Saturday August 7, 2021
Applications for the 2021-2022 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. Tournaments, leagues, and other go events catered towards youth are hosted throughout the school year by the AGHS.
Please fill out this form to apply.
The application deadline is Sunday, September 5, 2021 at 11:59pm PST.
Friday August 6, 2021
Wondering what to watch as the Olympics wrap up this weekend? We’ve got you covered: tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel at 8p ET Sunday night for Michael Redmond 9Ps live commentary on AlphaGo vs AlphaGo game 51. Plenty of acrobatics, tricky moves, long distances and heavy lifting. That’s 8p ET this Sunday, August 8 on the AGA’s Twitch channel.
Thursday August 5, 2021
The North American Go Federation (NAGF) has finalized the format of the 2021 NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament, which will take place in person at the National Go Center in Washington DC over six days – from August 16 to 21. A total of 10 players will play a preliminary round in two round-robin groups, followed by a best-of-three semi-final round and a concluding best-of-three final. The winner of the tournament will receive the title of NAGF Professional 1 Dan, plus a $2,000 USD prize. The runner-up will receive a $1,000 USD prize.
All players will have 75 minutes main time with 60 seconds/5 times byo-yomi for each game. All games will be broadcast live on KGS by the AGA broadcast team. There will be a live Twitch streaming event on August 21, starting at 10 AM US Eastern Time, details TBA. All players and staff who are eligible and able to receive COVID vaccines are asked to come to the competition fully vaccinated, and everyone will be asked to wear a mask inside the venue. “It’s been a difficult journey preparing for this tournament during the pandemic, but we are thrilled to be certifying a new professional player in this competition,” says NAGF Executive Director Hajin Lee. “For the players who couldn’t attend this year due to various circumstances, we’d like to note that we will continue to organize annual Pro Qualification Tournaments going forward.”
Wednesday August 4, 2021
The EJ broadcast team – which will be bringing you the upcoming 2021 NAGF Pro Qualifier Tournament – still has a few game recorder slots available.
“This tournament will feature some of North America’s top players competing at an extremely high level,” says EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “It’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in top-level games and help bring them to a wider audience.”
Some experience game recording is preferred and recorders must have their own laptops. The tournament runs August 16-21 at the National Go Center in Washington, DC. The rounds are at 9:30 and 2:30 daily, so game recorders must be available during those times (be sure to specify which days/times you’re available).
Email journal@usgo.org if interested.
Wednesday August 4, 2021
Over 500 players took part in the AGA’s second e-Go Congress from July 17-25th across multiple online platforms. This dedicated team of volunteers worked tirelessly to put the e-Go Congress together. We wanted to take a moment to gratefully acknowledge their work. Next year’s Congress is set for July 30– August 7, 2022 in Estes Park, CO; if you’d like to consider being a part of the Congress team, email Lisa Scott or AGA E-Journal if you’re interested in the E-Journal team.
Congress Staff
Congress Director – Steve Colburn
Deputy Director & Pro Facilitator – Stephen Hu
Registrar – Emil Meng
Congress Coordinator – Lisa Scott
Logo Design – Alex Kim
Teachers – Feng Yun 9p, Michael Redmond 9p, Myungwan Kim 9p, Mingjiu Jiang 7p, Yilun Yang 7p, Ryan Li 3p, Eric Lui 2p, Calvin Sun 1p, In-seong Hwang, Julie Burrall, David Kahn, Cat Mai, Milan Mladenovic, Neil Ritter, Sathya Singh, Rognarr Markssen, Gary Watson, Luis Palacios, Brian Kirby, Felipe Herman van Riemsdijk, Alex Smolenski, Charles Hammack
Tournament Directors – Steve Colburn, Dan Ritter, Milan Mladenovic, Devin Fraze, Eric Wainwright, Emil Meng, Solomon Smilack, Jon Boley, Katherine Xie, Kevin Chao, Yixian Zhou, Lionel Zhang, Andrew Zhang
Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest – Terry Benson, Chris Kirschner, Wanda Metcalf, Roy Laird
Silly Go Songs – Terry Benson, Barbara Calhoun, Roy Laird
Picture A Go Player – Samantha Fede
AGF Auction – Solomon Smilack, Terry Benson
Platforms – Online Go Server, KGS, Pandanet, AGA Twitch, AGA YouTube, Zoom, Baduk.Club
Broadcast Team
Executive Producer – Stephen Hu
Line Producer – Eva-Dee Beech, Jared Meadows
Stream Hosts – Keith Arnold, Julie Burrall, Michael Fodera, Devin Fraze, Stephen Hu, Lisa Scott, Sathya Singh
Stream Commentators – Myungwan Kim 9p, Michael Redmond 9p, Kim Seungjun “Blackie” 9p, Yoonyoung Kim 8p, Ryan Li 3p, Eric Lui 2p, Stephanie Yin 1p, Diana Koszegi 1p, Inseong Hwang 8d, Albert Yen 7d, Jeremy Chiu 6d, Professor Daniela Trinks
USGO Congress 2022 – Eric Wainwright, Howard Landman, and Paul Barchilon for
Twitch, Discord, and OGS Chat Moderators – @ejournal, @gobaduk, @polarbear, @sirocco, @vash3g, @xhu98, @lionGuySai, @Goshi
Overlay Design – Stephen Hu
Motion Graphics – Jared Meadows
Music – “Reverence”, Tritonal x Nick Sibicky, Tritonalmusic.com
Broadcast Content Sponsors – AI Sensei (Benjamin Teuber), Guo Juan’s Internet Go School (Guo Juan 5p), New York Institute of Go (Ryan Li 3p and Stephanie Yin 1p), Yunguseng Dojang (Inseong Hwang 8d)
Special Thanks
Sirocco Hamada, American Go Association, American Go Foundation and prize sponsors; North American Professionals, AI Sensei (Benjamin Teuber), Guo Juan’s Internet Go School (Guo Juan 5p), AwesomeBaduk, Go Magic
e-Go Congress Coverage
Twitch broadcast videos
Monday August 2, 2021
After a week of online play between over 500 participants, the results are in! This year’s 2021 e-Go Congress hosted six tournaments, plus the Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest and two new events.
