News from the American Go Association

March 2, 2007
Volume 8, #18 (Member's Edition)

LEE YEON HO WINS WORLD STUDENT OZA
AGA MEMBERSHIP SETS NEW HIGHS
BIG APPLE TOURNEY SUNDAY
EMPTY SKY TEES
FULL SOCAL YOUTH REPORT COMING
LEE SEDOL WINS KOREAN MAXIM CUP
JAEUP KIM WINS CAMBRIDGE TRIGANTIUS
UMEZAWA WINS JAPANESE WOMEN'S KISEI
AOKI TIES UP JAPANESE WOMEN'S MEIJIN
GO QUIZ: Hikaru News Flash!
GAME COMMENTARY: Introducing Benjamin Papazoglou 5d
ATTACHED GAME: 2007.03.02 French Championship Papazoglou-Noguchi Fan Hui

EJ LAUNCHES NEW FORMAT: The American Go E-Journal today launches a new format that includes photos and graphics, as well as HTML formatting to improve our look and feel. We've also eliminated clunky website links, which are now embedded in the EJ text, and hope to be able to include game diagrams soon. More and better-looking go content: Enjoy!

LEE YEON HO WINS WORLD STUDENT OZA: Lee Yeon Ho of Korea won this week’s World Student Oza, reports US Rep Jin Chen 6d, who finished 9th with a 2-2 record. The final, held on Wednesday at the Nihon Kiin in Tokyo, was between Wang Yu Qiao of China and Lee Yeon Ho of Korea. “Lee Yeon Ho won the game after fighting back from a disadvantageous position and thus became the first Korean player to win the championship,” Chen tells the EJ. “Wang Yu Qiao was also the first female player ever to be 3-0 heading to the final round.” In Chen’s Day 2 games, “I lost to Zhao Yan Pei from China in the third round by 4.5 points. I fell behind fairly early in the game and was never able to quite make up the difference. In the final round I played against Merlijn Kuin from the Netherlands and managed to pull out a 5.5 point come-from-behind win.” The Ho-Qiao final game is attached, click here for Chen’s Round 3 & 4 games.

AGA MEMBERSHIP SETS NEW HIGHS: Full memberships hit a record high of 1,811 in February, up a whopping 76, the biggest one-month increase since September, 2003. This continues a three-month surge in Full memberships. Full details Monday. Click here now to renew your membership.

BIG APPLE TOURNEY SUNDAY: There’s still room at the New York Go Center's monthly rating tournament this Sunday, March 4. Registration will be cut off at at 60; send an e-mail to nygc@usgo.org with your name, AGA ID# and AGA rank or estimated playing strength. The $15 registration fee includes donut snacks for breakfast, pizza for lunch and a prize for anyone who completes all four rounds and wins at least three games. The EJ will simulcast the top two boards on the KGS Go Server. Chuck Robbins will direct, using his WinTD software; time controls will be "Fischer timing." This is an AGA-rated tournament so AGA membership or rating fee is required.

EMPTY SKY TEES: The Empty Sky Go Club has cool new go t-shirts available (see top right for closeup of artwork) but act fast, sales end this Sunday! Click here to order. T-shirts are $15 each plus shipping.

FULL SOCAL YOUTH REPORT COMING: Look for a full report Monday on the February 24 Southern California Regional U.S. Youth Championship qualifier and children's handicap tournament (Matthew Burrall Tops Socal Youth Qualifier, 2/26 EJ). The event “ran very smoothly, ” reports tournament organizer Kevin Chao, who credited the experience of TD Steve Burrall. “The competition level is very high in both Senior and Junior sections as well as the handicap section. I am very sure next year we’ll see more players attending this tournament." With three qualifiers coming up in March, the USYGC is kicking into high gear. Kids who want to compete should pick a regional event from the website
Photo courtesy Kevin Chao


LEE SEDOL WINS KOREAN MAXIM CUP: Lee Sedol 9P defeated Park Jungsang 9P 2-1 to take the Maxim Cup. Details on Monday.

JAEUP KIM WINS CAMBRIDGE TRIGANTIUS: This year's winner of the annual Cambridge Trigantius in Britain was Jaeup Kim 5d of Reading. Details on Monday.

UMEZAWA WINS JAPANESE WOMEN'S KISEI: Umezawa Yukari 5P has won her first title, taking the Women's Kisei with a score of 2-1 over Mannami Kana 3P. Details on Monday.

AOKI TIES UP JAPANESE WOMEN'S MEIJIN: Aoki Kikuyo 8P took the second game of her defense of her Women's Meijin title against Kato Keiko 5P to even the score at 1-1. Details on Monday.

GO QUIZ: Hikaru News Flash!
"Nice question," writes Peter Gousios (“Cho Who?,” 2/23 EJ). "I love the weekly quiz!!!” adds first-time entrant Ramon Mercado. “I only wish I knew more of these interesting facts." Well, Ramon, you -- along with most (18/21) – knew this one: Cho U is still Gosei. Ten new names were added to the list of participants for the year (61), including one of our favorite people, AGA life member Yoko Ohashi of Japan. This week's winner is Audny Butcher, chosen at random from those answering correctly.
This week’s quiz: Big week for Hikaru no go fans! This week quiz involves everyone's favorite manga/anime: What exciting "Hikaru" news broke this week? Was it that a new "special" of the anime was aired in Japan, that the anime is coming to cartoon network here in the U.S., Shonen Jump U.S. has announced Hikaru trading cards or that someone from the TV show won a Japanese go title? Click here to make your choice now!
- Go Quiz Editor: Keith L. Arnold, hka


GAME COMMENTARY: Introducing Benjamin Papazoglou 5d
In today’s game commentary, regular EJ contributor Fan Hui 2P introduces young French player Benjamin Papazoglou 5d (right). Papazoglou won the French Championship title when he was just 17 years old, the youngest French champion ever. Today's game was played during the French Championship in November 2006. In Fan Hui’s commentary, produced especially for the EJ, he notes that “During a game, one must always play reasonable moves, whatever the situation is. If your opponent overplays a move, it is very important to always look for the most severe answer and avoid to compromise thinking that one is ahead,” and shows in detail how Papazoglou steadily whittles away his opponent’s lead.
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 click here to get them for most platforms at Jan van der Steen's Gobase.

Published by the American Go Association
Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb

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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.

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Editor: Chris Garlock
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