40th World Othello Championship, Mito
Stéphane Nicolet and Emmanuel Lazard, lots and lots of work ahead on day 3
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François Juigner, WOC photographer since 2012
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Chu Chee Chin, Media
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Semifinals
Yesterday round 13, Piyanat had to fight hard to secure a spot in the semi-finals. He is always so cool and collected, but he was so very happy when he won against Ben, I saw him jump for joy when he rejoined with his Thai teammembers. He had reason to be proud of his semifinal game 1, because he was the first player to beat Yasushi Nagano at this tournament. And Piyanat was on fire and also won the second game. His third time in the WOC final since Newark 2011 and Stockholm 2013, great job Piyanat!
The other semifinal game 1 between Yan Song and Yusuke Takanashi was a draw, and the second one was a win for Yan Song. The third game decided it all and Yan Song proved too strong in this game for Yusuke Takanashi. First time since WOC 2002 Amsterdam that there is no Japanese player in the final! Since 1997 the winning team always had someone in the final. What happpened here in Mito???? I was there and still I find it hard to understand.
Hisako Kinoshita won the semifinal against Joanna William and will play in the final against Zhen Dong. Veronica lost the semi as it finished as a draw game and she had chosen colour. Allthough she lost on draw, Veronica was quite happy with her game. A very strong opponent and not too many mistakes. Some very bad luck for Veronica as the playoff for third and fourth place against Joanna William also finished as a draw and Veronica again lost as she had chosen colour.
Lots of players and some staff went on a Mito sightseeing tour, but many were up early and ready to watch the semis on livetv. Great tv hosted by Satoshi Koide and interesting comments by among others Takeshi Murakami, Stéphane Nicolet, Makoto Suekuni, Kunihiko Tanida, Imre Leader and Nicky van den Biggelaar.
The other semifinal game 1 between Yan Song and Yusuke Takanashi was a draw, and the second one was a win for Yan Song. The third game decided it all and Yan Song proved too strong in this game for Yusuke Takanashi. First time since WOC 2002 Amsterdam that there is no Japanese player in the final! Since 1997 the winning team always had someone in the final. What happpened here in Mito???? I was there and still I find it hard to understand.
Hisako Kinoshita won the semifinal against Joanna William and will play in the final against Zhen Dong. Veronica lost the semi as it finished as a draw game and she had chosen colour. Allthough she lost on draw, Veronica was quite happy with her game. A very strong opponent and not too many mistakes. Some very bad luck for Veronica as the playoff for third and fourth place against Joanna William also finished as a draw and Veronica again lost as she had chosen colour.
Lots of players and some staff went on a Mito sightseeing tour, but many were up early and ready to watch the semis on livetv. Great tv hosted by Satoshi Koide and interesting comments by among others Takeshi Murakami, Stéphane Nicolet, Makoto Suekuni, Kunihiko Tanida, Imre Leader and Nicky van den Biggelaar.
Semi-final: Yan Song - Yusuke Takanashi
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SONG Yan 32-32 TAKANASHI Yusuke WOC 2016, semifinal game 1 |
TAKANASHI Yusuke 26-38 SONG Yan WOC 2016, semifinal game 2 |
Semi-final: Yasushi Nagano - Piyanat Aunchulee
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NAGANO Yasushi 25-39 AUNCHULEE Piyanat WOC 2016, semifinal game 1 |
AUNCHULEE Piyanat 37-27 NAGANO Yasushi WOC 2016, semifinal game 2 |
Semifinals (1-game) Ladies: Joanna William - Hisako Kinoshito and Veronica Stenberg - Zhen Dong
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WILLIAM Joanna 30-34 KINOSHITA Hisako WOC 2016, semifinal 1 Ladies |
STENBERG Veronica 32-32 DONG WOC 2016, semifinal 2 Ladies |
Junior Final Arthur Juigner - Masaki Wada
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WADA Masaki 36-28 JUIGNER Arthur WOC 2016, youth final |
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Arthur had scored 7.5 points in the Swiss rounds, Masaki scored 7. Twelve year old Masaki won the final game and became the world's first Junior Othello Champion
Ladies play-off 3rd/4th place and Ladies Final
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WILLIAM 32-32 STENBERG WOC 2016, 3/4 playoff ladies |
DONG Zhen 40-24 KINOSHITA Hisako WOC 2016, Ladies final |
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Very unfortunate day 3 for Veronica Stenberg, she lost 2 games on a draw (chose colour). Hisako Kinoshita, who had scored 9 wins in the Swiss rounds and almost qualified for the regular semifinals lost in the final against Zhen Dong.
I'm really happy about the results I achieved during the world championship in Mito. With a background of no practice and no real goals for WOC 2016 it feels like a huge success to end up with 7 points and semi final! I'm also really happy to actually not loose any game on last day (even though I didn't win any either). The arrangement of WOC 2016 was great and it was fun being a part of it :) Right now I feel more excited about the game than I did for last few years and if I qualify for WOC 2017 I will not come unprepared! Thanks all for this year and hope to see you soon again! |
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Playoff 3rd / 4th and Final 40th World Othello Championship
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NAGANO Yasushi 26-38 TAKANASHI Yusuke WOC 2016, 3/4 playoff |
AUNCHULEE Piyanat 35-29 SONG Yan WOC 2016, final game 1 |
SONG Yan 31-33 AUNCHULEE Piyanat WOC 2016, final game 2 |
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Top 4 after the Swiss rounds: Yasushi Nagano 13 points, Yusuke Takanashi, 11 points, Yan Song 10 points and Piyanat Aunchulee 9.5 points. Reverse the order of names and you have the final result! Congrats Piyanat!!!!!!
The video shows Piyanat as he just won the second and final game. He seems unable to believe this really happened. At the start of the tournament and especially after the formidable achievement of Yasushi Nagano in the Swiss round, lots of people tipped Yusuke and Yasushi for the final. But quietly Piyanat worked his way to the top and quietly he expressed his happines with a beautiful smile. Congrats also to Team Thailand, this is a very supportive group of people. Always happy and fun and enjoying each others successes. |
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More video's can be found here:
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Congrats Piyanat!!! At last, You are a WOC winner!! See you in Belgium!
More at Othello Graph website
After saw the Semi finalists .. |
Team Thailand
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Links to online photoalbums:
 François Juigner
By François Juigner:
Semi-finals and Finals Victory Dinner Second Day First Day By Thailand Othello Association WOC2016 2nd-3rd Nov 2016 World Othello Championship 2016 - 1st Nov 2016 |
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