Pandanet AGA City League Tournament and Championship
TD: Steve Colburn
A League Champions: New York City – Ryan Li 3P, Hanchen Zhang 1P, Stephanie Yin 1p; Runner Up: Canwa Vancouver 1 – Henry Yu 2p, Bill Lin 8d, Brady Zhang 7d; 3rd Place: Greater Washington, 4th Place: Toronto, 5th Place: Chicago 1
B League: 1st Place: Boston, 2nd Place: Seattle 1, 3rd Place: Los Angeles, 4th Place: Chicago 2
C League: 1st Place: Seattle 2, 2nd Place: Canwa Vancouver 3, 3rd Place: Washington DC 2
D League: 1st Place: North Corvallis, 2nd Place: New Mexico, 3rd Place: NY City 4
Double Digit Kyu Tournament
TD: Kevin Chao; ATDs: Yixian Zhou
Group 1 (10 kyu) – 1st: gorabbit 10k, 2nd: Emily Hjulstorm 10k, 3rd: Savanni D’Gerinel 10k, 4th: xltra76 10k, 5th: dl123 10k
Group 2 (11-12 kyu) – 1st: Paul Adamski 12k, 2nd: Stefan Weissner 11k, 3rd: Harold Stockton 11k
Group 3 (13-14 kyu) – 1st: Ben Schwartz 13k, 2nd: Mic841 23k, 3rd: tamplee 13k, 4th: Elphiya Khodger 14k
Group 4 (15-18 kyu) – 1st: Junxiong Lin 15k, 2nd: Joevan 15k, 3rd: Abizer Nasir 17k, 4th: Wes Isenhart 18k
Group 5 (19-30 kyu) – 1st: Laurie Ensworth 19k, 2nd: Ji-Xin Cheng 30k, 3rd: kt112 19k, 3th: melodyliu 20k
9 X 9 Tournament
TD: Eric Wainwright; ATDs: Emil Meng, Solomon Smilack
Dan Division: 1st: JtaoOMG 2d, 2nd: Xingke Sun 5d, 3rd: Pengyu Sun 2p
Single-digit Kyu Division: 1st: Hypernova 8k, 2nd: Khang Hoang 2k, 3rd: Luis Palacios 2k
Double-digit Kyu Division: 1st: dl123.2020 10k, 2nd: William Seiyo Shehan 25k, 3rd: JBX2010 10k
Pair Go Tournament
TD: Lionel Zhang; ATD:Andrew Zhang
Table Winners: Seowoo Wang & Eric Lui, Juliaz & Brightstar, Yhe & JtaoOMG, Baileyy & sparkycat, Angelzhou & Yixian Zhou, Vpxie & Khang Hoang, Vivienne Blandy & Mark Fraser, HILT1 & Monstral1, Seagal & Asbayen, Sergey Hodger & Arina7, KoBa & AndyL2011, Mari Oshima & Junxiong Lin
Blitz Tournament
TD: Jon Boley, ATDs: Katherine Xie
Group 1 (5 dan +) – 1st: Xingke Sun 5d, Yhe 5d, 2nd: AlexQi2008 6d, Brightstar 7d, 3rd: GCCongress 5d
Group 2 (1-4 dan) – 1st: JtaoOMG 2d, 2nd: Eyz 2d, Jason 1d, Wirtuoosi 2d, SeanSong 1d
Group 3 (1-3 kyu) – 1st: Al123 1k, 2nd: Sunbunny6 1k, Piotr Millan 3k, 3rd: iGo4Now 1k, Iulian Bogaciev 2k
Group 4 (4-7 kyu) – 1st: Khang Hoang 2k, 2nd: Angelzhao 5k, Tevis Tsai 6k, 3rd: Angelzhao 7k, DashZhang 7k
Group 5 (8 kyu – 30 kyu) – 1st: Xltra76 10k, 2nd: Triberos 11k, 3rd: Aman6a 13k, Dl123 10k
e-Go Congress Open
TD: Dan Ritter, ATDs: Devin Fraze, Milan Mladenovic, Neil Ritter
7 dan+ – 1st: Kbs8438 7d, 2nd: eponymous 7d, 3rd: Henry0202 2p
6 dan – 1st: jamessun 6d, 2nd: Jeremiah Donley 6d, 3rd: Tianyi Chen 6d, Meng Wang 6d
5 dan – 1st: bkCongress 5d, 2nd: Xingke Sun 5d, Toranosuku Ozawa 5d
