Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister | Published on 1/14/2024
Over the New Year holiday (Oshōgatsu), a handicap tournament was held in Tōkyō for foreigners. It was won by Donald Potter 2k with a perfect 6-0 record. Mr. Potter authored chapters 2 and 3 of The Go Player's Almanac.
On January 4, James Kerwin arrived in Japan aiming to study go for a few years. The British Go Journal described him as a "promising 27 year old American 4 dan."
On January 8, Katō Masao 8d (pictured) won the second game of the Nihon Ki'in Championship, taking a 2-0 lead over title holder Sakata Eio in this five-game series.
His back against the wall, Sakata prevailed in the third game, on January 21-22, keeping his title defense alive. Still "Killer" Katō was living up to his reputation, and Sakata remarked during this game (as told by Shimamura) that "I'm going to have to turn to my reputation," referring to his well known talent for rescuing groups under attack. The young vs. old nature of this match is framed by Sakata's regret regarding his move 65 in this game (he should have played at 66) "When I was young I never missed points like that." (Game records: Game Two, Game Three.) This "old" mistake, gave the young challenger the kind of attack he excelled at, only for the old escape artist to stay alive.
Game records courtesy of Smart Go One, photo courtesy of Famous Games of the Showa Period, Vol. 4