American Go E-Journal » 2012 » August

Ron Paul, the libertarian politician who ran unsuccessfully for this year’s Republican Presidential nomination, will have a disproportionate influence at the GOP’s convention this week thanks to his employment of shi (pronounced “sure”), “a strategy expounded and employed by Chinese philosophers and military strategists for thousands of years,” according to “The Grand Shi Strategy of Ron Paul,” a guest column in Forbes by Mark Spitznagel. “Throughout history, perhaps the clearest and most pedagogical example of shi at work has been in the Chinese board game weiqi,” writes Spitznagel, who uses the board position here to show that while “White is far ahead in terms of tangible territory right now…black has established a strategic advantage and intangible edge by moving into the center to command the rest of the board.” Spitznagel sees Ron Paul’s shi strategy “in the great patience and nonaggression that favors the slow buildup of influence and strategic advantage over the decisive all-or-nothing clash,” arguing that the strategy’s success is exemplified by “Mitt Romney’s support of Paul’s current ‘Audit The Fed’ bill, as well as his recent position on the inefficacy of further (as well as past) Fed quantitative easing; it remains only a question of degree with Romney, but a position that nonetheless would have been unlikely without the pressure from the Paul campaign—especially given Romney’s otherwise very simplistic Keynesian-leaning views.”
Thanks to Jim Hlavka for passing this along.

Chinese professional Weitang Liang 9P put on a brilliant display of technical virtuosity for a captivated audience of 50 go fans in a special event at the Rockville United Church in Rockville, MD on Tuesday August 14. “The strength of a professional player is definitely fascinating,” event organizer Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang told the E-Journal. “In the 6-on-1 simul, players as strong as 5 dan had five to nine-stone handicaps, yet only one Korean player — Insu Kim — was able to win.”

The event was a collective effort by the Capital Go Club of the American Go Association (AGA), the Great Falls Go Club, the Rockville Go & Chess Group (RGCG), and the Rockville Sister City Corporation (RSCC), and Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.

Liang came to DC from his appearance at this year’s US Go Congress on behalf of the China Qiyuan and the Chinese Go Association. “I have heard that the go activities in the Washington DC metro area have been impressive and famous, and am very happy to spend the evening with so many American go players.” Click here for a video clip of the event by Tie-Hua Ng.

The event included a simultaneous exhibition involving six players (Robin Kramer, Gary Li, Tsann Yu, Ben Hong, Insu Kim, and Kevin Wang), a mini AGA-rated tournament, and an open forum for questions and game commentary analysis with Mr Liang, who learned to play go – or weiqi, as it’s known in China – when he was 10. In 1999 he became the 22nd player to achieve Chinese professional 9 Dan status, the highest professional level accorded. Mr. Liang’s go style is described as straightforward, deep, stable, and sharp, and he’s known in the Chinese go community as “Long Life Sword.” Mr. Liang is the only 9-dan professional in the Shenzhen city of Guangdong, where he’s said to have inspired over a hundred thousand of players to learn the game.

The event attracted a diverse turnout of players, likely as a result of advertising via social networks and English, Korean and Chinese newspapers. “The event was a huge success,” said local organizer John Goon. “Not only did we see many new faces of local go players, but we also receive a professor’s inquiry about starting a go club at Howard University in Washington DC.”

In the AGA-rated tournament which ran at the same time as the 6-on-1 simuls with Mr. Liang, Liang Yu 7d scored 2-0 “with impressive wins over Juan Pablo Quizon 6d and Meng Lu 6d,” Tournament Director Todd Heidenreich reported.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Organizers: John Goon and Edward Zhang; Web Admin: Gurujeet Khalsa; Photographer: Yangang Li; Video: Tie-hua Ng; Transportation: Lin Lu, Xingyu Lu, Tao Wang, Binquan Wang; Reception: Xingyu Lu; Refreshments and Set-up: (Rockville Go & Chess Groups) Nick Nayfack, Todd Heidenreich, Juan Pablo Quizon, Craig Anderson, Nick Quizon, Diego Bigelow, Tim Bigelow, Joseph Huang and Rohit Gopal; Translators: Ching-Sung Chin (Great Falls Go Club), Sam Choi and Bingjib Huang (both also Rockville Sister City Corporation coordinators); Toastmaster and Signage: Edward Zhang.
photos by Yangang Li; click here for a complete photo album of the event. 

Twenty seven players ranging in age from eight to 72 came out to Palo Alto, CA on August 18 to play in this month’s AGA ratings tournament organized by Bay Area Go Players Association. Ranks ranged from 20 kyu to 6 dan, with six players entering at a rank of 4 dan or above. Justin Shieh 5d and Lucas Baker 4d led the Dan division with four wins apiece, while Jay Chan 1k led the Kyu division also with four wins. Four-game winners and those playing in their first tournament ever got to take home a go book of their choosing, and long-time go teacher Herb Doughty gave beginner go lessons in the courtyard just outside the tournament hall. Next month’s ratings tournament is coming up September 8, again in Palo Alto. Photo by Lisa Schrag.