American Go E-Journal » 2012 » June

Janice Kim 3P, popular go teacher, go blogger, and co-author of the Learn to Play Go book series, will teach a workshop in Berkeley, California this coming weekend, June 23 and 24. Those who signed up early turned in game records for Kim to review before the workshop so that she could tailor the discussion topics specifically to students’ needs. “Course materials and game records will be provided in both print and electronic format so that students can take notes and annotate records on mobile devices or with pen and pencil,” reports organizer Roger Schrag. Seats are still available, and the deadline to sign up is this Friday, June 22 at noon. Class size will be kept small so that everyone can get as much individual attention as possible. Learn more about the workshop and sign up on the workshop web page.  Photo: Janice Kim lectures at the 2012 Cotsen Open; photo by Chris Garlock.

Northern Virginia’s Capital Go Club is making its collection of World of Go (WeiQi TianDi) magazine available free for the asking. “World of Go is the most popular go magazine in China with hundreds of thousands of readers,” says Capital Go organizer Edward Zhang. The Capital Go Club — an AGA chapter — has a collection of nearly 400 issues of the magazine. “All you need to do is to fill the registration form and promise to return the magazine in a timely fashion,” says Zhang. While no deposit is required, Zhang does note that the magazine is in simplified Chinese.

After several months of filming, AGA members making a new documentary about the game of go have just released a trailer and are raising funds to complete the feature-length film. “This film will cover all aspects of go and go culture, and we hope it will have a large impact in spreading awareness and interest in the game,” says Will Lockhart 5D (at left in photo), who’s co-directing the film with Cole Pruitt 2k (at right). “The Surrounding Game” uses this year’s launch of the American professional system to explore the game and world of go. Lockhart, who co-founded the Brown University Go club, and Pruitt — a Brown alum — and their team have already filmed extensively at the 2012 Cotsen Open and Maryland Open, and will be shooting more footage at the upcoming Canadian Open, US Go Congress, and Pro Certification Tournament, before traveling to Asia in the fall. “Despite being the most compelling and fulfilling of all games, go remains almost completely unknown in the West,” the team notes. “By exploring the roots of go in Asia and the intensity of international competition, we want to give a taste of the beauty of go to everyone. From rules that a child can understand, to dazzling complexities too difficult for supercomputers that only the human mind can unravel, go has potential to take the Western world by storm.” The team must raise at least $15,000 in pledges by July 7 to collect funding for the doc through Kickstarter, and is offering a wide range of rewards for contributors, from DVDs to limited-edition t-shirts, mugs, boards signed by top professionals and more. “I think this film will tell an exceptional story about an exceptional game,” says AGA President Allan Abramson. “Your help is critical to getting ‘The Surrounding Game’ onto the silver screen!”

Just a few days remaining before the deadline for nominations in the 2012 AGA Board of Directors election. Nominations are being accepted through June 15; email to elections@usgo.org. Nominated thus far are Lisa Scott in the central region, Gurujeet Khalsa and Zhiyuan [Edward] Zhang in the eastern region, Jie Li and Chuck Robbins for the at-large seat, and Chris Kirschner and Joe Walters for the west. Details on qualifications and procedures are available here.