Yilun Yang 7P is one of the most popular go teachers in the U.S. His popular original tsumego problems are a regular feature of the EJ’s Member’s Edition; join the AGA now (or renew your membership) and receive the daily or weekly American Go E-Journal Member’s Edition with members-only extras such as game files and professional commentaries. Plus: participate in local and national tournaments, the national rating system, the annual US Go Congress – the largest go event in North America – at member rates. You can reach Mr. Yang at yly_go@yahoo.com. Look for the 2022 solution next week. Happy New Year!
American Go E-Journal » 2021 » December
50 Years aGO – December 1971
Friday December 31, 2021
By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

European amateur Manfred Wimmer played taisha expert Yamabe Toshirō 9d in a three stone game. Wimmer, studying go in Japan, played quite creditably, in a game featured in Go Review, losing by three points.
On December 16, Sakata Eio defeated Rin Kaihō for the right to challenge Hashimoto Utarō for the Jūdan title. (Game record attached here.)
Ōhira Shūzō began his bid to regain the Nihon Ki’in Championship from title holder Ishida Yoshio. Ishida won the first game on December 21st, but Ōhira evened the series on December 27. (Game records: Game 1, Game 2.)

Finally in this holiday season while many are out purchasing presents and facing a bit of inflation, we thought we would feature the prices of yesteryear, as stated in a Go Review ad. For those of you with a nice real kaya table board, slate and shell stones and cherry bowls on your wish list, the price was a “hefty” $110, shipping included. Happy Holidays!
Photos courtesy of Go Review, game records from SmartGo
Registration Open for AGHS Weekly Go Problems – Winter Season 2021
Thursday December 23, 2021

“Are you looking for an opportunity to sharpen your Go skills? Why not give the AGHS weekly go problems a try!” says AGHS Secretary Henry Chen, “We will be posting a short Google form every week with life and death problems of varying difficulty starting January 3rd, 2022. You may earn points by submitting your answers to each week’s questions through our Google form. We will keep track of everyone’s points on a leaderboard and prizes will be distributed based on final standings.”
If you have any questions, feel free to email aghsregister@gmail.com.
To register, fill out this Google form by January 2, 2022 11:59 PT
Image credit: Tina Li, AGHS Promotion Head

Go students get lessons on another battlefield
Thursday December 23, 2021
If a battlefield seems like an appropriate place to play go, the students from the Atlanta Contemporary Chinese Academy and Ruby Bridge Chinese Academy were certainly in the right place on December 19, when teacher Feijun (Frank) Luo 7d gathered them at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

Despite what Luo described as “a ruthless cold wind,” the intrepid students played go in the park’s Visitor Center’s pavilion and seemed energized rather than intimidated by the chilly weather, as they focused on midgame battles fueled by “a great variety of foods.”
After their games, the students went on to hike Kennesaw Mountain. According to the National Park Service, “the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was some of the heaviest fighting throughout the entire Atlanta Campaign…The strategy and tactics used there…led to the final outcome of the Civil War.” The go students supported each other during their hike to the summit, where Luo congratulated them as “fearless” students for turning out to play go and to hike the mountain in the chilly weather and encouraged them to stay physically and mentally active during the pandemic.
The students are Leo Huang, Ryan Huang, Melody Lian, Tegan Lian, Patrick Lv, Gavin Situ, Austin Situ, Amy Tierolf, Andrea Wang, Israel Wang, Lucas Wang, Orianna Wang, Jiayue Wu, Aaron Xie, Jiaming Zou, and Jiayi Zou.
photos courtesy Feijun (Frank) Luo
Wanted: Go images for Seattle Go Center
Monday December 20, 2021

What’s your favorite image of go? The Seattle Go Center is looking to print some posters for the large windows downstairs and is open to community suggestions. Perhaps you have a favorite game, or you’ve seen an interesting problem somewhere, or maybe a go-related piece of art? What about an interesting board position such as the rare hanezeki or “moonshine life”? Even comics or memes are welcome.
If you have something you’d like to share, email derek@seattlego.org with “poster” in the subject line.
– report by Derek McGuire
Gotham Go to hold tournament January 22nd
Monday December 20, 2021

