American Go E-Journal » 2012 » June

Go Congress Offers Incentives for Registration

Thursday June 28, 2012

The 2012 U.S. Go Congress is running a special registration promotion from now until July 15th. If you register and pay your bill by July 7th, you will receive your choice of either one hour of private game review and/or a lesson with a pro, or a Congress certificate for one book of your choice from Slate and Shell (up to $30 dollars in value). Each registrant should also send an email to the registrar at arlene@gocongress12.org indicating they are using the promotion and what reward they are choosing.

And don’t forget to check out the exciting trailer for “The Surrounding Game” documentary that will be filming at Black Mountain as well!

“Thanks again, and hope to see you soon at the Congress!” say Co-Directors Peter Armenia and Paul Celmer.
NOTE: this offer good only for those who registered after 7/1/2012.

Categories: U.S. Go Congress

TygemGo Online Pro Prelim Down to Final 21

Wednesday June 27, 2012

The field in the TygemGo Online Pro Prelim has been narrowed down to the final 21 players, six of whom are Canadians. The tournament’s last round will be this weekend, with the last seven players qualifying to go to North Carolina in late July for the ‘face to face’ final rounds with the other nine finalists. The top two winners in North Carolina will be the first American-certified pros. Myung-wan Kim 9P will provide live commentary on Tygem on Saturday and Sunday starting at 12:30p EST at Korea1 server. “I think observers will see very interesting games in this final round since the competition is getting tougher,” Kim tells the E-Journal. “I really enjoy the interactive live commentary with observers. If you come to my commentary, be sure to vote for the next move. It’s not only fun but also the better way to learn from my commentary. And of course, questions are always welcome.”

The final 21 players:
U.S.: Matthew Burrall, Wei Chen, Daniel Chou, Bert Hallonquist, Kevin Hong, Dae Kim, Sooil Kim, Ben Lockhart, Andrew Lu, Eric Lui, Daniel Puzan, Cherry Shen, Justin Teng, Aaron Ye, , Vincent Zhuang.
Canada: Will Gan, Juyong Ko, Bill Lin, David Lu, Jing Yang, Oliver Wolf.

Categories: U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

Baduk TV Comes to Your Smartphone

Monday June 25, 2012

Go junkies rejoice: Baduk TV is now available on your smart phone. That’s right, you can now watch the same program Korean baduk (the Korean word for go) players watch 24 hours a day. The free Baduk TV app is available in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Though currently only available in Korean, Myungwan Kim 9P says there may be an English translation version of the program available as early as the end of this year. “Many Korean go players first met go through Baduk TV,” says Kim, “The biggest reason prize money in Korean tournament has been rising for the last 10 years or so is because Baduk TV created so many fans and attracted commercial sponsors. I think it could make a huge difference to the go community here, as well.” For now, the service is free, though Kim says that may change later this year, and the rates will depend on how many users there are.

Categories: Tools: books, software & hardware

Jeff Horn Tops Davis/Sacramento Tourney

Monday June 25, 2012

Jeff Horn 1D won the Upper Division of the Davis/Sacramento Go Club’s Summer Quarterly Tournament, held at the Arcade Library in Sacramento on June 23. The Lower Division winner was Jeff Murphy, 4k. Both had 2 wins.
– Willard Haynes

Categories: U.S./North America

Go Classified: Go Players in Marquette, MI

Monday June 25, 2012

3k seeks other players in Marquette, MI; will be visiting July 5- 20. Reply to roylaird@gmail.com. I hope to see you this summer!

