Guests Online: 1
Five people competed for it, only one could win. The 50th Japan Oza title was just finished recently on December 12th with Wang ming-wan taking the title up. He defeated Cho Chi-kun [9dan] and stripped him of his only Oza title.
Previously, Chi-kun held the "big three" titles of kiseido, Meijin, and Honinbo, but lost them in the middle months of '99 to 2000, along with his rank 1 position. This title match was either going to make or break his strive to get back to the top in '08. Hopefully the new year will bring him more chances.
With critics already on his side, Wang ming-wan [9 dan] was predicted to win the last match against Chi-kun. The game opened with fierce battles in the lower- right corner and along the left side. Chi-hun's key stone ad group got driven into the corner by Ming-wan's pressuring moves.
During the game, Ming-wan was able to push Chi-kun around more than expected, and after 174 moves, Chi-kun resigned. Ming-wan had won his third and final game, making it 3-2 between he and Chi-kun. Ming-wan successfully captured the long sought-after Oza title, along with 13 million yen and a spot as #6 in the Japanese ranks.
