Sunday March 11, 2018
Jung Hoon Lee 7D won the Colorado Spring Tournament held on March 10th in Denver, CO, topping a field of 29 players. 
Complete results:
Dan section:
1st: Jung Hoon Lee, 7D
2nd: Kent Evenson, 1D
Thursday March 8, 2018
Slate & Shell’s new book, “Rethinking Opening Strategy: AlphaGo’s Impact on Pro Play” by Yuan Zhou, was recently the number
one new release in board games on Amazon, reports publisher Bill Cobb. “It is selling like hot 
cakes” Cobb tells the E-Journal.
In other Slate and Shell news, Iwamoto Kaoru’s classic book “Invasion in Common Go Positions,” is available again. This book was originally published as part of “Keshi and Uchikomi: Reduction and Invasion in Go.” After substantial revision, the “Keshi” section was republished as “Invasions.” This definitive work analyzes both how to invade common situations in go games and how to defend against such invasions. “These are normal situations that regularly occur, making the discussion useful in everyday play,” says Cobb.
Thursday March 8, 2018
In the January 10 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, there is an article by Elyse Graham called “Adventures in Fine Hall: The weirdness of math’s golden age.” She writes of the hijinks of the great mathematicians of the 1930s gathering in the Princeton 
University Mathematics Department and the Institute of Advanced Studies: Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, Kurt Friedrich Gödel, Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl.
Speaking of Fine Hall, the center of mathematics at Princeton, she writes, “To blow off steam, many students got into games, as players and creators both…. During the day, a visitor to the common room might see the nation’s mathematical brain trust absorbed in games of Go, bridge, double solitaire, or chess, played classic or whimsical variants.” She also writes that “A favorite was a double-blind variant of chess called Kriegspiel,” which Terry Benson has adapted for go at his Crazy Go nights each year at the U.S. Go Congress. “The boast went out that Fine Hall ‘could produce a champion in any game that was played sitting down.’”
– Ted Terpstra
photo (l-r): Luther Eisenhart, Albert Einstein and Walther Mayer
Wednesday March 7, 2018
Hongkui Zheng took top honors in the 5th Zheng Go Championship, formerly known as the Southern California Go 
Championship. Held March 3 and 4, the Zheng Go Championship took place at the Back Bay Conference Center in Irvine, California. A record 84 participants came from Southern California as well as travelers from the SF Bay Area, San Diego and Arizona. Sponsored as in recent years by Jay Zheng, it was organized by Yixian Zhou and directed by Kevin Chao. Shirley Lin 1p was the resident professional and played simuls with participants after the last round on Saturday.
Results:
High Dan Section
1st Hongkui Zheng; 2nd Hoon-Hee Jo; 3rd Yixian Zhou; 4th Yufei Jin; 5th Chenglie Huang; 6th Xiaocheng Hu
Dan section: 1st Josiah Frias; 2nd Jiale Chen; 3rd Troy Zheng; 4th King Bi; 5th Michael Sato; 6th Yuan Yuancheng
Kyu section 1: 1st Yike Deng; 2nd Ted Terpstra; 3rd Barnett Yang; 4th Darwin Kim
Kyu section 2: 1st Zongren Huang; 2nd Lujia Chen; 3rd William Gundberg; 4th Cody Frias
Kyu section 3: 1st Kevin Yang; 2nd Ethan Wong; 3rd Tony Yang; 4th Andy Zhou
photo by Jack Chao (l-r): TD Kevin Chao, Shirley Lin 1p, champion Hongkui Zheng, sponsor Jay Zheng, organizer Yixian Zhou.
Wednesday March 7, 2018
Executive Summary of AGA Board Meeting 1/21/2018: The board approved a Code of Conduct for AGA events that will now be reviewed at the executive and then chapter levels. Andy Okun, president of the AGA, reported that he intends to hire a part-time staffer to assist with administrative tasks in order to allow AGA leadership to work more quickly and efficiently. Other business included status updates on the ranking system, state championships, and 2018 Go Congress.
