Tuesday August 7, 2018
“The Surrounding Game” — the award-winning documentary about go — is coming to Netflix starting on August 30. Anyone with a Netflix
account will be able to watch for free in the US, as well as in English-speaking territories, South Korea, and Japan. “To celebrate the Netflix release, we’ll also be rolling out some special discounts on our web store” says co-director Cole Pruitt. “We’re excited to share the film with new audiences!”
Monday August 6, 2018
The first Tianfu Cup World Professional Weiqi Championship has requested participation by two North American professionals. The first round will be held September 20-27 in Beijing with a second session from December 20-27 in Tianfu, Sichuan. Airfare, accommodation, and meals will be covered by the event organizers. Prizes start at 30,000 RMB (~4300 USD) for losing the first round. If interested, or for more details, please contact tournaments@usgo.org no later than Sunday, August 12. Depending on the number of responses, there will be a preliminary tournament to select representatives.
– Jeff Shaevel, AGA National Tournament Coordinator
Monday August 6, 2018
The Academia Cubana de Go will host an international go tournament in Havana September 14-16 and are encouraging US
players to attend. Click here for details. I–Dared Travels, a provider of US to Cuba trip arrangements, has put together a travel package for this trip, which includes three days of mental challenge and cameraderie, as well as exploring Havana and its outskirts, including a visit to Finca Vijia, home of Ernest Hemingway. Participants will take part in five rounds of WGAC regulation games, and lodging will be provided by the Hotel Palco, an extension of the Convention Center of Havana. Registration closes August 31. Those interested should be sure to review US regulations governing travel to Cuba; Federal regulations are at 31 CFR 515.567.
“I have now played go in Cuba three times since 2013 and have enjoyed each trip,” says Bob Gilman. “Cubans have put a lot of energy into developing the game there and are very happy to have visitors from other countries. If anyone has questions about my experience traveling to Cuba, you may write me at bobgilman.aga@gmail.com.”
Wednesday August 1, 2018
With the annual US Go Congress just wrapped up, go fans looking for their next big go event can mark their calendars for the 
2018 Cotsen Open, set for Oct 13-14 in Los Angeles. Registration has just opened; click here to sign up. As always, pre-registration ($20) will allow attendees to get their money back on Sunday after competing in ALL five matches, AND a free food voucher for Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise pay $25 at the door and get no refund. Organizers encourage using the PayPal system “to allow us to have a more accurate count of who is competing this year, which helps cut down the pairing time delay and speeds up the tournament starting on time.” If you have any questions please feel free to email Tournament Organizer Christopher Saenz cotsenopen@gmail.com. “We look forward to seeing you all again in October,” say Cotsen organizers.
Wednesday August 1, 2018
Congress app, which enabled both Congress attendees and go fans worldwide to follow the action in Williamsburg; big thanks to Gurujeet Khalsa for making this happen and to everyone who posted, especially our two intrepid reporters, Julie and Matt Burrall, who seemed to be everywhere all the time with their updates on all things Congress.
asters who participated this year — Ding Wei 9p, Yilun Yang 7p, Mingjiu Jiang 7p, Ryo Maeda 6p, Yoonyoung Kim 4p, Eodeokdung Lee 2p, Stephanie Yin 1p, Ryan Li 1p, Eric Lui 1p, Andy Liu 1p, Qucheng Gong, Zhaonian Chen, Albert Yen, Stephen Hu, Justin Teng, Edward Zhang, James Pinkerton, Jonathan Hop, Keith Arnold, Chris Garlock, Julie Burrall, Samantha Fede, and Samantha Soo — sometimes recruited at the last moment but all enthusiastic in their support for this tremendous new way to bring go events to a worldwide gaming audience. Special thanks as always to I-han Lui for all his help coordinating the professionals, and to Daniel Chou for translation.
admins. This year’s tournament directors not only did their pairing jobs admirably, but got results to the EJ team promptly so that we could keep the crosstabs — US Open Masters and US Open — updated: Joshua Lee, Justin Teng, Todd Heidenreich, Steve Colburn, Qucheng Gong and James Pinkerton.
Wednesday August 1, 2018
American rapper, television personality, and actress (Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8) Awkwafina’s new
video “Pockiez” features go fairly prominently. NOTE: the video also contains explicit lyrics.
Thanks to Adam VanderHook for passing this along.