Monday August 23, 2010
Applications are now being accepted for the 4th Kim-in Cup International Senior Baduk Competition. The tournament is being held November 5-8 in GangJin City, Korea and is open to male go players 50 and older and female players 30 and older. It’s sponsored by the Korea Baduk Association and the Korea Amateur Baduk Association; KBA provides hotel, meals and domestic transportation for all players, who must cover their own travel costs to Korea. email iris@baduk.or.kr for details and to register.
Monday August 23, 2010
There’s theory and there’s practice. In go, practice means studying problems. Kiseido is five volumes into an ambitious seven-volume 
series of problem books for dan-level players originally published in Japanese by the Japan Go Association. Now available: Graded Go Problems for Dan Players; 300 Life-and-Death Problems, 5-kyu to 3-dan; 300 Tesuji Problems, 5-kyu to 3-dan; 300 Joseki Problems, 1-dan to 3-dan; 256 Opening and Middle Game Problems, 1-dan to 7-dan. These problems are designed to develop your intuition and to provide exercises for developing your ability to analyze positions deeply and accurately. “These are not problems that you can skim through in a couple of days,” Kiseido warns. “Each problem requires serious thought to obtain the maximum benefit.” Click here for details and to order.
Monday August 23, 2010
Peter Shotwell, author of Go! More Than a Game, has published two articles based on subjects in the upcoming update of his book to the
AGA’s Bob High library. The first [PDF] is a look at his re-dating and re-interpretation of early Confucian thoughts on go, and the second article [PDF] covers some research done on the statistical properties of go games by Dr. John Tromp. Traditionally, the Confucian ideas about go have been thought to be quite negative, but Shotwell took account of the fact they were actually written in a small area in northeastern China over a period of only about 50 years in the late 3rd to early 2nd centuries B.C.E, (instead of the usually-thought “hundreds of years”). When the full contexts were looked at, he found that the writers were clearly using go only to aid their comments on their evolving attitudes about filial piety, and that the only aspect of the game they disapproved of was fanatical play to the detriment of moral duties. The last Confucian go writing appeared c. 260 B.C.E. and it was only 120 years later, after the Warring States period had ended and peace was restored, that writings with high praise for go (indicating a great increase in skill) appeared and the earliest game board was found. The second article, which includes an interview of Dr. Tromp, notes his incredible figures for the longest possible go game (longer than the universe might last), compares the vast numbers of possible positions for chess and go (like comparing the nucleus of an atom to the size of the universe), and the total number of possible games (for example, there are 386+ billion for 2×2 boards). Shotwell gave a presentation at the recent U.S. Go Congress looking at both of these topics and some others that will appear in the update to his book.
– Jake Edge
Monday August 23, 2010
MEMBER’S EDITION? “I noticed that my recent E-Journals have not included any attachments,” writes John Russell. “I wanted to make sure I am still getting the full member E-Journal version” The Member’s Edition content only appears in the Tuesday morning edition of the E-Journal, not the other, briefer editions that appear during the rest of the week as news updates are posted. If your Tuesday edition does not include Member’s Edition content — game commentaries and/or problem files — your membership may have lapsed; please email membership@usgo.org to get it updated.
CHOOSING YOUR EJ EDITION: “An article mentioned being able to change my profile to receive the Journal either weekly or daily,” writes Denis Pelletier. “How do I access my profile?” Just click on “Update your profile” at the bottom of the E-Journal and you can choose either the daily (much shorter updates several times a week) or weekly editions, as well as your preferred format.
Thursday August 19, 2010
The All About Go website is sponsoring a contest to build its collection of go-related art, photography, digital images, stories, and poetry. The new site 
“is intended to provide a high-quality service to all go enthusiasts, to introduce the game to beginners in the most effective way possible, and to promote the knowledge, culture and beauty of go worldwide” and includes a gallery showcasing go photos and literature. The winner in each category will receive a free teaching game from Csaba Mero, European 6-dan and ex-insei. Hajin Lee 3P will help judge the contest. There’s no entry fee and no limit on how many pieces you can enter. All submissions should be sent to gallery@allaboutgo.com on or before Monday, September 13. More details and full contest rules are available here. Photo by César Riquelme
Thursday August 19, 2010
Samuel Gross 1d and April Ye 3k each won four games to lead the pack at the Bay Area Go monthly ratings tournament on August 14 in Palo Alto, CA. The playing field consisted of 35 players ranging from 5 dan to 30 kyu. Everyone got to play an average of three rated games, although some managed to fit in as many as five. For many, the monthly tournaments offer an opportunity to come out and play face to face go with players of similar strength. “Face to face go can be so much more social, fun, and rewarding than playing online,” observes tournament organizer Roger Schrag. Next month’s ratings tournament is scheduled for September 11, again in Palo Alto. Click here for more photos.
