Teenager Yi Se-tol 3-dan came back from behind twice - from 0-1 and 1-2 down - to win the 8th Paedal Wang final on 20 December 2000 when he defeated Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan in the decisive game and so edged ahead 3-2. It was his second title in the space of a fortnight. His first was against Yu Chae-hyeong 4-dan in the 5th Chunweon (Bacchus Cup) on 6 December.
Yi had just lost 0-2 to Yu in the challengers' final of the 12th Kiseong on 18 December, but one characteristic of his form this year has been his instant resilience - he is a true Daruma doll. He began the year like a runaway train, seemingly unbeatable as he set up a new record of 32 consecutive wins. As his success moved him up through the tournaments to the higher reaches, he stumbled a little as he met the big beasts in the jungle. But he seemed to have the knack of learning his lessons instantly from these losses and then beat the same big beast a few games later. That is what he did to Yu.
But has the age of Yi Se-tol really arrived? In the latest figures we have seen for the year to 10 November, Yi is now on 66-14 (at one stage it was 40-3), a win-loss ratio of 82.5%. Staggering as that seems it is actually only second best to Yi Ch'ang-ho 9-dan, who is on 47-8 (85.5%) and is putting up a silly winning streak of his own in the 35th P'aewang.
Just for the record: the players chasing the two Yis are Yun Seong-hyeon 7-dan (37-11; 77.1%), Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 3d (47-14; 77.1%), and An Yeong-kil 3d (33-11; 75.0%)
Older News From 5 December 2000: YI GETS LEVEL AGAIN
Teenager Yi Se-tol 3-dan clawed back to 2-2 in the 8th Paedal Wang final on 4 December 2000 when he defeated Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan. Every game so far has been won by White!
The decisive game will be on 20 December.
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Older News From 21 November 2000: YU FINDS A WAY BACK
Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan, at 34 close to be past it in modern Korean go, suggested that he may finally have got the hang of playing the so-called "invincible" Yi Se-tol 3-dan. He beat him in Game 3 of the 8th Paedal Wang final on 20 November 2000, to move into a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five.
Going into this final, Yu had a 0-3 career record against 17-year-old Yi, but he has rectified that to 2-4 so far. He did it by returning to his trade-mark relentless attacks. He began an early fight, and did not stop attacking even when he had established a comfortable lead. The commentators, however, thought he was aided by a slack move 127 from Yi.
Click here for Game 3. Game 4 will be on 4 December.
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Older News From 7 November 2000: YI SE-TOL SCRAPES LEVEL
Yi Se-tol 3-dan, knocking down almost everyone like ninepins this year, has come a cropper at the final hurdle a few times when he met the "big boys". But in Game 2 of the 8th Paedal Wang, he has just notched up his first ever victory against one of these big boys in a title match. Playing Yu Ch'ang-hyeok 9-dan on 7 November 2000, he won by a mere half point to tie the score at 1-1.
Older News From 20 October 2000: FIRST MAJOR TITLE CHALLENGE BY YI SE-TOL
Yi Se-tol 3-dan duly won through to contest his first major title - the 8th Paedal Wang against Yu Ch'ang-hyeok - when he beat Pak Yeong-hun 2-dan in the best-of-three challengers' final on 16 October 2000.
The final score was 2-1. Yi is 17, Pak is just 15, and Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 3-dan, who has just got Korea off to a storming start in the Nong Shim Cup is also only 15. Go is becoming more and more like tennis or gymnastics, at least in Korea. Hard to believe, but Yu Ch'ang-hyeok, at 34, is more than twice as old!
However, age has its good points and Yu was able to win Game 1 of the title match, a best-of-five, on 20 October. The next game is scheduled for 7 November.
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OLder News From 15 October 2000: CHALLENGER'S FINAL UNDERWAY IN 8th TERM
The best-of-three challengers' final in the 8th Paedal Wang is under way between young superstars Yi Se-tol 3-dan and Pak Yeong-hun 2-dan.
17-year-old Yi won the first game on 29 September 2000, and if he remains victorious he will face holder Yu Ch'ang-hyeok - and since Yu seems a bit out of sorts this year, it could be a prime opportunity for either of the youngsters. Pak is no slouch either. He was just 1-dan when the tournament started, and on his way to the challenge final he beat two highly respected 9-dans. On the other hand, Yi Se-tol disposed of both Cho Hun-hyeon and Yi Ch'ang-ho!!!
A handsome payout is assured for the younsgters as this is now Korea's second richest domestic event. The winner gets 30 million won. The richest is the LG Refined Oils Cup (35 million won) and Yi Se-tol reached the semi-finals there.
Other Results
Round 1(June/July)
Pak Yeong-hun 1d 1-0 Seo Pong-su 9d
Jiang Zhujiu 9d 1-0 Kim Tong-yeop 7d
Yi Heui-seong 3d 1-0 Yi Yong-su 1d
An Cho-yeong 6d 1-0 Kim Yeong-hwan 6d
Yi Se-tol 3d 1-0 Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 3d
Cho Hun-hyeon 9d 1-0 Ch'oe Myeong-hun 7d
Mok Chin-seok 5d 1-0 Kim Seong-ryong 7d
Yi Ch'ang-ho 9d 1-0 Yun Seong-hyeon 7d
Round 2(July/August)
Pak 1-0 Jiang
Yi Heui-seong 1-0 An
Yi Se-tol 1-0 Cho
Yi Ch'ang-ho 1-0 Mok
Also known as Korean PC Communications Cup after its sponsors (Han-kuk PC T'ong-sin) or, most recently, the (n) 016 Cup (the n being in a circle like the @ sign).
The main challengers tournament is a 16-man knockout culminating in a best-of-three match to challenge the holder in a best-of-five final early in the year.
Total prize fund up to 1996 was 150 million won (winner 20 million won; second 6 million won). In 1999 it was 200 million won, with a first prize of 30 million won, making it the second richest domestic event.
Komi is 5.5 points. Time limits are 4 hours each.
Paedal Wang means King of Korea. Pae-tal is the earliest name for Korea.
