Chief Editor: Jos Jacobs, Layout Editor: George Hatzidakis

Bulletin 3 - Tuesday, 7 October 2008 FIRST GOLD TO EASTERN EUROPE

Alexandra Kosteniuk On Sunday evening the first two national anthems were heard in the Convention Hall No. 3 of the BICC. They were the well-known hymn of the Russian Federation and the less well-known anthem of its neighbour state Ukraine. This was in celebration of the first two gold medals won at these 1st . Both finals were a completely Eastern European affair. The countries of Eastern Europe have been dominating the world scene for many decades already, as was proved again here in . For this occasion, both and Martyn Kratvsiv dressed up elegantly to receive their gold medals. Martyn Kravtsiv 1st World Mind Sports Games Beijing,

Today’s Programs Live draughts

Bridge Twenty out of eighty Open Teams, Women Teams, Senior Teams: games of each round in At CNCC: the international draughts 11.00 hrs — 13.20 hrs.: Round Robin, round 10 tournament are being live 14.20 hrs — 16.40 hrs.: Round Robin, round 11 broadcasted. You can see 17.10 hrs — 19.30 hrs.: Round Robin, round 12 them in the tiny analysis Junior Teams, played at BICC: room next to the playing Under 21, Under 26 and Under 28: area. The draughts enthu- 10.30 hrs — 12.50 hrs.: Round Robin, round 10 14.20 hrs — 16.40 hrs.: Round Robin, round 11 siasts not present in this 17.30 hrs — 19.50 hrs.: Round Robin, round 12 arena can see each and Chess every move while keeping Rapid men, rapid women: their eyes peeled on the 10.00 hrs. -13.30 hrs: Rounds 8-9 internet. The website of 15.00 hrs. -16.30 hrs: Semifinals their choice is Draughts Tanja Chub www.wmsg-draughts.org 100 square men and 100 square women: 14.00 hrs.: Round 6 In the fourth round an interesting game to watch was the Go meeting of Tanja Chub from the Netherlands and the Lat- Individual, men: vian leader of the group at the start of the round: Zoja Gol- 10.00 hrs. — 13.30 hrs.: Eighth finals ubeva. Chub chose a brilliant plan in the middle game: from 15.00 hrs. — 18.30 hrs.: Quarter finals a difficult position, she forced her respectable opponent (a Individual, women: ninefold world champion) in an endgame in which Golube- 10.00 hrs. — 13.30 hrs.: Round 5 va was two pieces behind, but close to king. However, pro- 15.00 hrs. — 18.30 hrs.: Round 6 motion was only possible after sacrificing another piece, Individual, open: giving Chub a major advantage, which she securely ex- 10.00 hrs. — 13.30 hrs.: Round 3 changed for a win. 15.00 hrs. — 18.30 hrs.: Round 4 In the men's tournament, Alexander Getmanski from Rus- Individual, men: sia beat Pim Meurs. This Dutch talent probably was not 09.00 hrs. — 12.00 hrs.: Round 1 15.00 hrs. — 18.00 hrs.: Round 2 aware that it was Getmanski’s birthday, for there were no Individual, women: presents on the draughts board. Meurs went for the attack 09.00 hrs. — 12.00 hrs.: Round 3 directly from the opening, but the Russian ’s 15.00 hrs. — 18.00 hrs.: Round 4 counter-attack came quickly. The struggle for the center was then won by Getmanski, so Meurs’s only refuge was an endgame with two pieces less. In this, Getmanski showed Chess Results his accuracy and didn’t make a single mistake, thereby forc- Individual Rapid preliminary ing Meurs to resign after more than five hours of play. The online spectators then had a one-hour break before a new Ranking after 7 Rounds round with 20 games was there to watch.

