American Go E-Journal

The September 18 NOVA Go Club Back to School Tournament drew 33 players, including “a whole carload of Hokies who came all the way from Virginia Tech and joined the AGA for the first time,” reports organizer Gary Smith. Zhenying Gu 5d was undefeated in the 4-round tourney in Arlington, VA and won place first in the upper dan division. Tournament Director Edward Zhang again organized a team tournament, with the Capital Go Club walked away with the prize money, while  NOVA and nOObpunzors tied for second. RESULTS: 1st: Zhenying Gu 5d; 2nd: Binquan Wang 5d. Lower Dan Division; 1st: Jian  Liu 1d; 2nd: Jimmy Yang 4d.  1-2 Kyu Division: 1st: Hua Lin 1k (undefeated); 2nd: Greg Pongracz 2k.  3-5 Kyu Division: 1st: Kevin Chin 3k; 2nd: Sam Zimmerman 5k.  6-12 Kyu Division: 1st: Mike Lash 6k (undefeated); 2nd: Garrett Smith 11k. 13-30 Kyu Division: 1st: Tariq Khan 29k; 2nd (tie), Tristan Tran 17k; 2nd (tie), Christopher Tolley 18k.
photo collage by Edward (Zhiyuan) Zhang: left top, Capital Go Club, left to right, Hua Lin 1k, Zhiyuan Zhang 6d (Tournament Director), Binquan Wang 5d, Garrett Smith (NOVA President), Zhenying Gu 5d, Tao Wang 5d, Jian Liu 1d. left middle: Jimmy Yang 4d, Allan Abramson 3d, Greg Pongracz 2k. left bottom: the Virginia Tech Team, who drove 4 hrs to attend.