American Go E-Journal » 2011 » May

The Blacksburg (VA) Go Club held its first tournament on April 23, attracting a field of 13. Jimmy Yang 4d took first place in the top bracket and Robert Meyer 7k was first in the second bracket. Keenan Moukarzel 3k took second place in the top bracket and Caleb Vickers 7k was second in the second bracket. “Because of this success, the Blacksburg Go club looks forward to hosting the tournament again next year,” said organizer Dan Monahan.  “We thank Jimmy, Xinlin and their family for coming all the way from Charlottesville to play in our tournament. We expect to have even more people and fun next year.”
photo courtesy Dan Monahan

Nearly 100 people of all ages came out to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center on May 14 for the second annual Go Expo Day. The event, organized by Bay Area Go Players Association, is really two go events under one roof. “Go Expo Day is a monthly ratings tournament coupled with our biggest go outreach event of the year,” explains organizer Roger Schrag. Nineteen players arrived in the morning for the all-day AGA-rated tournament. “Players ranged in rank from 30 kyu to 5 dan, and in age from under ten to over 70,” reports tournament director Steven Burrall. Patrick Wang 12k won the most games with a 4-1 record, and six people played in their first tournament ever. Excitement and energy levels rose sharply in the afternoon when the free go lessons began. About 75 eager students of all ages came to learn how to play go and to pick up a free starter go set and copy of The Way to Go. Volunteers talked about go’s rich cultural history and taught the enthusiastic crowd how to play our favorite board game–going over the rules, teaching basic strategy, and playing games one-on-one and in simuls. A good time was had by all, and perhaps our go community just got a little bit larger. Click here to see more photos. The next monthly ratings tournament in Northern California is scheduled for June 11 in San Francisco.

After ten months without a tenant, the Seattle Go Center has leased the downstairs of their building to Companion Pet Clinic – UDistrict. “This deal does not solve our financial needs by itself,” says SGC Manager Brian Allen, “but it makes our situation a whole lot better, and much more predictable.” Allen adds that with continued support through memberships, donations and volunteering “we will be able to increase our hours and expand our outreach from current levels.”  The veterinary group will be renovating their space this summer and moving in late this fall. The Go Center will be doing outreach at the UDistrict Street Fair this weekend — the third festival that it has attended this spring.
– photo: Tuesday night at the Seattle Go Center; photo by Brian Allen

Andy Liu 7d (l) heads up an 8-player field in the invitation-only Wisonet Cup Go Tournament, which starts Sunday, May 22 at the Quakerbridge Learning Center in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The tournament features a longer playing time – 2 hours per player – and just three rounds played over several months. The second round will be held in June, and the final round may be held in September, says Ronghao Chen, president of Wisonet and tournament organizer. The longer time is intended to permit greater preparation time for the players as well as allowing the audience “to learn and discuss more about the tournament. We hope that we can achieve very interesting games with good quality,” Chen tells the E-Journal. Doors open at 9:30a and tickets for watching the games are $5 each. The pairings for the May 22 round are: Minshan Shou 7d (2011 New Jersey Open Champion) v.s. 12-year-old Forest Song; Xinyu Tu 7d v.s. Xirou Liu 7d; Kevin Huang 7d v.s. Benjamin Lockhart 6d; Andy Liu 7d v.s. Qiyun Zhu.

“The 2011 congress has blown past 200 registered attendees, on a record setting pace!” say organizers Lisa Scott and Andrew Jackson. “We’re really looking forward to giving discounts to our early registrants, so be sure to register before June 1 to be eligible for the discount!”  Professional go players who have confirmed their attendance so far include Michael Redmond 9P, Feng Yun 9P, Mingjiu Jiang 7P, Guo Juan 5P, and Jennie Shen 3P, say the organizers, “but keep an eye on the Congress website to see if your favorite pros have registered yet!” Click here to register online.