Judan

Established in 1962 by the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, the Judan ("Tenth Dan") is the fourth-oldest of Japan's seven major titles, with a winner's prize of approximately 14 million yen. Its name evokes the pinnacle of Go rank -- historically, 9-dan was the highest official grade, so "Tenth Dan" symbolically places the champion beyond even that ceiling. The Judan stands out for its unusual double-elimination preliminary format: a player who loses in the winners' bracket drops to a losers' bracket rather than being eliminated, and the two bracket winners face off to determine who challenges the defending champion in a best-of-five title match.

Land Japan Typ Title Match Format Knockout Title Zyklus 1 J. Komi 6.5 Ausgaben 65

1997 · Ausgabe #35

Champion: Kato Masao · Zweiter: Yoda Norimoto

Winners' Section Semi-final 3 Partien

12. Sept. Kato Masao W+R Yamada Kimio 17. Okt. Cho Chikun W+0.5 Kobayashi Koichi 7. Nov. Yamada Kimio B+R Kobayashi Koichi

Losers' Section, Semi-final 2 Partien

12. Dez. Kato Masao B+R Yo Kagen 12. Dez. Kobayashi Satoru W+R Kobayashi Koichi

Losers' Section Final 1 Partie

19. Dez. Kato Masao B+5.5 Kobayashi Koichi

Final 5 Partien

6. März Yoda Norimoto W+3.5 Kato Masao 19. März Kato Masao W+10.5 Yoda Norimoto 3. Apr. Yoda Norimoto B+R Kato Masao 10. Apr. Kato Masao B+0.5 Yoda Norimoto 17. Apr. Kato Masao B+0.5 Yoda Norimoto

3rd Preliminary, Group 3 Final 1 Partie

31. Mai Kanda Ei W+R Cho Chikun

Challengers' Final 1 Partie

6. Feb. Yamada Kimio W+R Kato Masao

Losers' Section, Round 3 3 Partien

24. Okt. Kobayashi Satoru B+R Hikosaka Naoto 31. Okt. O Rissei W+R Yo Kagen 21. Nov. Kato Masao B+R Cho Chikun

Winners' Section, Round 2 4 Partien

18. Juli Yo Kagen W+R Kato Masao 8. Aug. Yamada Kimio B+6.5 Komatsu Hideki 29. Aug. Cho Chikun B+2.5 Ryu Shikun 5. Sept. O Rissei W+R Kobayashi Koichi

Losers' Section, Round 2 4 Partien

12. Sept. Yo Kagen B+R Komatsu Hideki 30. Sept. O Rissei B+2.5 Ryu Shikun 30. Sept. Kobayashi Satoru B+R Rin Kaiho 3. Okt. Kataoka Satoshi W+R Hikosaka Naoto

Winners' Section, Round 1 8 Partien

10. Mai Komatsu Hideki B+2.5 Morita Michihiro 16. Mai Yo Kagen W+R Chin Kaei 23. Mai Kataoka Satoshi W+6.5 Yamada Kimio 23. Mai Kato Masao B+R Hikosaka Naoto 6. Juni Ishida Yoshio W+10.5 Ryu Shikun 10. Juli O Rissei B+5.5 Rin Kaiho 11. Juli Otake Hideo W+0.5 Kobayashi Koichi 22. Aug. Cho Chikun B+R Kobayashi Satoru

Losers' Section, Round 1 4 Partien

27. Juni Hikosaka Naoto B+6.5 Chin Kaei 25. Juli Kataoka Satoshi B+R Morita Michihiro 29. Aug. Kobayashi Satoru B+R Ishida Yoshio 29. Aug. Rin Kaiho B+3.5 Otake Hideo

3rd Preliminary 1 Partie

18. Apr. Cho Chikun B+3.5 Kiyonari Tetsuya