The player who rushed into the venue at the last moment was 7-dan Mr. Keigo Yamashita. "I have continued running all the way from the station," said Mr. Yamashita breathlessly. The master of ceremonies was Nippon Television's announcer Ms. Mika Takanishi, who is known as a Go fan. The meeting started in a sociable atmosphere while the participants were enjoying dinner.

First, Mr. Ichiro Yoshikuni, Chairman of the Japan Pair Go Association, stood up for a speech. From a Go fan's viewpoint, he talked about the appealing elements of this event. "The scene of 32 pro players surrounding Go boards at a place is something to see. Go fans visiting there can enjoy watching the games while moving around the Go boards,." said Mr. Yoshikuni. Such a sight is surely worth seeing for Go fans since there is no other competitions in which as many as 32 top pro players gather at a place to play games.

Mr. Hiroshi Hamada, Representative Director and Chairman of Ricoh Co., Ltd., also said, "There were and are no other tournaments in the past or anywhere else in which so many top players gather to seriously play games at the same place on the same day." Stressing this feature, Mr. Hamada added, "I believe that traditional cultural game like Go can play an important role under the present disturbing circumstances. We are happy if we can contribute to the popularization of Go through pair Go. In particular, I hope that more young people will get to know the game of Go." His words revealed that he also is a Go fan for many years.