News from the American Go Association
October 17, 2005
Volume 5, #90
In This Issue:
LATEST GO NEWS: Houston To Host Yang, Top Amateurs & More; Rochester Turn-Out Looking Good; Go Stamps In Big Apple; Deadline For 2006 Shodan Challengers; Yearbook Advertising; Iyama Makes Go History; Teams Slug It Out In Nongshim Cup; Cho Seokbin Wins In Bratislava; Yashiro One Win From Women's Honinbo Title; Doganay Tops Istanbul Tourney; How Are We Doing?
YOUR MOVE: Readers Write: Winning Ways; Ni Ludu Goon!; Handicap Perspective; Handicap Alternatives
CALENDAR
HOUSTON TO HOST YANG, TOP AMATEURS & MORE: Jie Li 9d tops a strong field of competitors at the upcoming Texas Open October 29-30, some of whom will be attending Y
ilun Yang 7P's workshop October 24-28. Other featured events include a lecture by Yang Friday night and a screening of the classic "The Master of Go" Saturday night. The E-Journal will be on hand, as well, recording and broadcasting Board 1 games and posting daily updates and photos on the news site at http://www.usgo.org/news/ The deadline for workshop registration has been extended to October 19; workshop, lecture and tourney are open to all levels; details or sign up now at http://www.houstongoclub.org/TO2005/
ROCHESTER TURN-OUT LOOKING GOOD: More than thirty players have already pre-registered for this Saturday's First Annual Greg Lefler Memorial Go Tournament in Rochester, NY, reports local organizer Christopher Sira. Organized in memory of Rochester go organizer Greg Lefler, who died in August, the 3-round tournament will be held on
the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Details at http://www.emptysky.org/tourn.html or call 201-230-2383 or email emptyskygo@gmail.com
GO STAMPS IN BIG APPLE: A 16-page stamp exhibit, "Go: Its Culture and History Throughout the Ages", by former Western Vice President Lester Lanphear III will be on display from October 20 to 23 at the New York City Mega-Event Stamp Exhibit at Madison Square Gardens Expo Center, 34fth and 7th Avenue. Admission is free and the hours are 10A-6P. "This exhibit is the result of many years of collecting stamps and other philatelic items that enable the telling of the story of go through these philatelic pieces," Lanphear tells the E-Journal. "The exhibit has won many national and international awards since it was first shown in 1989." Les would like feedback from any go players whom seek out the show and look at the exhibit; email him at llanphear@earthlin
k.net
DEADLINE FOR 2006 SHODAN CHALLENGERS: December 1 is the deadline to join the 2006 Shodan Challenge. There are now more than two dozen Challengers, ranging from 4d to 30k, and hailing from 16 states across the United States as well as Canada, Northern Ireland, Cyprus and The Netherlands. Open to players of all strengths, the Challenge now has five Divisions: the 20-kyu Challenge, for beginners; the 10-kyu Challenge for 11-20k players; the 5-kyu Challenge for 6-10k players, the Shodan Challenge for 5-1k players and the 5d Challenge for 1-4d players. Don't miss lots of good opportunities for Challengers, who will also be listed in the upcoming 2006 Yearbook. For details, email journal@usgo.org
YEARBOOK ADVERTISING: advertising is now being accepted for the 2005 American Go Yearbook! The popular annual publication includes a selection of the "best of" the week E-Journals plus a CD including every game, report and review from the year. A great opportunity to r
each thousands of go players year-round! For rates & details, email journal@usgo.org
IYAMA MAKES GO HISTORY: Sixteen-year-old Iyama Yuta 4P became the youngest player ever to win a professional title in Japan when he defeated Kobayashi Satoru 9P, former Kisei by 6.5 points on October 8. As reported in the September 19th issue of the E-Journal Iyama was astounding the go world by defeating several of the strongest Japanese pros as well as his younger competition, winning his way into the final of the Agon Cup against Kobayashi. The record for youngest title winner was previously held by Cho Chikun 9P, who was seven months older when he won the New Stars title in 1973. The record of this and several other of Iyama's games can be downloaded from the go4go.net site: search the Game Collection under his name.
TEAMS SLUG IT OUT IN NONGSHIM CUP: The first round of the sixth international Nongshim Cup team tournament has been completed. In the first of the four games
, the Japanese led with Kisei title holder Hane Naoki 9P who was matched against the Korean teenage star Kang Dongyun 4P. The game was a series of fights from the beginning in the popular Korean style, but Hane managed to triumph by resignation after capturing a large group to give the Japanese a good start. In the second game, Hane was paired with the Chinese player Wang Yao 6P and again won in a close battle between running dragons. Hane's third opponent was the second member of the Korean team, Yoo Jaehyeong 6P, who was able to stop Hane in a game that involved a huge ko exchange. Ryu then met the second member of the Chinese team, Liu Xing 7P. This time the Chinese triumphed, and the first round ended with the Koreans having lost two team members and the Chinese and Japanese one each. Of course, the Korean team has the apparently invincible Lee Changho 9P waiting in reserve (Lee has never been defeated in the Nongshim, so the Koreans have won this Cup every time). The ne
xt round will be in Pusan, Korea, in late November, with Liu paired against a member of the Japanese team.