WOMEN MEN Top of the tournament after 4 rounds: 1 Stefanova A. BUL 6,5 1 SIN 6,5 2 CHN 6,0 2 Hao CHN 5,0 3 CHN 5,0 3 Bartel Mateusz POL 4,5 Forbidden City (men) 4 Houska Jovanka ENG 5,0 4 Korobov Anton UKR 4,5 7 points: Georgiev 5 Kosteniuk A. RUS 4,5 5 Adianto Utut INA 4,5 6 points: Valneris, Seck, Kirzner, Gulyaev, Shchegolev, 6 Pogonina N. RUS 4,5 6 Fier Alexandr BRA 4,5 7 CHN 4,5 7 Drozdovskij Y. UKR 4,5 Mogilianski, Pierre, Ndjofang 8 Harika D. IND 4,5 8 Kryvoruchko Y. UKR 4,5 9 SIN 4,5 9 CHN 4,0 Great Wall (men) 10 Dembo Yelena GRE 4,5 10 Sandipan C. IND 4,0 11 Zawadzka J. POL 4,5 11 CHN 4,0 7 points: Tokusarov, Getmanski, Anikeev, Ba 12 Hoang Thanh HUN 4,0 12 Balogh Csaba HUN 4,0 6 points: Chishov, Cordier 13 Xu Yuhua CHN 4,0 13 Banikas Hristos GRE 4,0 14 Dworakowska J. POL 4,0 14 CHN 4,0 Summer Palace (women) 15 Gaponenko I. UKR 4,0 15 CHN 3,5 16 Vasilevich T. UKR 4,0 16 Paragua Mark PHI 3,5 7 points: Chub 17 Borosova Z. SVK 4,0 17 Le Quang Liem VIE 3,5 6 points: Hoekman, Golubeva, Platonova, Balthazi, 18 Swathi Ghate IND 4,0 18 Nguyen Ngoc VIE 3,5 Tkachenko, Pashkievitch, Nogovitsyna, Danilova, Milshi- 19 Kovanova Baira RUS 4,0 19 Gurevich M. TUR 3,5 20 CHN 4,0 20 Aveskulov V. UKR 3,5 na

2 3-18 October 2008 1st World Mind Sports Games

WMSG Press Conference Jos Jacobs reports from Beijing’s BICC

On Thursday afternoon, the Organizing Committee of the 1st country winning most gold medals in each separate sport. World Mind Sports Games held a Press Conference on the sec- ond floor of the BICC. In a packed conference room, Mr Chu In the second part of the Press Conference, the journalists Bo welcomed everyone on behalf of the Committee and then present were given the opportunity to ask questions to the handed the microphone to Mrs Xiao Min, assistant Minister of ladies and gentlemen behind the green table. As a number of General Sports Administration in China. In her welcome ad- journalists from various Chinese media, both TV and newspa- dress, she presented a review of the preparations made to en- pers, asked a few specific questions, some interesting points sure the success of this event, the third major sports competi- were made in the various replies. tion in Beijing following the Olympic Games and the Para- lympics. The China General Administration of Sport and its For example, Mr Damiani made it very clear that he felt much Board and Card Games Administrative Center have cooperat- happier and more relaxed now about this event than when the ed with the People’s Government of Beijing and the Municipal same journalist, Mr Xu Xun, asked him this same question one Bureau of Sports to organize all aspects of this event for the year ago. He would hopefully feel even more relaxed, Mr Damiani nearly 3,000 players and about 600 staff people involved, repre- added, in a fortnight’s time from now… senting no less than 143 countries in all. Another issue raised were the requirements a Mind Sport Next, Mr Liu Siming, the Director General of the Board and should meet with to become a member of the IMSA. Basically, Card Games Administrative Center, took the microphone to there are two main criteria. The game should not contain any welcome the audience. He drew attention to the fact that the element of luck rather than ability and skill, and the game should preparations of these Games only started in May 2007, so a preferably be spread over all continents of the world. Bridge tremendous job had been done in a relatively short time. Then, and Chess, already recognised by the IOC, easily meet with he gave some important details both these criteria; Draughts and about the various sports com- Go are both spread over various petitions. parts over the world as well, though possibly played less fre- In all, 35 gold medals will be quently everywhere. Xiangqi is awarded: 9 for Bridge, 10 for not yet a member of the IMSA, Chess, 6 for Go, 5 for Draughts due to the fact that as it stands and 5 for Xiangqi. There will also today, it is restricted to some big be a trophy of honour, awarded parts of Asia only. Still, it is very by the IMSA to the country rank- frequently played, as the number ing first in the final Gold Medals of players in China alone already and medals standings. stands at about 100 million (!). Its inclusion in this 1st WMSG The Organizing Committee’s may well lead to the game be- job was enlightened because coming much better known out- they could profit from the expe- side Asia too. Here in China, Xi- rience gained by the Beijing angqi is a popular enough game Olympic Organizing Committee even on TV: in the province of about the working method and mode for press and publicity. , they even have a TV channel fully dedicated to The Committee also cooperated with Air China, the WMSG Xiangqi. global partner, in the field of air tickets service to overseas play- ers. General Motors Buick is the sponsor of WMSG These WMSG are an excellent occasion, more generally vehicles. China Network Communications Group provides net- speaking, for each Mind Sport to get better known among the work equipment and service. Aigo provides Miaobi products players competing here in a different discipline. A good example and technical services as the exclusive provider of the digital of the opposite of Xiangqi would be Draughts: this game was products and storage devices. Yongming Pearl Palace Co. Ltd. practically unknown in China before these WMSG were being from Naning, Guangxi, provides pearl gifts for the 1st WMSG. staged in this country, so fond of board and card games. It is es- Grace Pearl Co. Ltd. provides special gifts for the 1st WMSG. timated that every day, an average of 80 million Chinese are Anta provides uniforms for the Chinese delegation and staff. playing all types of card and board games, both luck and skill Motorola China Electronics provides wireless communication games, online. products. Nestle provides beverages for the Chinese delega- tion. Zhuyeqing Tea will be the exclusive tea gifts for the Games. A very special question was the one in which Mr Damiani was Star Chess and Cards provides games equipments. invited to make a prediction about which country would win the 1st overall IMSA Trophy. Mr Damiani’s personal, careful pre- Finally, Mr José Damiani, the IMSA President, thanked the Or- diction was that this might very well be the hosts! ganizing Committee and the people of Beijing and China for their fine achievements so far. He then confirmed the plan to A warm word of “Thank You ” by Mr Chu Bo, in which Mrs award a trophy to the country winning most gold medals and Xiao Min, Mr Liu Siming and Mr José Damiani gracefully joined, informed the audience there would also be trophies for the then concluded the Press Conference.

