The Open Section of the Jin Chen Memorial Tournament at the Seattle Go Center drew twelve players, including two 7 dans and three 6 dans.
Since the Jan. 4 tournament had only three rounds, there was a tie for first place between Boyang Chen 6d from Oregon, and Chan Chung 5d from the Seattle area. Edward Kim placed 3rd, after losing one game on time.
Go Center members were intrigued to meet the teacher of Edward Kim 7d, since Edward has taught many of the strong players in the Northwest. Years ago, Edward’s teacher was his older brother Hong Kim, who also lives in the Seattle area. This was the first time Hong played in an AGA rated tournament. He won the handicapped section for players 2 kyu and stronger, playing as a 2d. Second place went to young Chanseok Oh. The 3 kyu to 9 kyu band was won by local Frank Brown, with new player Ben Resnick placing second. The double digit kyu player’s section was won by Elan Ma, with second to California visitor Barry Stiefel. Elan also won the children’s prize. There were 30 players at the tournament, which is held on the first Sunday in January every year to mark the birthday of our old friend Jin Chen. Report and photo illustration by Brian Allen
