American Go E-Journal » 2013 » February

Barber & Smith Moving On, Central Region Seeks New Board Members

Friday February 8, 2013

The AGA Board of Directors is seeking two new board members as current members Bob Barber and Daniel Smith take their departure. Barber, a much-loved Chicago go organizer, is known for his creatively-named – and very well-run — tournaments and is a longtime AGA volunteer. “We owe Bob a huge debt of gratitude for his many years of dedicated work on behalf of the local and national go community,” said Board Chair Daniel Smith. Barber is leaving to focus on other new activities in his life and to provide an opportunity on the AGA board for someone with more current involvement in AGA activities. With more than a year left in Barber’s term, the Board has determined that its by-laws call for a special election; details will be forthcoming from AGA Elections Officer Arnold Eudell. Smith, meanwhile, is leaving his Illinois home to take a tech job in California and is giving up his Central Region seat per the by-laws. “In his short time on the board, Daniel has been diligent, thorough and creative and I’m confident he’ll remain involved in all we’re doing,” said AGA President Andy Okun. Given the smaller amount of time remaining in Smith’s term, the board will appoint an interim board member pending this summer’s election. Central region resident AGA members who are interested in filling this seat or chapter leaders with a recommendation should get in touch with Okun – president@usgo.org — or a board member as soon as possible.

Categories: U.S./North America

Maeda Osaka Go Camp Details Released

Friday February 8, 2013

New details have just been released on the Kansai-Kiin’s 3-week intensive go camp with Maeda Ryo 6P in Osaka this summer (Maeda Organizing 2013 Go Camp in Osaka 8/6/2012 EJ). It will be held at the Osaka University of Commerce from June 30 – July 20. Attendees will receive intensive training from Kansai-Kiin professionals, play against top amateur players and former inseis while they make friends and go sightseeing around historical cities like Kyoto, Nara, and Himeji. There are also some optional tours to Hiroshima and/or the Shusaku Memorial Museum in Innoshima. Register before February 28 and get a 5,000-yen discount. “Maeda is hoping — and excited — to show the best part of Japan and have great time with attendees!” reports Akane Negishi.
– photo: Maeda at the 2012 US Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock

Categories: Tools: books, software & hardware,World

EuroGoTV: February 1

Friday February 8, 2013

National Veteran Championship: The National Veteran Championship, played from 01/26-27 in Bucuresti, Romania, was won by Petru Oancea 4d, second was Lucretiu Calota 5d and third was Liviu Oprisan 4d… Cognifide Go Cup #1: The Cognifide Go Cup #1, played on 01/26 in Poznan, Poland, was won by Marek Kaminski 4d, second was Kamil Chwedyna 4d (right) and third was Marcin Majka 2d… Torneo citta` di Treviso: The Torneo citta` di Treviso, played on 01/27 in Treviso, Italy, was won by Stefano Babini 3k, second was Leonardo Giuliato 3k and third was Andrea Brancaccio 6k… 2013 Irish Championship League Kick Off: The 2013 Irish Championship League Kick Off, played from 01/26-27 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, was won by Roman Pszonka 3d, second was Claas Roever 2k and third was Noel Mitchell 2d… Dutch Female Championship: The Dutch Female Championship, played from 01/26-27 in Amstelveen, Netherlands, was won by Marika Kuin-Dubiel 2d (left), second was Marieke Overbeek 3k and third was Annemarie de Putter 2k… 2. Go turnir Filozofskog fakulteta: The 2. Go turnir Filozofskog fakulteta, played on 01/26 in Zagreb, Croatia, was won by Mladen Smud 1k, second was Nikola Primetica 4k and third was Drazen Odobasic 16k… Warszawska Liga Go #2: The Warszawska Liga Go #2, played on 01/22 in Warszawa, Poland, was won by Stanislaw Frejlak 4d, second was Blazej Madejski 2k and third was Andrzej Drzystek 3k… Dutch Championship: The Dutch Championship, played from 01/12-27 in Amstelveen, Netherlands, was won by Merlijn Kuin 6d and Zeno van Ditzhuijzen 5d,there will be a play off between them, and third was Frank Janssen 6d… Maidenhead: The Maidenhead, played on 01/19 n Maidenhead, United Kingdom, was won by Matthew Cocke 5d, second was Desmond Cann 4d and third was Baromi Kim 5d… Ukrainian Youth Go Championship: The Ukrainian Youth Go Championship, played from 01/19-20 in Rivne, Ukraine, was won by Valerii Krushelnytskyi 1d, second was Oleksandr Mishchuk 12k and third was Oleksandr Zarivniak 12k… Czech Youth Championship-U16 catagory: The Czech Youth Championship-U16 catagory, played from 01/19-20 n Praha, Czech Republic, was won by Samuel Havelka 2k, second was Vojtech Vasa 9k and third was Vojtech Tomek 10k… Czech Youth Championship – U20 catagory: The Czech Youth Championship – U20 catagory, played from 01/19-20 n Praha, Czech Republic, was won by Lukas Podpera 5d, second was Petr Kouba 2d and third was Frantisek Caha 5k… Czech Youth Championship – U12 catagory: The Czech Youth Championship – U12 catagory, played from 01/19-20 in Praha, Czech Republic, was won by Dita Vasova 15k, second was Michal Hrbek 18k and third was Leon Defer 20k… Winter Tournament: The Winter Tournament, played from 01/18-20 in Kosicka Bela, Slovakia, was won by Pavol Lisy 6d, second was Tamas Gerbner 4k and third was Stanislav Urbanik 7k… Jusandan 2013: The Jusandan 2013, played from 01/12-13 in Stockholm, Sweden, was won by Johan Berntsson 1d, second was Micael Svensson 1k and third was Klas Almroth 4d… Schoolkids Championship U16: The Schoolkids Championship U16, 01/12 in Budapest, Hungary, was won by Dominik Boviz 3d, second was Robert Csizmadia 2k and third was Attila Sebok 10k… Schoolkids Championship U12: The Schoolkids Championship U12, played om 01/12 in Budapest, Hungary, was won by Bulcsu Fajszi 7k, second was David Matolcsi 7k and third was Botond Ekler Szabo 15k… Wintergo 2012: The Wintergo 2012, played from 12/27-01/31 n Overasselt, Netherlands, was won by Zeno van Ditzhuijzen 5d, second was Michiel Eijkhout 6d and third was Frank Janssen 6d… adapted from EuroGoTV, which includes winner reports, crosstabs, game records and photos. Edited by Taylor Litteral