Executive Summary of AGA Board Meeting 2/11/2018: The board discussed how to protect the AGA membership and stay in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation that will soon go into effect. Drafts of the Code of Conduct and bylaws revision are also under review by the board and will be sent to the membership in the next weeks. Other business included updates on Go Congress 2018/2019 organization and a proposal to create a mechanism for volunteers to attend board meetings and report. Members should keep their eyes open for announcements about the 50 States Tournament and 2018 Go Congress, coming soon through the E-Journal.
-Samantha Fede, AGA Secretary
Tuesday March 6, 2018
The Penn Go Society has announced the first Pennsylvania State Go Championship, part of the American Go Association’s new system of state championships around the country (click here for details). The Pennsylvania championship will be held April 28-29 in Philadelphia, PA, with five rounds over two days, handicap and open divisions, and over $1000 in prizes.
Pre-registration is required; deadline is April 24th. The tournament will be held on the 8th floor of the Wharton Student Life Center (2401 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103). Email tournaments@penngosociety.org for more info.
The tournament director will be Jason McGibbon; games will be AGA rated and Japanese byo-yomi time setting (45 min main + 5 x 30 byo-yomi). Check-in on Saturday and Sunday will be from 9:30AM-10AM. The first round on both days will begin at 10:15AM. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided, and many restaurants are within easy walking distance of the venue. The official State Championship title is reserved for Pennsylvania residents, but non-PA residents are eligible to play and win prize money.
Tuesday March 6, 2018
The Ing Foundation is hosting the 2018 International Collegiate Go Tournament at the University of Cambridge, England this
summer. The event starts on July 9th and will conclude on the 15th. This event is open to any current, future, or recently graduated college (both undergraduate and graduate) student, who will or has attended school in the year 2018. “This is a truly unique experience as the Shanghai Ing Foundation does not spare any expense during the planning of this event,” says Michael Fodera. All costs related to room, board, tours, and travel during the event will be covered by the Ing foundation. The student is responsible for getting to and from the tournament site (both international and domestic travel costs), and for any personal expenses such as souvenirs, and entertainment during the course of the trip. Click here for complete details.
Tuesday March 6, 2018
A new video compresses the second game of the historic 1971 Honinbo Tournament into a compelling 4 1/2 minute sequence, 
complete with music by the Blue Dot Sessions. Ishida Yoshio, just 22, entered the Honinbo League for the first time that year, won it, and went on to beat the established Honinbo, Rin Kaiho, in the title match. The second game is thought to be the most exciting of the match. “The focus of this project was to highlight the wonderful graphic beauty of a flowing go game rather than a analysis of the moves,” says video creator Mike Garland.
Monday March 5, 2018
Applications are now being accepted for the 2018 Worldwide Iwamoto Awards. Organized by the European Go Cultural Centre
(EGCC), the Iwamoto Awards is an international contest that rewards promising go projects. Anybody who is actively promoting and spreading go can enter the competition (read the rules here) and submit their project. The top three contenders will win prizes of €1000, €500 and €500. Deadline for submission is May 31.
photo: The 2015 winner, a touchscreen go table designed by Daniel Bösze.
AlphaGo Zero vs. Master; Game 7: The magic show
Monday March 5, 2018
AG Zero comes up with a new variation to handle Master’s shimari, “and then there’s a bit of a magic show, in which Zero does
all sorts of stuff inside Master’s moyo,” says Michael Redmond 9P in his commentary. “It’s pretty hard to believe.”
“The relaxed and fun atmosphere (Redmond and Garlock) have when doing these reviews is great,” says Rory Mitchell. “It keeps things light amidst all the intense thinking required, and ultimately makes these videos very rewatchable.” Adds GerSHAK, “Absolutely BEAUTIFUL game to watch. Loved the post-game summary of white’s most exciting moves, too.”
Click here for Redmond’s video commentary, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, and see below for the sgf commentary. To support this content, please consider joining or renewing your membership in the American Go Association; click here for details.
Video produced by Michael Wanek and Andrew Jackson. The sgf files were created by Redmond, with editing and transcription by Garlock and Myron Souris.
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