NGoB Yearbook 2020-2021

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The cover of the 2020-2021 Dutch Go Yearbook is the sixth consecutive one in a series I have made for the Nederlandse Go Bond. The covers feature animals, go positions and paper marbling. 
The toucan artwork is a creation from 2019. The organization of the Latin American Go Congress commissioned me to make a drawing for its edition that year, and to print 1000 postcards for the event that took place in the Nihon Ki-in da América do Sul in São Paulo, Brazil.
The toucan is a bird species indigenous to large parts of South America, and is taking the place of legendary go player Honinbo Shusaku in this design. The go match in the artwork is one of the most famous ones ever played, known as "The Ear Reddening Game". The match is at its most vital stage and the toucan is about to play a move that went down in history. Reportedly, when Shusaku played move 127, it mentally shook his opponent, Gennan Inseki, so much so that his ears turned red. If you look carefully at the cacti in the drawing, you can see that their fruit are starting to blush. 

I'm grateful to the NGoB; this series of yearbooks is becoming quite something and I hope future Dutch go players will enjoy my covers as much as I do. The 2020-2021 edition will be printed and distributed among the members of the Dutch Go Association in early 2022.