The Blood-vomiting Game
Akaboshi Intetsu (Black) vs Honinbo Jowa (White)
Played at the home of Lord Matsudaira of Suo, in Edo · 1835
Played over four days in 1835, this game belonged to a long struggle between the great Go houses over who would hold the post of Meijin. Akaboshi Intetsu, a rising star of the Inoue house, opened with a new variation his house had prepared in secret and took an early lead. Jowa, the reigning Meijin, answered with three quiet, unexpected moves that slowly turned the game. Intetsu was already unwell; the story says he coughed blood at the board, and he died not long after. The legend has grown in the telling — strong modern players think Black was still doing well even after Jowa's three moves.
Moments to look for
List the stones on the board
Keyboard: with the stepper focused, the left and right arrow keys move one step.
Result: Honinbo Jowa (White) won by resignation. There was no komi in this game.
Where the records differ:
- The records give different days for the game, because some use the old Japanese calendar and some the modern one.
Sources checked (each has the same 246 moves):
- Andries Brouwer's professional game archive (CWI), Hoensha/D19-7.sgf
- EidoGo sample library (blood_vomit.sgf)
- maxiGos sample games (blood-vomit.sgf)
- Little Go famous games (Blood-vomiting game.sgf)
- tasuki's famous-games wiki (1835.sgf)
Every move is replayed on our own Go engine, so the board is always a legal position. The introduction and notes are our own words.