News from the American Go Association

March 21, 2005

In This Issue:

U.S. GO NEWS: Frohardt Remembered At Alamo; North Puget Club Boosts Turnout; Blossoms, Boards Bloom In DC; EJ To Cover Cotsen; Woodlands Hosts Guo Juan Workshop; Go Congress Registration Booming; Former Members Welcomed Back; Update Online; Coming Up In Friday's Member's Edition; This Week's New Classified Highlights
WORLD GO NEWS: Lee Changho Wins Chunlan Cup; In Comeback, Hane Holds Onto Kisei; Koyama Takes Women's Meijin From Kobayashi; Li Shen Wins Cambridge Trigantius
YOUR MOVE: Readers Write
ONLINE GO: Of Indexing & Banner Links
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

< a name='U.S. GO NEWS'>U.S. GO NEWS

FROHARDT REMEMBERED AT ALAMO: Robert Frohardt 1d topped the March 6 "Remember the Alamo!" tournament in Chicago, reports organizer Bob Barber. Thirty-seven players participated. Winners: 1st Place Dan: Robert Frohardt 1d; 1st Place Low Kyu: Jiri Kataman 1k; 1st Place Mid Kyu: Daniel Smith 12k; 1st Place High Kyu:  John Wang 25k; 2nd Place High Kyu: Diana Xu 25k.

NORTH PUGET CLUB BOOSTS TURNOUT: "We have been experiencing increasing turnout at the new North Puget Sound (WA) Go Club," reports Joel Simpson. Simpson adds that the new club will be meeting regularly on the first Thursday of every month at the Spotted Cow in Mill Creek, Washington from 6-10P. "Everyone is welcome; beginners, weak or strong players, adults, and children all now attend." For more details: Joel.Simpson@gmail.com
 
BLOSSOMS, BOARDS BLOOM IN DC: Visitors to our nation's capital this spring will have more than cherry blo ssoms, monuments and museums to visit. The exhibit "Games, Contests, and Artful Play in Japan" runs through May 15 at the Smithsonian's Sackler and Freer galleries on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The exhibits focus on Asian Games with an exhibition of 14th-20th century paintings and objects illustrating the wide variety of games and contests played in Japan. In addition to actual game boards and pieces, ceramic and lacquer objects continue the theme of artful play in their decoration or materials. A concurrent installation of screens from the Freer collection in a neighboring gallery also reflect that theme. Details at: http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/future.htm  The Sackler invites players of all games, new and experienced, to participate in the "hands on play zone" part of the exhibition, open daily through April 17 during the exhibition hours (11-4). In addition, the play zone will be open every S aturday, 11-4, during the full run of the exhibition. The game zone is inside the exhibition area in the Sackler, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. 

EJ TO COVER COTSEN: The E-Journal will cover the upcoming Cotsen Open in Los Angeles, CA April 30 & May 1. A special edition on April 30 will include top board game commentary as well as an update on tournament results and activities. The tournament, sponsored by Lloyd Eric Cotsen with the American Go Association, is expected to draw a large and strong field and has several special features, including a free luxury lunch buffet, full refunds of all entry fees Sunday afternoon for players who pre-register, a $1,000 cash prize for the winning go club, free limited AGA membership for players who play the entire weekend, problem-solving prizes and much more. Registration is $20; make checks payable to AGA Cotsen Open, and mail to: 1880 Veteran Ave #310, Los Angeles, CA 90025 Questions: 310-473-5873 or GoTournament@thelec.c om

WOODLANDS HOSTS GUO JUAN WORKSHOP: Guo Juan 5P will lead a workshop on Memorial Day weekend at the Woodlands in Upstate NY, reports organizer Jean-Claude Chetrit. "She is one of the best go teachers I know," says JC. "Her English is excellent, her style a joy." Beginning with a lecture late on Friday evening, May 27 and ending Monday, May 30 after lunch, the workshop format will be the usual workshop format with a mixture of lectures, games and game analysis. Space is limited, so sign up now; more details at http://brooklyngoclub.org/gc/cgi-bin/disp_topic.iphtml?topic_id=218  or contact Jean-Claude Chetrit at 718-638-2266 or jc@brooklyngoclub.org

GO CONGRESS REGISTRATION BOOMING: Nearly 100 players have already registered for this year's U.S. Go Congress August 6-15 in Tacoma, Washington. "August weather in the Pacific Northwest is famously gorgeous, mostly sunny with daytime highs in the high 70s," boast organizers. In addition to the 8 days of non-stop go, onsite attractions include athletic fields and gym, library, a modest 9-hole golf course, and swimming pool. Check out more details on the Congress and who's already registered at http://www.go2005.org/

FORMER MEMBERS WELCOMED BACK: "Thanks to an overly busy schedule, I did not notice my membership had expired until now," writes a member. "I officially renewed my membership just a few hours ago and am wondering whether our institution might not forgive me for my neglect and send me copies of the members-only material for the last two months." We're happy to bring renewing members up to speed with back issues of the EJ and the game commentaries (up to 2 months back), upon request. Please notify us at journal@usgo.org with the date of your renewal. "I never intended to interrupt my membership," adds the member, "but in the chaos surrounding an il lness in the family, I let the whole thing slip my mind. I did recently receive the Yearbook highlighting last year's journal, which I read avidly, and I would very much like to stay a member of our organization continuously."