4 dan – 1st: Jeff Kuang 4d, 2nd: Joel Kenny 4d, 3rd: Hkt008 4d
3 dan – 1st: juliaz 3d, 2nd: Lucman Bounoider 3d, 3rd: Francisco Rodriguez 3d
2 dan – 1st: David Weimer 2d, 2nd: Andrew Swan 2d, 3rd: eyz 2d
1 dan – 1st: Tao Li 1d, 2nd: LiuJason 1d, 3rd: pokeseansong 1d
1 kyu – 1st: ss22 1k, 2nd: Jerty 1k, 3rd: al123 1k
2 kyu – 1st: Khang Hoang 2k, 2nd: Mark Fraser 2k, 3rd: Iulian Bogaciev 2k
3 kyu – 1st: Yeming 3k, 2nd: ericmao 3k, 3rd: Stephen Tanner 3k
4 kyu – 1st: Cadspen 4k, 2nd: Zhihan1 4k, 3rd: tshelix 4k
5 kyu – 1st: Anderson Barreal 5k, 2nd: Marta Miksa 5k, 3rd: David Rohlfing 5k
6 kyu – 1st: AbigailC 6k, 2nd: Tevis Tsai 6k, 3rd: Andy321 6k
7 kyu – 1st: angelzhou 7k, 2nd: KorbloxDex 7k, 3rd: Rostislav Kuksin 7k
8 kyu – 1st: Raghavendra Murty 8k, 2nd: Poppilo5116 8k, 3rd: Anthony Li 8k
9 kyu – 1st: agcKai 9k, 2nd: Richard Newman 9k, 3rd: David Pesa 9k
10 kyu – 1st: go_rabbit 10k, 2nd: JBX2010 10k, 3rd: chenruij 10k, ct112 10k
11k-12k – 1st: Stefan Weissner 11k, 2nd: quantumjo 11k, 3rd: springleaf 12k
13k-14k – 1st: Ben Schwartz 13k, 2nd: Alicia Selfrid 13k, 3rd: TheNopenator 14k
15k-19k – 1st: Junxiong Lin 15k, 2nd: Lee Edwards 15k, 3rd: Francisco Riberio 15k, Laurie Ensworth 19k
20k-30k – 1st: Roland Bijvank 20k, 2nd: Brandon Sallot 20k, 3rd: melodyl112 20K
Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest
Organizers: Terry Benson
Judges: Terry Benson, Wanda Metcalf, Barbara Calhoun, Roy Laird
Best Song: Invasion Man by Freeman Ng
Picture A Go Player
Organizer: Samantha Fede
T-Shirt Winner: Jiayang Wei
Adult Winner: Brian Kirby
Youth Winner: Tianning Li
Leon Chen’s Tsumeogo Challenge
Organizer: Stephen Hu & Leon Chen
Winners: Rong Qi Chen, Yiduo He, Satoru Inoue, Brain Kirby, Stephanie Tan, Colin Williams (lackita), Albert Yen, Eric Yoder, Qingbo Zhang, Andy Zhou
Sunday August 1, 2021
Yoonyoung Kim 8P won her two opening games against Sujang Kim 7P and Yoo Changhyuk 9P on July 26 and 27 at the 15th Gigi Auction Cup veteran-women Go Challenge in Seoul, Korea. Each team, a women’s team and a veterans team – with players all 45 years old or above – has 12 players and sends out one competitor at a time. All games are live on BadukTV and can be found on their YouTube channel. On Monday morning, August 2nd, Kim 8P will take on Lee SungJae 9P hoping for a three-win streak, which will mean an additional prize. The winning team prize is $100,000 (120 million won). Since 2007, the women’s team has won eight times (the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th) and the veterans team has won six times.
-photos from BadukTV
-report by Capital Go Club
