Monday September 30, 2019
Last week’s elimination qualifier resulted in a win for Stephanie Yin 1P (at right), who will travel to Suzhou, China and compete in the 10th Suzhou Qionglong Mountain Bingsheng Cup from October 29 to November 4. National Tournaments Coordinator Jeff Shaevel reports that Yin won both games, first defeating Wan Chen 3d, then Yinli Wang 5d in the final round. “Congratulations to Stephanie, and best of luck!”
-photo by Karoline Li
Monday September 30, 2019
“The Oregon State Go Championship was played on September 21 and 22 at the beautiful Portland Japanese Garden,” writes tournament director Roy Schmidt. “Due to space limitations, the field was limited to 28 players. Top honors in the Open section went to Steve Stringfellow 4d, of Tacoma, Washington, with a perfect 5-0 score. The highest finishing Oregon resident, and thus the new State Champion, was Robert Tirak 5d, with a score of 4-1, losing only to Stringfellow by half a point.
“In the Handicap section, first place was claimed by Tyler Moore, 4k, (5-0) from the Bay area, CA. Second place was a tie at 4-1 between Andrew Zhang 1k and Stewart Towle 7k.
Garden visitors were guided through an observation area, where they could watch the games in progress.
Peter Freedman adds, “Doug Cable and I spent Saturday and Sunday teaching people to play Go in the Japanese Garden. The place was packed on sunny Saturday, but not so much on rainy Sunday. Still, we must have taught 50 people how to play, and probably 20 got to hear my talk on Go history and its cultural relevance to Japan.”
– photos by Neal Wright
– edited by Nate Eagle
Friday September 27, 2019
Cash prizes will be available for all sections of the NYGA new monthly tournament series, beginning Saturday October 12. Each tournament will be four rounds played in a single day, with light snacks provided and a several hundred dollar total prize pool based on registration. All tournaments will be located at the New York Institute of Go founded by Stephanie Yin 1P, who is excited about the start of a regular tournament series. “It’s a great opportunity to practice and learn Go on a regular basis, network with other go players and have fun!” Click here for all the details and to register. Confirmed tournament dates for the remainder of the year are October 12, November 9, December 14.
Friday September 27, 2019
A strong field is shaping up to compete for the Virginia State Championship at this year’s Washington Go Festival Saturday 9/28. On top of strong returning players, “we have over a dozen new players registered!” reports organizer Edward Zhang. Volunteer spots are still open for the event, including a liaison with Fairfax County TV, who will be shooting at the festival. Other positions include a TD for the AI-assisted tournament, assistant TD for the Virginia Open, an emcee for the awards ceremony, and volunteers to help take down at the end of the day. Send an email to agatd1@gmail.com if you’re interested in helping out. All players are encouraged to come and compete, and Virginia residents have the chance to compete for the Virginia State, Women’s, and Youth championship!
Thursday September 26, 2019
The E-Journal is looking for game recorders to cover top-board games at next month’s Cotsen Open. “This is a great opportunity to learn from some our top players and to be part of the team broadcasting the Open,” said Managing Editor Chris Garlock. The Cotsen will be held October 26-27 in Los Angeles. Applicants must have their own laptops; some recording experience is helpful but not necessary. Preference will be given those available for one or both days, but those available for just one round will be considered as well. Game recorders receive official credit in the game record and online recognition, as well as an EJ cap and $25 per game. Please email journal@usgo.org.
photo: game recorder Dave Weimer in action at the 2019 US Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock
Friday September 20, 2019
Applications for the 2019-2020 American Go Honor Society (AGHS) officer team are now open! The American Go Honor Society is an organization driven primarily by high school students to promote go among young players throughout America, hosting tournaments, leagues, and other go events throughout the school year. To apply, please fill out the form here; the application is due 10-5 at 11:59pm PDT.
Friday September 20, 2019
Registration is still open for the 8th Virginia Open/1st Virginia State Championship Qualifier on September 28th. Residency in Virginia is required to qualify to be Virginia State Champion, but all are welcome to participate in the Virginia Open (AGA membership required). The field for the open division is shaping up to be strong with numerous 5 dan-7 dan players, including Maryland-based AGA pro Eric Lui 1p. Registration for the other side events happening concurrently as part of the Washington Go Festival are still open as well. Fairfax County Cable TV will also be providing media coverage of the event as part of a TV program on Chinese culture. “We are excited to crown our first Virginia State Go Champion, Virginia Youth Go Champion, and Virginia Women’s Go Champion and encourage all Go enthusiasts to join us! All registered AGA members will receive a free Go book courtesy of Hinoki Press,” reports event organizer Edward Zhang.
Wednesday September 18, 2019
The San Diego Go Club kicked off its fall program of professional go lectures and tournaments with a presentation by Chinese pro Hai Li 5P in Balboa Park. It was the first in a monthly series of eight go lectures by Yilun Yang 7P and Hai Li 5P. Each pro will give four lectures – one per lecturer per month. The lectures are free to all and sponsored by the American Go Foundation and the San Diego Go Club.
The SDGC will also sponsor two free tournaments the morning of Sunday, September 29: a 13×13 youth tournament and a 19×19 tournament for everyone else. AGA membership is required to play in both. At 2:00 p.m. the same day Yilun Yang will give his first lecture of the fall. Free pizza will be served at 1:15 p.m., between the tournaments and the lecture.
All of the above events will be located at the San Diego Chess Club in Balboa Park. More information and registration can be found at
https://www.goclubs.org.
-report and photos by Ted Terpstra
Monday September 16, 2019
Fresh from his win at the top section of the US Open in Madison WI, Frederick Bao 5d (on the right) went 4-0 to win the 5d-6d section in an overall field of 34. Second place went to Justin Teng 6d (on the left) with a 3-1 record.
Other three and four game winners were: Fengqi (David) Wen 1k 4-0, Sarah Crites 4k 3-1, Kurt Guynn 6k 3-1, John Gipson 6k 3-1, Ian LeBlanc 7k 4-0, and Tonya Perez-Lopez 17k 3-1. All winners received NGC t-shirts. Upcoming events at the NGC include a return of Pair Go/Paella night on 9/27, and the popular Pumpkin Classic Tournament on 10/26.
–report and photo by Gurujeet Khalsa
Monday September 16, 2019
The 10th Suzhou Qionglong Mountain Bingsheng Cup, a women’s weiqi tournament, is seeking a representative from North America. The tournament will be held October 29th through Novermber 4th in Suzhou, China. Interested professional and amateur (4D+) women residing in North America are asked to please e-mail tournaments@usgo.org no later than Friday, September 20th so that we may run a preliminary tournament among the interested players.