In the ninth round of the 26th Nongshim Cup Sino-Korea-Japan Go Team Championship, Xie Erhao 9-dan successfully defended against Shin Min-jun 9-dan's challenge, achieving a remarkable three consecutive victories.
During this match, Xie Erhao 9-dan played black for the third consecutive time. In the first half of the game, both players made no significant mistakes, avoiding any major confrontations, resulting in a tightly contested situation.
Xie Erhao 9-dan made the first notable mistake during an intense battle in the upper right corner, where his 103rd move was considered a significant error by AI analysis, causing his win rate to plummet into the single digits.
As the game entered the final stages, both players engaged in a fierce competition for small points. Despite numerous exchanges and even engaging in a large ko fight, Xie Erhao remained cautious and did not give his opponent any chance for a comeback, ultimately securing victory without much trouble.
Before the match, I predicted that Xie Erhao would be able to achieve consecutive victories due to Shin Min-jun 9-dan's nickname as the "Neuroblade," known for his inconsistent play and tendency to make mistakes in the latter half of the game. The course of the match largely aligned with my expectations.
The remaining lineups for the Nongshim Cup from China, Japan, and South Korea are as follows: The Chinese team still has Li Xuanhao 9-dan, Ding Hao 9-dan, and Xie Erhao 9-dan, while Fan Tingyu 9-dan and Ke Jie 9-dan have been eliminated.
The Japanese team is left with only their main player, Shibano Toramaru 9-dan, and none of the four previous players managed to secure a win, which is quite unfortunate. The eliminated players include Ichiryo 9-dan, Kato Atsushi 9-dan, Hane Naoki 9-dan, and Hirose Yuichi 7-dan.
The South Korean team still has Shin Jin-seo 9-dan and Park Jung-hwan 9-dan, while Shin Min-jun 9-dan, Kim Myung-hoon 9-dan, and Seo Hyun-jun 9-dan have returned home.
The first two stages of this Nongshim Cup have concluded with nine games. The specific process involved Ke Jie 9-dan winning consecutively against Hirose Yuichi 7-dan and Seo Hyun-jun 9-dan before losing on time to Kim Myung-hoon 9-dan. Kim Myung-hoon then started a streak of four victories, defeating Hane Naoki 9-dan, Fan Tingyu 9-dan, and Kato Atsushi 9-dan.
At a critical moment, the Chinese team sent Xie Erhao 9-dan, who had been performing averagely recently, to compete. Fortunately, he lived up to everyone's expectations by successively defeating Kim Myung-hoon 9-dan, Ichiryo 9-dan, and Shin Min-jun 9-dan.
In the previous Nongshim Cup, Xie Erhao 9-dan achieved an impressive seven consecutive victories. Now that he has once again won several matches in a row, can he surpass his previous achievements?