Shin Shin-seo defeats Guo Zhihao to reach LG Cup quarterfinals…will play Curze in final
Shin Shin-seo and Byun Sang-il 9 reached the quarterfinals of the LG Cup.
South Korea’s top-ranked go player Shin Shin-seo defeated China’s top-ranked 9th dan Guo Zhihao in 154 moves in the quarterfinals of the 28th LG Go Chosun Ilbo Kiwangjeon at the Shinan Tidelands Museum in Jeungdo-myeon, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do on Wednesday.
The match, which was highly anticipated as a showdown between the top two players in the world, was decided by a mistake by Guo Zhihao.
Gu Zhihao made an unexpected mistake in the middlegame opening.
Xin Xinxue didn’t miss his opponent’s gap and retaliated with precision, gaining a clear advantage early on.
Gu Zhihao tried to turn the tables on the right and left flanks, but was unable to do so and threw a stone fairly early on.
After the game, Xin Xinxue said, “Today’s game was easy for me to win as Gu Zhihao 9th dan made some early mistakes.”
“Although I beat the No. 1 player, Guo Zhihao, the rest of the Chinese players are also strong,” he said, adding, “I think I can win the quarterfinals tomorrow with a full day’s rest and my go pieces.”
Playing in the quarterfinals, Byun Sang-il 9th dan defeated Chinese rookie Wang Xinghao 9th dan in 171 moves with a black fire system.
It was Byun’s second LG quarterfinal appearance in the 25th edition of the tournament.
“It went well for the most part, and I was able to win relatively easily,” Byun said, “I remember losing in the quarterfinals three years ago, so I hope to continue my good results this time.”
However, Ahn Ahn-joon lost to Mi Witing 9th dan and Han Seung-joo 9th dan were eliminated after losing to Kurze 9th dan.
After the quarterfinals, the quarterfinal draw pitted Shin Shin-seo against Curze and Byun Sang-il against Mi Witing.
Shin Shin-seo trails Curze 10-11 in the all-time series, but has won five straight games since November 2021.
Byun Sang-il is 2-4 against Mi Witing.
The LG Cup quarterfinals will be held at the same venue on Nov. 13 after a one-day break.
The prize money for the winner is 300 million won, while the runner-up will receive 100 million won. 토토사이트