American Go E-Journal

Fifteen-year-old Andrew Lu 6d has just won the Senior Division of the US Youth Go Championships, dethroning Calvin Sun 7d, age 16, who has had a lock on this event for the past six years.  Sun seemed almost sure to win again, emerging from the finals with a perfect record, and defeating Lu (at left) in the final round of the qualifiers.  Both boys then started fresh in the four-player double-elimination finals, which began on Jan. 20th.  Sun defeated Andrew Huang 6d in round 1, while Lu defeated talented newcomer Albert Yen 6d, who at just 12 years of age is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.  Round 2 gave Sun another edge, defeating Lu, while Yen knocked Huang out.  Yen then faced Lu a second time, and the victor would go on to face Sun.  Although he fought his best, Yen was not able to prevail and was eliminated.  This left Lu in the uncomfortable position of being out if he lost a game, but needing to defeat Sun twice in a row in order to win.  Despite having lost to Sun in both of their previous matches, Lu was determined to break through.  He opened strongly in round 4, on Feb. 16th, and then waged and won a protracted ko fight to claim a decisive victory.  The final showdown came Feb 23rd, and again featured a strong opening from Lu.  Sun tried to create complications, but in the end was down by komi, and resigned.  The game is attached below.  To get a sense of just how difficult a player Calvin Sun is to beat, check out the members-only Feng Yun commentary on Lu and Sun’s earlier match up in the qualifiers, where Sun turns the tables on Lu.  With this victory under his belt, Lu is now the US National Youth Champion, and has won a free trip to the US Go Congress.  The Junior Division matches are not yet finished, but the E-J will report the results when the final games are played.  Paul Barchilon – E-J Youth Editor.  Photo: Andrew Lu 6d