Categories: Go Classified

American Go Foundation Launches New Website

Monday June 25, 2012

The American Go Foundation (AGF) launched its new website on Friday, June 22. “This is a complete redesign and makeover of the site,” says AGF Vice President Paul Barchilon, who led the project. “We want to make it easy for any teacher, librarian or enthusiast to start a club in their community. We also want everyone to know about all our different services — our newsletter; matching grants that help new programs get up to $400 worth of equipment; our free Starter Sets; Tigersmouth, our moderated online hangout for young players ; free Hikaru No Go manga for public libraries; fiscal agency; and more.” Barchilon began working with web designer Lee Gentry in January, aiming to go live in time for the AGF’s tabling of The American Library Association’s annual convention. “More than 20,000 librarians attended ALA last weekend, and we hope many of them will look at the site and realize how valuable, and easy, a go program can be.” Barchilon is looking for feedback from users. “Any new rollout has bugs, typos, omissions, etc. Please tell us what’s wrong by using this brief survey form. We want the site to be perfect.” The AGF receives no foundation or government support and relies solely on donations.

Categories: U.S./North America

Joe Walters Named 2012 AGF Teacher of the Year

Thursday June 21, 2012

This year’s Teacher of the Year winner, Joe Walters of Pasadena, CA, learned go in the Navy. That is, he learned about go. “A buddy and I tried it and wound up bewildered, with two walls across the middle of the board,” Walters said. “I didn’t really start to understand go until the Ishi Press books began to appear in the 1970’s.” Walters’ current rank is about 8K. Each year the American Go Foundation selects an outstanding go organizer as Teacher of the Year (TOTY). The recipient receives an all-expenses paid trip to the US Go Congress, where the TOTY leads a discussion among fellow organizers, sharing strategies and learning from each other. After his stint in the Navy, Walters returned to civilian life and joined the staff of the Reiyukai (Spiritual Friendship Society), a lay Buddhist association. He suggested organizing a go club at the Center to attract visitors and promote interest, and the Go-For-Yu Club was born. Later, after a stint as the Director of the Reiyukai in the Philippines, he returned to Pasadena and founded the Yu-Go Club. “Jimmy Cha was a big help in the early days, along with Richard Dolen, Gun Ho Choi, and Bob Terry. Then when Yi-lun Yang came to town, things really started to take off.”

Four years ago, when Walters retired, he decided to use some of his newfound freedom to start a go program at his grandson’s elementary school. Before long, about 150 of the school’s 400 students were involved – ironically, his grandson was not among them. Starting with brief presentations during recess, the program soon moved to the lunchroom. “Most of the kids were finishing lunch in 15 minutes or so. The cafeteria doubles as the auditorium, so we set up go equipment on the stage. Being so visible, other kids wanted to play, and so it grew.” Each participant gets an index card marked with a Pokemon character of their choice, to record contact info, game results and so on. Setting up the program, Walters relied heavily on the Assistant Principal, who last year became principal of a nearby school. Walters expanded his activities to that school, teaching and operating the program two days a week during lunch at each site. “The noise in the lunchroom makes it hard to teach, but we can’t meet privately because students cannot be alone; a teacher must be physically present at all times,” Walters said. The principals of the two schools are good friends and maintain a friendly rivalry between their schools, so when Walters proposed an intramural tournament last year, they jumped at the chance and even provided a traveling trophy. Four players from each lunchtime group – first/second grade, third/fourth and fifth/sixth – met in a two-round playoff last year, but a few no-shows marred the result. This year, all interested players will participate. Walters ran the event with the help of local players Jeff McClellan and Reese. This year they will offer lessons to the parents, ending with parent-child games for all who will participate. Next, Walters hopes to teach participants in a local senior center and perhaps arrange for some of his students to meet and play with the seniors. He also enjoys teaching beginners on KGS and can often be found in the Beginner’s Room as “Jodageezer”. “Go is such a great way to connect all different kinds of people,” he says.
— reprinted from Sensei: The American Go Foundation Newsletter