3 1st World Mind Sports Games Beijing, China

Sunshine and Go! Based on a story by James Davies The Open Event Elsewhere, Wang Xi (China) defeated Michael Redmond (USA) in block E; The third day of the Games featured a return to sunshine and blue skies Wang Mingwan (O Meien) of Chinese Taipei handed Yang Shihai of Hong and the beginning of the open event in the go section. Open means open Kong China his second defeat in block F; and in the battle of unbeaten only to amateurs, and many of the non-Asian countries put their best play- players in block G Park Younghun of the Republic of Korea won against ers into this event. One of these is Fernando Aguilar, the Argentine who Sakai Hideyuki of Japan. There is now one undefeated player in each of the beat two 9-dan pros in the first Toyota and Denso Cup. Playing on the top eight blocks, but the question of who will continue into the best-of-six- board in block A, he found himself matched against 2005 world amateur teen final knockout will be decided by the results of the sixth round this champion Hu Yuqing of China, and went down to defeat. More successful afternoon, with much depending on SOS tie-break points. was British 6-dan Tony Goddard, who defeated 5-dan Io Kingpeng of The women’s individual event China. In some other closely-matched games, Georghe Cornel In the third round of the women’s individual event, Australian pro Joanne Burzo of Romania defeated Milos Bojanic of Serbia, Jo Taewon of DPR Missingham notched her third straight victory, this time beating Pan Kunyu Korea defeated Kuo Naifu of Chinese Taipei, and Yen Tingyu of of Chinese Taipei, who plays professionally in Japan. Fellow-Australian defeated Chan Naisan of Hong Kong China. Xuehi (Cathy) Zhang also won, defeating pro Kan Ying of Hong Kong. Of Standings of this event will regularly appear from tomorrow onwards. the three high-flying DPR Korean women, only Hwang Kyongju emerged The Men’s individual event unscathed from this round, defeating Yoshihara (Umezawa) Yukari of Japan. In the men’s individual event, a Korean finally lost: Baek Hongsuk was de- In the next round Hwang will test herself against the world’s best: Rui Nai- feated by Yamada Kimio of Japan, who is now owns the lead in block C. wei of China, who now plays professionally in the Republic of Korea.

