American Go E-Journal » 2012 » January

Andy Zalesak 1d (right, in photo, playing Paul Celmer) took top honors in the top band of the Triangle Go Group’s Friendship/Ratings tournament, held on Sunday, January 15, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Zalesak won three of his four games, with four others in this highly competitive band – two 6-dans, a 3-dan, 5-dan, and two 1-dans — tied for second place with 2-2 results. In the second band, Thomas McCarthy was undefeated, going 4-0 for the day.  Stephen Allen came in 2nd, with a 3-1 record.  In the third band, another Zalesak, Matthew, won all 4 of his games.  John Aiken won the three games that he played, but declined prize money, which was awarded to young Alvin Chen. As usual, all entry fees were returned as cash prizes.
– report/photo by Bob Bacon, TD

THIS JUST IN: Registration is now open for the 2012 Chunlan Cup Selection Tournament, which will be held on KGS on Saturday Feb. 4 and Sunday Feb. 5. Professionals and amateurs 6-dan or stronger who are citizens of North Americaare eligible. The winner must be able to attend the Chunlan Cup, the first round of which will take place March 26-31 in China. To register, email tournaments@usgo.org with your name and KGS name. The Chunlan Cup Selection Tournament is a knockout tournament that will determine the North American representative; there are 12 reserved slots for US players, three for Canada and one forMexico. Should more than 12 players express interest, placing will be chosen by AGA rating. Citizenship is required to participate; besides this stipulation, eligibility to play will be based on the AGA guidelines for international representatives. Registration for the tournament will close on Thursday, February 2.

Cole Pruitt 2k took first place in the 2012 Massachusetts Go Association Winter Quarterly Tournament, held January 15th at the Boylston Chess Club Tournament Hall in Somerville, MA. Thirty-three players battled for three place prizes in this handicap tournament directed by Eva Casey 4k. Despite very cold temperatures (-15C) and changes to the nearby subway schedule players between the ages of 11 to 75 participated with people coming from all over New England and a couple of Mid-Atlantic states. MGA President David Kahn declared the tournament a great success. After four rounds, three people rose to the top. Taking 3^rd 3 points was Chia Chan 7k; 2^nd was won by Ralph St. Louis 9k and taking the top spot was Cole Pruitt 4k, with 4 out of 4 points.
-Reported by Richard “Doc” Kinne 20k, AGA and MGA member.

Jung Hoon Lee 7d topped a field of 40 players competing in the Rocky Mountain Winter Go Tournament, January 14 in Boulder, Colorado. The players ranged in strength from 7 dan to 38 kyu, reports organizer David Weiss.

Winner’s Report: Open Section: The winner of the open section was Jung Hoon Lee, 7d. Dan section: 1^st: Luke Zhang 1d; 2^nd: Huck Bennett 3d. SDK: 1^st: Kent Evenson; 2^nd: Robin Luo. DDK: 1^st: Andrew Jung 16k; 2^nd: Hannah Jung 15k. “In his first tournament, 5-year, 2-month-old Andrew Huang 38k won both of his games by a significant margin against 7- and 11-year-old players,” reports Weiss. “We expect him to become very strong very quickly.”
photo: Huck Bennett (l) 3d vs. Oscar Vazquez Nunez 1d.  Photo by Paul Barchilon.

Go makes an appearance in a January 4 Forbes post by Haydn Shaughnessy. The post is about social media influencers and go is employed as a graphic illustration of influence, with Shaughnessy noting that “Social media influencers seem to have alighted on good strategies to build and sustain influence.” Thanks to Peter Kron for passing this along.

Park Dae-woong 6d topped the first league competition at the recently-opened New Han Kook Go Club in Garden Grove, CA.  The two-week, 32-player competition ended Dec. 30th with Park Dae-woong 6d in first place, Han Sang-kook 1d in second and Chung Tae-wha 2d in 3rd, reported club owner Song Kim.    Club members enjoyed a buffet dinner and a visit with simultaneous games from Kim Myung-wan 9P.  Several league competitions a year are planned, Kim said. The new, well-appointed, non-smoking facility is the first 7-day-a-week club to open in Southern California for some time, according to local organizer Andy Okun.  “It is a very pleasant place to play,” Okun told the E-Journal.  The club’s hours are 11a to 9:30p; it’s located at 9738 Garden Grove Blvd., #6, Garden Grove, CA 92844.  Telephone 714-530-5121.

U.S. players have been invited to participate in the new Canadian Go Association on-line KGS leagues, reports AGA Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. The leagues started in early January but if you miss the first round of 2012 the next league starts in mid February. AGA members have been invited to join the CGA and to participate in the leagues at no cost. “The games are serious,” says CGA’s Chuck Elliott, who promises “You will get stronger.” . Prize money last year was $450 and Elliott hopes it will grow to $2,000 in 2012. Click here for details and to sign up.