Just after the third-round victory by 11-year-old Cheng-hsun Chen of Chinese Taipei over Taewon Jo of DPR Korea, Chen and his mother were interviewed by reporters.

Cheng-hsun Chen (L) and Jia-hua He (R)

Reporter: How do you feel about winning?
Chen: A little happy.

Reporter: Have you played with many very strong opponents before?
Chen: Not many.

Reporter: Many people were gathered around your game watching. Did that bother you?
Chen: No.

Reporter: What was your impression of your opponent?
Chen: He was tough.

(At this point Chen seemed disinclined to say anything more.)

Reporter (to Chen’s mother Jia-hua He): How did your son qualify for this tournament?
He: He won a national tournament sponsored by the Ing Foundation, which determines who will represent Chinese Taipei at the World Amateur Go Championship. This tournament is open to all players, adults and children alike. He also won a national primary-school championship, sponsored by a newspaper, and has won various other tournaments. We have a national rating system, in which he is now number two. Later this year he will represent Chinese Taipei in the junior division of the Ing Foundation’s World Youth Goe Championship.

Reporter: When did he start playing go?
He: Before he was six. I encouraged him to study go, English, and many, many other things, but he made quickest progress in go, so I encouraged him to continue.

Reporter: How does he study the game?
He: Almost entirely on his own. For the past three months he’s been taking professional lessons from Chang-jing Chen, a professional 5-dan, but the lessons are only once a week, and then only if the pro has time.

Reporter: Does he intend to become a professional go player?
He: He himself is keen on that, but I think he should finish primary school first and then make up his mind. He’s now in the fifth grade. When and if he decides that he really wants to become a pro, I’ll support his decision.

Reporter: Thank you.

– photo by Yoshitaka Morimoto