Finding the Divine Move, an Intense Battle of Wits
The 62nd Jeollanam-do Sports Festival, a sports festival for the unity of 2 million Jeonnam residents, will be held from May 12 to 15 in Wando, the clean sea capital of South Korea.
The organizing committee of the 62nd Jeollanam-do Sports Festival is introducing the rules and viewing points of each event every week so that residents and spectators can enjoy the games more interestingly.
The exterior view of Sinji Middle School, the venue for the 62nd Jeonnam Sports Festival Baduk competition [Photo by Wando-gun]
This event is ‘Baduk’ (Go). The rules of Baduk are played on a board consisting of 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines, creating 361 intersections. Black stones make the first move, and players alternate moves. The player who surrounds more empty points (territory) with stones wins.
If a player admits defeat during the match and signals the referee, the game ends immediately with a ‘win by resignation’ without counting territory, awarding victory to the opponent.
In even games (호선, Hoseon) where opponents play with equal turns, to offset the advantage of Black moving first, the komi rule requires the player who captures Black stones to have at least 6.5 points more territory (6.5 in Korea/Japan, 7.5 in China) to win. In the Jeonnam Sports Festival, a margin of 6.5 points or more is required to win.
The Baduk competition of the 62nd Jeonnam Sports Festival will be held over two days from May 13 to 14 at Sinji Middle School, with about 100 players from 22 cities and counties fiercely competing.
The competition format is a tournament for both team events (3 players) and individual events (1 player), with a time limit of 10 minutes per player and three 30-second byo-yomi periods.
Participants can include up to 5 players plus a director, manager, and coach, with one substitute allowed in the team event.
In last year’s 61st competition, the team event winners were 1st place Suncheon, 2nd place Yeongam, 3rd place Muan and Naju; individual event winners were 1st place Suncheon, 2nd place Sinan, 3rd place Muan and Hampyeong. In the 58th competition in 2019, the team event winners were 1st place Suncheon, 2nd place Gwangyang, 3rd place Yeosu and Goheung; individual event winners were 1st place Suncheon, 2nd place Jangheung, 3rd place Jindo and Gangjin.
The key point of the 62nd competition is whether the traditional powerhouse Suncheon City will claim its 4th consecutive victory or whether strong contenders Gwangyang City, Yeongam County, and Muan County will stop Suncheon’s 4-peat.
The host, Wando County, ranked 18th in the 2019 competition but showed strong potential by placing 7th in 2022, so it is expected to achieve better results in the 2023 competition.
Meanwhile, Wando County is making thorough preparations to successfully host the Jeollanam-do Sports Festival for the first time since its establishment, aiming to widely promote the county’s status both domestically and internationally. It is also doing its best to expand opportunities for residents to enjoy community sports and to build sports infrastructure.
Wando = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Choi Kyungpil ckp6737@asiae.co.kr
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