Thursday October 30, 2014
With little competition so far for the two open slots, interested university and college students in the Americas have a good shot at getting to compete in the preliminary for the next World Students Go Oza Championship. Application deadline is Nov 16 and applicants must be under the age of 30. Click here for the entry form. Click here to read more (Registration Open for World Students Go Oza Championship 10/22 EJ).
Tuesday October 28, 2014
At the annual NOVA Pumpkin Classic, players usually compete for prize pumpkins. At this year’s Classic, on Saturday, October 25, 31 players vied “not to lose a pumpkin,” a result of a surfeit of squash due to what Tournament Allan Abramson admitted was “A massive lack of 
communication” between him and NOVA Club President Gary Smith that found them both turning up with armfuls of pumpkins. In the end, every attendee, including visitors, left the George Mason Law School in Arlington VA with a grand pumpkin. Top section winner Josh Lee upped his game to finish 4-0. New visitor Saki Fujita 5 Dan from Japan, now studying at Johns Hopkins, promises to be a tough addition to the local scene.
The winners were:
First Place: Josh Lee, 5D, 4-0; Frederick Bao, 1D, 3-1; Quinn Baranoski, 3K, 3-1; Bob Crites, 7K, 4-0, tied with Gary Smith, 9K, 4-0; and Dierdre Golash, 13K, 4-0
Second Place: Saki Fujita, 5D, 3-1; Victor Kang, 2D, 3-1; Zongying Qiu, 3K, 3-1; Anderson Barreal, 9K, 3-1; and a three-way tie among Ning-Yuan Ernest Wang, 10K, Sarah Crites, 13K, and Keith Crank, 13K, each with two wins
photo by Todd Blatt
Tuesday October 28, 2014
Justin Chiang topped the Austin Fall Classic Go Tournament on Saturday, October 25th at Great Hall Games in Austin, Tx. Fourteen players 
participated in the 4 round, handicap tournament, with prizes going to the following players: Justin Chiang 9K (4-0); Yue (John) Zhyang 4D (3-1), Cye Stoner 2K (3-1).
photo: (l-r): John Zhang, Cye Stoner, Justin Chiang
– report by TD Bart Jacob
Tuesday October 28, 2014
The October 18 Twin Cities Go Club’s Fall 2014 rated games day took place on the University of Minnesota campus, in a building that sits right
on the edge of the Mississippi river. “It was a picturesque autumn day – clear skies and a slightly crisp feeling in the air – the trees at the peak of their color, with bright yellow leaves carpeting streets and walkways around campus,” reports Aaron Broege.
The event began at 9am and lasted until 4 pm. Fifteen AGA members, ranging from 21k to 4d, participated in the rated games day. “There 
were no set rounds or time limits, so players could play rated games at their leisure,” says Broege. “Many of the stronger players enjoyed taking advantage of the lack of time constraints, and some of the more serious games went on for over 2 hours.”
“Around noon we ordered pizza as part of the AGA’s initiative for free pizza in October. We were so happy and fortunate that this offer coincided with our already-scheduled event. Everyone was happy to enjoy pizza while two 2 dan players reviewed their game. We would like to thank the AGA for having this offer. It really made our local club feel more directly connected to the national organization. I think that this sort of initiative helps to build a stronger community between the national and local organizations.”
photo: Onlookers enjoy their pizza, courtesy of the AGA, while Peter Hansmeier (4d) and Yanqing Sun (2d) (at left) review their game.
Tuesday October 28, 2014
Forty-two players participated in the Massachusetts Go Tournament held in Davis Square, Somerville on October 19, so the tournament was 
divided into two independent sections with two sets of prizes. There were twenty players in section A 4 kyu and 
stronger, twenty-two in section B ranging from 5 kyu to 20 kyu. “Every participant contributed to the success of the tournament. Thanks to each and every one of you!” says TD Eva Casey. “And many thanks to the Boylston Chess Club for lending us their space.”
Section A winners: Alex Panaccione, 1 dan, and Eric Tillberg, 4 kyu, went 4-0, and thus tied for first place. Third place went to David Cho, 3 dan, who only lost to Alex Panaccione. Honorable mention to the others who went 3-0, Pete Schumer, 2 kyu, Alexander Majercik, 3 kyu (who only lost to Eric Tillberg), and Makio Ogawa, 4 kyu.
Section B winners: Three players went 4-0 and thus the prize money for first second and third was pooled and divided equally. Tied for first were Milan Mladenivic, 6 kyu, Brandan Williams, 18 kyu, and Jacob Zhang, 20 kyu. Honorable Mention to the 3-0 players: Chia Chan 5 kyu, Philip Dreher, 7 kyu, Ralph St. Louis, 7 kyu, and Yuan Yao, 10 kyu. Chia, Philip, and Ralph all only lost to Milan.
Click here for tournament photos.
Sunday October 26, 2014
Dark horse Youwhan Kim 7D, a former Korean insei, won the 2014 Cotsen Open, upsetting 2014 Masters champion Mark Lee in the second round 
and going on to sweep the rest of the tournament, 5-0. Kim’s play was consistently sharp and tough and he was unfazed by the speedy 20-second overtime, which added pressure to some of his opponents. Tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen congratulated the new tournament champion, saying “I like change. Anything that shakes things up at the top, that works for me.” Click here for top-board game records and complete results. Additional photos are on the AGA’s Facebook page.
