American Go E-Journal » 2018 » October

Go workshop at Youmacon anime convention in Detroit

Wednesday October 31, 2018

This Saturday, November 3, local go players will run a workshop at Youmacon, an anime convention in Detroit, Michigan,2018.10.31_youmacon2018 from 5 to 7p. “Representatives from the London and Windsor go clubs from Canada, as well as the West Michigan and Columbus go clubs from the United States will be running a go workshop to hopefully spread interest and teach people about this game that we all love,” reports the Columbus Go Club’s Alexander Yehsakul. The workshop will be held in Room 141 at the Cobo Center. “It should be a good time, with plenty of play equipment, friendly convention goers, and even some prizes,” Yehsakul adds. “Also, if you follow the Twitch Go scene, streamers such as DanielML001, Balonator, and Skatmaker will be there for the duration of the event.”

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The Empty Board: Philosophical Reflections on Go #11

Wednesday October 31, 2018

By Bill Cobbart poster-purple

I’ve been working with Yuan Zhou on a new book about the astonishing degree to which pros are adopting an AlphaGo tactic that is a direct rejection of traditional theory about how to play. The move in question is invading on a 3-3 point behind the opponent’s 4-4 point stone very early in the game—even as Black’s third move! Any strong player would have laughed (or screamed if it was your teacher) if a relatively weak player had done that a year ago. But now, even the very top pros do it. I have seen several games in which Ke Jie 9p of China, considered by many to be the best player in the world, has done this, including invading with move 3 as Black. If you browse through the games in any pro tournament, you will find a lot of these early 3-3 invasions. I don’t know whether amateurs are picking up on this—the people I play on DragonGo often seem somewhat startled when I do it. But it is an amazing instance of how much freedom there is in playing go. The fact that AlphaGo has pretty much proved that go is not going to be “solved” so that a knowing player with first move can always win (even AlphaGo can’t do that), you can enjoy participating in something that truly offers a real opportunity for creativity and freedom. Of course, this doesn’t mean that anything goes and can be freely tried. Starting on the 1-1 points is not going to lead to a happy result. In that regard, go continues to be a lot like life. There are a lot of quite appropriate restrictions on our behavior, but no one really knows the limits of what can be done. Don’t just stay with the same old routines all the time—look for new possibilities. They could be revolutionary.

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Odds & Ends: Yin to rep N.A. at Qionglong Mountain Bingshend Cup; Go set source? ; Poughkeepsie players wanted

Wednesday October 31, 2018

Yin to rep N.A. at Qionglong Mountain Bingshend Cup: Stephanie Yin, 1p won the recent qualifier for the Qionglong Mountain Bingshend Cup against Wan Chen, 5d and will represent North America at the event.

Go set source? “I was wondering if there were any websites, or locations, that hadn’t yet made it on the ‘Buying Go Equipment and Supplies‘ page,” writes James. “I’m interested in buying a new set, but Yellow Mountain Imports has informed me that they’re uncertain of when the items I inquired about will be back in stock. Due to them offering me a potential wait time of two months, and with even that not necessarily being enough, I am forced to look elsewhere. After numerous obvious scam sites and ‘Unavailable’ legitimate postings, I thought I’d try asking here as the only alternatives remaining seem to be buying something considerably more expensive or something comparable to my current lower-grade set. Any assistance you may offer would be greatly appreciated. While online is my preference, I am not opposed to driving if you know of any shops within 1 – 3 hours drive from Victorville, CA. I tried Chinatown in Los Angeles recently, but that turned up nothing.”

Poughkeepsie players wanted: “I have been trying to find local players in the Poughkeepsie, NY area and have not had any luck,” writes David. “It seems the majority of events/clubs are too far from my home for me to attend.”
Email your suggestions to journal@usgo.org

 

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Dave Felcan tops Vermont Go Championship

Tuesday October 30, 2018

IMG_4400Ten players participated in the Vermont Go Championship on Saturday, October 27th. Dave Felcan 2d (standing at far left) went undefeated with three wins to take first place. Second place went to Jack Homer 1k with a record of 2-1. Rich Chalmers 1d claimed third place, also with a 2-1 record. “It was a very fun and exciting day with lots of great games and tough matches,” reports organizer Pete Schumer.  All players received prizes including trophies, books, magazines, go playing cards, and DVDs. “We look forward to hearing from our fellow states!” Pete tells us.

