BURZO WINS ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR CUP: Cornel Burzo 6D won the Romanian Ambassador of Japan Go Cup held December 13-14 in Bucharest. Lucian Corlan 5D took 2nd place and Daniel Cioata 5D was 3rd in the second edition of the event 
in which 150 Romanian Go players from 6 to 60 years old played. The event was also the occasion for the launch of Pro-G0, the new Romanian electronic go publication by Dorin Chis.
– report by Marilena Bara, Romanian correspondent for the E-Journal; photo: Burzo (r) with Ambassador of Japan in Bucharest Yoshinobu Higashi; photo by Liviu
LEAGUE UPDATES FROM HOLLAND & GERMANY: Utrecht’s Team 1 won the top Fall league in Holland and Utrecht’s Michiel Tel 1k won the prize for best progress in the top league with 44 points. Leyden had tied in matches and games, but lost the Leyden-Utrecht match. The top teams from Eindhoven won both the 1st and 2nd leagues; Eindhoven 1 won all five matches, finishing ahead of Utrecht 2 (4-11) and 3 (2-7). Eindhoven 2 won the second league 4-11, where Ivo Creusen gained 72 points, making him overall Best Progress winner. Finally, Almere 2 won 3rd league 5-13, with Huib Olij winning Best Progress. A total of 72 players participated. After three rounds in Germany’s Autumn Leagues – in which 72 teams are playing — only three teams in the top league are still undefeated: Karlsruhe didn’t drop a single game, Dragons from Frankfurt am Main won all matches but lost two games and HH-Hebsacker, the Go publishing house from Hamburg is third. The differences between go leagues in Holland and Germany are interesting and may be instructive for go organizers elsewhere. The Dutch leagues have small teams and meet in person, while the German league teams are larger and meet almost exclusively online.
– Peter Dijkema, European correspondent
GERMAN TOURNAMENT UPDATES: Benjamin Teuber 6D (l) won the Nikolaus tournament in Brauschweig, Germany on 
December 6-7, with 38 players participating. Lin Hai 4D took 2nd and Stefan Katschick 5D won third place. Stephan Thober 1D of Greifswald won the Mecklenburg-Vorpommeren state championship on November 21-22. Volkmar Liebscher 3D was 2nd and Martin Schidt 1D was 3rd. Franz-Josef Dickhut 6D won the Japanese Consul-General’s Cup, also held November 21-22. At stake was a ticket to Japan, and Dickhut told the EJ that “My wife is from Korea, so we go there almost every year. But I’ve only been to Japan a few times, representing Germany in the WAGC.” Christoph Gerlach 6d won the ‘Blitzmeister’ title December 13-14 when the final four contestants met in a marathon in which they played each other six times.
– Peter Dijkema
with the Santa Barbara, CA-based 2-dan professional on December 12-14 at the University of PA. “She was a wonderful teacher full of wisdom and lighthearted humor,” organizer Matt Bengtson tells the E-Journal, “with special excellence in the area of the middle game, where she encouraged everyone to fight more.” The workshop was attended by about 20 participants ranging from 20k to 5d, with a focus on game review over the course of the workshop. “We are very grateful to the Ing Foundation Professional Teaching Program for their generous grant, which has made the event possible and affordable for all,” Bengtson added. Click here for event photos. photo courtesy of the Penn Go Society