Categories: Europe

Lee Sedol Beats Gangshen Shi to take 2-0 Lead in AGA-Europe Pro 10-Game Series

Thursday February 7, 2013

Lee Sedol 9P defeated American pro Gansheng Shi 1P on February 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the 10-game series between the AGA-Europe pro team and Lee, sponsored by go9dan.com.

“In general I felt good about my game,” Shi — who took white in the game (at right) — tells the E-Journal. “I think I

[link]

played well and was able to hang on to until the late middle game where I forgot to make an important exchange that cost me the game. I feel Lee Sedol is really strong and really punishes opponents for misplays and overplays. He was able to catch all of my mistakes and really profit from doing so. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.”

In the next round, European pro Catalin Taranu will take black with 0.5 komi (W wins ties). Due to the Chinese and Korean New Year holiday this weekend, the series is expected to resume on the weekend of February 16th.

Categories: U.S./North America

N.A. Go Convention Plans Proceed for Weekend Launch in NJ

Thursday February 7, 2013

Plans for this weekend’s North American Go Convention are proceeding as a winter storm bears down on the region. “Our three professionals have arrived on-site and we’ve arranged for shuttle service from both Newark Penn Station and the Park & Ride in Parsippany-Troy Hills,” says NAGC Commissioner Edward Zhang (at right with Joanne Missingham and her parents, Nan-Ping and Errol). Click here for a short video overview about the NAGC.

Shuttle sign-up is strongly encouraged so the NAGC volunteers can plan accordingly and reduce wait time. Players may also stay at the Days Inn Hotel on Friday if they wish to avoid traveling on Saturday, when the storm is forecast to hit. “Keep in mind that there is a second chapter of the NAGC in DC from February 13-17, with same three Open, Blitz and Pair Go tournaments,” adds Convention Director Yue Zhang 7D.

Categories: N.A. Go Convention,U.S./North America

US Canada Friendship Match Feb. 9

Tuesday February 5, 2013

The 5th US-Canada Youth Friendship Tournament will be held Saturday, February 9, at 4pm Eastern time (1pm Pacific) in the AGA Tournaments Room on KGS. Organized by Lawrence Ku, the popular transnational match pits the strongest youth in North America against each other, and often draws large crowds of observers. Canada has won for the past three years in a row, and the US is itching for a win. The current crop of contenders (with US players listed first) features Calvin Sun 7d vs. Bill Lin 8d; Hugh Zhang 7d vs. Jianing Gan 8d; Albert Yen 6d vs. Irene Sha 7d; Andrew Lu 6d vs. Andrew Huang 6d; Vincent Zhuang 6d vs. Oliver Wolf 5d; Aaron Ye 5d vs. David Fan. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

