If you’ve been following Michael Redmond’s videos on his YouTube channel, you’ll know that in his commentaries on the 3-3 invasion “there’s one variation I’ve avoided because it’s so complicated.” In today’s commentary on AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo Game 52 with EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock (which originally aired live on September 5), he explores that variation in detail, along with his usual insightful and deeply-researched insights into the rest of the game. “Always great to see a new AlphaGo review pop up in my YouTube feed, when I missed the Twitch stream,” says Rory Mitchell. Speaking of which, in case you missed it, AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo Game 51 — which aired live on August 8 — was posted August 20, and features “Tesujis, Semiaias, Forever Kos and Fuzzy Sekis,” according to Damon Skinner. “This game is even more complicated and deep than we imagined.” Mark your calendar now for the next live Redmond game commentary, set for Sunday, October 10, 7p ET on the AGA Twitch channel.
Applications for the 2021-2022 American Go Honor Society (AGHS) officer team are closing soon. 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.
The North Carolina State Go Championship Tournament will be a two day event September 25 and 26, 2021, at Umstead State Park in north Raleigh. The State Go Champion must be an amateur Go player who has resided in North Carolina at least 50% of the past year. Students meeting these criteria are eligible. The tournament will be held at shelter #2 at the Reedy Creek entrance to the park.
Preregistration will be required to be paired in the first round. To play in the first round you must register before 6:00pm EDT Friday, September 24th. Register online and read more details on the website. Jeff Kuang will be the Tournament Director for the six round tournament, with three games on Saturday and three games on Sunday. Players will have one hour main time, with five byo-yomi periods of 30 seconds each. This is an AGA rated tournament. Players should be sure they have a current AGA membership or renew their membership before the tournament begins at usgo.org.
Entry fees will be $25 for adults and $15 for youths and students. Players may register for a single day of play only for a reduced tournament fee of $15 for adults and $10 for youths and students. There will be generous cash prizes and trophies in all sections. Participants must attend both days to be eligible for prizes.
Since this is an open-air tournament, COVID risks are reduced. Organizers will provide masks and hand sanitizer and players are encouraged to use them. Players older than 12 years old must be vaccinated to participate. Lunch will be provided onsite on Saturday and Sunday, courtesy of the Triangle Go Group and the AGA. Players can join the group and enjoy easy communication with other area Go players at the Triangle Go Group Facebook page.
Kevin Yang 6d went undefeated to win the San Diego Go Club Matsuokai/Sakakibara Go Tournament held at the San Diego Chess Club in Balboa Park on Sunday. Kevin beat his brother Tony Yang 5d – who finished tied for 2nd – in the final round of a strong Open Section to claim the championship. Adam Miller 3d, who flew in from Palo Alto, was the other second place finisher in the Open. A total of 42-players contested for the title in the first open in-person go tournament in Southern California in over a year.
Following Covid-19 protocols, all adults had to be vaccinated and everyone wore masks in the playing room. Many games were played one per table, and several players opted to play outdoors on the picnic tables. Bottles of hand sanitizer were available on every game table.
Two professional players were in attendance to watch their students play: Hai Li, a Chinese 5P, who has Go schools in Irvine and San Diego, and Han Han, also a Chinese 5P, newly arrived and living in Temecula, CA. “It was great to note that almost half of the players were youth and half of those were girls,” reports San Diego Go Club president Ted Terpstra. ‘Many of these young players were playing in their first AGA rated tournament and have now been added to the memberships of the AGA and SDGC.”
Winners in the Handicap Sections:
Division 1: 2-dan to 4-kyu 1st Place – Pasco Kwok 2d 2nd Place – Lester C Lanphear 1k 3rd Place – Enrique Garcia 3k
Division 2: 5-kyu to 9-kyu 1st Place – Angel Shunying Zhou 5k 2nd Place – Angelina Zhao 5k 3rd Place – Warren T Andrews 6k
Division 3: 10-kyu to 24-kyu 1st Place – Zoe Tan 15k 2nd Place – Lucia Moscola 10k 3rd Place – David Saponara 17k
Southern California Go tournaments coming up: The Dapu Cup North America Go Open: Sunday, October 17, 2021 in Temecula 4th Annual California Go Championship: November 27&28, 2021, San Diego
-report and photos by Ted Terpstra
Socially distanced San Diego Chess Club Go competition
Awards ceremony, left to right: Tony Yang 2nd place, Ted Terpstra SDGC president, Kevin Yang 1st place, Henry You SDGC vice-president
The Iwamoto North American Foundation (INAF) is pleased to sponsor two more lectures produced by the Nihon Kiin. The first, “the Art of Sacrificing Stones,” is a dan-level lecture in English by Michael Redmond 9P based on a game between the greatest master of the Edo period, Honinbo Dosaku (本因坊道策), and the multi-talented genius Yasui Santetsu (安井算哲). The second, “Useful Techniques for Capturing Race” by Tsuruyama Atsushi 8-dan, is a kyu-level lecture given in Japanese with English subtitles.
Part Two of Feng Yun’s multipart analysis of the Chinese Opening. This is her first series as a new contributor to the AGA E-Journal.
Feng Yun 9p is one of the very few women 9p players in the world and is the only one who is a US resident. She runs a highly regarded go school in the USA, and teaches online: including private lessons, classes, and summer workshops. Her school can be found online here.
Feng Yun 9P on the Chinese Opening (Part Two)
Wednesday September 1, 2021
Part Two of Feng Yun’s multipart analysis of the Chinese Opening. This is her first series as a new contributor to the AGA E-Journal.
Feng Yun 9p is one of the very few women 9p players in the world and is the only one who is a US resident. She runs a highly regarded go school in the USA, and teaches online: including private lessons, classes, and summer workshops. Her school can be found online here.
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