American Go E-Journal » 2008 » December

AGF Fund Drive Looks To Grow Go

Monday December 22, 2008

The American Go Foundation  is conducting its annual fundraising appeal, asking players who love go to support the growth of the game. “We’re doing more than ever to bring in a new generation of players,” says AGF President Terry Benson, “and we’re doing it with generous donations from American players, not with foundation or government help. The AGF is a 501(c)3 charity, so US donors can deduct their contribution from their taxes.” The AGF has many new offerings, Benson explained. “This fall we added the newsletter for teachers, a Teacher Store, a lesson plan cooperative for teachers , more types of teaching equipment, and we are working on a college scholarship program,” Benson said. “We can now accept credit card payments and donations.  In today’s financial climate, we need all the help we can get. Even small amounts matter. Whether someone contributes to the AGF General Fund, to help go education and outreach like the tigersmouth.org website, or to the Summer Go Camp Scholarship Fund, they’ll join hundreds of others who make AGF work possible .” To contribute, download this form  and fax with your credit card info or mail with a check. See the AGF’s appeal ongodiscussions.com for more information about AGF programs.

 

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German Tournament Updates

Monday December 22, 2008

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

 

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Categories: Europe
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League Updates From Holland & Germany

Monday December 22, 2008

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

 

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Burzo Wins Romanian Ambassador Cup

Monday December 22, 2008

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

 

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Kong Jie To Take On Lee Sedol In Samsung Finals

Monday December 22, 2008

Kong Jie (l) 7P will face titleholder Lee Sedol 9P in theSamsung Cup finals. The best-of-three-games semi-finals of the international Cup featured one Korean, Lee Sedol 9P, and three Chinese representatives, Huang Yizhong 7P, Kong Jie 7P, and Zhou Ruiyang 5P, the only teen in the group. Lee kept Korea’s hopes alive by defeating Huang 2-0 and Kong got the privilege of facing Lee in the finals by defeating Zhou 2-0. Both players won their first semi-final game by a mere half point, and Kong took the second by only 1.5 points.  Lee won this event last year, as well as in 2004, and currently holds three international titles. Kong’s most notable achievement is winning the national Chang-ki Cup twice, in 2005 and 2007. Overall, the Japanese and Chinese have won the Samsung twice, and the Koreans the other eight times. The finals are set for mid-January.

 

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Lee Changho And Chang Hao In Chunlan Finals

Monday December 22, 2008

Lee Changho 9P (r) and Chang Hao 9P will meet in a best-of-three finals of the 7th international Chunlan Cup. In the semifinals on December 11th Lee Changho 9P of Korea defeated Kong Jie 7P while Chang Hao 9P defeated Zhou Heyang 9P. Chang came in second last year, losing to fellow countryman Gu Li  9P, which is the only time the Chinese have won this event. Lee has won it twice, in 2003 and 2005. Overall, Koreans have won it four times and the Chinese and Japanese once each. The winner’s purse is about $150,000 US. Lee is also the only Korean ever to take second place, in the first Chunlan in 1999 when he lost to his teacher Cho Hunhyun 9P.

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Henckell Wins Fort Myers Open

