The Women's Hollyhock Cup (女流立葵杯, Joryû Tachi-aoi hai), formerly known as Aizu Central Hospital Cup (会津中央病院杯, Aizu Chûô Byôin-hai) before 2017, is a Go competition for female Go players. The tournament was introduced in 2014.[1]
Outline edit
The Hollyhock Cup is sponsored by the Aizu Central Hospital, a hospital in Aizuwakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture, and named after the city flower, the common hollyhock (Althaea rosea).[2] The director of the hospital is a keen go player, and in an interview he said that at one time 20 of the doctors on the staff were go players who often held their own tournaments. His aim in sponsoring the tournament is to help raise the level of Japanese women so that they can compete better internationally.[3] The winner's purse is 7,000,000 yen ($60,000). The first three cycles used one final game over the course of two days. Starting from the fourth cycle, the final is a three-games match. Starting from the fifth cycle, a challenger system is set to be implemented, meaning the winner of the previous cycle will play in a title series against the challenger.[4]
Past winners edit
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-Up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2014 | Fujisawa Rina | 1–0 | Okuda Aya |
| 2. | 2015 | Ô Keii | 1–0 | Hsieh Yi-min |
| 3. | 2016 | Hsieh Yi-min | 1–0 | Aoki Kikuyo |
| 4. | 2017 | Fujisawa Rina | 2–1 | Hsieh Yi-min |
| 5. | 2018 | 2–1 | Hsieh Yi-min | |
| 6. | 2019 | 2–0 | Asami Ueno | |
| 7. | 2020 | 2–0 | Suzuki Ayumi | |
| 8. | 2021 | 2–0 | Asami Ueno | |
| 9. | 2022 | Asami Ueno | 2–1[5] | Fujisawa Rina |
| 10. | 2023 | 2–1[6][7] | Fujisawa Rina |
References edit
- ^ "女流立葵杯". The Nihon Ki-in. The Nihon Ki-in. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Power, John (27 May 2017). "Kono starts well in Kisei S League; Yamashita becomes Gosei challenger; Murakawa wins Gratitude Cup; 4th Aizu Central Hospital tournament; Xie and Fujisawa reach final". American Go E-Journal.
- ^ Power, John. "Fujisawa and Okuda Reach Final of New Women's Tournament". American Go E-Journal. American Go E-Journal. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Power, John. "Fujisawa Rins wins Aizu Central Hospital Cup". American Go E-Journal. American Go E-Journal. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Power, John (11 August 2022). "The Power Report: Early August updates". American Go E-Journal. American Go E-Journal.
- ^ Power, John (1 September 2023). "The Power Report: Iyama makes good start in Gosei defence". American Go E-Journal. American Go E-Journal.
- ^ "囲碁の上野女流立葵杯が初防衛、藤沢女流本因坊下す". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 19 June 2023.
External links edit
- Nihon Ki-in archive (in Japanese)
 | This article related to the culture of Japan is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Go-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |