American Go E-Journal

U.S. Go Congress Recap/Preview: Wednesday, August 7

Tuesday August 6, 2013

Tournament Recap: It was an exciting morning at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. The games on both top boards — both being broadcast live on KGS and drawing a crowd in the playing room as well — were half-pointers, and TD Karoline Burrall and other officials were called in to help adjudicate the scoring in the Board 1 game between the undefeated Zi Yang (Matthew) Hu 1P  and Yuhan Zhang 7d because of a question about how to count points in seki. Zhang got the win, snapping an impressive winning streak in the U.S. Open by Hu that goes back to 2011. Hu was back in form in his Masters tournament Round 3 game Tuesday night, handily defeating Jie Liang, while Stephanie Yin dispatched Hugh Zhang and Andy Liu 1P notched his second 2013 NAMT win by defeating Justin Teng. In the Strong Player’s Open, Cong Li continued his run by beating Ho Son, as did Yuhan Zhang, winning against Juyong Koh, and Beomgeun Cho, defeating Andrew Huang. Latest results — and game records — are here: U.S. OpenNAMTSPO.

Pro Game Commentaries: Two more pro commentaries today: Yilun Yang 7P on the Masters Round 2, Board 1 game between Calvin Sun 7d and Zi Yang (Matthew) Hu 1P and Shirley Lin 1P on the U.S. Open Round 3, Board 1 game between Hu and Yuhan Zhang 7d. – photo: Lin (left) and Yang (right) with EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock; photo by Todd Heidenreich

Wednesday Schedule: While most Congress attendees will be off exploring the Seattle area today on the traditional day off, many will stay for the 4-round Die Hard, which is also expected to attract local players who can just come for the day. Players must register by 8:30a in order to play in the first round, which starts at 9a; pre-registrants must check in by 8:45. The tournament will be played in the main playing area.

Madness Declining at Congress: Attendance is down at the Midnight Madness tournament “due to campus-wide outbreak of board gaming, poker, and 7 am tennis,” reports TD Martin Lebl. Just six players turned out Monday night, but “as always, games are available nightly,” Lebl promised. photo by Martin Lebl

Seen & Heard: “If white gets all four coasts, black should resign,” said Paul Barchilon when he came across Vincent Ma 2d and Jeffrey Zhang 2d playing on this go board in the shape of the United States, created by Frank Salantrie. Ma won, 126-60. photo by Paul Barchilon

Online Coverage: There will be no live broadcasts Wednesday; our coverage of top boards at the U.S. Open resumes at 9a (PST) Thursday on KGS (look for the USGO accounts); professional commentary by Myungwan Kim 9P and Chujo Chihiro 1P begins at 10a. Redmond Cup coverage on KGS will begin at 3p. Our live coverage of the North American Ing Masters and Strong Players Open begins at 7p. Results — and game records — are here: U.S. OpenNAMTSPO.