CHO SEOKBIN WINS IN BRATISLAVA: Cho Seokbin 7d of Germany won all five games to win the latest event in the European Toyota PandaNet Tour in Bratislava, Slovakia. Ninety-four players participated. Balogh Pal 6d of Hungary was second with four wins. Pop Cristian 7d of Romania took third, and fourth place was a tie between Mero Csaba 6d of Hungary and Silt Ondrej 6d of the Czech Republic. Cornel Burzo 6d of Romania, who attended the last US Go Congress, was eighth. The next event in the Tour will be in Kiev, Ukraine, November 19-20, followed by the London Open Go Congress December 28-31. Complete information about this Tour can be found at http://www.european-go.org/
YASHIRO ONE WIN FROM WOMEN'S HONINBO TITLE: Yashiro Kumiko 5P has now won the first two games in the best-of-five title match agains
t Chinen Kaori 3P in the Women's Honinbo in Japan. Chinen won the title last year from Kobayashi Izumi 6P. Chinen also held the title for three years in 1997-1999. If she wins, it will be Yashiro's first title. Pictures and a brief bio of Yashiro are at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=290
DOGANAY TOPS ISTANBUL TOURNEY: Kivanc Doganay 2d took top honors in the Istanbul Go Tournament October 8-9. Doganay, who is the 2005 Turkey Champion, prevailed with six straight wins. The 5th annual Istanbul tournament, organized by the Turkish Go Players' Association, drew 42 players and "is targeted to be one of the major tournaments in Europe," reports Utku Uzulmez, who says players came from Turkey's main cities of Ankara, Bursa, Eskisehir and Istanbul, as well as a guest from Japan. Organizers hope to attract more foreign players in the future; next year's event will be held around the same time, "whi
ch is one of the best times to visit Istanbul, Turkey's most charming city," adds Uzulmez. Results and photographs available at: http://www.gokulubu.hacettepe.edu.tr/istanbul-2005.html AND http://uzulmez.info/Photos/Ist5/
HOW ARE WE DOING? Tell us what you think of the E-Journal: help us improve our efforts to keep you up to date on the fascinating world of go by taking our brief 4-question survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=811801422767
YOUR MOVE: Readers Write
WINNING WAYS: "The commentary on 'winning by resigning' (10/14 EJ) was exceptional," writes Jeff Head of Toledo, Ohio. "I will copy this issue of the Journal and politely distribute it in the near future as games dictate a need for the discuss ion of the topic of resigning. Thank you for this AGA publication and the work that goes into it's creation."
NI LUDU GOON! "The Seattle Esperanto Society was delighted to find out that the logo on the 2005 Go Congress mug and sack contains the Esperanto phrase 'Ni ludu goon!'," writes Mark Engelberg, "along with the equivalent English 'Let's Play Go!', and the name of go in Japanese, Korean, and two forms of Chinese. Go players share a bond which transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. A special thanks to Mike Malveaux, the designer of the logo, for recognizing that the international spirit of the Esperanto language reflects this sense of international fellowship among go players."
HANDICAP PERSPECTIVE: "Phil Waldron complains that playing even games against weaker players is 'no fun' for him (Accept Your Handicap, 10/10 EJ)," writes Milton Bradley. "Although in the strictest sense he's correct about the degree of challenge, that perspective lacks un derstanding of the proper role of the stronger player in a club setting, whose main objective should be to maximize the learning experience of the weaker player. That can't be accomplished if the weaker player is never confronted with the challenge of playing even games against someone who can punish any and all of their misperceptions and outright errors. The solution that I've developed to maintain my interest in such situations is to give Black reverse komi of ten points for each handicap stone. This makes it necessary to seek every minor advantage even down to the last yose move, and it most certainly sharpens one's focus."
HANDICAP ALTERNATIVES: "Recently Phil Waldron 6d wrote about one of his pet peeves," writes Jonathan Bresler 10k, "club players refusing the correct handicap and then playing out games in which they are far behind. (Accept Your Handicap, 10/10 EJ). Take heart, there are a couple of 'outs'. Play an even 'teaching game' until the game is out of b alance. At that point suggest a resignation by the other player. Should the player demur, resign, offer to review the game and decline any additional game offers from the same person. Hopefully, they'll learn from the experience and over time become a stronger player. Do this with two players of the same strength and then have them play each other. Alternatively," suggests Bresler, "find one or more other players that have the same issue and play simultaneous games. The stronger player could use the games to perfect their territory estimation and counting by striving to force a tie. While this idea may appear comical, forcing a tie in practice is actually quite difficult. None of these suggestions should be understood to excuse poor behavior on the part of weaker players. A rare game at a reduced handicap in an effort by the weaker player to assess their own growth is quite different from the repeated imposition Phil described."
October 22: Rochester, NY
The First Annual Greg Lefler Memorial Go Tournament
Christopher Sira emptyskygo@gmail.com 201-230-2383
October 22-23: Portland, OR
Portland Go Tournament
Peter Drake drake@lclark.edu 503-768-7539 (W); 503-245-1239 (H)
October 24-28: Navasota, TX
Pro Workshop with Yilun Yang - in conjunction with the Texas Open
Robert J Cordingley rcordingley@houston.rr.com 281-333-1614
October 29-30: Navasota, TX
2005 Texas Open Go Tournament
Robert J Cordingley rcordingley@houston.rr.com 281-333-1614
October 29: Arlington, VA
Pumpkin Classic
Allan Abramson allango@igc.org 703-684-7676
November 3-6: Lancaster, PA
Yang Workshop
Sam Zimmerman szimmerman@ctipc.com 717-892-1249
November 12: Syracuse, NY
Syracuse Fall Ratings Tournament
Richard Moseson mosesons@earthlink.net 315-682-7720
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Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb
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