Hsu Ching-en sweeps to become youngest speed Go champion at 16

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Pro Go player Hsu Ching-en (徐靖恩) defeated Lin Yan-cheng (林彥丞) in the Speed Go Championship final in Taipei Monday, becoming the youngest winner of the title after being victorious in both games.

The 16-year-old young phenom took a mere 69 minutes to bring down the 4-dan Lin in Game 2 at the HaiFong Go Association for his first major title, bagging NT$600,000 (US$19,058) in prize money.

"[I think] I played better than I did in the first match against Lin and I'm super happy to have won the tournament," said the 5-dan Hsu, who was crowned as the latest "King of Newcomers" in June.

The newcomer tourney is held annually for players under the age of 25 who have not won any of the four major Taiwanese titles -- each of which boasts a top prize of more than NT$1 million.

Despite his victory, Hsu said he still felt he was not a good enough speed Go player.

Compared to regular matches, Hsu believes speed Go "relies much more on intuition because of the shorter time frame." He added that he believes his slow Go game is better.

In a pro game in Taiwan, a player generally has at least one hour to ponder their next moves, but only has 10 minutes in a speed Go game, apart from during the byo-yomi phase, when players have additional time to make moves.

Meanwhile, Lin said his debut in the best-of-three final series had been "terrible" and that he had been too nervous.

He added that he messed up the opening phase of Game 1 on Dec. 4, failed to occupy territory on Monday, and misjudged his middlegame.

"I hope I will be less nervous when playing games in the future," said Lin, who still won NT$200,000 for finishing second.

The conclusion of the Speed Go Championship means that all nine domestic major tourneys of 2023 are complete.

Asian Games gold medalist Hsu Hao-hung (許皓鋐) leads the pack with six titles, with 9-dan Wang Yuan-jyun (王元均), 8-dan Lai Jyun-fu (賴均輔) and Hsu Ching-en each winning one of the other three.

Wang, now 27, swept Hsu Ching-en 2-0 in March to take the HaiFong Tournament title, while Lai won his first Taiwan Meijin tournament in mid-May.

Hsu Ching-en, who will turn 17 on Dec. 26, was the youngest male player to compete for Taiwan in the Hangzhou Asian Games in September and October, and has been widely considered, along with Lai, to be a rising star likely to follow in the steps of Hsu Hao-hung.

Speaking of the match Monday, Wang, who served as commentator, said Hsu Ching-en's rise was expected judging seeing as Hsu Hao-hung and himself had both peaked in Taiwan Go by the time they were 18.

"History keeps repeating itself," Wang remarked.

The 9-dan pro also urged Lin not to be upset by the result and to continue working.

"I think in the era of Go AI, everyone has a chance as long as they are willing to work hard."

The 2023 Speed Go Championship, which started on Sept. 7, saw a total of 72 players vie for the title, including 40 who earned spots through a qualifier.