, players from the two countries will play online duels at the Korea Chess Academy in Seoul and the Chinese Chess Academy in Beijing through online platforms.
The competition is unique: South Korea and China each send 3 players to compete with 3 players from each other's countries. It is a national match in which each person plays 3 innings, the two sides play 9 innings in total, and finally the winner is determined by comparing the total number of wins. In addition to winning 60 million won (about 320,000 yuan) for the champion team and 30 million won (about 160,000 yuan) for the runners-up, the players who won all three games will also receive a total prize of 5 million won (about 27,000 yuan).
The lineup of players from both countries is also very clever: South Korea will send Cho Hwan-hyun Jiudan (69), Lee Chang-ho 9duan (47) and Choi Jingjiuduan (26), while China will send Liu Xiaoguang Jiudan (62), Chang Haojiuduan (46) Jiudan and Yu Zhiying 7dan (25). Four legendary veteran chess players in the chinese and Korean chess circles and the active female first of the two countries were combined to complete the confrontation formation of the "Elite Tournament". Such a composition can not only compare the victory and defeat between countries, but also compare the results of the new and old duels, men and women.
The relative record between the players is also very interesting: Cao Xuanxuan is 0:2 against Liu Xiaoguang and 7:8 against Chang Hao, both slightly at a disadvantage; but Lee Chang-ho is 3:0 against Liu Xiaoguang and 31:14 against Chang Hao. Cui Jing and Yu Zhiying faced off in the wu qingyuan cup final last month, and the total record of the two sides is currently 19:19. Both the female player and the two male players from the opposing country will face off for the first time.
The specific schedule of the "Nongshim Cup China-Korea Elite Super Match" is:
January 10 Cho Hwan-hyun vs Chang-ho, Lee Chang-ho vs Yu Zhiying, Choi Jing vs. Liu Xiaoguang
January 11 Cho Hyun Hyun vs Lau Siu Kwang, Lee Chang Ho vs Chang Hao, Choi Kyung vs Yu Zhiying
January 12 Cho Hwan-hyun vs Yu Zhiying, Lee Chang-ho vs Liu Xiaoguang, Choi Jing vs Chang Hao
Last year, Cho Hyun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho won the Nongshim Cup "Go Legend National Confrontation" championship for the Korean team
All matches will count towards the official match result. The "Nongshim Cup China-Korea Elite Super Match" is the second bullet of the Nongshim Series of activities after last year's "Nongshim Cup Go Legend National Match". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, chess players from both countries can only play games online, which also saves the game budget. The competition adopts the nongshim cup time method of 1 hour per side and 1 time 1 minute second reading.
This Nongshim Cup confrontation event is the outpost of the "Go War" between China and South Korea in 2022. After that, Shin Jin-chan and Yang Dingxin will compete for the LG Cup title on February 7, and the third stage of the 23rd Nongshim Cup, which begins on February 21, will inevitably have a showdown between China and South Korea. In addition, the 9th Ying's Cup final between Shen Zhenchen and Xie Ke (time undetermined) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (September) will also be held.
The relevant person in charge of the Korean Chess Academy said: "Only by taking the first step, this year will be smooth sailing, and I hope that good news will come from the beginning of the year." ”
(Saury compiled from a column by Chosun Ilbo reporter Lee Hong-yeol)