Kanda Ei (8p) vs Yamazaki Yoshihiro (8p) — Kisei, 1994

Reading the board

What every overlay on the board means

AI suggestions

Blue dot — best move KataGo's top pick. No number on it. Toggle: AI button (A)

Other candidates Blue is the best move in this position. Green is good, gold is OK. Numbers inside show points difference compared to the blue (best) move. Toggle: AI button (A)

Cyan halo A standout move — the engine's top choice in a spot where it wasn't obvious. Most precise on Study and Deep analysis; on a quick (free) analysis it's a lighter estimate. Toggle: Move animations (in view settings)

Territory & dead groups

Territory tint Faint black or white wash over intersections the engine expects that color to own. Toggle: Territory button under the board Toggle: Territory (in view settings)

Red overlay — groups in danger Stones the engine thinks are at risk of being captured. Toggle: Groups button under the board Toggle: Groups (in view settings)

Dead stones (×) Stones the engine considers dead. Toggle: Groups button under the board Toggle: Groups (in view settings)

Move animations

−7 pts

Score-loss pill Drops in next to a move that lost 5+ points. Orange for mistake, red for blunder. Toggle: Move animations (in view settings)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Sparkles — set-up move The opponent's next move was a 5+ point mistake. This move probably set it up. Toggle: Move animations (in view settings)

Continuations

Try a line out, move by move

Each tile is a move you could play next. Tap one to play it: it lands on the board as a numbered stone, and this panel refills with the options that follow. Keep tapping to build a line.

The Variation panel above lists the moves you've played. Tap any of them to rewind there; tap ← Main line to return to the game.
Tap Preview on the current move to lay the whole continuation on the board at once — the AI's best line, or the recorded one if the game has it. Tap again to clear.
Tiles tagged sgf are variations saved in the game record.
Each tile's corner shows how good the move is — from blue (best) through green and yellow to red — the same color it has on the board. The blue-highlighted tile is the AI's top choice.
The move actually played in the game isn't shown here — only the alternatives.

New lines you play here are read to 100 visits — quick, but shallow. A deeper read finds longer, stronger continuations.

See deeper analysis plans →

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This game comes from the GoGoD collection — decades of careful transcription work by T Mark Hall and John Fairbairn — which we share with a daily download allowance at their request. You can keep studying it right here in the meantime, and your allowance resets at midnight UTC.

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Print game record

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Kanda Ei vs Yamazaki Yoshihiro

19th Kisei · 8-dan Section, Quarter-final · 1994-02-17

About this tournament

Established in 1976 and sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Kisei ("Go Sage") is the highest-paying annual Go title in the world, with a winner's purse of 43 million yen (roughly US$275,000). The format involves extensive preliminaries leading to a tiered challenger league, whose winner faces the defending Kisei in a grueling best-of-seven title match. The title carries unique rank implications: qualifying for the Kisei league earns automatic promotion to 7-dan, and capturing the title itself elevates a player to 9-dan. Kobayashi Koichi held the title for eight consecutive years (1986-1993), while Iyama Yuta surpassed that with nine straight wins (2013-2021). Alongside the Meijin and Honinbo, the Kisei forms Japan's "Big Three" titles.

Game details

Date: 1994-02-17
Moves: 266
Komi: 5.5
Rules: Japanese (assumed)
Result: W+R
Game record: GoGoD

Ranks at the time of the game

Kanda Ei Black · 8p

Yamazaki Yoshihiro White · 8p

19th Kisei · 8-dan Section, Quarter-final

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