American Go E-Journal

The United States Youth Go Championships (USYGC) pulled in almost 70 players this past weekend on KGS.  Kids and teens competed in five different bands, with players ranging from 7 dan to the double digit kyus.  Dan level kids were also competing for entry into the four player finals, and the right to represent the US at the World Youth Go Championships this summer. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Lu 6d (at left) finished first in the qualifiers for the Senior Division (under 16) while nine-year-old Jeremy Chiu 4d (at right) placed first in the Junior (under 12).  The finals are double-elimination, and the first two rounds were held Sunday.  The finals continue next week on KGS for the Senior Division, while Jr. Division kids will square off in person on Feb. 11th, at the BAGPA ratings tourney in Menlo Park CA.  For full qualifier results, go here; for schedule and results in the finals go here.   Senior finalists are Andrew Lu 6d, Hugh Zhang 7d, Calvin Sun 7d and Matthew Harwit 4d; Junior finalists are Jeremy Chiu 4d, Justin Ching 1d, Aaron Ye 4d, and Daniel Liu 3d. Winners Report: 1st place Sr. 5-8 dan: Andrew Lu 6d; 1st place Jr. dan: Jeremy Chiu 4d; 1st place Sr. 1-4 dan: Matthew Harwit 4d; 1st place Sr. 1-5 kyu: Anurag Varma 3k; 1st place Jr. 1-5 kyu: Austen Liao; 1st place Sr. 6-10 kyu: Louie Liu 7k; 1st place Jr. 6-10 kyu: Raymond Liu 6k; 1st place Sr. 11-15 kyu band: Kalinda Fraser 12k; 1st place Jr. 11-15 kyu band: Bryan Tan 12k.  The tournament was run by Paul Barchilon and Karoline Burrall. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor