Go Wizardry

How to Read Japanese Go Analysis

From Kidō, March 1996

Lee Changho

Compared to the material examined in the last several installments of this How to Read Japanese Go Analysis section, the subject matter this time should be a breeze to get through. The material is fairly simple and it is very short. So more attention will be devoted to the details as covered in the notes. As always, those notes will explain both the vocabulary and grammar, so that one can get a good grasp of the subject even without having studied Japanese previously. First, the vocabulary on the page above is given, then the rōmaji reading of the text, then vocabulary/grammatical notes, and finally the translation.

Vocabulary

Rōmaji

Wadai-Kyoku-Sen

Chō ni

Issun no Suki

<Tongyang Securities Cup Semi-Final, Best-of-Three, Game 1>

White: Lee Changho 7 dan―Black: Chō Chikun, Honinbō

Ai-kawarazu kokusai kisen de Nihon no fushin ga tsuzuite iru. Hon-kisen mo besuto yon ni Nihon senshu no namae ga nai. Semete kankoku daihyō to shite shutsujō shite iru Chō Honinbō ni ganbatte hoshikatta ga, jun-kesshō sanban shōbu ni renpai shite shimatta.

<Ippu> migi-shita-sumi wa saikin no ryūkō-katachi de aru.

<Nifu> Hidari-ue-sumi kuro nanajū-nana kara seri-ai ga hajimatta ga, Chō wa jikan ni owarete utta no de arō, kuro hachijū-kyū to haneta te ga taimingu waruku, shiro kyūjū to fūsa sarete wa warukatta. Kuro hachijū-kyū de wa saki ni kyūjū to atete shinshutsu suru beki datta.

Shiro hyaku-roku kara no Sekitō shibori wa tōzen to wa ie umai tesuji de, kono semeai ga kuro no furi na itte yose-kō de wa shōbu atta. Chō to shite wa iya na atoaji ga nokoru ikkyoku dattarō.

168 shukan Shiro chū-oshi-kachi

[Below Figure 2] Shiro hyaku-jūni hōri-komu (106) Kuro hyaku-jūsan toru (108) Kuro hyaku-yonjū-ichi kō toru (121)

Notes:

This is a Korean tournament and the sponsor is a Korean stock market broker, so the name is “Tongyang,” although in Japanese the kanji are pronounced “Tōyō.” Notice the hiragana placed over the word, “Suki,” (“Gap”) in the title. That notation is called “furigana” and is added to help readers who are not familiar with the kanji. In the past, even kanji that were much more difficult were rarely accorded such treatment, but in recent years there has been a concern that reading skills have diminished in Japan, so more and more often this kind of “annotating” of kanji is to be seen.

In the vocabulary part, in general the present tense of verbs is used, but in the text one will find those words used with different tenses. The same with adjectives. In the vocabulary part, an adjective like 悪い (warui = bad) is given in the present form, but in t it s also used in the past form, i.e., “warukatta.”

相変わらず, ai-kawarazu, is a colloquial term that means “as always” or “as usual.” If someone asks how one has been, the answer, “Ai-kawarazu genki desu,” is an answer that will usually get a smile because it is so informal and casual in its tone. Here it gives one the feeling that the writer is frustrated or discouraged about the situation.

頑張って, ganbatte, is given in the vocabulary part in the infinitive form because that is the most common form that is used of the word. It means to hang tough, to be dogged or tenacious. When encouraging someone to try hard to succeed in some task, “Ganbatte!” or “Ganbatte, ne!” is often used.

Translation:

Topic of Conversation Game Collection

Chō has a Minor Lapse

<Tongyang Securities Cup Semi-final, Best-of-Three, Game 1>

White•Lee Changho 7 dan―Black•Chō Chikun, Honinbō

As always, in international match play Japan’s poor showing continues. In this tournament as well, the names of Japanese players are absent from the [group of] best four. At least one hoped that Chō Honinbō, playing as a representative of Korea, would have hung tough, but he suffered two straight defeats in the best-of-three semi-final.

<Figure 1> In the lower right corner, a currently popular shape [was produced].

<Figure 2> In the upper left corner, jockeying for position began, but Chō must have been playing under time pressure, [because] the timing of the hane of Black 89 was bad, and getting sealed in by White 90 was bad. Black 89 should first have been played as the atari at 90 in order to move out [into the center].

Starting with White 106, a stone tower squeeze [was played] and although it may be said to be natural, it was a skillful tesuji, and [the fact is that] the race to capture here became a one move approach move kō disadvantageous for Black decided the game. For Chō, this game must have left a disagreeable aftertaste.

168 moves. White wins by resignation.

[Below Figure 2] White 112 throw-in (106); Black 113 captures (108); Black 141 takes kō (121)