Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) Taiwan college student Chen Yen-ru (陳彥儒) finished third at the 18th edition of the World Students GO OZA Championship in Tokyo Wednesday, according to HaiFong Go Association.
The 23-year-old amateur 7-dan Go player from National Taiwan Sport University tied for third with China's Gao Yifan (高怡凡) after a 3-1 record. The two-day tournament was won by South Korean Kim Seungwon, with Japanese player Kawaguchi Tsubasa second.
Chen clinched his tournament berth last October by winning a third straight championship at the National University Go Elite Ten, with the best-performing male and female Go players representing Taiwan in the annual tournament in Japan.
Chen dominated the Go Elite Ten in 2019, 2020 and 2022 (it was canceled in 2021), but missed out on his first two chances to play in Japan because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the tournament being canceled for the past three years. In order to take part this year Chen even postponed his graduation to remain eligible, HaiFong Go Association President Lin Min-hao (林敏浩) told CNA.
In addition to Chen Yen-ru, Chen Xin (陳昕) from Fo Guang University also represented Taiwan and finished 12th with a 1-3 record. She finished sixth at the Go Elite Ten to top all the other female rivals and secure her slot.
The tournament in Japan is the most important tournament for amateur college Go players, Lin said, and is also significant because it sets a goal for amateur Go players to prolong their interest in game.
While many Taiwanese play Go in their childhood, they tend to stop after attending junior high school. "Those who continue playing Go as college students are more likely to pay serious attention to Go," Lin said in a phone interview.
This year the World Students GO OZA Championship involved nine men and seven women from around the world, including one man and woman from Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan.
Other participants included individuals from Thailand and Singapore, the United States and Mexico, Germany, Romania, France and Australia, according to the tournament website.
First held in 2003, the tournament is organized annually by the All-Japan Student Go Association, Nikkei and Pandanet, with 16 Go players vying for the honor. China has won the event eight times and South Korea seven.
Taiwan's best record at the tournament is second place, achieved by male players in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016, while the best record by a female was National Tsing Hua University's Lin Hsiao-tung (林曉彤), who finished fourth and received the award for the best-performing female in 2017 and 2019.
