On the 23rd local time, the 29th LG Cup Chosun Ilbo World Chess Championship Trilogy Finals were contested in the Korean Chess Academy. Chinese chess player Ke Jie chose to retire halfway through the game, and finally lost to South Korean chess player Bian Xiangyi 1:2, and failed to become the first Chinese chess player in the history of Go to achieve the great cause of "nine crowns" in the world competition.

Ke Jie protested and chose to withdraw from the race

In the second game of the final held the day before, Ke Jie, who had already played a game, was sentenced to lose because the grapes were not put into the chess box twice in accordance with the latest rules of Korean Go, and was reported by his opponent Bian Xiangyi. There was also an abrupt situation in the tiebreaker. At that time, Ke Jie made a mistake in the game, and the referee did not inform him directly, but then stopped in Bian Xiangyi's round to inform Ke Jie of his mistake and punish him. The move sparked a protest from Ke Jie, and the game was suspended for a long time. The Chinese Go delegation then proposed a rematch, but the South Korean side did not accept it, and Ke Jie then chose to withdraw from the match. Yonhap News Agency said after the game that it was the first time that a foul was awarded and a waiver was awarded in a World Series final.

Korean media reported that Ke Jie did not put the two chess pieces into the chess box.

Yonhap News Agency wrote that Ke Jie, who was also warned twice for not following the rules in the second game the day before and was sentenced to lose, exploded in anger after being warned in the third game. Ke Jie protested loudly to the referee, unable to hide her displeasure. The Korean Chess Academy spent more than 2 hours convincing the Chinese side to try to continue the game, but Ke Jie said that he could not accept it and left the game. Sun Genji, who served as the referee of the tiebreaker, explained the reason for Ke Jie's punishment after the fifth paragraph, and announced that Bian Xiangyi won the championship because of Ke Jie's abstention. This is Bian Xiangyi's second World Series championship after winning the 2023 Chunlan Cup. The winner of this year's LG Cup will receive a prize of 300 million won, and the runner-up will receive a prize of 100 million won.

After winning the 2023 Chunlan Cup, Bian Xiangyi won the World Series for the second time

The results of this LG Cup are related to the heights that Ke Jie has reached in her career. If Ke Jie wins the championship, he will become the first Chinese Go player in the history of Go to achieve the "Nine Crowns" in the World Championship, and can throw off China's "Eight Champions" Gu Li and tie for third place in the Go World Championship Rankings with South Korean legend Cho Hoon-hyun. Now missing the 29th LG Cup championship has made Ke Jie's dream of "nine crowns" only postponed. After this battle, Ke Jie and Bian Xiangyi's battle record came to 7 wins and 2 losses, and Ke Jie continued to have an advantage. It is worth mentioning that the two games that Ke Jie lost to Bian Xiangyi were all from this LG Cup.