Monday December 22, 2008

Karsten Henckell 4D took top honors at the Fort Myers Open, held December 6, when the Fort Myers Go Club hosted one of the largest tournaments ever held in the state of  Florida. With player strength ranging from 30 kyu to 4 dan, 54 players turned out, and “Registration of new and old members had a line out the door!” reports Tournament Director Joshua Frye. “It was awesome to see the range of ages playing each other,” Frye reports. “Go clubs from all over the state turned out, including Orlando, Miami, and Sarasota.” Players battled it out in three divisions for prizes from Yellow Mountain Imports and Slate & Shell Publishing. In the final top match, Henckell faced off against Joshua Lee 4D of Go Orlando. “It was an intense match to watch!!” said Fort Myers go member Rob Cheyne. Entering the endgame, Lee was ahead on points, but Henckell pressured Lee into overtime. “During one of Joshua Lee’s captures, he forgot to hit his clock and ultimately lost on time.” WINNER’S REPORT: Advanced Division: 1st: Karsten Henckell 4Dan (Sarasota Go); 2nd:  Chi Wong 4k (Miami Go); 3rd: Joshua Lee 4D (Go Orlando). Intermediate Division: 1st: Rob Cheyne 6k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd: Joong Suk 6k (Sarasota Go); 3rd:  Carlos Valdes 9k (Miami Go). Beginner Division: 1st: Nathan Slider 14k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd:  Jake King 10k (Fort Myers Go); 3rd: Nick Ponader 13k (Fort Myers Go). Photo: Karsten Henckell 4D vs. Joshua Lee 4D; photo courtesy Joshua Frye

 

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Go Classifieds Work!

Monday December 22, 2008

“Thanks, E-Journal!” writes Bob Barber. “I listed my collection of Go World magazines here, and was able to sell them to one of your many readers, this one in Argentina.” Buy, sell, or trade go stuff, plus find go players through the EJ’s free classifieds: email us today at journal@usgo.org

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AGF Fund Drive Looks to Grow Go

Monday December 22, 2008

The American Go Foundation is conducting its annual fundraising appeal, asking players who love go to support the growth of the game. “We’re doing more than ever to bring in a new generation of players,” says AGF President Terry Benson, “and we’re doing it with generous donations from American players, not with foundation or government help. The AGF is a 501(c)3 charity, so US donors can deduct their contribution from their taxes.” The AGF has many new offerings, Benson explained. “This fall we added the newsletter for teachers, a Teacher Store, a lesson plan cooperative for teachers, more types of teaching equipment, and we are working on a college scholarship program,” Benson said. “We can now accept credit card payments and donations. In today’s financial climate, we need all the help we can get. Even small amounts matter. Whether someone contributes to the AGF General Fund, to help go education and outreach like the tigersmouth.org website, or to the Summer Go Camp Scholarship Fund, they’ll join hundreds of others who make AGF work possible .” To contribute, download this form and fax with your credit card info or mail with a check. See the AGF’s appeal on godiscussions.com for more information about AGF programs.

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US Go News: Henckell Wins Fort Myers Open

Monday December 22, 2008

Karsten Henckell 4D took top honors at the Fort Myers Open, held December 6, when the Fort Myers Go Club hosted one of the largest tournaments ever held in the state of Florida. With player strength ranging from 30 kyu to 4 dan, 54 players turned out, and “Registration of new and old members had a line out the door!” reports Tournament Director Joshua Frye. “It was awesome to see the range of ages playing each other,” Frye reports. “Go clubs from all over the state turned out, including Orlando, Miami, and Sarasota.” Players battled it out in three divisions for prizes from Yellow Mountain Imports and Slate & Shell Publishing. In the final top match, Henckell faced off against Joshua Lee 4D of Go Orlando. “It was an intense match to watch!!” said Fort Myers go member Rob Cheyne. Entering the endgame, Lee was ahead on points, but Henckell pressured Lee into overtime. “During one of Joshua Lee’s captures, he forgot to hit his clock and ultimately lost on time.” WINNER’S REPORT: Advanced Division: 1st: Karsten Henckell 4Dan (Sarasota Go); 2nd:  Chi Wong 4k (Miami Go); 3rd: Joshua Lee 4D (Go Orlando). Intermediate Division: 1st: Rob Cheyne 6k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd: Joong Suk 6k (Sarasota Go); 3rd:  Carlos Valdes 9k (Miami Go). Beginner Division: 1st: Nathan Slider 14k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd:  Jake King 10k (Fort Myers Go); 3rd: Nick Ponader 13k (Fort Myers Go). Photo: Karsten Henckell 4D vs. Joshua Lee 4D; photo courtesy Joshua Frye

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