I'm not fully clear on the limits of the Jubango match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol in terms of handicaps being involved, etc. I'm not even sure if the stipulation of the match is they play *all* 10 games regardless of the score or if it's a "best of" 10 games.
Regardless of this...is there a possibility Gu Li may withdraw from the match to avoid loss of face if he loses the third game? It's clear to me the pressure is definitely on Gu Li to strike back to get back in the score hunt but I think overcoming a two game loss like this may be too difficult.
This second game loss must have really stung Gu Li. I didn't even hear if they had any remarks about the game afterwards like they did after the first game.
But if history is anything to go on...there is the big struggle between Fujisawa and Kato Masao in their match that's similar to this one. Fujisawa lost the first two games and struck back to win the entire match afterwards. But duplicating something like that may be nearly impossible. I think the 4 hour limit per player may not be enough time. Maybe 6 to 8 hours would have been a better limit.
Its said that the longer time limit is more in Lee Sedol's favor than in Gu's so I think that aspect is to his advantage. I hope they play all 10, as the prize is 800,000 dollars US so they should certainly stick it out and try for the comeback. My question is whether they only have to play until one side reaches 5 or 6 wins since technically it means either a draw or a guaranteed win. I would hope for 6 over 5, but I expect Gu to come back strongly here in game 3 and play more carefully in the middlegame.
Withdrawing match to avoid loss of face may be the biggest loss of face. Considering the level of fighting spirit of the two players, any player would not be expected to withdraw.
Four hours time limit is advantageous for Lee because he used to spend more time.
Gu tends to make a better move on early game than Lee, while Lee might be good at fighting and end game.
In the end, no one knows who would win, two games are not enough to predict result. As a Go fan, I wish the two players would make exciting records of moves with no error.