American Go E-Journal

If you’re anywhere in the metro New York City area, run, don’t walk, to the New York Go Center: Visiting Nihon Kiin instructor Shunichi Hyodo (pictured) 7D has extended his stay through the end of January. An old friend and one of the best go teachers I know, Hyodo was my guide on an unforgettable tour of Japan’s go clubs and historic go sites in 2003. On the train between stops, no matter how exhausted we were, Hyodo would give me problems to study and then quiz me closely, exhorting me to work ever harder to improve my game. His strength as a teacher lies not just in his encyclopedic knowledge of the game — he spent 90 minutes reviewing nakade (dead shapes) with me last Sunday — but in his passionate commitment to teaching. Hyodo’s many American friends look forward to seeing him — and his tour group of dedicated Japanese go players — each year at the Go Congress, and he’s been in residence at the New York Go Club since October. He’s there every day except Monday, when the club is closed.
– Chris Garlock; photo by Steve Colburn