The third stage of the 12th Nongshim cup has started in Shanghai, China on Jan. 18. In the last game round 10, Choi Chulhan 9P of Korea defeated Takao Shinji 9P of Japan, so Japan has only one player left. In this game, Choi Chulhan defeated Zhou Rui Yang 5P of China by resignation, and he made China have one player left.

This game was easy for Choi Chulhan from the meddle game. The two players played strong and made a new shape on the lower left corner in the opening. Later that shape brought better territories to Choi, and Choi started leading the game. Zhou Rui Yang tried to turn the tables till the ending, but Choi just blocked every Zhou's chance.

Now China and Japan each has only one player left, and Korea has two players. Still no one can assure which team will win the cup.

The next round will be played on Jan. 19, 12:00 (Korean Standard Time), and it will be live broadcast on WBaduk. The next player against Choi Chulhan is Yuki Satoshi 9P of Japan.

The 12th Nongshim Cup is a ring contest where five representative players of Korea, China, and Japan participate to determine the winner of the country. Each player who wins continues to play opponents from the other two teams, alternating between them until there are no more opponents left.

The champion prize is 200 million won (approx. 1,200,000 RMB), and each player is given 1 hour and 1 period of 60 seconds for over time.

The 12th Nongshim Cup is sponsored by managed Nongshim Co., Ltd., and managed by Korea Baduk Association.

¡Þ Match Results
1 Round : Lee Sedol 9P vs. Wang Xi 9P
2 Round : Lee Sedol 9P vs. Iyama Yuta 9P
3 Round : Lee Sedol 9P vs. Xie He 7P
4 Round : Sakai Hideyuki 8P vs. Xie He 7P
5 Round : Park Seunghwa 4P vs. Xie He 7P
6 Round : Hane Naoki 9P vs. Xie He 7P
7 Round : Mok Jinsuk 9P vs. Xie He 7P
8 Round : Mok Jinsuk 9P vs. Takao Shinji 9P
9 Round : Tuo Jia Xi 3P vs. Takao Shinji 9P
10 Round : Choi Chulhan 9P vs. Takao Shinji 9P
11 Round : Choi Chulhan 9P vs. Zhou Rui Yang 5P
12 Round : Choi Chulhan 9P vs. Yuki Satoshi 9P

¡Þ Representative players
Korea: Lee Sedol 9P, Lee Changho 9P, Choi Chulhan 9P, Mok Jinsuk 9P, Park Seunghwa 4P
China: Kong Jie 9P, Wang Xi 9P, Xie He 7P, Zhou Rui Yang 5P, Tuo Jia Xi 3P
Japan: Iyama Yuta 9P, Hane Naoki 9P, Takao Shinji 9P, Yuki Satoshi 9P, Sakai Hideyuki 8P

¡Þ 12th Nongshim Cup World Baduk Championship Schedule
First matches: Oct. 18 ~ Oct. 21, 2010 – Beijing, China
Second matches: Nov. 29 ~ Dec. 4, 2010 – Busan, Korea
Third matches: Jan. 18 ~ Jan. 21, 2011 – Shanghai, China