< The curtain is raised >

The spectacular festival The Professional Pair Go Championship 2013, in which 16 top male and 16 top female professional Go players compete, got off to a start at the headquarters of the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on Saturday, 9 February. The participants were all players of acknowledged strength, but talent at Pair Go cannot be measured just by the individual strength of the players. This is a discipline in which the affinity of the two players on a team, that is, how they work with each other to formulate a consistent strategy, has a big influence. Which teams will be the stars this year? Looking at the tournament chart of the pairings, one is full of expectation.

On this day, three rounds are played, from the 1st round to the semifinals, so the two teams making the final are decided. Important keys to success are maintaining your concentration throughout the day and displaying mental toughness. According to the rules, the team of Hsieh Yi Min (Yimin Xie), Women's Triple Crown holder, and Wang Ming Wan (O Meien) 9-dan, which had won the tournament for two years in a row, was dissolved this year, so that improved the chances of the other pairs.

< Opening Ceremony >

Even more fans than usual had gathered in the tournament venue. In her opening address, Ms. Hiroko Taki, Director and Secretary General of the Japan Pair Go Association, said: 'Top professionals have gathered here today to play Pair Go, so I believe it will be a very enjoyable day for all of you Go fans. I hope you all have a good time today.'

Mr. Hideo Otake, the Chief Referee, said: 'It's rare for so many top players to gather together in one place. I think this will be a splendid day for all Go fans. A public commentary is also being held today, so I hope you will hear something valuable to take away as a memory of the tournament.'

< Beginning of the tournament >

Each pair was introduced on the stage and, amid applause from the large number of spectators, made their way to their seats. Buried in the mass of spectators, the people at the back could not see very well - some stood on tiptoes, some tried to find chinks in the wall of people. The tension mounted as the first round got under way.

Before the round started, the MC carefully explained the rules: 30 seconds a move, ten minutes of separate thinking time per pair, etc. This event is held only once a year, so even professionals might forget the details. Some pairs were confirming with each other the most basic rule of all: the order in which the players played. Of course, the female player with black plays the first move.
The MC explained also that, although consulting partners during the game was illegal, you could consult about whether to resign. The MC suddenly added, 'Both players on a team must not leave their seats at the same time.' This eased the tension.

< Monitors >

Behind the players there were large monitors showing the order of moves. In order to watch the games, spectators had to take a position at the head of a row, but even if you were at the back you could follow the games on the monitors. This innovation helped the audience to enjoy the games. There were many fans watching the monitors who didn't move even when the public commentary started. That shows how much they were appreciated.

< 'What does Pair Go mean to you?' >

The participating players wrote their thoughts about Pair Go on coloured paper. Many of them described their feelings straightforwardly. For example -

'Trusting your opponent and trusting yourself.' (Aya Okuda 3-dan)
'Pair Go is consideration for your partner.' (Chiaki Mukai 5-dan)

Among these, one noteworthy comment was: 'Rather than reading the atmosphere, read ahead.' (Ayumi Suzuki 6-dan)

Perhaps Ms. Suzuki was addressing herself. It's certainly an apt comment. One that made us laugh was 'Relying on the strength of others' (Kumiko Yashiro 5-dan). The male player on the team playing her team wrote 'Adventure' (Satoshi Yuki 9-dan). It would be interesting to see what kind of the game they played.

< The public commentary >

The public commentary was given by 24th Honinbo Shuho (Yoshio Ishida 9-dan) and Tomoko Ogawa 6-dan. Ishida 9-dan immediately made some bold predictions. 'The male players are all irrelevant - the teams in which the female players are enjoying good form have the best prospects. Ms. Hsieh is, of course, a favourite, and I'm also paying attention to Chiaki Mukai and Aya Okuda.'

Ishida 9-dan is clever at arousing the interest of the audience at his public commentaries. However, his discussion immediately goes off the rails. 'The number of beauties among women professionals has increased recently.' Or, 'I'm glad that so-and-so became a professional.' Or 'so-and-so has lost weight and got better taste in clothing.' Lots of his comments are on the edge, but these compliments create a relaxed atmosphere. The feeling is that the audience would accept anything he said.

The assistant commentator, Ogawa 6-dan, listens with a smile on her face. 'A lot of the young players are cute,' she says, sounding like an adult talking about children. She doesn't raise her eyebrows at anything Ishida says. Even so, she occasionally slips the knife in. Ishida is known for his severity towards his female partner when he plays Pair Go. 'Ishida Sensei says that when you play Pair Go you have three opponents.' Ishdia doesn't resist; instead, he seems to welcome her comment for its humour. It's hard to say whether these two are meshing well or not, but the audience certainly enjoys the give-and-take.