Categories: U.S./North America,Youth

Justin Teng & Rachel Daley Win 2012 AGF College Scholarship

Thursday June 21, 2012

Justin Teng of Rockville, MD and Rachel Daley of Boulder, CO are the winners of the 2012 AGF College Scholarship, $1,000 awards to distinguished college-bound go organizers. Teng, the president of his local go club and the current VP of The American Go Honor Society, planned and presented a go demonstration as part of his Eagle Project, a requirement to become an Eagle Scout. In his essay, Teng described his discovery that go could even help disruptive kids: “One kid caught my eye, making disruptions and getting out of his seat every few minutes. Yet once he started playing a game of Capture Go with the student across from him, he was completely focused, like a whole different person.”
Applicants are encouraged to write about how go has “affected you as a person.” Daley’s essay was particularly striking in this regard. “I’m not an especially social person,” she admitted in her essay, but “the go club forced me to leave my house at least once on weekends and spend time with other people, from older men with hearing aids to a young Korean girl who has since moved back to Korea.” She started a club at her school and began helping the organizer of the local club. “One week he left me in charge of teaching anyone who dropped by. For a 14-year-old it felt like a lot of responsibility . . . . I found that I was better at teaching the game than actually playing. Without even realizing it, I became more confident with strangers. . . . Go also taught me how to be comfortable in a room where I was the only female. I saw [the male players] as my peers and rivals instead of some different entity. This gave me the confidence to never feel intimidated by the male majority in my science and math classes. . . . I realized that this is how society changes – not by a sudden huge wave but by individuals not accepting degrading stereotypes and moving forward despite them.” Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 scholarships. Click here for more information. — reprinted from Sensei: The American Go Foundation Newsletter

Categories: Youth

Go Documentary Expands Goals, Outreach

Thursday June 21, 2012

With 16 days to go, “The Surrounding Game” documentary team has already surpassed its initial fundraising goal (American Go Players Seek Support for Go Documentary, 6/12 EJ) and is now pushing for their second funding target of $25,000. “We are realizing that this is bigger than just the film” says David Glekel, 2d, who joined the team last month. “With the start of the American professional system and the first North American Go Symposium, this year is a golden opportunity for the American go community to make a major impact on public awareness.” As part of this new phase, the team is contacting every go club in America to unite the go community in a push for public outreach. “We’re asking for your help in promoting go in every way possible, whether it’s through word-of-mouth, teaching go in your community, hosting a local tournament or workshop, or by supporting our documentary project.” says co-director Cole Pruitt. The team has also released new community-oriented prizes on their Kickstarter page, and has given their story to a number of online media outlets. The Surrounding Game documentary team will be filming at this year’s US Go Congress, Pro Certification tournament and International Go Symposium, and will also be traveling to China and Korea to document international title tournaments and the cultural legacy of go in Asia. “This isn’t just a ‘promotional film’ ” says Pruitt, “it’s about the narrative of go, the people it inspires, and the unique place that go has among cultures and communities. Our dream is that this film will provide the general public a real chance to explore firsthand how incredible go is.” photo: Cole Pruitt (l) and David Glekel shooting at the Maryland Open

Categories: U.S./North America

4 AGA Board Seats Contested by Full Slate of Candidates

Wednesday June 20, 2012

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney vie for the Presidency and the major parties battle for control of Congress this year, another election has thus far escaped the media’s attention. Four of the American Go Association’s seven Board directors are up for election this year, with a full slate of candidates contesting for the seats on the Board. In the Eastern region, running for the seat currently held by Chuck Robbins, three are running: Gurujeet Khalsa, Feng Yun and Thomas Hsiang. Bob Barber is challenging incumbent Central region director Lisa Scott, and Chris Kirschner, Jeff Horn and Steven Burrall are competing for the Western seat currently held by Andrew Okun, who was recently appointed President of the AGA. In the At-Large election, Zhiyuan [Edward] Zhang and Chuck Robbins, the current Eastern region director, are challenging incumbent Jie Li. All terms are for two years. AGA chapters with two or more members can vote for the candidates in their region, while all full AGA members may vote for the At-Large candidate of their choice. Ballots will be emailed to all eligible voters by July 1, and the results will be tallied and announced at the US Go Congress in Black Mountain, NC, during the first week of August. Click here for complete voting instructions and candidate statements, if available.

Categories: U.S./North America

Older Posts »