News from the American Go Association

April 14, 2006
Volume 7, #31

REDMOND AND XIAN TO ATTEND US GO CONGRESS
PENN GO REACHES THOUSANDS AT PHILLY CHERRY BLOSSOM
GO CAMP MEMORIES WANTED
KOREANS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE FUJITSU
YAMADA TO CHALLENGE FOR HONINBO
KOREAN PRICES INFORMATION CUP UNDERWAY
RUSSIANS WIN EUROPEAN PAIR GO
WEEKEND GO ACTION:
Piscataway, NJ
GAME COMMENTARY: Fleeting Peace and The Two Space Extension
GO REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast: Exquisite Play and Go Theory
GO CLASSIFIED
ATTACHED FILE(S): 2006.04.14 Lee-Choi, Dinerchtein.sgf; 2006.04.14 Two Space Extension, Weiqi World, Wong.pdf

REDMOND AND XIAN TO ATTEND US GO CONGRESS: Michael Redmond 9P and his wife Xian Xian 3P have announced that they will be attending the 22nd Annual US Go Congress, report organizers Peter Armenia and Paul Celmer. American-born Redmond started playing go at the age of 10 and became an insei at the Nihon Ki-in at 14. In 2000, he reached the top rank of 9P, the first North American to rise to the highest ranks of the Japanese professional system. To register and to learn more about the August 12-20 US Go Congress, visit http://gocongress06.org. Pay by June 22 and save $50.

PENN GO REACHES THOUSANDS AT PHILLY CHERRY BLOSSOM: The Penn Go Society gave a "Learn to Play Go" demonstration session at the 9th Annual Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival this past Sunday, April 9, reports local organizer Peter Nassar. The festival, sponsored by the Philadelphia Japan American Society, drew over 13,000 visitors, and featured an afternoon of Japanese arts, crafts, and cuisine. "Our volunteer club members were kept busy the entire afternoon as they tried to turn as many people as they could, kids and adults alike, onto the game," Nassar tells the EJ. "Our time was made much easier thanks in part to the demonstration sets we received from the American Go Foundation, to whom we extend our most heartfelt thanks!"

GO CAMP MEMORIES WANTED: Here's a special question for our young readers: what's your favorite go camp memory? Send it to us at journal@usgo.org and we'll consider it for the upcoming special Go Camp Edition! Starting young is one of the keys to becoming a strong go player and each year, youth members from 8-18 attend Go Camps where they enjoy lectures, simultaneous games, and paired games. All of this happens in a summer camp setting with camp activities and outings. Swimming, soccer, miniature golf, hikes, and barbecues are just some of the activities from past camps. Visit www.usgo.org/gocamp to see a video about Go Camps and get more information now.

KOREANS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE FUJITSU: All five Koreans survived in the second round of the 19th international Fujitsu Cup, where just one Japanese and two Chinese players remain. Details on Monday.

YAMADA TO CHALLENGE FOR HONINBO: Yamada Kimio 9P won the playoff to determine the challenger for Honinbo Takao Shinji 9P. Details Monday.

KOREAN PRICES INFORMATION CUP UNDERWAY: The 2nd Korean Prices Information Cup has reached the stage where there are four round robin leagues of four players each, which will be followed by a final round with the four winners. Lee Changho 9P won last time. Details Monday.

RUSSIANS WIN EUROPEAN PAIR GO: The Russian Pair Go team of Natalia Kovaleva and Oleg Mezhov won the European Pair Go Tournament held in Berlin April 7-9. A total of forty-two pairs from twelve countries played in the six-round tournament. Kovaleva and Mezhov were the only pair with six wins. Their shared ranking was 4d. A German pair, Daniela Trinks and Marco Firnhaber, also 4d, were second with five wins. Britain's Natasha Regan and Matthew Cocke, a 3d team, were third, also with five wins, followed by teams from France, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

WEEKEND GO ACTION: Piscataway, NJ
April 15: Piscataway, NJ
The 4th Feng Yun Annual Go Tournament
Feng Yun Golesson@yahoo.com 973-992-5675

GAME COMMENTARY: Fleeting Peace and The Two Space Extension
      A peaceful opening soon turns into a complicated fight in Game 1 of the 7th Korean Maxim Cup Finals, played February 22, 2006 between Lee Sedol 9P and Choi Cheolhan 9P. Alexandre Dinerchtein 1P provides his usual incisive comments.
      Today's bonus file is an article on The Two Space Extension by Wang Yuan 8P, translated by Dave Wong 2d from The World of Weiqi #206.3, February 1, 2006.
      To view the attached .sgf file(s), simply save the file(s) to your computer and then open using an .sgf reader such as Many Faces of Go or SmartGo. Readers who need .sgf readers can get them for most platforms at Jan van der Steen's http://gobase.org/sgfeditors.html

GO REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast: Exquisite Play and Go Theory
By Shen Guosun
Published by Yutopian, www.yutopian.com
Reviewed by Dennis Wheeler 12k
      I purchased this book at the U.S. Go Congress, following the advice of my friend who flips through books to see if there is more text than diagrams. For me, good advice indeed, because this has been the first go book that I've been able to read from cover to cover, and as such, it has already risen to the top of my favorites list.
      This book is about the rising young Chinese stars of the early 80's such as Ma Xiaochun, Shao Zhenzhong, Cao Dayuan, Liu Xiaoguang and many more. It takes highlights from many of their games during China's re-entry into the international/professional Go scene as well as profiling these player's background and playing style.
      Punctuated throughout with various go proverbs, the author demonstrates how these exquisite plays aren't really trick plays, but rather are deeply rooted in solid go theory. He goes into great detail about moves that either turned the game around or perhaps turned around a given local position.
      "Beauty" can be enjoyed by players of all levels. By the end of the book, when the author presented a position from one of these games and asked "How should Black/White play now?", I was beginning to see the possibilities. I think what I enjoy the most about this book is the way the author describes the players and the settings for each game that he highlights. It almost gives one the feeling of being there in person, watching the game in progress.

GO CLASSIFIED

FOR SALE: $150 US Go Congress gift certificate; selling for $110 (or best offer); worth $150 when applied towards the Congress registration fee or can be redeemed for $75 in cash after the Congress. If interested contact Ze-Li Dou at zelidou@hotmail.com

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Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb

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