Group 1 - Men Group 2 - Men Group 1 - Women Group 2 - Women Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. DONG YOON KANG KOR 10 JIN SEUK MOK KOR 10 AKIKO INA JPN 6 NAIWEI RUI CHN 6 LAZAREV ALEXEY RUS 8 LIONEL ZHANG USA 8 XUE HUI ZHANG AUS 6 JI EUN PARK KOR 6 TOMOYASU MIMURA JPN 8 RUIYANG ZHOU CHN 8 MIN JIN LEE KOR 6 KYONG JU HWANG PRK 6 YAOYE CHEN CHN 8 YI-HSIU LEE TPE 8 YING KAN HKG 4 JING-YI WANG TPE 4 ZBYNEK DACH CZE 6 KAI TAI CHAN HKG 6 RAPHAEL SHIN AUS 8 XIAOREN HE CAN 4 CHERRY SHEN USA 4 B. ZHURAKOVSKYI UKR 6 ANDRII KRAVETS UKR 6 M. ZAKHARCHENKO UKR 4 YUKARI YOSHIHARA JPN 4 MIIKA NIKULA FIN 6 FRANCESCO MARIGO ITA 6 BARBARA KNAUF GER 4 MANUELA MARZ GER 4 ANTOLINEZ ANTOLIN ESP 6 UFFE RASMUSSEN DEN 6 TINA ZHANG USA 4 ELVINA KALSBERG RUS 4 CHIN-HUA PENG TPE 6 VALENTIN SERBAN ROM 6 R. JOSEFINA PAPESCHI ARG 4 EWA MOS POL 4 KUOK WANG CHAN MAC 6 MIKA URTELA FIN 6 P. CHUAN LING,KAREN SIN 4 W. NAWARUK THA 4 YIMING GUO AUS 6 PAL BALOGH HUN 6 JIN A RO PRK 4 JANA HRICOVA CZE 4

Group 3 - Men Group 4 - Men Group 3 - Women Group 4 - Women Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. KIMIO YAMADA JPN 10 LI GU CHN 10 RITA POCSAI HUN 6 NATALIA KOVALEVA RUS 6 HONG SUK BAEK KOR 8 LIH-CHEN WANG TPE 8 JOANNE MISSINGHAM AUS 6 RONGHUI SONG CHN 6 WEI CHENG CAN 8 LEE CHENG CHI NZL 8 YOUYIN CAO CHN 6 HSIAO-TUNG LIN TPE 6 SONG WON KIM PRK 8 HON HUNG SIU HKG 8 MARTINA SIMUNKOVA CZE 4 SEUL A LEE KOR 4 ALI JABARIN ISR 6 XINYU TU USA 6 WEI HE AUS 6 ONDREJ KRUML CZE 6 YUCONG PHEASE NZL 4 KANA MANNAMI JPN 4 CESAR MUNOZ ESP 6 XENOS KHAN CAN 6 SVETLANA SHIKSHINA RUS 4 L. AUGUSTINA AVRAM ROM 4 PIERS SHEPPERSON GBR 6 M. HALCHENKO UKR 6 KUN-YU PAN TPE 4 KLARA ZALOUDKOVA CZE 4 THOMAS DEBARRE FRA 6 NIKOLA MITIC SRB 6 MARIKA DUBIEL POL 4 S. YING TUNG LAU HKG 4 HUIREN YANG USA 6 TOBIAS BERBEN GER 6 YU MI KIM PRK 4 NGOC-TRANG CAO FRA 4 MERO CSABA HUN 6 ALEXANDRE AMARO BRA 6 LOK YI LEE HKG 4 WEI CHEN AUS 4 JAN SIMARA CZE 6 ZHAN BIN KANG SIN 6 D. CORNUEJOLS FRA 4 DIANA KOSZEGI HUN 4 Group 5 - Men Group 6 - Men Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. XI WANG CHN 10 JUNG SANG PARK KOR 10 HIROSHI YAMASHIRO JPN 8 DMYTRO IATSENKO UKR 8 MENG HOU CHEONG MAC 8 XIANYU LI CAN 8 MATEUSZ SURMA POL 8 MING-WAN WANG TPE 8 MICHAEL REDMOND USA 8 NIKOLA EVTIC SRB 6 SHI HAI YANG HKG 6 JUN FAN CAN 6 WEI QIAN AUS 6 YONG JIN RI PRK 6 WAN KAO LOU MAC 6 KAIKUN (KEN) XIE NZL 6 R. SAKHABUTDINOV RUS 6 ARTEM DUGIN RUS 6 MATTHEW BURRALL USA 6 SERGII RYDZEL UKR 6 DRAGAN PAUNIC BIH 6 N. AROONPHAICHITRA THA 6 DUSAN MITIC SRB 6 Group 7 - Men Group 8 - Men Name NOC CP. Name NOC CP. YOUNG HUN PARK KOR 10 XING LIU CHN 10 HIDEYUKI SAKAI JPN 8 NAOTO HIKOSAKA JPN 8 M. MACFADYEN GBR 8 LUCIAN CORLAN ROM 8 ZHE LI CHN 8 LI-YU CHANG TPE 8 MIJODRAG STANKOVIC SRB 6 XAVER GUBAS SVK 6 MATTI SIIVOLA FIN 6 GERARDUS GROENEN NED 6 IGNACIO CANGAS ESP 6 TENGXIAO WU FRA 6 EMILIO GALICIA MEX 6 DONG MING LIU AUS 6 JANNIK RASMUSSEN DEN 6 JONG HYOK CHA PRK 6 JAN HORA CZE 6 APIDET JIRASORHIN THA 6 BRAM KOSTER NED 6 TUNG TSANG HKG 6

