April « 2013 « American Go E-Journal

New Go Club Blooms in UK’s “Garden City”

Friday April 5, 2013

A new go club is about to bloom in the historic English town of Letchworth, “The first garden city in the world.” Beginning April 18, the Letchworth Garden City Go Club will meet weekly on Thursday evenings at the Central Methodist Church Hall (at right; Norton Way South, entrance £3). Organizer Alison Bexfield 2d previously ran the now-defunct Letchworth Go and Puzzle Club with husband Simon 1k, but they could no longer manage the commitment after their kids were born. Now that her children are old enough to play too, Bexfield is committed to introducing a new generation to the game, and is simultaneously launching the Letchworth Junior Chess and Go Club at the same venue at an earlier time. Bexfield is currently organizing the 2013 British Open Tournament and British Go Congress in nearby Stevenage. “By running the British Open I thought I would see if there were any local players lurking that might give sufficient local interest to restart a public club,” she says. Details of all British clubs are available on the British Go Association’s Clubs Page.
– Tony Collman

Categories: Europe,Go News

Go Classified: Gobans, Books For Sale

Friday April 5, 2013

SOLD! Gobans, Books For Sale: Aged go player downsizing. Need to sell kaya, 6.25” goban with stones, hinged folding table top goban with stones in portable box. Also an extensive go library of some 60 books, mix of Japanese and English. Note the large Goban has a surface crack of minor importance. I’ve had this for over 50 years and is stable – perfectly useable and could be repaired. All available for your pickup in Winchester, VA. Alternatively could be picked up in Manhattan, NYC. Phone Bob McCallister 540-665-5897. Willing to accept any reasonable offer. UPDATE 4/8: ALL ITEMS HAVE BEEN SOLD.

Goban For Sale: Selling a very nice goban. Unused condition. Weight is around 30 lbs. shinkaya wood 5.9 inches thick. $300 plus shipping (US shipping only). Keith Schkoda redtails@sbcglobal.net

Categories: Go Classified

Junfu Dai 8D Three-Peats in Paris

Thursday April 4, 2013

Junfu Dai 8D (right) successfully defended his title against Lluis Oh 6D in the 41^st Paris International Go Tournament at the Lycée Louis Le Grand on April 1. Though it was the first time Spanish player Oh placed, it was Dai’s third victory in four years, a reign broken only by Liu Yuanbo’s win in 2011. However, there may still be hope for Oh, as Dai was runner-up in 1996 and 2008 before he finally became champion. Joining Dai and Oh in the ranks as top Europeans is Romanian player Cristian Pop 7D. No stranger to tournaments, Pop has won the championship in his home country six times. Founded in 1972, the annual Paris International Go Tournament now holds a level 5 ECup rating and is hailed as “one of the largest go events in Europe behind the European Go Congress.” For more information about this year’s tournament including rules, registered players, and results, visit the official Paris 2013 website.
– Annalia Linnan; photo courtesy EuroGoTV, which includes selected game records

Categories: Europe,Events/Tournaments,Go News,Go World

“Creative” Osawa 4P Teaches at DC Event

Thursday April 4, 2013

A small but appreciative crowd turned out for an evening of go with Japanese 4-dan professional Narumi Osawa in Washington, DC on April 2 during the city’s Cherry Blossom Festival. Osawa’s free talk and simul at the Japan Information and Cultural Center (JICC) included a collaborative game with beginners — including a pair of young children — and a simul with seven pairs of players. “I found it creative that she let beginners take turns to play,” said local organizer Edward Zhang, “as well as teaching along the way when seeing an opportunity in the game. I also loved the Pair Go format of the simul, encouraging communication and collaboration. Her successfully getting students involved by asking many many questions is consistent with some other Japanese pros I met in Go Congresses.” Ms. Osawa is not only a pro from Nihon-Kiin, but also a special envoy of the Japanese government, which may account for the enthusiastic presence of the embassy’s Minister for Public Affairs Masato Otaka for the entire evening. As the visiting go players pondered moves during the simul, embassy staff clustered around a small board off to the side as they tried to solve life and death problems. “Special thanks to JICC director Izumi Seki, who initiated and organized this special event,” said Greater Washington Go Club organizer Haskell Small. Among those in attendance were former AGA President Allan Abramson and new AGA Board Chair Gurujeet Khalsa. Osawa will reportedly be in the US for two months before heading Brazil for a week.
– report/photos & collage by Chris Garlock

Categories: U.S./North America

Viktor Bogdanov 4d Wins Italy’s Yama no Kaze 4

Wednesday April 3, 2013

Viktor Bogdanov 4d (photo), won the Yama no Kaze 4 tournament, held March 23-24 in Basssano del Grappa, Italy. In second place was Fausto Predieri 1k and third was Leonardo Giuliato 3k. Click here for results.
– EuroGoTV; click here for all the latest European go news

