Tournament commentary · 29
Ichiriki pulls one back: the game had tilted before the left-side fight began
In game 3 of the 74th Oza title match, Ichiriki Ryo won with White against Fukuoka Kotaro to make the series 1–2. Reports made the left-side group fight the deciding battle. A move-by-move KataGo rerun puts the turn earlier, at Black 75 to 79, while agreeing that Ichiriki handled the left-side fight precisely.
The opening: a small edge for White, as reported
Jinya, Hadano, Kanagawa, November 6, 2026. Honinbo Fukuoka Kotaro had Black and Oza Ichiriki Ryo White, Japanese rules, 6.5 komi. The challenger led 2–0, so a loss would cost Ichiriki the title. Reports said Ichiriki took the big points first and built his lead little by little. KataGo agrees for the first 50 moves: after move 50 Black's win rate was 30% and White led by about 1.9 points.
White 52 gives the edge back
White 52 went to D10. KataGo's first choice was F13, continuing F13, E12, F12, E11, and D10 was not in its top three. Black's win rate rose from 31% to 53% and the score was back to level. From move 55 to 74 Black stayed between 45% and 60%, never more than 0.7 points apart. The 'little by little' lead in the reports went back to even along the way.
The position before White 52, comparing the played D10 with KataGo's first choice F13. Black 75: the urgent point at the top is passed over
Black 75 is the key move of the game. It was played at K4 on the lower side, while KataGo's first choice was L18 at the top, continuing L18, P16, Q16, O17; K4 was not in its top three. Black's win rate fell from 51% to 29%. Black 77 at N18 (first choice S9) and Black 79 at J17 (first choice S15) each lost a little more. By move 80 Black was at 18% and White led by about 3.4 points. The left-side fight had not started yet.
The position before Black 75, comparing the played K4 with KataGo's first choice L18, with Black 75, 77, and 79 listed alongside. The left-side fight: nearly every Ichiriki move is KataGo's first choice
Black opened the left side on move 91. Black 91 went to C10 while KataGo preferred O12 on the right, and Black fell from 23% to 10%. Black 93 at B13, with Q16 as first choice, stretched White's lead to about 7.5 points, and after Black 99 it was 10.8. White's replies here, 92 at C11, 96 at B16, and 98 at A18, were all KataGo's first choices. The reports' description of an accurate counterattack holds up.
The position before Black 91, comparing the played C10 with KataGo's first choice O12, with six of moves 91 to 99 listed alongside. Where the game was decided
KataGo and the reports do not disagree about the quality of play on the left; they disagree about where the game was decided. By KataGo's numbers Black was already about three points behind, with a win rate just over 20%, when the left-side fight started. The attack was a trailing player's attempt to catch up, not an even decisive battle. White won by resignation after 162 moves, making it 1–2. Game 4 is in Kobe on December 4, and one more win would give Fukuoka the Oza title.
Post-game reports
Four judgements about this game
- White was slightly ahead in the opening, as reported.
- White 52 gave the edge back, and moves 55 to 74 were even.
- The decisive moves were Black 75 to 79: the urgent L18 at the top was passed over and Black fell from 51% to 19%.
- In the left-side fight nearly all of Ichiriki's replies were KataGo's first choices, and the lead grew past ten points.