The 18th Agon Cup

Agon Cup

The Agon Cup is a Go competition.-Biography:The Agon Cup is a Go competition used by the Japanese Nihon Kiin. It was started in 1994 by Agon Shu. The name was originally the "Acom Cup" but it changed its sponsor in 1999 and became the Agon Cup...

began on 21 April 2011 and is still ongoing. Two Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n amateur players were invited to the preliminaries, with both qualifying. Ha Sungbong defeated professionals Yanigasawa Satoshi and Furuya Yutaka. Kim Sungjin defeated 25th Honinbo

Honinbo

Honinbō was the name of one of the four major schools of Go in Japan. Easily the strongest school of Go for most of its existence, it was established in 1612 and survived until 1940....

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's top title holder Cho Chikun

Cho Chikun

Cho Chihun 25th Honinbo Honorary Meijin is a professional Go player. His total title tally of 71 titles is the most in the history of the Japanese Nihon Ki-in. Cho is the only player to hold the top three titles—Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo—simultaneously which he did for 3 years in a row...

. He also defeated Kato Atsushi. In the main tournament, he was knocked out by Iyama Yuta Meijin

Meijin

Meijin , literally translated, means "Brilliant Man." It is the name of the second most prestigious Japanese Go Tournament. It also refers to a traditional Japanese title given to the strongest player of the day during the Edo period.- The tournament :...

 in the first round.

Tournament