The Great Encounter: Ilya Shikshin vs. Youngsam Kim (EGC-2011)

We are approaching the end of the congress, and Korondo (Youngsam Kim) is already close to his goal: winning the EGC Main Tournament.

    With Sang Youn Jeon (the other top Korean player in the tournament) and Catalin Taranu out of his way, many thought that the only one who could stop Mr. Kim would be Ilya Shikshin (the 2010 European Champion). Today the two players were paired up - what could be more exciting?

   The game was rather interesting because this time it was Korondo who played for influence (see B43 and B45, two shoulder-hits in a row), and it looked as if White was Cho Chikun when Ilya invaded Black's area of influence with W48. This was where the big battle begun.

   The two players have different attitudes/postures facing the Go board. On the one hand, Ilya always looks a bit jumpy, or rather aggressive (the way he stares at his opponent's eyes is both frightening and revealing!) Youngsam Kim, on the other hand, always looks very quiet and composed (even when he plays sharp moves such as the B57 cut, his stance is still very calm). The true strength is in the moves, not the looks.

   In the end, it turns out that Black was always in control of the game. Korondo eventually won it by 5,5 points, and he is now one step closer to becoming the Champion (who can stop him?).