The Gotham Go Group is sponsoring a 4-round AGA-rated tournament in Flushing, New York on Saturday January 22nd, 2022. “Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, this will be a VACCINATED ONLY event with masks optional,” says organizer Peter Armenia. “You MUST show proof of vaccination to enter and play. Space is limited to 90 players so register early.”
There will be cash prizes in all sections and an open section for strong dan-level players. AGA membership is required to register and play; to join or renew your membership click here. To register for the tournament and pay the $35 application fee, click here. Full refunds are available should you need to cancel. To see who’s already registered, click here.
Joel Kenny (4D) is the Tournament Director; Assistant TD is Jino (Steven) Choung (1k).
Go Spotting: Blade Runner: Black Lotus
Wednesday December 15, 2021
Two weeks left to register for the Pandanet AGA City League
Monday December 13, 2021

The final weeks are upon you to register your team for this year’s Pandanet AGA City League. This year’s players look to be stronger than previous years. Play against the most ambitious players in the continent for bragging rights for your area. Are your local players as strong as those from New York City, Boston, Seattle, or North Corvallis? Check out the updated rules and register for this years event. Teams will be contacted this week with updates. Registration closes December 23rd. Register soon!
43rd Australian Championship Concludes
Saturday December 11, 2021
The 43rd Australian Championship, which was also the 6th Australian Digital Tournament, came to a close on December 9. The tournament consisted of seven rounds played across seven week-long sessions.
The overall winner—and 2021 Australian Open Champion—was Daniel Li 6d of Sydney. After defeating Chahine Koleejan in the final round, Daniel won the Championship with a clean sweep of seven victories.
Laris Du Qing 6d of Sydney placed second in the open division, losing only to Daniel Li.
Steven Cheng 5d of the Gold Coast Go Club placed third in the open division, having lost only to Daniel and Laris.
The handicap division was divided into two sections, consisting of the strongest 24 players in the upper handicap division (2d to 7k), and 15 players in the lower handicap division (7k to 15k). The upper handicap division started with an extra point to their score. (In a McMahon draw, though, it is possible for an upper division player to face a skilled lower division player.)
The 2021 Australian Handicap Champion is Peter Simpson 1k of the Perth Go Club, beaten only by Brendan Hennessy 2k out of the Gore Street Irregulars in Melbourne. (“The only Australian club I know of that meets in a pub,” noted Horatio Davis. “Must be something in the beer.”)
Patrick Liang 1k of the Melbourne Go Club placed second in the upper handicap division, also taken down only by Brendan.
And the aforementioned Brendan Hennessy 2k of Melbourne placed third in the upper handicap division.
Victor Phan 9k of Australia won the lower handicap division. Sorn Nawapanich 12k of Melbourne placed second, and Christopher Riding 8k of “just write down New Zealand” placed third.
The full tournament results can be found here.
“With luck, next year’s Australian Championship will be an old-fashioned physical tournament somewhere on the east coast (I think Canberra’s turn?),” said organizer Horatio Davis, General Secretary of the Queensland Go Society. “Whether or not that works out, there will definitely be another Australian Digital, just like this one, and a New Zealand Digital.”
-based on a report by Horatio Davis, editing by Hailey Renner
Redmond on Shin Minjun’s masterpiece: Live commentary Sunday night
Saturday December 11, 2021

Rounds 5-9 of the 23rd Nongshim Cup were played November 26-30. The Nongshim is a team tournament with teams of five players each for China, Japan, and Korea. Iyama Yuta 9P showed up early to play as Japan’s third player after Shibano Toramaru 9p and Kyo Kagen 9P had been eliminated. Michael Redmond 9P will do a live commentary on Iyama’s 9th-round game against Korea’s Shin Minjun 9P on his YouTube channel on Sunday, December 12 at 7p EST.
“After a well-researched opening, Shin Minjun reduced Iyama’s moyo with a brilliant sequence that will be one of the main focuses of my commentary,” says Redmond. “The game ended in a spectacular fight in which a big dragon died.” – Chris Garlock