Ishikura Noboru (8p) vs Sonoda Yasutaka (8p) — Ryusei, 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 →

Daily download limit reached

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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Ishikura Noboru vs Sonoda Yasutaka

4th Ryusei · Block A, Game 14 · 1994-01-24

About this tournament

The Ryusei ("Dragon Star") is a Japanese televised Go tournament that began in 1991 on the Go Channel (now the Go and Shogi Channel), recognized as an official Nihon Ki-in competition from 1997. Games are broadcast with commentary and, since 2020, AI-powered position evaluation displays for viewers. The structure begins with preliminary rounds organized into sections, where section winners advance to a knockout final. Like the NHK Cup, the Ryusei offers fans an accessible window into professional play through faster time controls. A China-Japan Ryusei Cup also pits the Japanese champion against a Chinese counterpart.

Game details

Date: 1994-01-24
Moves: 103
Komi: 5.5
Rules: Japanese (assumed)
Result: B+R
Game record: GoGoD

Ranks at the time of the game

Ishikura Noboru Black · 8p

Sonoda Yasutaka White · 8p

4th Ryusei · Block A, Game 14

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