American Go E-Journal » 2012 » July

The Summer 2012 GoGoD (Games of Go on Disk) update is now available and on its way to subscribers, with a total of 72,644 games in the Database, reports T Mark Hall. “This is a landmark issue,” says Hall. “We now have exactly 2,000 games featuring Cho Chikun. He beat Cho Hun-hyeon as the first to that mark by a whisker. And since we are in Golden Oldies mood, let us recall and salute Jan van Rongen, who collaborated with us on Chikun’s collection in its early days.” Other new material includes “a new Kitani game we found on the day we went to press, but apart from that there has been a long catalogue of new finds of old masters’ games. The most significant perhaps are the three new games by Shusaku which we wrote about in New In Go. Of course the Krypton Kiddies who only wish to drive their 4×4 josekis are not forgotten. You will find well over 1,200 new games for 2012 alone.” Fun stuff includes some new 13×13 blindfolded-pro games, as well as pro games at 9×9, 13×13, 15×15, 17×17 and 21×21. Hall says that GoGod is changing the way the database is sold. “Basically, we are dropping the subscription system at the end of this year, although purchasers who have already subscribed will get their copies as normal,” Hall says. “From now on, all sales will be at the plain vanilla price of $30. This gives us the freedom to update at different times in the year, when we reach notable targets, for instance.”

Just in time for players to get in shape for the upcoming U.S. Go Congress, SmartGo Books has added three more books, for a total of 38 designed to be read on the iPad. The latest batch is a trifecta by Yilun Yang 7 dan, “all based on his inspiring workshop lectures,” says SmartGo’s Anders Kierulf. “How to Destroy and Preserve” ($3.99) and “Sabaki – How to Manage Weak Stones” ($3.99) are out-of-print small books originally compiled and edited by John C. Stephenson. “The Workshop Lectures, volume 1” ($5.99) by Slate & Shell contains three chapters: When to Tenuki in the Opening, Choosing the Direction of Attack, and Playing Complicated Joseki. SmartGo Books is a free app for iPad and iPhone, with 38 Go books (including “Invincible”) available as in-app purchases. Kierulf tells the EJ that he hopes “to add at least two more highly requested books before the Go Congress.”