11-yr-old Japan Go prodigy Nakamura advances to A round of Women's Meijin preliminary

OSAKA -- Eleven-year-old Go prodigy Sumire Nakamura defeated two older players in a preliminary B round of the Women's Meijin tournament on Dec. 10, to advance to the A round.

Nakamura beat 36-year-old Chihiro Chujo, who holds the same first-dan rank as her, and Hiromi Mizuno, a 52-year-old fifth-dan ranked player, in their games at the Kansai Ki-in (Kansai Go Association) in Osaka's Chuo Ward. With one earlier win in the B round, Nakamura advances to the A round with three straight victories.

It is the first time for Nakamura to participate in the Women's Meijin competition. If she scores two wins in the preliminary A round, then she will enter the league to determine the challenger to face off against the Women's Meijin titleholder, 22-year-old Rina Fujisawa.

(Japanese original by Hiroaki Niidoi, Osaka Cultural News Department)