Chinese Ricoh Cup

Overview: 

The Chinese Ricoh Cup (理光杯职业围棋个人赛) was a Chinese fast-game tournament held between 2000 and 2015. It was organised by the Chinese Weiqi Association and sponsored by RICOH China Co., Ltd. It's also known from some western sources as Liguang Cup, 'Liguang' being the Chinese pinyin of the sponsor's name - something isn't really necessary as Ricoh is a well-known international brand. When the tournament first started in 2000, it was merely a small 8-player invitational tournament. It had evolved into one of the largest fast-game tournaments in China. Ricoh also sponsored two separate Go tournaments, a Xinxiu Cup for young players and a Pair Go tournament to entertain Go fans, both held at approximately the same time as the main Ricoh Cup.

Tournament Format: 

The main tournament has 48 players: the winner and runner-up of the previous term; 28 top players (according to the official Chinese rank); 2 seats reserved for prominent female players; and 16 seats for those who qualified for the related Xinxiu Cup (through an Internet-based preliminary tournament). The tournament format is single elimination, with 16 top players seeded directly into the second round.

Prize Money: 
The prize: 250,000 CNY for the winner and 100,000 CNY for the runner-up.
Time System: 
The time system is a modified Canadian system. In the first stage, 30 moves have to be played within 60 minutes; in subsequent stages, 20 moves have to be played over 15 minutes. Time saved from earlier stages can be carried over.
Ruleset and Komi: 
Chinese rule with 3 and 3/4 stones komi (equivalent to 7.5 points). The komi was 2 and 3/4 stones for term 3 and earlier.
Key Players, Events and Statistics: 

Chang Hao is he best performing player in this tournament, winning it twice and entering final round four times. Another two-time winner is Kong Jie.

Historical Results: 

Term

Year

Winner

Score

Runner-up

Game Records

1

2000

Chang Hao

1-0

Zhou Heyang

2

2001

Gu Li

1-0

Kong Jie

3

2003

Kong Jie

1-0

Liu Xing

4

2004

Chang Hao

1-0

Liu Xing

5

2005

Xie He

1-0

Wang Xi

6

2006

Wang Xi

1-0

Chang Hao

7

2007

Hu Yaoyu

1-0

Chang Hao

8

2008

Qiu Jun

1-0

Gu Li

9

2009

Wang Yao

1-0

Zhou Heyang

10

2010

Kong Jie

1-0

Xie He

11

2011

Tan Xiao

1-0

Li Zhe

12

2012

Yang Dingxin

1-0

Piao Wenyao

13

2013

Zhou Ruiyang

1-0

Tang Weixing

14

2014

Lian Xiao

1-0

Wu Guangya

15

2015

Ke Jie

1-0

Shi Yue

Go4Go Collection Note: 
Go4Go database has all title games and many games from earlier rounds. Games from recent years are particularly complete.
Tournament Tag: 

Comments

Metallian's picture

A very good and comprehensive explanation as how this tournament is run.
Thanks for taking the time to explain.

Unfortunately the game is over now