Wang Yuan-chun wins Speed Go Championship after 3-year drought

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) Taiwanese professional Go player Wang Yuan-chun (王元均) captures the Speed Go Championship title on Wednesday, his first major win since 2023.

The 9-dan Wang defeated defending champion Hsu Ching-en (徐靖恩) 2-0 in the best-of-three final, after rallying to win Game 2 at the HaiFong Go Association in Taipei.

Playing with the white stones, Wang overcame a disadvantage to beat the 19-year-old 7-dan Hsu and complete the sweep. The victory earned Wang NT$700,000 (US$22,002) in prize money, while Hsu received NT$250,000 as the runner-up.

The result also avenged Wang's loss to Hsu, who routed him 2-0 in last year's Speed Go Championship final.

Speaking after the match, Wang, 30, said the title was especially meaningful after a string of runner-up finishes in recent years.

"It's been three years since my last title," he said. "I've reached quite a few finals during that time but always finished second. This is a small breakthrough for me."

The championship win came just two days after Wang was defeated 4-0 by 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist Hsu Hao-hung (許皓鋐) in the Taiwan Meijin final, one of Taiwan's three major domestic Go tournaments.

Discussing Wednesday's game, Wang said the turning point came in the middle game, when his opponent chose a complicated sequence instead of a simpler continuation.

"After the exchange, the black side gained the advantage and captured one of white side's groups," he said. "The game became close from there, and I gradually found my chances."

Wang added that extensive online practice has helped him excel in fast-paced games.

"I play a lot of speed games online," he said. "In slower games, I sometimes overthink and make bad moves. In speed Go, I rely more on intuition and my feel for the game."

Meanwhile, despite falling short in his title defense, Hsu Ching-en said every game in this year's tournament had been difficult and that he still has room to improve, particularly in the middle game and endgame.

Hsu will next travel to Japan to compete in the GLOBIS Cup World Go U-22 tournament, which runs from Friday to Sunday.