Ranka online

Representative from Germany: Robert Jasiek

Ranka: How do you like this WAGC?
Jasiek: Well, it certainly is a big happening, the players field is kind of what I had expected, some kyu players some dan players and some real strong players.

Ranka: Although this is the first time you are participating in the WAGC it is not your first in Japan, is it?
Jasiek: True, I was here before to participate in the 3rd meeting of the International Go Rules Forum in 2005.

Rober Jasiek

Ranka: please tell us who do you think has the best chances of winning this time?
Jasiek: er…  I haven’t given it any thought, actually. After his loss yesterday to Hong Kong I think that Japan’s chances are pretty bleak. So the top two probably will be China and Korea but I don’t actually have a good impression of exactly how strong the representatives from Hong Kong and Taiwan are.
But anyway, I think that it is a pity DPR Korea is not here this year. In recent years when they participated their player always was very strong. If DPR Korea would compete in the WAGC again I think they certainly will have a a good chance to finish in one of the top slots.

Ranka: As you are a rules expert I’d like to ask you this related question, do you think that this tournament system, an 8 round Swiss system, is a good way to decided the amateur world champion?
Jasiek: Yes, sure, the Swiss system is actually a good system to determine the number one player. You need a certain amount of minimal rounds, of course. The 8 round system used in the WAGC is pretty good but the problem with a fixed round system is that you could have a number of players ending up winning together with the same number of wins.
Commonly tiebreakers are used (e.g. SoS points) to further narrow down the field but I do not like any kind of tiebreaking system as it is actually pretty close to drawing straws!
That’s why I’ve been thinking about setting up a tournament system with a flexible number of rounds. In case of the WAGC I’d propose to set the number of rounds at at least 7, if you’d have a clear winner at that time just declare the winner and end the competition. On the other hand, if there would be several players with the same number of wins than just continue for one or two rounds until that problem is solved. In terms of “fairness” this is much better than tiebreakers.

Ranka: Is this system in use already that you know of?
Jasiek: No, as far as I know this system only exist inside my head, it’s not adopted yet. By the way, I said that I hate tiebreakers but the only barely acceptable exception could be to have a play-off, using only a third or a quarter of the original time allowances.

Ranka For people who are not familiar with your name I’ll repeat that you are a rules expert. Can we ask how you got to become one?
Jasiek When I ran into go the first time it was in 1981, I was about 10. I was at a department store and there they had a book about go but it was impossible to actually learn how to play a game correctly no matter how long you’d study it.
So while we thought that we were playing go, it actually turned out that we played something completely different. It went on like this for a couple of years until I was fortunate enough to run into a teacher who happened to be Jurgern Mattern, a former European Go Champion.
During his first lesson he already mentioned that all over the world there are different rule sets. I immediately wanted to find more about those rules and asked about them but Mattern told me that he’d handle those some other time. He never actually came back to explaining the rules.
I never lost that idea of wanting to find about more about exactly how the rules were defined. Later on I continued the study mathematics but I actually quit that after a few years to continue studying about go.

Ranka What kind of work do you do?
Jasiek I write about go and also do some teaching. This actually started only recently so it’s not clear whether or not I can manage to make a living from doing just those things.
My first book is set to come out soon now, though. We are in the proofreading stage and if there are no unexpected obstacles than it should come out within this year.

Ranka What is your book about?
Jasiek It’s about Joseki but it’s not just a dictionary; many useful ideas are explained in detail. My aim certainly has been to produce a quality book.

Ranka Thank you Robert Jasiek and good luck with your go career and, of course, the remaining rounds of the WAGC!

Ranka

Runan Wang 8p, chairman of the Chinese Weiqi Association, has been attending the World Amateur Go Championship and other international go tournaments for three decades, and has extensive experience in liason between the Chinese Weiqi Association and the International Go Federation. He was also closely involved in the organization of the first World Mind Sports Games in Beijing in 2008.

Runan Wang

Ranka: Could you start by reviewing the World Mind Sports Games?
Wang: This is a tournament that was made possible by the efforts of a tremendous number of people. Since it was the first time such an event had been held, in many ways the organizers were groping their way forward, and perhaps some things could have been done better, but it turned out to have very positive results for the development of mind sports. Mind sports have always been well recognized in China. Go has a long history in China as a refined game, an accomplishment. Chinese philosophy recognizes go as a deep game with much to teach us, many paths to show us. Because of this cultural background, the World Mind Sports Games were well publicized in China, and their significance was widely recognized by the Chinese populace. Perhaps they could have benefited from more publicity in other countries as well.

Ranka: Could you also review the history of the World Amateur Go Championship up till now?
Wang: This tournament sprang from within the Nihon Kiin and it has been sustained for thirty years by the Nihon Kiin’s efforts. These have been thirty years of really wonderful success, both in terms of the great increase in the number of participating countries and territories and in the great increase of the level of the play. The Nihon Kiin, and a large number of Japanese people and organizations, deserve great credit for starting this tournament and keeping it growing and developing.

Ranka: What do you expect of the World Amateur Go Championship in the future?
Wang: I see the World Amateur Go Championship becoming a cooperative effort by China, Japan, and Korea, so I expect it  to get even better.

Ranka: Finally, what can you tell us about the great development we are seeing in go in China?
Wang: This is the result of tremendous effort put into promoting the game in many ways: on Chinese television, the radio, the newspapers, and the Internet. We have asked the government for support, but most of the effort has come from the Chinese Weiqi Association and from the regional weiqi organizations and individual fans and players in China. It also helps that the game has very good social standing in China. Its educational value is well recognized by everyone. People think that go should be part of  your education. But another important factor is simply that go is a very interesting game, so we are able to tell people to play go because it is terrific fun. If it were just a matter of educational value, people might get tired of too much education, but go is also a way to enjoy yourself, and that is what keeps people playing the game. In China, we stress both of these points: the educational value and the fun factor.

Ranka: Thank you.

Belarus is a small country in Eastern Europe, It shares borders with 5 countries, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Siarhei Korbut from Mogilev, the third biggest city in Belarus, talked with Ranka after his game in round 5.

Ranka: Mr. Korbut representing Belarus, welcome. Is this your first time at the WAGC?
Korbut: Yes, it is. It’s my first time in Japan and actually it’s my first time in any kind of foreign competition.

Siarhei Korbut

Ranka: So, what do you think of this championship?
Korbut: Ah, it’s so big! I never played at anything like it in my country. I’m feeling constantly overwhelmed by new impressions and emotions.

Ranka: Does that make it difficult for you to concentrate and play a good game?
Korbut: No, I’m fine when I’m playing.

Ranka: What do you do in your home country?
Korbut: I’m a civil engineer, I build bridges, buildings and roads.

Ranka: Are there many players in Belarus?
Korbut: Not, less than 100. We had this one qualifying tournement which I won so here I am.

Ranka: Since when have you been playing?
Korbut: A little over 3 years. It’s a kind of interesting. I learned go online so the first year or something all my games were played on a go server. I remember that the first time I actually had to play using a real board there were a lot ofthings I didn’t know how to do.

Ranka: Do you have any other hobbies, besides go?
Korbut: Yes, I enjoy making photographs and play a little poker, too.

Ranka: Talking about go related matters, what will you be doing from now?
Korbut: Of course I want to play a good tournament here but my other goal is to make shodan as fast as possible. As I’m quite busy with my job that won’t be easy though I’m afraid.

Ranka: Thank you for your time and success in round 6

Ranka