Friday May 21, 2010
Omer Kazanc 1k defeated his main rival Selman Kilic 1d in the final fifth round of the Turkish Youth Championship, held in Istanbul May 15-16. Kazanc swept the tourney. Kilic took silver, while Muhammet Emin Kucuk 16k won bronze. 20 players took part in the tournament.
– Peter Dijkema, EJ European correspondent
Friday May 21, 2010
Fredrik Blomback 5d defended his title in the 2010 Svenska Mästerskapen in Norrköping, May 14-16. After three rounds in the Championship Tournament, he defeated John Karlsson 4d 2-0 in a play-off for the National Title. Weiying Sörlin 5d went 6-0 for third place in the tournament with 63 participants.
– Peter Dijkema, EJ European correspondent
Wednesday May 19, 2010
Despite being upset by Benjamin Teuber 6d (l) of Hamburg in the last round, Tian Ye 1P (r) from
Beijing led three 5-1 players to win the Pandanet Amsterdam Open held May 13-16. Dai Junfu 7d of France, who lost to Tian by a half-point in the fifth round, came in second based on SOSOS, while Teuber was third based on SOS. “Junfu’s lesson on his book about the middle game paid off, although I went against his advice in my game against the pro!” Teuber told the E-Journal, savoring “my first victory over a pro in an official game.” Teuber was a student of the late Hans Pietsch 6P. More than 100 players took part in the tournament, which was held at Iwamoto Kaoru’s European Go Culture Centre. Peter Liu 2P commented all of the Board 1 games. This is the 39th year of the Amsterdam Open, making it among the oldest continuously-held events on the European calendar.
– Peter Dijkema, EJ European correspondent; photo by Judith van Dam, EuroGoTV
Monday May 17, 2010
The American Go E-Journal will publish special daily editions next week live from the World Amateur Go Championships (WAGC) in Hangzhou, China. We’re teaming up again with Ranka Online this year to provide complete coverage of the 31st annual competition among top amateur players from around the world, which will run May 24-31. American-born pro Michael Redmond 9P will provide game commentaries for the Ranka/E-Journal effort – which will include ongoing updates on both Ranka and the AGA website , as well as via daily E-Journal reports — while Ivan Vigano, James Davies and Chris Garlock will report and John Pinkerton will provide photos.
Monday May 17, 2010
The American Go Foundation (AGF) will be using the Gregory Lefler Memorial Fund to help college students attending U.S. Go Congress this year, reports AGF board member Keith Arnold. “Any student attending college full time this fall can apply for a $50 discount on their registration fees; we have limited funds, so graduating seniors or graduate students will only be considered if funds remain,” Arnold said. To request the discount, send an e-mail with your name, AGA number, name of school, and your fall status (freshman, sophmore etc.) to agf@usgo.org. “We expect available funds to be exhausted so please send your information now, first come, first served,” added Arnold.
Monday May 17, 2010
Barring an upset win by Jianing Gan 6d, Saturday’s 1p (EST) game could be the final round in the Strong Players Online Tournament (SPOT1), as Myungwan Kim 9P looks to sweep the tournament finals 2-0. Kim is on an 18-game winning streak in AGA tournaments. The game will be broadcast live on KGS. Earlier Saturday, Eric Lui 7d will play Michael Chen 7d at 10a (EST) — also on KGS — in the battle for third place. Lui leads 1-0. Kim 9P has defeated Hugh Zhang 6d, Daniel Gourdeau 6d, Yongfei Ge 7d, Yue Zhang 7d and Michael Chen 7d. Thiteen-year-old Gan 6D has defeated Patrick Lung 6D, Mengmeng Chen 5D, Yongfei Ge 7D, Hugh Zhang 6D, Sarah Yu 6D, and Eric Lui 7D.
– Edward (Zhiyuan) Zhang, TD
Monday May 17, 2010
Edward Zhang (r) has been appointed National Tournament Coordinator for the
American Go Association (AGA), President Allan Abramson announced Monday. Zhang — who has been coordinating the Strong Players Online Tournament (SPOT1) — will have two Assistant TC’s, Oren Laskin, and Eric Davidson-Sawyer. “This team of three tournament coordinators brings new faces and energy to this important function, spreads the work load, offers new ideas, and better provides for continuity in case of a vacancy, ” Abramson said. “I am pleased that all three stepped up to serve the AGA membership,” he added.
Monday May 17, 2010
Marek Kaminski 3d (r) of Poznan swept the Korean Ambassador’s Cup in Warsaw last 
weekend, qualifying for the Korean Prime Minister Cup later this year in Korea. Polish Champion Leszek Soldan 5d finished second with one loss and Agnieszka Kacprzyk 1d of Bebnów won bronze on sos. Kaminski won the Young Masters League last month at the age of 23, making this his last year in the League. In the second round the Young Master defeated current Polish Champion Soldan. “This win gave me the flow to fly to Korea; all my games were tough,” he told the E-Journal. “But our real Young Master is Mateusz Surma, the European Youth Champion. I hope to meet and play him in Korea!” where Surma currently studies go. The tournament was organised by the club Kawangarda in the South of the capital Warsaw. Click here for full results.
– Peter Dijkema, E-Journal European Correspondent
Monday May 17, 2010
Federico Odorizzi 3k won the Torneo Go a GoGo in Bari, Italy last weekend, May 15-16. His 4-1 result bested a group of five who won three. Local Francesco Cutrone 5k had best sos for silver while Luigi Morrone 6k of Napels won bronze. None of the 19 participants won all five rounds of this handicap-minus-two event. Click here for full results.
– Peter Dijkema, E-Journal European correspondent
Monday May 17, 2010
Vladimir Demakov 1k was the surprise winner at the Central Federal District of Russia’s Championship, held in Jaroslavl last weekend, May 15-16. Demakov won all his games, leaving silver in the hands of favorite Innokentij Dmitriev 3d (both of Moscow), while Sergej Vinokurov 1d of Petrozavodsk won bronze on sos. The Central Federal District of Russia is large, stretching from St Petersburg in the West and Petrozavodsk in the North beyond Jaroslavl in the East, where 25 took part. Click here for full results.
– Peter Dijkema, E-Journal European correspondent