Lee Sedol - Gu Li rivalry
Introduction
China's Gu Li & S. Korea's Lee Sedol formed the 21st century's first international rivalry, contesting the status of unofficial world's strongest.[1] As of October 2015, the two players have officially played each other in 48 games. The score is 24-23 in Lee's favor. A no result occurred in one match, which was the result of a rare quadruple ko position.
According to An Younggil 8p, Gu Li displays his superior opening skills and timing of initiating fights, while Yi Se-tol displays his tenacity and superior endgame technique. Both excel in complex fighting, but with Yi having a slight edge.
On the other hand, the endgame has presented itself as a weakness for Gu Li, being the cause of at least a few of his losses against Lee Sedol. In fact, all but one of the ten games which did not end with resignation were won by Yi, including four half-point finishes. Most recently was the 2012 Samsung Cup, wherein Gu twice had the advantage coming into the late middlegame, but due to endgame mistakes wasn't able to carry either to a victory.
Ten Game Match
In 2013, a 10-game match (aka jubango) was scheduled between the two players for the following year. The prize money was allotted as 5,000,000-yuan for the winner and 200,000-yuan for the loser, and was sponsored by MLily.
2014 Schedule
- 26 January, Beijing
- 23 February, Shanghai
- 30 March, Chengdu, Sichuan province
- 27 April, Shinan, Korean
- 25 May Xianggelila, Yunnan province
- 27 July, Liuan, Anhui province
- 31 August, Lasa, Tibet
- 28 September, Chongqing
- 26 October, Hongkong
- 30 November, Wuhu, Anhui province
Games
Their encounters can be organized into four categories: the China Weiqi League, International Individual Titles, International Team Titles, and Other. Victor marked in bold.
Game # | Year | Event | White | Black | Result | Notes | Commentaries | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2004-06-17 | 2004 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 9 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+2.75 | at SL | ||
2 | 2004-11-16 | 9th Samsung Cup, Semi-final, Game 1 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | at SL | ||
3 | 2004-11-18 | 9th Samsung Cup, Semi-final, Game 2 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | at SL | ||
4 | 2004-11-19 | 9th Samsung Cup, Semi-final, Game 3 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | at SL | ||
5 | 2005-05-03 | 4th CSK Cup, Round 3 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+2.5 | |||
6 | 2005-08-06 | 2005 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 9 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+0.25 | |||
7 | 2005-10-19 | 10th LG Cup, Semi-final | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
8 | 2005-12-10 | 2005 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 20 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
9 | 2006-05-03 | 5th CSK Cup, Round 3 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
10 | 2006-06-10 | 2006 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 10 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
11 | 2006-11-11 | 2006 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 16 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | |||
12 | 2007-10-13 | 2007 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 13 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | |||
13 | 2008-06-07 | 21st Fujitsu Cup, Quarter-final | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
14 | 2008-06-21 | 2008 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 11 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | |||
15 | 2009-02-19 | 10th Nongshim Cup, Game 13 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+3.5 | |||
16 | 2009-02-23 | 13th LG Cup Final, Game 1 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
17 | 2009-02-25 | 13th LG Cup Final, Game 2 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
18 | 2009-06-27 | 2009 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 8 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | |||
19 | 2009-08-29 | Ancient Phoenix City World Summit (Fenghuang Special) | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+2.25 | |||
20 | 2010-04-14 | 23rd Fujitsu Cup, Round 3 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | |||
21 | 2010-06-07 | 15th LG Cup, Round 1 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
22 | 2010-10-14 | 15th Samsung Cup, Quarter-final | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
23 | 2011-04-23 | 3rd B.C. Card Cup Final, Game 1 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
24 | 2011-04-24 | 3rd B.C. Card Cup Final, Game 2 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | |||
25 | 2011-04-26 | 3rd B.C. Card Cup Final, Game 3 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | |||
26 | 2011-04-27 | 3rd B.C. Card Cup Final, Game 4 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | ![]() | ||
27 | 2011-04-28 | 3rd B.C. Card Cup Final, Game 5 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | ![]() | ||
28 | 2011-05-17 | 1st Bosai Cup, Round 2 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
29 | 2012-09-05 | 17th Samsung Cup, Round 2 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | NR | Quadruple ko | ![]() | |
30 | 2012-09-05 | 17th Samsung Cup, Round 2 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | Their re-match on the same day | at SL | |
31 | 2012-09-16 | 1st Guilin Cup Final | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
32 | 2012-12-11 | 17th Samsung Cup Final, Game 1 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+0.5 | at SL![]() | ||
33 | 2012-12-12 | 17th Samsung Cup Final, Game 2 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | at SL![]() | ||
34 | 2012-12-13 | 17th Samsung Cup Final, Game 3 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+0.5 | at SL | ||
35 | 2013-03-20 | 2013 Tianxin Pharmaceutical Cup | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | Exhibition match | ||
36 | 2013-10-20 | 2013 China Weiqi League, Division A, Round 17 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | at SL | ||
37 | 2014-01-26 | 2014 Jubango first game | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | at SL![]() | ||
38 | 2014-02-23 | 2014 Jubango second game | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+0.5 | at SL![]() | ||
39 | 2014-03-23 | 4th Zhaoshang Cup, Round 2 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
40 | 2014-03-27 | 10th Chunlan, Round 2 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | |||
41 | 2014-03-30 | 2014 Jubango third game | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | at SL![]() | ||
42 | 2014-04-27 | 2014 Jubango fourth game | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R | at SL![]() | ||
43 | 2014-05-24 | 2014 Jubango fifth game | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | ![]() | ||
44 | 2014-07-27 | 2014 Jubango sixth game | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+R | ![]() | ||
45 | 2014-08-31 | 2014 Jubango seventh game | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | B+R | ![]() | ||
46 | 2014-09-28 | 2014 Jubango eight game | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | W+2.5 | Final game of jubango: Lee 6-2 | at SL | |
47 | 2015-06-13 | 17th Chinese City League A, round 7 | Gu Li | Lee Sedol | W+R | |||
48 | 2015-10-28 | 17th Chinese City League A, round 18 | Lee Sedol | Gu Li | B+R |
Statistics after 48 Games
- Gu/Lee Standings: 23-24 and 1 void game
- Gu/Lee takes Black: 28|20
- Wins with White/Black: 26|21
- Gu wins with White: 11/20 or 55.0%
- Gu wins with Black: 12/28 or 42.9%
- Lee wins with White: 15/28 or 53.6%
- Lee wins with Black: 9/20 or 45.0%
- Wins by Resignation/Half a point/Other gap: 37|5|5
- Gu/Lee wins by no resignation: 1|9
- White/Black wins by no resignation: 7|3
Notes
[1] Other international rivalries for the status of world's strongest have preceded this one, such as Yi Ch'ang-ho & Ma Xiaochun in the mid 1990s.