UPDATE ONLINE: E-Journal readers and AGA members can now instantly update their contact information online! Just click on http://www.listlynx.com/MailUser1.asp and you'll not only be able to update your email address, but your mailing address and other contact info as well. We hope you find this new service useful, and welcome comments or suggestions on how we can continue to improve. Send them to us at journal@usgo.org

COMING UP IN FRIDAY'S MEMBER'S EDITION: Kato Masao defends his title against Sakata Eio 9P in the classic third game from the 15th Judan title match in 1977. Plus, two view of Kato's "The Chinese Opening" and latest news updates! Non-members can sign up now at http://www.usgo.org/org/application.asp

THIS WEEK'S NEW CLASSIFIED HIGHLIGHTS: Players wanted in Nassau County, NY, Asheville, NC & Garland or Rockwall TX; plus, Joey Hung 8d is now accepting students. Check these out in Go Classified below!

WORLD GO NEWS

LEE CHANGHO WINS CHUNLAN CUP: Lee Changho 9P of Korea captured his 17th international title by defeating Zhou Heyang 9P of China in the 5th Chunlan Cup 2-1. The winner's prize was $150,000 US. Lee lost the first game by a half point but took both the second and third games by resignation. In the third game, go4go.net reports that Zhou got off to a good start, sacrificing six stones in the early middle game to build a wall, which he used as a power base to attack a weak group of Lee's. However, Zhou made an apparent overplay at move 82 that allowed Lee to counterattack. This led to a capturing race and Lee eventually created a seki in Zhou's territory. Some observers thought that if Zhou's 82 had been at 90 he would have had an easy win. You can download the game record at http://www.go4go.net/v2/modules/collection/bytour2.php?tid=5

IN COMEBACK, HANE HOLDS ONTO KISEI: With his back to the wall in game 7 of the 29th Kisei title match in Japan, Hane Naoki 9P defeated the challenger from the Kansai Kiin, Yuki Satoshi 9P by 4.5 points with Black to hold on to the title he won last year by defeating Yamashita Keigo 9P. Yuki got ahead 3-2, so Hane had to win both of the last two games. You can download the game records at http://www.go4go.net/v2/modules/collection/bytour2.php?tid=13 . The Kisei is the top title in Japan, with a winner's purse of nearly $400,000 US.

KOYAMA TAKES WOMEN'S MEIJIN FROM KOBAYASHI: Koyama Terumi 5P won both the second and third games in the 17th Women's Meijin in Japan to take the title from Kobayashi Izumi 6P. Koyama was also the Women's Meijin for three consecutive years in the 1990's, losing the title in 1999 to Aoki Kikuyo 8P. Kobayashi Izumi then defeated Aoki in 2001, lost to Aoki in 2002, and defeated Aoki again in 2003. Kobayashi beat Inori Yoko 5P in 2004. Besides Koyama only Aoki has held this title four times. The title winner's prize is about $50,000 US. John Power reports on the Nihon Kiin's home page the interesting fact that in title matches, Koyama has an astounding winning percentage of 80% with White (in all her games the percentage of wins is 45%). You can download the game records of the title match at http://www.go4go.net/v2/modules/collection/bytour2.php?tid=73 .

LI SHEN WINS CAMBRIDGE TRIGANTIUS: Li Shen 6d of London was the winner for the second year in a row at the Cambridge Trigantius, defeating David Ward 4d of Cambridge, Andrew Jones 3d of Wanstead, and Yun He 7d of the London School of Economics. There were nearly 100 participants this year, including those in the novices event. The 13X13 tournament was won by Alistair Turnbull.
- reported by BGA News

YOUR MOVE: Readers Write

HIKARU FAN SEEKS CA CLUB: "I am a 17-year-old boy in Escondido," writes Larry Lopez. "I read Hikaru no go and got into go because of it. Can you please tell me where I can find a club close to me?"
California has dozens of go clubs; a complete current list of AGA chapters and other informal clubs and meeting places for Go players throughout the United States is available online at http://www.usgo.org/usa/chapclub.asp