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Last week to register for the Pandanet AGA City League

Sunday October 28, 2018

2017.10.03_PANDANETRegistration ends Friday November 2nd for the seventh year of the Pandanet AGA City League. We have most of the same strong teams as last year already re-registered. Can your city win their League this year? Check our rules, register, and start training for the first round on November 18th. I hope to see your team compete to be the best this year! Email Steve Colburn for registration.

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Guatemala hosts successful 2nd Latin American Go Congress

Saturday October 27, 2018

By Terry Benson2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Porta Hotel Pool Grounds Photo TB#2

Following up on last year’s first-ever Latin American Go Congress in Cancun, Mexico, the Ibero American Go Federation staged a well-run event October 13-15 at the Porta Hotel Antigua in Antigua, 2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Congress Banner TB#1Guatemala.

The Porta Hotel has five stars but still feels authentic and local, with Guatemalan art, crafts and design throughout. The playing room was large and could be set up simultaneously for lecture, simuls and the tournament rounds.

Forty six players – including ten above 3 dan – were spread over six MacMahon bands, run by TD Adrian Ramirez 5k of Guatemala. Abraham Florencia 5d from Mexico won the 2018 Latin American Championship, and Mexico also took the second Pandanet Team Latin American Championship, beating Chile in the final of the 10-team event which started back in January. The second Latin American Youth Tournament was taken by Juan David Ramirez 3d of Colombia, while the winners of the third Latin American Pair Tournament were Eun-kyo Do 1p of Korea and Hector Paiz of Guatemala.

Like the US Go Congress – on which it’s modeled — there was a lot to do at the Latin American Go Congress. Korea once again sent two excellent 2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Zirui Song TB#4representatives; Cho Hye-yeon was her effervescent and engaging self and Eun-kyo Do was quiet, charming…and deadly. From the U.S., Zirui Song 1d (right) from Chicago attended with funding from the American Go Foundation. The pros played simuls every day, offered free commentary on games as they finished, and each gave a lecture. Zirui’s contribution on Friday detailed two high level games – including one of his own from the last US Go Congress. He led the group though multiple variations – including the “why you can’t cut there” sort of questions which are obvious to the pros but not to the strivers.

2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Crazy Go Galactic Go 23 line Marco Hernandez v Abraham Florencia  Watching Esli Esquivel TB#5On Sunday I ran Crazy Go (left) – known in this case as “Go Loco” — with the usual laughter at Rengo Kriegspeil, puzzled looks over the spiral board, and real interest in Coupon Go – including from Zirui.

Antigua is a beautifully preserved and restored Spanish city catering to tourists. The food at the Congress was superb – especially the2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Antigua Guatemala TB#6 included lunch – and reasonably priced for the location. Other than the last day, when the cultural tour encountered several hours of torrential downpour, the weather cooperated – the thunder storms came while we were playing and the temperature was always temperate.

2018.10.26_LatinAmericanCongress-Emil Garcia DS #2Great credit goes to the team from Guatemala including main Congress organizer Jose Romero (at far right with Abraham Florencia, and two Korean pros), to IberoAmerican Go Federation president Emil Garcia (left), and to the many other volunteers who helped in the typical spirit of go congresses.

The venue for next year’s Latin American congre2018.10.26_Do Cho Florencia Director Jose Romero DS #1ss is uncertain, though Buenos Aires is a prime candidate. What is certain is the quality of the event and the fun of an international gathering like this, which will only grow as Latin American players come to know the unforgettable experiences at a Go congress.

Benson is president of the American Go Foundation; photos by Daniela Salamanca and Terry Benson

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Categories: Latin America,Main Page
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Conyngham, Hess, Whitman and Hu win in Austin Fall tourney

Thursday October 25, 2018

The Fall 2018 Austin, Texas Go Tournament was held on October 20th and 21st.  Seventeen players participated. Prizes and certificates were 2018.10.25_austin-tourney-cropawarded for the top three places in two divisions.  The winners were:

Division 1
Rong Hu 7k – 1st
Alan Chen 1k – 2nd
Jim Conyngham 4k – 3rd
Division 2
Joss Bhuiyan 15k – 1st
Nathan Hess 13k – 2nd
Ethan Whitman 10k – 3rd
photo (l-r): Jim Conyngham, Nathan Hess, Ethan Whitman and Rong Hu.
The Texas State Championship scheduled to be run in parallel with this tournament had to be postponed and will be rescheduled at some point in the future TBD.
– Bart Jacob
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Hajin Lee 4P wins first Mountain View Go Club tourney

Thursday October 25, 2018

The Mountain View (California) Go Club hosted its first tournament on September 29th at the Palo Alto public library. Forty players filled 2018.10.25_MtnViewCa-tournament_fall_2018the available space to compete in three rounds. One factor contributing to the large turnout is the growing go scene in the South SF Bay area, which is home to many tech companies. The Bay Area Go Players Association hosts regular tournaments in San Francisco and Berkeley, but this is the first tournament in the South Bay in several years. For six players, this was their first tournament. Hajin Lee 4P went 3-0 to win her third tournament of the year. Going forward, the MVGC plans to host quarterly tournaments.
– Adam Bender

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AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo; Game 23: LIVE from Washington DC!

