TOKYO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese top-ranked player Ke Jie and his partner Yu Zhiying won on Thursday the 2017 Pair Go World Championship here in Tokyo.
Ke and Yu, champions of the 2016 Pair Go World Cup, swept their Japanese opponents Yuta Iyama and Hsieh Yimin, who defeated three other pairs from Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei respectively to get the chance to challenge the defending champions.
"It was a chaotic game, but not without highlights. I made the situation too complicated at some points, but we won at last, which showed that my partner was very good," said Ke after the game.
"The charm of pair go games lies in the fact that the partners often think differently. Sometimes we don't know what's the intention of our partner after he or she makes a move," said Yu, adding that what's important is trusting and cooperating with each other.
Ke added that the players should force themselves to calm down and trust his or her partner even when the situation is not in their favor.
He also spoke highly of the ceremonial atmosphere of the game which took place at a theatre for Noh, a classical Japanese musical drama, saying that it was an unforgettable experience for him.
Having a game played in such a solemn and ceremonial atmosphere would attract more people to watch and help popularize the go game, said Ke.
The 2017 Pair Go World Championship was sponsored by the World Pair Go Association and the Japan Pair Go Association. The champions won a prize of 10 million yen (88,930 U.S. dollars).
