On Sunday 6th May, six games were played on OGS between players of Tony's Go Club and the Senthé Go Club in Montreal, Canada. The players who represented Tony's Go Club are Kevin Liu, Yang Chao, Shuo Chen Yang, Patrick Zhou, Yao Meng and Tony Li. In response, the Canadian team also had several strong participants, namely: Qi You Wu, strong amateur 9D on Tygem who has played for Senthé as first board on multiple occasions; Manuel Velasco, strong OGS 6 dan who was a former insei in the Korean Baduk Association; James Sedgwick, the president of the Canadian Go Association.
The match was broadcasted on popular gaming livestream website twitch.tv. Live commentaries are offered by YoonYoung Kim, a 4 dan professional currently coaching the Senthé Go Club. You can find several videos of the event here, here and here.
Game 1
Our first board, Kevin Liu was paired against Qi You Wu, who played extremely aggressively in an ambitious attempt to forcefully contain Kevin's group. But Kevin nimbly escaped danger by exploiting the weaknesses QiYou left in his position. After the attacking stones are captured, the game was a sound victory for our 2017 champion.
Below is the game record, Kevin played white and Qi You played black.
Game 2
Things weren't so easy for Yang Chao, as Manuel demonstrated his mastery of the middle game by controlling the game single-handedly. There were a few big exchanges throughout the game, but it wasn't looking so good for us. However, Yang Chao made a remarkable comeback in the endgame, where he initiated a gargantuan ko that enabled him to destroy a large chunk of white's territory on the upper left. Well done!
Yang Chao played black this game.
Game 3
Shuo Chen demonstrated his prowess as a talented Go player against Sedgwick, the strong Canadian Go Association president. An analysis by Leela 0.11.0 showed Shuo Chen gradually built his advantage until he secured his win. Not once was he behind. Sedgwick has held his own very well until he a few minor mistakes that led to his demise.
Shuo Chen played white this game against Sedgwick.
Game 4
Patrick Zhou faced off against Boyan Fan, a very strong player at Senthé. After a gruelling 40 minute match, the game was close till the end. Boyan was keen to spring onto any opportunities that arise on the board. Patric was unable to close the komi gap in the end!
Patrick played black this game against Boyan.
Game 5
Yao Meng is one of Kevin Liu's strongest students. Her opponent, Vincent Bilodeau, is one of the stronger adult players at Senthé. The game remained close from the very beginning. A misread from Vincent has allowed Yao to play a clever net which captured several key cutting stones. However, Vincent was quick to make up for his mistake, and quickly retook the lead with efficient moves that outperformed Yao's. Both players played quite well!
Yao played black this game against Vincent.
Game 6
Tony Li took on Jean-François Gagnier, an active dan level player from Senthé. It seems Jean-François has an extremely aggressive style which stirred the board into chaos by the middle game. Unwilling to back down, Tony took on the challenge to fight head on. After a stunning display of tesujis and wit, Jean-François successfully pinned down Tony's groups and secured a solid win.
Final Result
The final result is 3-3 between Tony's Club and Senthé, a satisfactory result to conclude the friendly exchange. A big thanks to YoonYoung Kim for the amazing opportunity and a shoutout to everyone who has participated.