Recent updates:
-- Korean new tournament gets a formal name.
-- Ma Xiaochun nominated the 'head coach' for Chinese national Go squad.
-- 20 new shodans in China after heated competition.

Korean new tournament gets a formal name:
Following Internet polls among Go fans, a new Korean tournament sponsored by Wonik has been formally named as 'Siptan' (literally meaning 10-dan, equivalent to Japanese 'Judan'). The main stage is a knockout tournament of 32 players, with 8 seeded top players and the remaining 24 selected from a preliminary stage.

Ma Xiaochun nominated as the 'head coach' of Chinese national Go squad:
Ma Xiaochun 9-dan, 2-time former world championship titleholder, was officially nominated as the 'head coach' of Chinese national Go team. The national squad consists of nearly 40 top Chinese players. Ma is reportedly to have arranged tough training sessions for those players, including regular league tournaments and group studies.

New shodans in China:
After intense competitions, 18 Chinese boys and 2 girls were lucky enough to become professional 1-dan. More than 400 candidates participated the tournament and they are exceptionally strong! As an example, Tang Weixing 6-dan, double-champion of two major Chinese amateur tournaments (Wanbao Cup and Meiluo Cup), failed to pass this test, together with a few other promising young stars.