American Go E-Journal » 2010 » May

Almost 700 watched the Strong Players Online Tournament semifinal game on KGS between Myungwan Kim 9P (CA) (r) and Zhaonian Chen 7D (NJ) on Saturday afternoon. Kuo Yin 3P, the 2006 China Ing Cup University Champion and 2008 US Open runner-up provided live commentaries from Beijing, China. Kim won at move 190 by resignation. Chen used a variation of High Chinese opening and strategically obtained territories in both lower-right and lower-left corner. (Click here for game record) However when defending Black’s dragon Chen “misread badly” per his review and lost an 11-stone dragon. Chen did not give up, but started to operate on his big moyo, which successfully complicated the game. “Chen played well in the second half.” Yin 3P commented, “He simply trailed a bit too much at the beginning”. Kim 9P thrived in the complicated second half and did not give Chen a chance, though the fights were tough and both players were in byo-yomi.
In the other semiifinal, Jianing Gan (ON, Canada) (l) quickly built a lead in territory while Eric Lui 7D (MD) gained thickness. It appeared that Gan defended well on the left side and removed Lui’s potential in the upper-center. Later Lui tried to attack Black with thickness but White (Gan) again made sure to stay connected and sound. In the endgame Gan’s territorial lead seemed untouchable and Lui resigned after move 223.
Beginning in the qualifier three weeks ago, Gan remains undefeated (entire tournament results here) and has won the right to challenge Kim 9P, who has the highest rating in AGA (10.0). No matter what the result, the match is a dream come true for this middle-school student in Winsor as he told EJ last week “I am so lucky that I have the opportunity to challenge top players of North America.”
Game 1 of the SPOT1 best-of-three finals starts Sunday May 9 at 1p EST on KGS — Jennie Shen 2P will give live commentary –– and will resume on Saturday 5/22. Third-place game series between Chen and Lui have the same schedule.
Reported by Tournament Director Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang; photos by John Pinkerton

THIS JUST IN (5/7, 7:51p): Live from Beijing, Kuo Yin 3P will provide game commentary for the SPOT1 games begining at 1P Saturday. Runner-up at the 2008 US Open, Kuo only lost to Kim; Kuo holds a BA from Fudan University, and won the China Ing Cup University Championship in 2006.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that the Final Four players in the Strong Players Online Tournament I (SPOT1) are all students. Leading contender MyungWan Kim 9P – a two-time U.S. Open champion — studies accounting at UCLA and besides school he focuses on sharpening his go skills.  “I  really enjoy teaching go,” Kim tells the E-Journal, and, with his summer break starting soon, “I can also teach outside of L.A. , especially before the US Congress.” Kim likes to teach principles instead of techniques, because one can self-study techniques. “The principles I teach apply to both high-kyu and dan players.” About the final four games ahead Kim said “I am studying Lee Se-dol’s games these days, and and I feel I am getting back my strength.” Kim’s semi-final opponent is Michael Chen 7D, 2006 NAIM champion and 2009 US Open runner-up. Chen is a junior at Princeton University, with an emphasis in finance, who’s hoping to get some experience in an investment bank before entering his senior year this fall. Chen has improved his game rapidly during the last few years while maintaining an excellent GPA at Princeton, providing a great example to youth players that one can play go well and do well in school at the same time. The other semi-final match-up is between Jianing Gan 6D and Eric Lui 7D. Just 13 years old, Gan is a bit shy in face-to-face play, and plays much better online. The only Canadian in the Final 4, Gan says that “I am so lucky that I have the opportunity to challenge the top players of North America. I will take each game seriously.” Lui 7D attends the University of Maryland, and has represented United States internationally for the last four years: World Amateur Go Championship (2009), World Student Oza (2008), International Amateur Pair Go Championship (2007) and Korea Prime Minister’s Cup (2006). SPOT1 is sponsored by American Go Association. The Strong Players Online Tournament I resumes this Saturday, May 8 at 1p EST on KGS.
– Reported by Tournament Director Zhiyuan “Edward” Zhang

Bay Area Go Players Association held its first ever Go Expo Day on May 2 in Oakland, CA. Seven teachers had their hands full teaching go and giving out free go sets to an enthusiastic crowd of about 100. “We are thrilled at how many people came out to learn about go,” said event organizer Roger Schrag. The regular monthly ratings tournament took place concurrently, with a field of 27 players ranging from 17 kyu to 5 dan. Brian Leahy 3d led the dan division with a 3-0 record, while Patrick Wang 15k led the kyu division 4-0. Click here for more Go Expo Day pictures and here to learn about next month’s tournament in San Francisco.