Shin Jin-hyun Kudan, who will compete with Yang Dingxin for the 26th LG Cup title from February 7 (Korea Chess Academy Photo)
Shin: We must win back the LG Cup title that dominated the world for the first time 2 years ago.
Shen Zhenchen maintained a 19-game winning streak against Chinese players in official matches, and his record against Yang Dingxin was 5 wins and 5 losses
Shin Jin-chan (22) Kudan will challenge for the first title of the New Year, staged in the 26th LG Cup World Chess Championship. On February 7, 9 and 10, Shin will play a three-game final at Yang Dingxin Jiudan, who ranks fourth in China. If one side leads 2-0, there is no third inning.
This is the second time in 13 years that the LG Cup has been the final between the previous winners of the LG Cup after the competition between Lee Sedol and Gu Li in 2009. Shen Zhenchen is the 24th LG Cup champion (2020) and Yang Dingxin is the 23rd LG Cup champion (2019). In the history of the LG Cup, the only chess players who can win the second crown and above are Lee Chang-ho (4 times), Lee Sedol, and Gu Li (2 times). Before the final began, South Korean reporters interviewed Shin Jin-chan, who currently owns the Chunlan Cup, by phone.
"It would be a great honor to share this honor with our seniors. The LG Cup was the first world championship that brought me the first world championship 2 years ago, so I will face it with the consciousness of giving it my all. The process of beating the strong rival Ke Jie in the semi-finals to reach the final is more satisfactory in content than any previous competition. Shin said.
Yang Dingxin Nine Duan
Yang Dingxin stepped into the final after defeating Kim Ji-seok, Shin Min-suk and Mi Yu-ting. He is a talented chess player with the title record of the youngest (9 years and 9 months) entry and the youngest (13 years and 6 months) championship title in China. The relative record between Shen Zhenchen and Yang Dingxin is 5 wins and 5 losses, which can be said to be evenly matched. In the early days, Shin Zhenchen fell behind with 2 wins and 5 losses, but won three consecutive victories last year and caught up in one go.
Regarding Yang Dingxin, Shen Zhenchen said: "He is a strong player in the first half of the game and has an excellent sense of chess." In other words, Shen Zhenchen believes that Yang Dingxin's weakness is in the second half of the set. This is after the semi-finals, Shin Jin-chan once said that "although he saw Yang Ding's new weakness, but it cannot be made public at present", further "spoilers" the answer.
Shin also said: "In the remaining time before the start of the final, I would like to pay more attention to analyzing my own problems than studying the other side."
Shen Zhenchen has not lost a game in more than five months in his official match with Chinese chess players – from beating Yang Dingxin in the Weijia League on June 8 last year to defeating Ding Hao in the Weijia League on January 20 this year, achieving a 19-game winning streak. In the process, only in the informal TWT online match played on January 4, Shin Lost 1:2 to Wang Xinghao, a young Chinese chess player born in 2004.
The Chinese Go community is much more jealous of Shin Than South Korean fans think. Recently, a Chinese professional magazine emphasized that Shin Zhenchen lost to Park Tinghuan, Bian Xiangyi, Wang Xinghao and Li Dongxun in the Samsung Cup, the Guoshou Mountain Cup, the TWT, and the Bull's Knee Claw Cup, and stressed: "Shen Zhenchen is not the world's first person, there are still weaknesses, and Chinese players also have hope." ”
In this regard, Shin Zhenchen said: "I really failed to maintain my best form, and lost a few sets in the final, but this does not mean that my strength is so bad, I will not care about the outside world." For the TWT competition, Shin Said "The Environment of the Game is Harsh" and avoids talking about the specific content.
Wang Xinghao
Despite this, Shen Zhenchen's evaluation of Wang Xinghao was not stingy. When asked about the new talents he was most concerned about after dominating the world for the first time 2 years ago, Shin Pointed out that Wang Xinghao, who is 4 years younger than himself, was noted. "Judging from this game against him, it feels like he's improved a lot more than before. I believe that he will soon join the ranks of super first-class chess players. ”
How many years can its current position be maintained? Shin said: "I am still very confident to keep it for 5 years. After 6 or 7 years, I will try my best to persevere... Although 10 years is a luxury, the goal should be set in the long term. Shin said: "During the two World Series championships, I only won 4 runners-up, which is one of the reasons why I must win the championship in this LG Cup." ”
"Because it's always a continuation of tension, it's not an interesting life. However, now that you're a professional chess player, you don't have time to think about anything else until you reach your goal. The current challenge is to adjust the best form to the LG Cup final. Shen Zhenchen finally said.
The prize money for the first and second runners-up of the LG Cup is 300 million won and 100 million won respectively.
(Saury compiled from a column by Chosun Ilbo reporter Lee Hong-yeol)