isd: archived discussion (2010-07-07 16:32) [#7791]

(Just tidying up the page by moving this)

Archival discussion based upon publisher's blurb at the end of Whole Board Thinking in Joseki, since replaced with the blurb from Fundamental Principles of Go published in 2004.

Mr. Yang has won a number of titles including the Chinese national championship in 1973, the Yunzu title in 1985 and five-time champion of the Chinese team tournament while representing his hometown of Shanghai.

John F.: "won first Chinese national championship in 1973" - No, he didn't. The first was in 1957, there was no event in 1973, and Yang has never won. What are you referring to?

Velobici: John F., this information comes from the biographical note about Mr. Yang at the end of Whole Board Thinking in Joseki. I have removed the notation first, that word is not included in the biographical note. Why do you say that there was not a championship in 1973? What happened that year to cause the championship to be skipped?

John F. There was a gap in the National Individual Championships between 1966 (Term 7) and 1974 (Term 8) because of the Cultural Revolution. A semblance of normal go activity was resuming at the end of 1973, but this was too late for the Nationals as they take place in the summer. Yang did not even feature in the top six in any year before or since, as far as I can see. The earliest reference I have to him is in 1974 when he was one of the minor members of the rather large team that played in the resumed Japan-China Goodwill Exchanges - though it has to be said he beat Sonoda Yuichi 7d (with Black and no komi, I believe). It's inherently unlikely he was anywhere near being a national champion anyway. In 1982 he was made 5-dan when the likes of Chen Zude and Nie Weiping were made 9-dan. It's true Shanghai ruled the roost in the team tournaments - they hardly ever lost till modern times - but Yang wasn't even one of their top players. The top of course was Chen Zude himself. In passing, I've never come across the strange-sounding Yunzu (mistake for Yunzi?) Cup and certainly nothing like it is listed in the usual tables. Obvious explanations such as winning junior or amateur events instead seem unlikely too: I've checked the tables for children's events at the time, and of course all events were amateur then. So I'm as puzzled as you are, but would like to know the explanation.