Kim is part of an informal dojo at Myungwan Kim 9P’s home in Los Angeles, where
Beomgeun “Evan” Cho and Mark Lee also live. Youwhan Kim arrived three months ago to study English and says Myungwan Kim (no relation) “has been a big help with advice about life in Los Angeles.” Although Youwhan Kim and Mark Lee did not know each other back in Korea — Lee is of a younger generation — the two have played at Myungwan Kim’s, where they split games 1-1. Youwhan Kim was in the second insei league, “close to professional,” says Myungwan Kim, but is now too old to become a professional in Korea. He’s studying go at Myongji University and had many friends in Korea who spoke English, and realized he’d need to learn English too. He has one more semester of study at Myongji and will return to finish up in a few months. His advice to amateur players who want to improve: “Review your own games carefully; this is the best way to get better.”
– report/photos by Chris Garlock
Sunday October 26, 2014
Click here for top-board game records and complete results. Additional photos are on the AGA’s Facebook page.
Special Awards: Richard Dolen (top right) and Larry Gross received special awards from tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen for their longtime support and promotion of the game of go.
Open
1. Youwhan Kim 7d
2. Calvin Sun 8d*
3. Mark Lee 7d*
4. Qipeng Luo 7d*
5. Beomgeun Cho 9d*
* Sun & Lee were tied for 2nd; Sun was awarded 2nd place by default when Lee missed the award ceremony; Luo and Cho were tied for 4th place and Luo won 4th place in a rock-paper-scissors shoot-out conducted by Eric Cotsen.
A – 3d-5d
1. Jerry Shen 4d
2. Michael Wanek 4d
3. Nathan Harwit 4d
B – 1d-2d
1. James Lou 2d
2. Tina Bai 2d
3. Dan Alvira 2d
C – 1k-5k
1. Ryan Kierulf 1k
2. Clement Wong 3k
3. Yunyen Lee 3k
D – 6k-11k
1. Greg Kulevich 8k
2. Christopher Rumsey 9k
3. Chris Kaynor 8k
E – 12k+
1. Dowson Yang 19k
2. James Maloney 25k
3. Victoria Blue 26k
CLUBS
1. Orange County
2. Bay Area
3. YuGo*
* YuGo was tied with Arizona and won 3rd in a rock-paper-scissors shoot-out (at right)
Cotsen Staff: Samantha Davis & crew: Wenguang Wu, Katie Dicus, Matthew Jarrell, Torey Byrne was photographer, and Jerry Miller. Chris Sira was the Tournament Director.
E-Journal Team: Richard Dolen (Board 2), Nick McNelis (Board 3), Joe Cepiel (Board 4); team coordination (& Board 1 recording) by Chris Garlock
Sunday October 26, 2014
Netherlands: Zeno van Ditzhuijzen 5d took the Indis (Inter-District) Tournament in Amstelveen on October 19. Behind him were Rudi Verhagen 4d in second and Rene Aaij 4d in third. Russia: Also on October 19, the Cup of Japan Ambassador finished in Moscow with Grigorij Fionin 6d in first, Natalie Kovaleva 5d (left) in second, and Dmytro Yatsenko 5d in third. Portugal: Cristovao Neto 1d bested Pedro Carmona 2k at the Open Porto in Lisboa on October 19 while Pedro Pereira 1k came in third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV
Saturday October 25, 2014
Mark Lee 7D (right), the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Cotsen Open, was upset in the second round on Saturday by Youwhan Kim 7D in a edge-of-the-seat 299-move thriller. The former Korean insei swept the US Masters 9-0 last August and has been
visiting Myungwan Kim 9P in LA since then, where he’s also been teaching go and studying English. The Cotsen is being held in Los Angeles, CA this weekend, with a field of 126 players. Lee defeated Yixian Zhou 6D handily in the first round Saturday 
morning but ran into a formidable opponent in Kim — another former Korean insei — in the second round. Kim and Beomgeun Cho 7D (left) won all three rounds on Saturday and now lead the field. Click here for the crosstab and top-board game records. Other top players at the Cotsen include Calvin Sun 7D, Leran Zou 7D and Qipeng Luo 7D. The E-Journal will broadcast the final two rounds live on KGS on Sunday starting at 10:30 am (PST). from the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles, as well as tweeting @theaga and posting updates here.
– report/photos by Chris Garlock; check us out on Facebook and @theaga on Twitter for more photos.
Saturday October 25, 2014
You can tell how some go players feel about their game by the expression on their face, nervous if they’re losing or cheerful if they’re winning. But not Eric Cotsen. He always looks happy and excited to be playing, no matter what the situation is on the board.
“It’s just the way I am, I guess,” Cotsen told the E-Journal in an interview Saturday morning at the Los Angeles Korean Cultural Center as players registered for the Cotsen Open, which he’s been sponsoring for “about 25 years now.” Cotsen’s proud of the tournament’s “different vibe,” pointing out the free lunches and team of masseuses for players, the refundable entry fee for players who attend both days, and the club team prizes. “I wanted it to be something out of the ordinary,” he says.
The 2-kyu started playing in the mid-80’s and while he admits that “sure, I’d love to have a higher rating,” that would mean more intensive studying at the expense of his family, work and other interests. After some three decades, the ancient game continues to fascinate and entertain Cotsen (center in photo), a longtime student of Yilun Yang 7P (at left). “I do feel like I’ve gotten stronger,” Cotsen said thoughtfully. “I can see things I couldn’t see before, though often they’re just shapes and sequences and I have to figure out how they go together.”
Cotsen also says the game has helped him in his business dealings, “though of course my strengths and weaknesses tend to manifest themselves in similar ways.” But his go rank seems to concern Cotsen as little as appearances, whose preferred attire is a comfortable t-shirt, shorts and Crocs. “I learn something new every single time I play,” said Cotsen. “That’s something that never gets old.”
– report/photo by Chris Garlock; check us out on Facebook and @theaga on Twitter for more photos.