ONLINE GO: Of Indexing & Banner Links
by Roy Laird
        "Where can I get an officia l copy of Ing's SST Rules of Go?"  "How do I find game records to download?"  "What are some good books for beginners?"  With tens of thousands of visitors every month (26,000 visitors last month) to the AGA's website we constantly get lots of good questions like these. So when Jochen Fassbender, indexer extraordinaire, offered to help us create a site index, we were thrilled.  Fassbender created the BGA's site index at http://www.britgo.org/bgasi/bgasi.html, and he is the creator no less than four separate indexes of The American Go Journal, available at http://www.usgo.org/AGJournal/.  Hence the publication of a site index of www.usgo.org at http://www.usgo.org/agasi/, where you can find the answers to these ques tions, and many more, including some you didn't even think to ask.  Look for the index on the left navigation bar soon.
       Many web sites have a "search" function, where you type in a keyword and the answer appears -- or not, depending on whether you guessed the right keyword.  We decided it would be better to put all the information out there on one page, so you'll be sure to find what you're looking for, as well as other interesting stuff.  If you miss the "Search" function, your browser probably has one (Ctrl-F in Internet Explorer).
       Actually, you're only somewhat likely to find what you're looking for.  It's a massive site, and the index is a work in progress.  Less than half of it has been indexed.  Would you like to help with this project?  If so, write to webmaster@usgo.org, we need lots of help!
       Did you know that you can download one of five banner links for your web page?  Linking from your page helps drive traffic our way, tells search engines that www.usgo,.org is an important site, and helps us build a strong community of American players.  Go to http://www.usgo.org/images/banners.asp, and right-click and save the banner of your choice.
       In fact, links have become such an important way to reach potential players, we've decided to hold a Banner Link Contest.  Send us the coolest link you can devise, and we'll put the top five or so up for download by others!

GO CLASSIFIED

PLAYERS WANTED: Nassau County, NY. Beginner in Nassau County (Franklin Square area) looking for other players to get together and perhaps start club.  Save the drive to Queens, Brooklyn, or Suffolk; you could be playing go instead of driving! Email snugglesthemonkey@yahoo.com

STUDENTS WANTED: Joey Hung 8d, offers lessons online on KGS and in person in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Contact egogames@yahoo.com and http://www.egogames.com

PLAYERS WANTED: Asheville, NC. Contact Rodney Keaton at ichliebedeinunderhosen@yahoo.com

PLAYERS WANTED: Garland or Rockwall TX. wmccrory@feccommunications.net

BUY, SELL, OR TRADE equipment, books and go materials, find a go teacher, find someone to play go with! Complete go classifieds online at http://www.usgo.org/resources/classified.asp

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 26: Baltimore MD
3rd Annual Hopkins Go Tournament
Robert Ferguson robert.ferguson@gmail.com

March 26: New York, NY
Spring Tournament
Wren Chan 646-54 9-4061 stuygoclub@yahoo.com

March 26: Denton, TX
Yet Another Go Tournament
Paisa Seeluangsawat 940-367-2537 paisa@unt.edu

April 2: Syracuse, NY
Syracuse Spring Ratings Tournament
Anton Ninno 315-479-9073 antonninno@yahoo.com

April 2: Arlington, VA
Cherry Blossom Tournament
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net

April 3: Seattle, WA
Monthly Ratings Tournament
Jon Boley 206-545-1424 jon@seattlegocenter.org

April 16 & 17: College Park, MD
2005 John Groesch Memorial Tournament
Steve Mount smount@umd.edu

April 16 & 17: Houston, TX
Houston Spring Go Tournament 2005
Robert Cordingley 281-331-1614 rcordingley@houston.rr.com

April 17: Menlo Park, CA
2nd California High School Goe Tournament
Jason Pan jpan05@sbcglobal.net

April 17: Somerville, MA
MGA Spring Handicap Tournament
Zack Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com

April 23: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Alberta Open 2005
Chuck Elliott 780-426-5716 chuck@kakari.com

April 23: Seattle, WA
Cherry Blossom Festival Tournament
Jon Boley 206-545-1424 jon@seattlegocenter.org

This is a digest of events for the next month only; for a complete listing see the Tournament Calendar on the AGA website: http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.asp
For the European Go Calendar see http://www.european-go.org/TOURNAMENTS/TListbyDate.htm

GET LISTED & BOOST TURN OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 7,000 readers every week! List your Go event/news In the E Journal: email details to us at journal@usgo.org

Published by the American Go Association

Text material published in the AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that commented game record files MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the E-Journal. Please direct inquiries to journal@usgo.org

Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the American Go Association.
To make name or address corrections, notify us at the email address below. Story suggestions, event announcements, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:
Editor: Chris Garlock
journal@usgo.org