The Go Shop is offering Christmas discounts on selected go-themed tumblers. The shop also offers tote bags with a go theme and – just in – a go keychain.
American Go E-Journal » 2011 » December
Your Move/Readers Write: Best Go Teachers?
Monday December 19, 2011
“Assuming a player is serious and wants to make significant improvement with a dedicated effort, whom are the best teachers to partner with for serious improvement,” wonders Joy. “And where are the very best schools in California for making significant improvement for go for adults?”
It’s impossible to say who’s “best,” as that depends on so many unique variables. Start by asking around at your local club (click here for clubs in California) to see who’s working with which teachers and what their experiences have been. Next, try some lessons with different teachers to get a sense of the fit between their strengths and your goals. Check out the list of US pros here. Also, a lot of go students these days work with teachers online; KGS is a great source of information on such teachers as well as lectures and more. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!
Go Classified: Go Classes in IL
Monday December 19, 2011
Xinming Simon Guo is offering wei qi (go) classes at the Xilin Chinese School in Skokie, IL. Click here for a syllabus.
Jasiek Publishes “Capturing Races”
Monday December 19, 2011
Capturing races are complicated. Really complicated. Just to cite one example, there’s the five basic types of semeai with 93 possible cases and over 200 principles governing how to determine status and outcome. Robert Jasiek’s new book, Capturing Races 1 attempts to organize and address some of the basic issues involved in just 272 pages, though more volumes are planned. “Capturing Races” can be used as either a textbook for study or as a reference dictionary, Jasiek says. The book introduces terms and basic theory before applying it as well as including problems and answers so the reader can check on whether the theory’s been applied correctly. The book serves also as a dictionary, classifying capturing races into two basic groups. Click here to see sample pages and to order.
EuroGoTV-News: December 10-12
Sunday December 18, 2011
SPAIN: Joan Pons 2d won the Dec 10-12 Final del Campeonato de Espana 2011 in Spain. In The Legends Cadiz tournament, played Dec 10 in Cadiz, Arturo De Celis 13k took first place.
HUNGARY: Hungarian Schoolkids Championship Preliminary: Zsigmond Tar 17k topped the December 11 Hungarian Schoolkids Championship Preliminary in Budapest, Hungary.
ROMANIA: Romanian Female Championship: Larisa Popescu 3k (photo) won the Romanian Female Championship, played Dec 10-12 in Bucuresti, Romania.
ITALY: Udine Tournament: Andres Saro 5k won the second Udine Tournament, played Dec 11 in Udine, Italy.
PORTUGAL: Li Dong Fang, the only one to win all five matches, won the 2011 Oporto Open, which featured player participation from China, France, and Spain, besides the national representatives from Portugal. Daniel Tome was the best Portuguese player in the tournament. Click here for details.
POLAND: In the Bydgoszcz tournament, played on Dec 10 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Maksym Walaszewski 4k took first place.
– Excerpted from reports – including full results — on EuroGoTV
“Tony” Wen Wins Davis/Sac Tourney
Sunday December 18, 2011
Hang “Tony” Wen 1d (l) took first place at the December 17 Davis/Sacramento Go Club Winter Quarterly Tournament at the Arcade Library in Sacramento, CA. Nine competitors attended from the San Francisco bay area to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Five players had two wins, with the results determined by tie breaks. Wen 1d placed first, Jeff Horn 1d was second, and Willard Haynes 1d was third.
– Willard Haynes
China Tops World Mind Games Mixed Doubles
Sunday December 18, 2011
China took the gold medal in the SportAccord World Mind Games mixed doubles event, with Korea winning silver and Japan bronze. The U.S. team of Feng Yun and Jie Li (photo) defeated Europe’s Vanessa Wong and Catalin Taranu in the final.
Click here for Ranka Online’s full coverage of the World Mind Games, which ended on December 16th.
20th Jujo Jiang Tourney Jan. 8
Saturday December 17, 2011
Mingjiu Jiang 7P, and the Ing Foundation, are again sponsoring the Jujo Jiang Tournament in San Francisco, CA. Last year’s event drew 66 competitors, and similar numbers are expected this year. All levels are welcome, there will be prizes in four divisions: Open, Dan, Kyu, and Novice, this will be an AGA rated tournament.. Jiang Jujo 9P and Rui NaiWei 9P will be in attendance again this year. To register, and for more information, go to Gomasters.com, or e-mail Indagoe49@yahoo.com. – Paul Barchilon. Photo: Jujo Jiang (l) plays his brother, Mingjiu Jiang (r) at the 2011 Jujo Tourney.
Paging Bill Gates
Saturday December 17, 2011
If you – or someone you know — works in a high tech company or a company with business interests in Asia, the American Go Association’s National Fundraising Committee is looking for you. The Fundraising Committee wants to approach such companies with sponsorship proposals to energize the go community in the United States. “While our mandate is to raise funds,” says Committee Chair Peter Freedman, “our underlying goal is transforming the place of go in the American cultural landscape. You should be able to walk down the street, ask a stranger of they have heard about the game of go, and have them respond ‘Sure, it’s that ancient Asian strategy game.’” To help raise the public profile of go, the Committee is also seeking for contacts within the media that can help get Hikaru No Go on the air. And finally, they’re looking for contacts for Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Larry Ellison at Oracle, and Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, all of whom have played go and may be willing to help promote the game.
Click here for the full text of Freedman’s “A Go Transformation in the U.S.” or reach Freedman at peter.freedman@comcast.net
U.S. Youth Go Camp Future in Doubt
Saturday December 17, 2011
The future of American youth go camps is very much in question, American Go Association President Allan Abramson tells the E-Journal. “On the one hand, the camps can be a great experience for our young players. On the other hand, after the last three years’ experience of low attendance and losing money each year, the Board and I have agreed that it may be time to recognize that the Congress itself has become the Go camp, and that the AGA should not guarantee funding for a separate camp anymore.” The AGA is looking for organizers/directors for the 2012 go camp(s), Abramson says, but warns that “Those who take on the task of organizing and running the camp will need to plan carefully to break even financially, at least.” Those interested in attending a camp will need to register early, as well, to ensure the survival of the camps. “Early registration will ensure that we have enough interest to hold the camp, while procrastination will ensure that the organizers will cancel the camp, rather than lose money.” Those interested in running a camp in 2012 should contact Abramson at president@usgo.org.