Monday October 22, 2018

Game 23 in the AlphaGo self-play game series gets a very special extended treatment in this episode of Michael Redmond 2018.10.22_AlphaGo23-demo-board9P’s commentaries with E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. The episode was recorded live on 2018.10.22_AlphaGo23Friday, September 7 at the National Go Center in Washington DC, before a live audience, which had braved torrential rains to be on hand. Redmond first provides a brief overview of the game and then the two move to a demonstration board (at 18:40) for a more in-depth analysis, along with Q&A with the live audience. Check out the video here and the commented game record below.

Thanks to Jeff Fitzgerald for camera, lighting and sound, Nathan Epstein for production, NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa for technical support, and Andrew Jackson for editing.

[link]

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The Power Report: Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo; Iyama close to goal in Meijin title match, but Cho picks up second win; Honinbo League

Sunday October 21, 2018

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal2018.10.21_Rina L Xie R referee Kataoka Satoshi 9P

Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo: For the fourth year in a row, we have the same pairing in the Women’s Honinbo title match, that is, Xie Yimin v. Fujisawa Rina, but alternating the roles of defender and challenger. Fujisawa first won the title in the 33rd term (2014), when she beat the defending champion Mukai Chiaki 3-0. The following term, Xie, who had already won this title six times (in a row before losing to Mukai), challenged and regained the title with a 3-2 score. In the 35th term, Fujisawa took the title back, winning 3-1, but lost it to Xie 2-3 the next year. So it was no surprise when Fujisawa became the challenger again this year for the 37th term. At present, this is the only title Xie has, so she will be reluctant to hand it over. If Fujisawa wins, she will become a triple title-holder again, as she also has the Hollyhock Cup and the Women’s Meijin. Incidentally, this is the third time that a women’s title match has featured the same card four years in a row; it has not yet happened in open tournaments.
The first game was held at the Kashoen inn in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, on October 10. Taking black, Fujisawa won by resignation after 145 moves. Xie is known for her aggressive style, but in the early middle game she played a move focused more on defending one of her weak groups instead of attacking, and this seems to have made the game tough for her. Later, she played another overly defensive move, letting her opponent occupy the last remaining big point from the opening. Xie staked her chances of pulling off an upset on setting up a center moyo, but Fujisawa was able to whittle it down enough to keep her lead. There is a long gap before the second game, scheduled for November 9. Incidentally, Fujisawa has been on a winning streak since August 30, and this was her ninth successive win.2018.10.21_43meijin4 Iyama R

Iyama close to goal in Meijin title match, but Cho picks up second win: After Cho U scored a good win in the third game of the 43rd Meijin title match, it looked as if the contest was going to heat up. Ishida Yoshio, 24th Honinbo, often comments that the fourth game in a best-of-seven is crucial, as there’s a big difference between 2-2 and 3-1. The all-important fourth game was played at the Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, on October 10 and 11. The first day’s play, which showed strong AI influence in the josekis, was quite promising for Cho, who had black. However, he went wrong on the second day when he made a strategic decision that took territory but gave Iyama too much central moyo potential. The defending champion took the initiative. Cho had to invade Iyama’s moyo, but was unable to live with all of his stones. Iyama cut off what in the end was nearly half of the invading force, and this was enough to win. Cho resigned after 188 moves. That took Iyama’s lead to 3-1, so he is very close to defending his title.
The fifth game at the Tokiwa Hotel in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, on October 15 and 16. Playing white, Cho won by 9.5 points after 284 moves. This keeps his challenge alive, though Iyama still has an edge. The sixth game will be played on October 22 and 23. (I will give more details about the game in my next report.)2018.10.21_Honinbo

Honinbo League: Two games have been played in the new Honinbo League, the 74th. On October 4, league veteran Hane Naoki 9P (W) beat league debutant Anzai Nobuaki 7P by resignation. The second game was played on the 11th, with Yo Seiki (Yu Zhengqi) 7P (W) beating Yamashita Keigo 9P by half a point.

Promotion: To 9-dan: Kim Sujun (200 wins, as of October 12)

 

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