4 3-18 October 2008 1st World Mind Sports Games

A Charm Named World Xiangqi “Xiangqi Spirit” Federation by Liu Yanan The World Xiangqi Federation, abbreviated as WXF, was founded on April 6th, 1993 during the 3rd World Xiangqi It is the venue of Xiangqi Championships in Beijing, China. The current President is men’s rapid, being held Timothy Fok; the First Vice-President is Liu Siming (also on the 1st day of the the President of the Chinese Xiangqi Association); and the World Mind Sports Games. Here the wise Secretary General is Liu Xiaofang (female, also the Secre- men and famous players tary General of the Chinese Xiangqi Association). The Sec- are gathering in the retariat is located in Beijing. Arena. The intense at- mosphere can be felt The objectives of the World Xiangqi Federation are: even from the 1st set of the 1st round as if one 1.to promote the development of Xiangqi in the world, move is enough to win to organize and develop xiangqi activities internationally. everything. Apart from the Chinese players in red, the most striking to 2.to encourage and assist the xiangqi organizations affili- me is the oldest person present at the venue: the delegate of ated to the Federation to organize diversified xiangqi ac- Honduras, Mr. Yi Kam Siu. He is often called Mr. Yu Kuai, which tivities. means “happy” in Chinese. The first meeting with Mr. Yu Kuai was at the Drawing Lots 3.to promote exchanges and cooperation among xiangqi Ceremony, Oct. 3rd, which made an indelible impression on organizations in various countries (regions) through xi- me. He is an old man who is always busy and vigorous; but he angqi activities, to enhance friendship among peoples as is also the one who would always forget where the Xiangqi well as xiangqi fans of all nations. competition venue is. He is an ethnic Chinese who can speak fluently dialect, English and Spanish; but he is also The Executive Committee Members hold an office of a the one that persists in talking to us in his broken Chinese. period of four years, and may be re-elected. The Executive He is a friend who always greets and smiles at the volunteers every time he passes by. Committee consists of six permanent working units: the With all the cordial and honorable feeling, I started the talk Secretariat, the Study Sub-Committee, the Financial Sub- with Mr. Yu Kuai after the closing of the 1st day’s competition. Committee, the Popularization Sub-Committee, the Com- He told me he is the secretary of the Yee Fung Toy Society petition Sub-Committee, and the Qualification Sub-Com- of Montreal Chinese Chess Association. Xiangqi is a career to mittee. The Secretary General is in charge of the Secre- him. He also told me that playing Xiangqi is even more toil- tariat and is responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the some than physical exercises; the intense situation can always Federation. make him nervous or even soaked with sweat; in spite of all that he still feels exhilarative. In the last twenty years, he has The World Xiangqi Championship is organized biennially. returned three times to his motherland. This time well across 23 member associations of the Federation participated in the distances and spaces he came back again for Xiangqi. Xi- the 10th World Xiangqi Championship held in Paris, 2007. angqi is his love towards China. Mr. Yu Kuai’s performance at the games is not very ideal, but The World Xiangqi Federation and the xiangqi activities he is still the focus of attention for many people. There is a organized by the Federation respect the International charm named “Xiangqi Spirit” in him. That is the spirit of Mind Sports Association and agree with its objectives and equanimity, aspiration and persistence, which is sparkling aims as well as the General Principles of the World Mind around the whole venue. Sports Games.

