한바연 (Hanbayon)

What is the Hanbayon? Imagine the Canadian open, with at least twice the amount of players, all under 16 and many of them 9D on tygem. It's a district tournament held every month and there are 11 groups (10 to 1, and a super group).

Last Sunday, thanks to Blackie, we had a special permission to participate. Cory and Maxime played in group 10, Marc and I played in group 4, Jon played in group 2, and Daniel played in group 1. In general, we got crushed:

Maxime: 2-3
Cory: 2-3
Marc: 1-4
J-S: 1-4
Daniel: 1-4
Jon: 3-2 (good job ^_^ )

Personally, I had a hard time to play seriously in that tournament. There were 5 games, with a very fast time setting, 10 minutes + 3x 30 sec. Moreover, being squeezed between kids and sitting on small benches was more funny than serious :p.

Main room. Group 1 and super group were upstairs.

After the tournament, Diana told me it's actually quite serious. Many teachers from various rival schools come to watch. Also, you can see some kids noting their games for their parents. Some of them are quite exigent... Next month, we'll know what to expect, and we'll try to perform better ^_^.

Jon playing in group 2. Notice the parents
 watching through the window.

For dinner, we went to a very nice place called 닭갈비. A picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video ?

See you soon with more news. In particular, a new Quebecer will arrive soon ^_^

Welcome party + LG cup

Yesterday, Daniel and Cory arrived in Korea. After Blackie and Diana picked them up at the airport, they joined us to play soccer with the kids. Then, it was time for the welcome party. We ate very well at a Korean BBQ and we finished the party in a small bar. We went to sleep not too late because next morning, we had to leave for the LG cup.

The tournament was held in a ski station, but it actually looked more like a high class hotel. Even though we could not access the player's room, we met many pros in the review room. Obviously, people were wondering why so many foreigners were there. We were interviewed by a journalist from Tygem. Here are two articles on Tygem and Cyberoro.

Pretty nice for a ski station.

Impressive landscapes

Daniel played a game in the review room with a 4D amateur. He killed himself at the beginning (about 60 points) and made an impressive comeback.

Epic game against a Korean amateur

This game was interrupted by the lunch break. It was probably the most spicy food we ate up to now, but still very good.

I have no idea what it was, but it's as good as it looks.

Finally, thanks to Blackie, we had an opportunity to take group pictures with two Chinese professional players, Xie He (probably my favorite player) and Jiang Weijie (current Mingren). They both won their games on this round.

From left to right: Cory, Marc, Xie He 7p, myself, Maxime and Daniel

From left to right: Cory, Marc, Jiang Weijie 5p, myself, Maxime and Daniel

Living in Sanbon

There are many activities we can do after studying baduk for 10 hours. Once in a while, we go to Jak's bar and play various games, such as poker, bakgamon and darts. There is also a nice park not too far from the school, where it's possible to play basket ball, badminton (yes, outdoor badminton fields ) and, most importantly, foot volleyball.

As far as I know, this sport is not really practiced in Canada. It is played on a badminton field with a tennis net. You can use only your feet and your head, no knees. The rest is identical to volleyball, except for the fact that one rebound is allowed between each kick. Unless you play at very high level, this sport is not very exhausting and everybody can play. In other words, it's an easier version of Sepak Takraw, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Here's a short video to give you a better idea. BIBA's team, on the left, is composed (for this game) of Diana Koszegi 1p, Kim Seungjun 9p, Marc (student from Germany) and Kim Young-sam (Korondo 9D on KGS). Notice the young kid and the old man playing in the opposing team.

Now let's talk about food a bit. We eat extremely well in Korea. Blackie is very generous and invites us in several restaurants. Yesterday for example, we went in a nice restaurant and ate 부대찌개 (pudae jigae) for dinner.

Quite spicy, but very good. 

Another typical meal is Kimbap. It looks a lot like sushi, but the ingredients are a bit different. These 2 rolls were a gift from Jon ^_^.

Ham, carrots, cucumber, eggs and something else I can't remember

See you soon with more baduk !

Finally arrived !

Two days ago, Maxime and I arrived in Korea. Blackie and Diana came to the airport to pick us up and then, there was a welcome party. Although we were a bit tired, it was very nice. We met Marc and Jon and we laughed a lot.

On the first day, Maxime and I played one game against Korean kids and we both won. Today, the owner of the school organized a revenge ice cream match with my opponent of yesterday. In other words, he bought a ice cream to the winner ^_^. I won again, but I think I was a bit lucky...

Maxime also played 2 games today. He lost the first one and the second one was commented before they could finish.

Maxime's second game

Here's a picture I took tonight when we came back from the school

Sanbon is a nice place ^_^ 

Next post will come soon, see you !

Quebec Open

Last weekend, the 33rd Quebec Open was held. There were 66 participants, which is pretty good considering the record was 52 in 1995. Kim Seungjun 9p commented the 4th round live on internet with a lot of details. Luckily, the game was played by Daniel and Remi, 2 young rivals and 2 good friends of mine.

Rémi Campagnie vs Daniel Gourdeau

In the end, Daniel won the Quebec Champion prize (300$) and Xianyu Li 7d won the tournament (500$). A few hours after, Maxime and I arrived in Korea. See next post for more details ^_^.