Tuesday August 2, 2011
Table winners: Ben Lockhart 6d; Kento Nikaido 5d; Keith Arnold 4d; Mathew Harvit 4d; Roxanne Tam 3d; Hal Small 3d; Kevin Fang 1d; Jeff Horn 1d; Jordan Betcher 2k; Larry Qu 2k; V
incent Ma 3k; David Niu 6k; Mike Lash 6k; Zong Li Huang 11k; Charles Polkiewcz 13k.
90 players at 8 dan tables & 7 kyu tables; directed by Keith Arnold, hka.
– photos/collage by Chris Garlock
Tuesday August 2, 2011
“There are only three rules of go,” said Janice Kim 3P at her Monday afternoon lecture at the ongoing U.S. Go Congress, “
and I can’t remember the other two, but if your stones are in trouble make a base on the third line, rather than an outpost on the fourth.”
– report/photo by Brian Allen
Tuesday August 2, 2011
Here’s the latest collection of portraits of go players at the U.S. Go Congress in Santa Barbara, CA from E-Journal
photographer Phil Straus:
Tuesday August 2, 2011
Two go players who had often played each other on KGS, without knowing much about each other, discovered at the U.S. Go Congress that 
they have similar names — Bryan and Ryan — and that they live close to each other.
– report/photo by Brian Allen
Monday August 1, 2011
“Today’s ‘Lesson with Kaz’ (Lessons with Kaz: Tesujis 7/27 Member’s Edition) was just perfect for me,” writes EJ reader Grant Kerr. Struggling to get off the 4k plateau, it opened my eyes to how I should be changing the way I think. Thanks, Kaz, eJournal, and AGA!” Open your eyes to new ways of thinking about go; sign up for the Member’s Edition EJ today!
Monday August 1, 2011
This tournament provides a forum for strong players ineligible for the North American Masters Tournament to compete in 
a high-level tournament at the U.S. Go Congress. The Strong Players’ Open is a 16-person, 4-round Swiss tournament. All players must be rated 4 dan or higher.
Schedule: Sunday, 7/31, Monday, 8/1, Thursday, 8/4 and Friday 8/5, each night at 7p.
Tournament Director: Karoline Burrall
Row 1: Chen Shuo (Cathy) Li 1P, Mingming Yin 1P, Hugh Zhang 7P, Changlong Wu 7d
Row 2: Tengxiao Yang 7d, Xuyu Xiang 7d, Gansheng Shi 7d, Bill Lin 7d
Row 3: Jon Boley 6d, Irene Sha 6d, Ke Lu 6d, Zhirui Yang 6d
Row 4: Masahiro Kawaguchi 5d, Martin Lebl 5d, Jimmy Yang 5d, Jack Shih 5d
Click here for pairings and results.
photos by Steve Colburn; collage by Chris Garlock
Monday August 1, 2011
U.S. Open Round 2 Board 1
August 1, 2011
W: Yuan Zhou 7d
B: Dae Hyuk Ko 7d
Commentary by Maeda Ryo 6P, transcribed by Chris Garlock
Recorded by Dennis Wheeler; photo by Phil Straus
Ladders wind up playing a key role at several crucial points in this game; Maeda Ryo 6P explains why.
Monday August 1, 2011
US Open Round 2 Board 2
August 1, 2011
W: Calvin Sun 7d
B: Yongfei Ge 7d
Commentary by Li Ting 1P (& Ryo Maeda 6P), transcribed by Chris Garlock
Recorded by Chris Burg
Stick to your plan (even if it’s not necessarily the best plan). That’s the lesson of this commentary, in which Sun begins building a moyo only to switch horses in mid-stream. Li Ting 1P (with an assist by Ryo Maeda 6P), shows the costs of inconsistency.
Monday August 1, 2011
U.S. Open Round 1 Board 1
July 31, 2011
W: Dae Hyuk Ko 7d
B: Bill Lin 7d
Commentary by Mingjiu Jiang 7P, transcribed by Chris Garlock
It’s not a good idea to leave the scene in the middle of a fight. That’s the lesson of this game commentary by Mingjiu Jiang, who applies his usual sharp eye and dry sense of humor to the game.
Game recorder: Dennis Wheeler
Broadcast on KGS
Monday August 1, 2011
Celmer, Castanza and Smith Win in AGA Board Elections
Paul Celmer edged out Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang for the Eastern seat on the AGA’s Board of Directors in the just-concluded election; Celmer received 26 votes, or 53%, to 22 – or 44% — for Zhang. Gordon Castanza (Western) and Daniel Smith (central) were unopposed and won with 92% and 87%, respectively.
U.S. Go Congress Tournament Crosstab Links
2011 US Open
2011 North American Masters Tournament
2011 Redmond Cup Junior Division
2011 Redmond Cup Senior Division
2011 Strong Players Open
13×13 Tournament: Seth Wax 5d; Eric Su 4d; Chris Linden 1d; Luke Zhang 1d; Austen Liao 4k; Michael Lash 6k; Julian Erville 10k; Kalinda Fraser 18k. Four tables each of dan players and kyu players. Tournament directed by Jim Hlavka.
– Laura Kolb
9×9 Tournament: Tournament Director: Jay Tabaniag
# of Participants: 54
Table 1 winner: Gansheng Shi 7d 5-0
Curtis Tang 7d 0-5; Matthew Burrall 7d 2-3; Calvin Sun 7d 2-3; Hugh Zhang 7d 2-3; Lionel Zhang 6d 4-1
Table 2 winner: Zhirui Yang 6d 4-1; Table 3 winner: Tony Xie 6d 4-1; Table 4 winner: Jerry Shen 4d 4-1; Table 5 winner: Henry Zhang 1k 4-1; Table 6 winner: Michael Scudder 2k 5-0; Table 7 winner: Sathya Anand 3k 4-1; Table 8 winner: William Fraser 5k 4-1; Table 9 winner: David Niu 6k 4-1
photo: the main room at the U.S. Open on Monday morning; photo by Chris Garlock