“I suppose I might have let my guard down a bit, seeing as my opponent was an amateur. It wasn’t intentional, of course... but the thought crossed my mind, which made me a bit too relaxed. But one thing is clear: our Chairman is at a professional level. I can confidently say that.”

“Oh, so you let your guard down?”@@@@

“When he opened with 33, I felt myself loosening up. I thought, ‘Ah, he must be nervous, playing defensively like that. Maybe I can be a bit more assertive.’ I figured that was the safe bet... but in hindsight, maybe that was the root of the problem.”

“Which moment took you most by surprise?”

“Ah, so you couldn’t focus?”

“More like I got caught up in his smokescreen tactics... Haha. He’s hardly someone who should be considered an amateur.”

In a later interview, 9-dan Cho Ki-han shared his thoughts on the grandfather’s skill. He made some excuses about losing focus, but in truth, his words seemed less like excuses and more like an honest assessment.

No matter how legendary the Go master Han Gyeong-young was back in the day, a true icon of the Go world, it’s been fifty years. Defeating the current strongest player in a serious match would be no easy feat.

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