Shin Jin-seo Defeats Byun Sang-il to Win Lanke Cup, Capturing 10th Major Title

World Go powerhouse Shin Jin-seo 9-dan has claimed his 10th major individual title.

Shin defeated Byun Sang-il 9-dan by resignation in 219 moves with the black stones in the second game of the final of the 4th Quzhou Lanke Cup World Go Open, held in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, today (October 15).

With this victory, Shin secured a 2-0 sweep in the series, lifting the Lanke Cup trophy for the second time.

Having reached the finals in all four editions since the tournament's inception, Shin finished as runner-up in the 1st and 3rd tournaments while claiming the championship in the 2nd and 4th editions.

Returning to the summit of an international tournament for the first time in 13 months since winning the YK Ginseng Cup World Baduk Championship in September of last year, Shin captured his 10th major title. This surpasses Cho Hun-hyun (9 titles) 9-dan, moving Shin into sole third place on the all-time list for major championship victories.

The only players with more major titles than Shin are Lee Chang-ho (17 titles) 9-dan and Lee Sedol (14 titles, retired) 9-dan.

Shin has now accumulated 46 career titles across domestic and international competitions.

Earlier today, Shin gained a slight edge during the lower-left corner skirmish as the game entered the middle phase, and secured a definitive advantage by capturing white stones on the lower side.

Meanwhile, Byun built a large territory by capturing black stones on the left side.

However, in the endgame, Shin used precise reading to revive his captured stones, sealing the victory.

The Lanke Cup, hosted by China, offers a winner's prize of 1.8 million yuan (approx. 388 million won) and a runner-up prize of 600,000 yuan (approx. 129 million won).

The komi follows Chinese Go rules at 7.5 points, with a time limit of two hours per player followed by five 1-minute byoyomi periods.

(Photo provided by Korea Baduk Association, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.