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"Go is a fight against yourself"
The Match starring Lee Byung Hun and Yoo Ah In was based on South Korea’s great Go player Cho Hun Hyeon and the student he trained who eventually surpassed his master, Lee Chang Ho. The pacing of this film was similar to a slice of life. The conflicts weren’t insurmountable and there were no villains. Everyone loved the game, hated losing and saw their opponents across the table as the enemy. But those enemies weren’t afraid to be a friend away from the stones.
In 1982 Cho Hun Hyeon became a national hero when he won the 1st Ing Cup, an international Go competition where Cho was the only invited Korean participant. Two years later through an acquaintance, he is introduced to the young Lee Chang Ho, an arrogant and self-trained Go player who takes on all comers, even Cho. When Cho observes his raw talent, he takes him on as a student and invites him to live in Seoul with Cho and his family. Lee gradually develops his own Go strategy which is at odds with Cho’s. The two gifted players travel along a competitive trajectory which will test their relationship.
Despite being devoted to the game of Go and hating to lose, Cho believed in a detached attitude which fit Lee Chang Ho's personality as well. Both were also capable of arrogance. Their approaches to the game were complete opposites. Cho quickly attacked, Lee methodically defended. Cho may initially have had a mental set-back as his student surpassed him, but both men refused to allow bitterness to enter their relationship. Thankfully, the film didn’t try to overexaggerate the growing pains the two faced.
Lee Byung Hun as Cho gave a restrained performance as would be expected of this composed Go player. If Byung Hun had to reel in his emotions, Yoo Ah In, had to swallow them in order to convey the slow growth of “The Stone Buddha.” The legendary Go competitors were in safe hands with these two actors. Jo Woo Jin gave a lovely performance as the defeated competitor of both, and also someone who offered the student and teacher the encouraging words needed at just the right times.
The Match’s soundtrack wonderfully matched the events taking place with the final epic battle perfectly told through the music. Go was played with black and white stones, yet the game displayed a wide range of battle plans, just as the relationships weren’t black and white, showing a range of nuance.
“Go is about trying to find answers when there are no answers.”
8 May 2025
In 1982 Cho Hun Hyeon became a national hero when he won the 1st Ing Cup, an international Go competition where Cho was the only invited Korean participant. Two years later through an acquaintance, he is introduced to the young Lee Chang Ho, an arrogant and self-trained Go player who takes on all comers, even Cho. When Cho observes his raw talent, he takes him on as a student and invites him to live in Seoul with Cho and his family. Lee gradually develops his own Go strategy which is at odds with Cho’s. The two gifted players travel along a competitive trajectory which will test their relationship.
Despite being devoted to the game of Go and hating to lose, Cho believed in a detached attitude which fit Lee Chang Ho's personality as well. Both were also capable of arrogance. Their approaches to the game were complete opposites. Cho quickly attacked, Lee methodically defended. Cho may initially have had a mental set-back as his student surpassed him, but both men refused to allow bitterness to enter their relationship. Thankfully, the film didn’t try to overexaggerate the growing pains the two faced.
Lee Byung Hun as Cho gave a restrained performance as would be expected of this composed Go player. If Byung Hun had to reel in his emotions, Yoo Ah In, had to swallow them in order to convey the slow growth of “The Stone Buddha.” The legendary Go competitors were in safe hands with these two actors. Jo Woo Jin gave a lovely performance as the defeated competitor of both, and also someone who offered the student and teacher the encouraging words needed at just the right times.
The Match’s soundtrack wonderfully matched the events taking place with the final epic battle perfectly told through the music. Go was played with black and white stones, yet the game displayed a wide range of battle plans, just as the relationships weren’t black and white, showing a range of nuance.
“Go is about trying to find answers when there are no answers.”
8 May 2025
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