Categories: Europe

650 Participate in German Go Bundes League

Tuesday April 2, 2013

While most people probably think about soccer when they hear about the German Bundes League, there’s also an equivalent for go. The German Go Bundes League is one of the biggest western go leagues (the Pandanet-AGA City League just started this year). It was started in 2005 and is organized much like the soccer league. There are currently 83 teams from all over Germany, divided into seven leagues. All leagues but the fifth contain 10 teams who play nine rounds from September to May. At the end of the season the top teams are promoted to the superior league while the worst-performing are demoted. The fifth league is the entry point for new teams, so it contains more teams than the other leagues, currently 29. While every team has up to ten players, only four members play for their team at a tournament. More than 650 players take part in the Bundes League, and nearly all of the strongest German go players can be found on their home town’s team. But the league is not just for the strongest players, it gives everybody the chance to fight for their city and to grow stronger together with the team. Because of the large distances between the teams most of the matches are played online using the KGS go server. However, offline matches are allowed if two teams are closely located or meet each other at a tournament. The large advantage of games played online is that fans can follow the match from their home computers and root for their favorite teams. The current season is about to end: seven of the nine matches have been played and at the moment the ‘Leipziger Loewen’ (Leipzig Lions) team is in first place in the top league, having just beat the formerly leading team in a close match. But the Lions must keep up their good results in the last two matches to hold onto their league; it’s this sort of hotly-contested competition that makes the German Bundes League so popular.
– Jan Engelhardt, E-Journal Correspondent

Categories: Europe

Go Spotting: Vagabond Go

Tuesday April 2, 2013

“I found this in an old manga called Vagabond which follows the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi,” writes Taylor Litteral. It was in Volume 6, chapter 50, page 6.

Categories: Go Spotting

Chiu Wins USYGC

Tuesday April 2, 2013

Eleven-year-old Jeremy Chiu 5d has won the Junior Division of the US Youth Go Championships (USYGC), finally defeating his longtime rival Aaron Ye 5d. The tourney began on Jan. 20th, but the final rounds weren’t completed until March. Chiu got off to a good start in the double-elimination tourney by defeating Willis Huang 3d in the first round, and then beating Ye in round 2. Chiu then went on to defeat Redmond Cup runner up Austen Liao 3d, and then Brandon Zhou 2d – who at just nine years of age is a player to watch out for. Chiu finally got his face off with Ye on March 16th, in a game with heavy fighting. Ultimately, Ye’s center group was caught without eyes, and short on time, and he was forced to resign. The game record is below, look for a Feng Yun commentary on another match from this series in the near future. Chiu also won in the Ing Foundation’s World Youth Qualifier, and will be going on to compete in Prague this summer, along with Andrew Lu 6d, who also won both the USYGC Senior Division and the Ing Qualifiers. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Muling Huang

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Categories: U.S./North America,Youth

Go Camp Open for Registration

Monday April 1, 2013

“Registration for the AGA Summer Go Camp is now open,” reports camp director Amanda Miller,”we welcome campers from the ages of 8 to 18 to attend for a week of go-playing and fun.” For the convenience of the campers and their families, payments can be made online, although some forms must still be mailed directly to the organizers. The camp will take place two weeks before the Go Congress from July 20 to July 27 and will be held at YMCA Camp T. Frank Soles in Rockwood, Pennsylvania. Registration information and forms can be found here. Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Amanda Miller: Mingjiu Jiang 7p playing a simul at last year’s camp.

Categories: U.S./North America,Youth

Rocky Mountain Spring Tourney Includes NAMT Qualifier

Monday April 1, 2013

The upcoming Rocky Mountain Spring Go Tournament on April 13^th will have prizes for the winners in Dan, Kyu, and Double Digit Kyu brackets, and will also be raffling go sets “and other fun prizes,” promises organizer Paul Barchilon. “Even if you don’t win your section, you could go home with a nice prize,” he adds. The top section will also be a qualifier for the North American Masters Tournament (NAMT) at the US Go Congress. “We will try to have a beginners section as well, on 13×13, and AGA membership will not be required to play in that section,” says Barchilon. “There are no fixed rounds, so there shouldn’t be too much waiting for games. Players will be paired as they are available. These are handicap games, but an attempt will be made to pair as many even games as is practical.” The NAMT section will have four rounds, and all games will be played even. To register, email shimari@comcast.net with your name and the rank you would like to play at. You may also leave a message at 303-440-7124.
photo: at the 2012 NAMT Qualifier at the Boulder (CO) Kids and Teens Go Club, photo by Paul Barchilon

Categories: Events/Tournaments,U.S./North America

American Go E-Journal » 2013 » April