American Go E-Journal » 2010 » April

Thirty two top players battled it out on KGS over the weekend to make the Sweet Sixteen in the inaugural N.A. Strong Players Online Tournament (SPOT1). Over 500 watched Myungwan Kim 9P(CA) play Hugh Zhang 6d (CA) Saturday, with Kim notching his latest victory in a 14-game winning streak in AGA tourneys. Also making the Sweet Sixteen – to be played next Saturday, May 1 – were Yongfei Ge 7D, Yuan Zhou 7D, Yue Zhang 7D, Curtis Tang 7D, Xinyu Tu 7D, Changlong Wu, Yinli Wang 6D, Eric Lui 7D, Jie Liang 7D, Calvin Sun 7D, Sarah Yu 6D, Jung Lee 7D, Jianing Gan 6D and Hugh Zhang 6D. The final slot will be filled by the winner of Monday’s Zhaonian ‘Michael’ Chen- Yixian Zhou game.
Saturday’s “main event” will undoubtedly be the face-off between Yongfei Ge and Myungwan Kim, both two-time U.S. Open Champions. Saturday’s winners proceed to Sunday’s Elite 8 round and winners there qualify for the Final 4 round. Spot1 is sponsored by the American Go Association; a total of $1,500 in prizes will go to the top three players – $1,000 for champion, $400 for runner up, and $100 for third place. Click here for complete results and pairings.
– Zhiyuan “Edward” Zhang, Tournament Director; photo: Yinli Wang 6D (IN) and Sarah Yu 6D (ON), undefeated in the SPOT1 First Round, finished on top of Teams C and G entering the Sweet 16 round

Hundreds tuned in Friday night to watch the action in the N.A. Strong Players Online Tournament (SPOT1) Canadian qualifier and Premiere round. Jin “Sarah” Yu 6D, Daniel Gourdeau 6D and Jianing Gan 6D made the SPOT1 Top 32, while Eric Lui 7D (MD), Yuan Zhou 7D (MD) and Carson Tu 7D (NJ) are just one win from the Sweet 16 round after winning their games in the First Round. SPOT1 is sponsored by the American Go Association, with $1,500 in prizes for the top three winners. Forty players from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. registered; after double-elimination in the first round, two players from each team will advance to the Sweet 16 round, scheduled for next Saturday, May 1st. For most of the players, this was the first time playing in front of a web camera, but  Patrick Lung from Canada said “It didn’t matter; I was more concentrated on my board than my opponent.” Nick Jhirad from DC said that opponent Carson Tu’s “responses to my attacks on the right were very good,” adding that “one big mistake at the end cost me the game, but I played better than I thought.” Daniel Gourdeau, a 5th grade high school student from Quebec, said that “I was proud of move 41, and move 93 is the last nail in the coffin.” Gourdeau’s plan for his next game is to “Play thick, leave few weaknesses.” Click here for the SPOT1 First Round schedule.
– Zhiyuan “Edward” Zhang, Tournament Director

Washington go organizer Hal Small is hosting a special 2-day workshop with Japanese professional Tadashi Sasaki 8P on May 15-16. “Those of you who attended last year’s U.S. Go Congress already know that Sasaki-sensei is a fabulous teacher as well as a delightful person,” says Small, “but what may come as a pleasant surprise is that this workshop will be free!” Small reports that the workshop is “a gift to the local DC area go community by the organizers of the past Go Congresses held in the DC area,” and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, with preference given to DC-area players. Space is limited; contact Small soon if you would like to attend: haskell@haskellsmall.com “Please specify if you would like to come for one or both days, and if you wish to participate or to just audit.” Beginning 10a each day, the workshop will start with 3-on-one simuls with Sasaki, while other players play each other and record their games.  Then after lunch (included), Sasaki will review games. “Saturday evening we will have a banquet in Sasaki-sensei’s honor,” adds Small. “This will be at appropriate cost to participants, details to be worked out later.”