Photo by Lisa Schrag
Thursday August 19, 2010
Korean players dominate the professional go scene these days and now amateurs have some new opportunities to study with top Korean 
pros. The Yang Jae-Ho Baduk Dojang is recruiting foreign players to study go in Korea. The dojang, or training center, plans to offer English-speaking instructors, and the pro instructor roster — in addition to founder Yang Jae-Ho (l) — includes Yi Sang-Hun 9P, An Dal-Hun 8P and Yi Jung-Wu 7P. The Dojang currently houses over 80 students and school founder Yang Jae-Ho 9P is the director of the Korean team for the Asian Games. Accommodation and training at the Dojang is 750 Euro/$1000 US per month; a 10% discount is available to groups, or students staying for over three months. Cultural excursions are also included in the deal. In Australia, the Young Go Academy in Sydney is run by a Korean professional, An Young-Gil 8P. In addition to An, there are four other instructors, two pros and two strong amateurs; Yu Kyung-Min 6P, who won several titles in Taiwan, including the Chung-hwan Cup, Kim Hyun-Sup 2P, who has recently been in the Korean league, Jang-Bi, the amateur 7-dan who spent a year teaching at the Seattle Go center and won many titles in the U.S., and 24-year-old Lim Mi-Jin, a strong amateur female player. Though the Young Go Academy is smaller than Yang Jae-Ho, it also offers teaching in English, and due to the number of teachers, students are guaranteed more individual attention. Accommodation and training at the Young Go Academy is 800 Euro/$1100 US per month; a 10% discount is available to groups or students staying for over three months and cultural excursions are also offered as part of the package. For more information on either school, contact Sang-Dae Hahn sdhahn@gmail.com
Monday August 16, 2010
Jiang Weijie & Li Zhe Advance to Mingren tournament finals. Jiang Weije and Li Zhe will battle it out in the 23rd Mingren challenger decision match for the right to 
face Gu Li 9P. Jiang Weijie 5P defeated Zhong Wenjing 5P by resignation and Li Zhe 6P defeated Chang Hao 9P by resignation. Of the 32 players in the tournament, only five were 9-dan pros, with only Hao surviving to the semifinals. (more info and game records) Cho U Defeats Hane Naoki in NEC Cup Second Round. Cho U 9P defeated Hane Naoki 9P by 4.5 points in the second round of the 30th NEC Cup tournament. Cho U will face the winner of the second round match between So Yokoku 8P and Kono Rin 9P, the defending NEC Cup title holder. The remaining second round matches are between Iyama Yuta 9P and O Meien 9P (scheduled for August 19th) and Yuki Satoshi 9P and Yamashita Keigo 9P. An Kukhyun Forces Playoff in Myeongin. By virtue of defeating Kang Dongyun 9P in the Myeongin A league, An Kukhyun 2P has put himself into position for a playoff against the winner of the August 19 match between Lee Changho 9P and Lee Sedol 9P. Changho and Sedol are both 2-2, so Kukhyun’s 3-2 record forces the playoff to continue into the main tournament. Kukhyun is a relatively new 18 year-old Korean pro and defeating either Changho or Sedol would be a major boost for his standings.
– reports/photo from JustPlayGo
Monday August 16, 2010
Curtis Tang 7d, was named Honorary Redmond Meijin at the final awards banquet at the US Go Congress, Aug. 7th. Tang, now 17 years old, has a long history of success in the Redmond. He took the Junior Division championship in 2001, 03, and 04, and then again in 2006 in the Senior Division. This year marks his fifth win in the Cup, and also the last year he is eligible to play in it. The only other person ever to win five times is Eric Lui, 7d, who won his fifth time in 2001, and was also named Redmond Meijin. The title is honorary, and for life, so both young men are now Honorary Meijin. None Redmond herself presented the Cup to Tang. His winning matches in the finals are available online. Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Curtis Tang.
Monday August 16, 2010
Oliver Wolf 2d, age 11, won the Junior Division of the Redmond Cup at the recently concluded US Go Congress. His opponent, Henry Zhang 1d, also 11, took second place. Wolf won the first round match, held Aug. 2, but Zhang rallied to come from behind in round 2, winning by 3.5 points. The decisive match was held on Aug. 5, with Wolf winning the game, and the title of Redmond Champion. Both boys received a special honor when None Redmond, founder of the Redmond Cup, and tireless youth go advocate for decades, presented the trophies in person at the final awards banquet at the Go Congress. The boys also won $350 for first place, and $250 for second, as well as a free trip to the Go Congress to compete. All three matches were broadcast live on KGS, and the sgf files are available online. Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Ling Shan; from left to right: Oliver Wolf , None Redmond, Henry Zhang.