Xiangqi Contest Winners List 䊑 ỻ ㄎ 䎋 㧧 ྆ ਽ অ

Events 䠁⡼ 䬦⡼ 䬌⡼ 亩ⴞ

Men Rapid Wang Yang Jiang Chuan Chiu Yu ⭧ᆀᘛỻ CHN ⊚ ⌻ CHN 㪻 ᐍ HKG Kuen䎥⊍ᵳ ѝഭ ѝഭ ѝഭ俉⑟

5 1st World Mind Sports Games Beijing, China

Wang Yang Jiang Chuan, Wang Yang, Chiu Yu Kuen

Ranking of Men's Rapid Xiangqi Ranking of Men's Rapid Xiangqi ⭧ᆀ䊑ỻᘛỻ䎋਽⅑ޜᐳ ⭧ᆀ䊑ỻᘛỻ䎋਽⅑ޜᐳ

Rank Team Name match point Total game points Victory game Rank Team Name match point Total game points Victory game

਽⅑ ԓ㺘䱏 ဃ਽ ൪࠶ ᙫተ࠶ 㜌ተ ਽⅑ ԓ㺘䱏 ဃ਽ ൪࠶ ᙫተ࠶ 㜌ተ

CHN Wang Yang MAC Choi Houwa 1 33 15 20 18 9 ୰ᅜ ứὒ 17 ⃧斐 ᚎᾈ⋶ 9 CHN Jiang Chuan MAC Chan Chioweng 2 29 13 21 18 7 ୰ᅜ ⵓᕝ 15 ⃧斐 旰搲匋 9 HKG Chiu Yu Kuen CAN Lin Junwei 3 25 12 22 17 7 ୰ᅜ㤶 崝㰅㛫 13 ຍᣡ኱ ᯘྩ亜 9 SIN Kng Ter Yong GBR Chen Fazuo 4 25 11 23 17 7 ᪂ຍᆜ ᗣᚫⲰ 12 ⱥᅜ 旰⍹Ỹ 9 USA Mou,Hai Qin MYA Yang Chounmyint 5 23 10 24 18 8 ⨾ᅜ ∹ᾏ໅ 12 亭䓠 㜐㗍≱ 8 TPE Chiang,Chung-Hao NED Hsu Wei Kuo 6 22 9 25 16 8 ୰⋶⎘⊿ Ụ୰㇦ 12 Ⲵ℘ ᚎệ⚥ 8 TPE Chen,Li-Feng FIN 7 22 11 26 Jouni Ramo 14 6 ୰⋶⎘⊿ 旰䩳ᷘ 11 ⰷ℘ 8 ARG Lu,Liangcheng MYA 8 22 11 27 ᑺඛப 17 7 㜿᰿ᘐ ⎽列ㆸ 11 亭䓠 7 HKG Wong Hok Him FIN Mikko Tornqvist 9 22 10 28 16 7 ୰ᅜ㤶 㯤Ꮫ寎 11 ⰷ℘ 总㖶檀 7 VIE Nguyen Thanh Bao HON Yi Kam Siu 10 22 9 29 14 7 ㉺༡ 㜲ᡂಖ 11 ὥ㒔ᢼ᪁ వᛌ 7 VIE Nguyen Vu Quan RUS 11 20 7 30 Galochkin Sergey 14 6 ㉺༡ 㜲Ṋ⅃ 11 ಂ仿㕗 7 AUS ⻈檀㈔ AUS Shijie Zhu 12 21 10 31 13 6 ⃧኱฼Ṃ Gaoyang Zhang 10 ⃧኱฼Ṃ ⚃ⶰ㜘 7 FRA Phung Kim Dang JPN Yamanaka Joji 13 21 10 32 13 6 ἲᅜ ⅗ᷡ 10 ᪥ᮏ ᒣ୰ 孑㱣 7 ITA He Zhimin GER 14 20 10 33 Andreas Klein 13 6 ព኱฼ ఱᚿᩄ 10 ᚫᅜ 6 GER Pu Fangyao JPN Kumano Kazunobu 15 20 9 34 13 6 ᚫᅜ ℅᪉⯏ 10 ᪥ᮏ ⇃㔝 ࿴ఙ 6 NED Rongguang RUS 16 20 8 35 Zorin Daniil 11 5 Ⲵ℘ ྔⲰග 10 ಂ仿㕗 5 USA Ji,Jia Qing UKR 17 19 9 36 Viktor Shevchuk 94 ⨾ᅜ 乒▱⸮ 10 ᷴ⃳℘ 5 FRA Dang Nicolas UKR 18 20 8 37 Volodymyr Korsak 84 ἲᅜ 总㶭⾈ 9 ᷴ⃳℘ 4 CAN Ho Shing Kin Bye 19 19 9 38 0 00 ຍᣡ኱ ఱᡂ✂ 9 弖䨢

