Tournament Reports
U.S. Open: Canadian players played a leading role in some top-board upsets at the 2012 U.S. Open, which got underway Sunday morning at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. Newly-minted U.S. pro Gansheng Shi of Canada lost to Canadian Go Association President James Sedgwick, while defending U.S. Open champion Yongfei Ge lost to Bill Lin; both are also Canadians. For complete Round 1 results from the Open, NAIM and SPO, as well as top-board game records, are available on the tournament crosstab. Click here for crosstabs and game records for NAIM and the SPO. Top-board Open games are being broadcast live daily on KGS from 9a-12p (EST); NAIM and SPO games are from 7-10p.
photo: birds-eye view of the U.S. Open main playing area; photo by Chris Garlock
Win a Free Private Pro Lesson!: Find the best fuseki – the first 8 moves — on this USA-shaped go board and win a 
private one-hour lesson at the Go Congress with one of the professionals in attendance. “Beware the quirky border points,” warns Congress Co-Director Paul Celmer. “In general, if a stone can cover more than one point it’s considered one point.” Printouts of the board grid will be available at the Congress Help Desk. Mark white moves with a number and black moves with a number in a circle. The winner will be determined by a panel of Congress pros. Deadline for entries is Thursday at noon. Include your name and email and deliver your completed entry to the Congress Help Desk.
Sign Up for U.S. Pair Go Championships: The U.S. Pair Go Championships will be held Thursday evening. Sign-up sheets will be posted in the BRC lobby to enter your Male-Female partnerships. “Entry deadline is 11:00pm Wednesday night!” says TD Todd Heidenreich. Anyone signing up after the deadline will be placed on the Alternates List and paired into the tournament if possible.
9×9 Table Winners: Sathya Anand 2k; Erik Backus 4k; William Xu 5k; Kalinda Fraser 8k; Aaron Otero 13k; Edward Lane 22k; Justin Ching 3d; Louie Liu 2d; Gabriella Su 1d.
– Lee Huynh