< Round 1 >

(White) Akino Izawa 4-dan & 25th Honinbo Chikun vs. (Black) Nao Mannami 2-dan & Naoki Hane 9-dan
Ever since he took his place on the stage, 25th Honinbo Chikun's hair was tousled and unruly. In the old days, he used to tear at his hair while he was playing, which is why his hair used to look so wild. Recently, it has been so frizzy that he says he can't do anything with it. His partner, Akino Izawa, seemed quite nervous. Sitting on the other side of the go board from Chikun would be really tough, but perhaps sitting on the same side of the Go board is even more nerve-wracking.

Mannami 2-dan has acquired a lot of experience, working as an MC on TV and at various events. Her partner, Naoki Hane, is calm during tournament games and doesn't mutter much. With their relaxed manner, they tided over a difficult situation in the game and overcame the tough opposition of the Izawa/Chikun pair. A good win took them to the second round.

(White)Kumiko Yashiro 5-dan & Satoshi Yuki 9-dan vs. (Black)Kazuko Konishi 8-dan & Wang Ming Wan
The Yashiro/Yuki pair attracted attention, but the opposing team included O, who had just won the tournament two years in a row. Yashiro and Yuki did not seem to coordinate well and they were eliminated in the first round.

The Konishi/Wan pair qualified for the second round.

(Black) Hsieh Yi Min, Women's Triple Crown & Satoru Kobayashi 9-dan vs. (White) Kaori Chinen 4-dan & Norimoto Yoda 9-dan
The big favourites of Hsieh and Kobayashi made their appearance. Apparently Kobayashi had been feeling pressure ever since the pairings were decided and he felt he had to break through the first round.

The key point of the game would be whether Yoda could make the most of Chinen's fighting ability.

Ishida 9-dan in his commentary: 'Satoru is in bad form today. Perhaps he's nervous because he's paired with Hsieh .' Chinen and Yoda slipped up during the game, however, and it became one-sided. As expected, Hsieh and Kobayashi won their first game.

(Black) Miori Shimosaka 2-dan & Chang Hsu (Cho U) Kisei vs. (White) Kaori Mimura 2-dan & Shinji Takao 9-dan
Being paired with Chang Kisei was no doubt the source of nervousness rather than pleasure for Shimosaka. She commented: 'The first game was over before I realized it.' One can believe this.

The opposing team of Mimura and Takao looked really strong. Takao has stability when he plays Pair Go and is probably full of consideration for his partner. However, this game didn't go well for his team and it was eliminated in the first round.

One imagines that Shimosaka was satisfied with fulfilling her responsibility by getting through the first round. Big things were now expected of her team.

(Black) Akane Ishii 2-dan & Hiroshi Yamashiro 9-dan vs. (White) Yukari Yoshihara 5-dan & Yuta Iyama, Quintuple Crown
The Ishii/Yamashiro pair played steadily. They needed to, because their male opponent, Yuta Iyama, had been enjoying fantastic success recently. You couldn't expect him to go lightly on you just because it was Pair Go.

Ishida commented that the game looked like being a drawn-out one that didn't give Yoshihara and Iyama a chance to display their strength. In this sort of game, Yamashiro's calm style is an advantage. Ishii and Yamashiro scored a splendid win and proceeded to the second round.

(White) Ayumi Suzuki 6-dan & Koichi Kobayashi, Honorary Triple Crown vs. (Black) Kikuyo Aoki 8-dan & Taiki Seto 7-dan
The Suzuki/Kobayashi pair was favourably rated before the tournament. Ishida commented: 'Koichi is serious and he takes every game seriously.' Ogawa added: 'Suzuki reads deeply and she's good at life-and-death positions.' Both commentators rated this team highly.

The Aoki/Seto pair played their hardest, but suffered a narrow loss by half a point. Suzuki and Kobayashi had luck on their side.

(White) Mika Yoshida 8-dan & Keigo Yamashita Meijin vs. (Black) Aya Okuda 3-dan & Rin Kono 9-dan
This game looked like being fun before it began. Yamashita was checking up on the rules, and the other three players were carefully explaining them to him.

During the game, Yoshida and Yamashita faltered, and Ishida 9-dan declared that their cause was already hopeless, but in Pair Go you never know what will happen. In the end, they staged an upset and secured a narrow victory.

Their game review was lively. Right until the end, they were talking over the Go board, but rather than reviewing sequences, most of the time they were laughing and joking. At one point, just Yamashita and Kono started going over the game, but immediately the laughter started again. This is one of the fun things about Pair Go.

(White) Narumi Osawa 4-dan & Tomochika Mizokami 8-dan vs. (Black) Chiaki Mukai 5-dan & Kanketsu Rin 7-dan
Osawa has experienced victory in this tournament. Mizokami seemed to be lacking in confidence, but the two coordinated very well together.

Mukai and Rin often play each other in study groups, so they know each other well. Mukai said: 'Being paired with Rin, I was unworried.' Rin seemed to be overwhelmed: 'I experienced Mukai's power close up.' Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the first round.