Diagram 1

The showdown between Aohua Hu (China) and Changhun Kim (Korea), considered by many to be one of the most decisive games in the tournament, ended after only 124 moves with the Chinese player resigning after being unable to close the clear territorial gap between him and the Korean.

The final position is shown in Diagram 1. Perhaps the move that most affected the outcome of the game was a highly unusual move played by Hu in the fuseki (Black 1 in Diagram 2). The sequence that continues is almost forced, and the outcome is favourable for White. A more orthodox move like Black 1 in Diagram 3 would lead to a more balanced game with Black able to exert pressure on both the marked groups.

Diagram 2 (left) and Diagram 3

– Ranka, with game comments by Hong Seok Ui 1p in pectore (click here for the sgf file).