Categories: U.S./North America,World,Youth

Yasui Santetsu Focus of New Film

Tuesday February 5, 2013

Insight Into the Universe is a new film about Yasui Santetsu, a go player and famous Japanese astronomer, better known as Shibukawa Shunkai. The creator of the Japanese Jokyo calendar and the author of many books about astronomy, he also played with his friend and rival, Honinbo Dosaku, in the “castle games.” The famous game between Dosaku and Santetsu, where Santetsu opened on tengen, is depicted in the 2012 film, which was directed by Yojiro Takita and stars Junichi Okada, a Japanese actor, singer, and member of the pop group V6. The heroine in the film, played by Miyazaki Aoi, works at a shrine which still exists today; click here to see Cho U 9p dedicating some of his famous go problems to that shrine. An English-subtitled version of the film does not appear to be available at this time.
– thanks to Go Game Guru

Categories: Go Art

Your Move/Readers Write: Responding to ‘SGFs and iStuff’

Tuesday February 5, 2013

“Regarding Roy Laird’s article, ‘SGFs and iStuff’ (2/1 EJ),” writes Eric Anderson. “Please — if you’re going to do a comparative product review, please spend the effort to investigate the features. Otherwise, you’re using your powerful and respected platform to spread casual (and misleading) opinions, and it’s really quite unfair to your readers. Specifically — ‘Seems worth the extra cost unless you really need to import large databases.’ Um, no. SmartGo Kifu is an excellent problem and game collection, combined with a Go playing engine. It includes a form of SGF editor; but that editor is not particularly suitable either for recording games or for constructing problems — at least, not compared to EasyGo, which is specifically (and very well) designed to do … SGF editing. Bulk file import and export is only one of the features you’d want in an SGF editor; other features include tree-editing capabilities (ever tried fixing a recording mistake in SmartGo Kifu?), problem editing (ever tried entering un-numbered initial conditions?), and variation analysis. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s an independent review. Although at first sight EasyGo looks like a close-cousin to SmartGo Kifu, it is not. They share a goal though: analyzing games, exploring variations and solving problems. But they focus on different sets of features, and work very different. That review — only six paragraphs long — is much more insightful and thorough, and helpful to readers, than your ‘Seems worth the extra cost…'”
“All that seemed necessary was to copy the linked-to sgf on the web page onto my desktop,” suggests Kirby Smith. “Then I could use the ‘edit’ mode of the KGS interface (CGoban3) to view it and its commentary. I recall that The Many Faces of Go will also open these. Thanks for your journal’s many interesting articles.”
A number of readers also suggested this solution, which works great for desktops, but Laird’s review was specifically referring to smartphone apps available for Apple products.

Categories: Tools: books, software & hardware,Your Move: Readers Write

Brunei Cup Deadline Feb. 6

Monday February 4, 2013

“This is the last chance to sign up for the Brunei Friendship Cup,” reports Andrew Huang, AGHS Tournament Organizer. “Registration will close Wednesday night at midnight. The team is still short on female players for pair go, so ladies, I urge you to find a partner and try for pair go.” More info can be found on the AGHS website. To register, follow this link. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

Categories: U.S./North America,World,Youth

German Brothers Team Up to Produce “Fascinating” Go Video

Monday February 4, 2013

Two German brothers are collaborating to create a free movie trailer to spread the game of go. Sven Walther is a go player and computer scientist, while his brother Lars is an actor and filmmaker. Sven says he’s driven to “inspire people with interesting stuff” while Lars is “wowed by the stories and the drama in a game that appears to be so simple.” The brothers have teamed up to crowd-source $8,000 “to make a short video clip, like a movie trailer, to promote the game of go.” Rather than explaining the rules of the game, the Walthers intend to work with real actors and real movie people to create a professional clip that will create a “fascinating atmosphere to represent the game. The novice will see it and say ‘Whoa, what’s that game? Wanna learn more!’” They’ll make the video available on YouTube, so anyone “can use it to promote the game wherever you want.” With 50 days to go, the duo has already raised just over $2,200 in pledges. With several other professionally-produced shorts – the romantic French go video The Album Leaf Within Dreams (Go Art: Romantic Go Video 12/3/2012 EJ) and the 2012 European Women’s Goe Championship promo (The Red Dress Tesuji 8/26/2012 EJ) – already available, and the feature-length documentary The Surrounding Game now in production, a critical mass of go videos seems to be building.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

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