Go Seigen Best of Ten Matches

1933 Kitani Minoru

Best of ten match, sponsored by Jiji Shinpo.

1 2 3 4 5 6 T Go Seigen B+R W+8 B+4 3 Kitani Minoru B+R B+R W+4 3

1939 Kitani Minoru

The second best of ten match ("Kamakura jubango"), sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun. The games were played in the Kenkuji, Engakuji and Hachimaiju Temples near Kamakura, which is why it is called the Kamakura jubango. The game recorder for the first game was Miss Hagiwara Sachiko. The game fee for each game was Yen 700. Both players were accommodated in the Kamakura Beach Hotel. At the start of the first game both players were wearing full Japanese dress of haori and hakama and had folding fans. The colours for the first game had not been chosen in advance so they were chosen by nigiri, Go taking handfuls of white stones and Kitani saying "Even", which proved to be correct, so Kitani took Black.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Go Seigen B+5 B+R W+R B+R 6 Kitani Minoru W+2 B+R B+1 W+R B+R W+R 4

1941 Karigane Jun'ichi

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun. No more than 5 games were played in the match because it would have meant Karigane being beaten down to a handicap of Black-White-Black, since the score was 4-1 to Go.

1 2 3 4 5 T Go Seigen B+4 4 Karigane Jun'ichi W+R B+6 B+3 W+R 1

1942 Fujisawa Hosai

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun. This was the only best-of-ten match which Go Seigen ever lost.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Fujisawa Hosai W+R W+4 W+R W+R 6 Go Seigen B+3 B+3 B+3 B+R B+R B+R 4

1946 Hashimoto Utaro

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Go Seigen W+5 B+2 ½ B+R 6½ Hashimoto Utaro W+1 B+R W+8 B+R B+R W+R 3½

1948 Iwamoto Kaoru

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun.

An interesting dispute arose during the first game of this match. "Iwamoto maintained that he didn't need to add a stone at A (see game record), because he had more ko threats than White. According to the Nihon Ki-in rules promulgated the following year, players had to eliminate possible kos at the end of the game, but at this time there was no official set of rules. The game was a win for Go Seigen anyway, but since Segoe, the referee, could not resolve the dispute, the Yomiuri published the result as 'White won by 1 or 2 points'. Several days later, it transpired that a Nihon Ki-in committee set up in Shusai's time had drawn up a byelaw that agreed with Iwamoto's interpretation, so the official result became a win by one point." The Go Player's Almanac, Ishi Press, 1992.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Go Seigen B+3 ½ B+3 7½ Iwamoto Kaoru W+1 B+R B+R W+8 B+12 W+3 B+R 2½

1950 Hashimoto Utaro

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Hashimoto Utaro W+7 B+R ½ B+R B+8 W+8 4 Go Seigen B+R ½ B+R B+4 6

1951 Fujisawa Hosai

Best of ten match sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Go Seigen W+6 W+R 7½ Fujisawa Hosai W+R ½ W+R B+R W+R B+R W+3 W+R 2½

1952 Fujisawa Hosai

Best of ten match.

1 2 3 4 5 6 T Go Seigen B+4 5 Fujisawa Hosai W+R B+R W+R W+5 B+R 1

1953 Sakata Eio

Best of ten match (only 8 played) sponsored by the Yomiuri Shinbun. If the match would have continued, Sakata would have been driven down to a lower handicap. It had been agreed beforehand that the match would not continue if this would happen.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 T Go Seigen B+R B+2 6 Sakata Eio B+R W+2 B+10 W+R W+R B+7 2

1955 Takagawa Shukaku

Best of ten match.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T Go Seigen B+R B+1 B+R B+1 6 Takagawa Shukaku B+3 W+R B+R B+R B+R W+1 4