6 3-18 October 2008 1st World Mind Sports Games

About Go By courtesy of the International Go Federation

The history of Go territory. At the end of the game the players count one stretches back some point for each vacant intersection inside their own territo- 3000 years, and the ry, and one point for every stone they have captured. The rules have remained one with the larger total is the winner. essentially unchanged throughout this very Capturing stones is certainly one way of gaining territory, long period. The game but one of the subtleties of Go is that aggression does not al- probably originated in ways pay. The strategic and tactical possibilities of the game China or the Hi- are endless, providing a challenge and enjoyment to players at malayas. Mythology every level. The personalities of the players emerge very has it that the future of clearly on the Go board. The game reflects the skills of the Tibet was once decid- players in balancing attack and defence, making stones work ed over a Go board, when the Buddhist ruler refused to go efficiently, remaining flexible in response to changing situa- into battle; instead he challenged the aggressor to a game tions, timing, analysing accurately and recognising the of Go to avoid bloodshed. In the Far East, where it origi- strengths and weaknesses of the opponent. nated, Go enjoys great popularity today, and interest in the game is growing steadily. Notice To ensure the security of all participants in the China National Con- Go is a territorial game. The board, marked with a grid of vention Center (CNCC), all people carrying bags must go through 19 lines by 19 lines, may be thought of as a piece of land to the security check at the entrance of the Bridge competition venue be shared between the two players. One player has a sup- in CNCC. The corridor between the North Star InterContinental ply of black pieces, called stones, the other a supply of Hotel and the China National Convention Center is only for the peo- ple without bags. Please follow the instructions of the volunteers. white. The game starts with an empty board and the play- Thanks for your cooperation. ers take turns, placing one stone at each turn on a vacant point. Black plays first, and the stones are placed on the in- tersections of the lines rather than in the squares. Once Notice played, stones are not moved. However they may be sur- rounded and so captured, in which case they are removed from the board as prisoners. If you would like to take the shut- tle buses to the airport when The players normally start by staking out their claims to leaving, please register your flight parts of the board which they intend eventually to sur- information at the Volunteer Ser- round and thereby make into territory. However, fights be- vice Desk in the competition tween enemy groups of stones provide much of the ex- venue of BICC and CNCC. citement in a game, and can result in dramatic exchanges of

7 1st World Mind Sports Games Beijing, China