New equipment, new openings; go vendors Kiseido Publishing and SmartGo continue their support of the game this summer with fresh products, sales and new upgrades to their services.
For those looking to upgrade their go equipment, Kiseido is offering deals on high-quality kaya table boards, shell and slate stones and some rare mulberry bowls. Kaya table boards are available at a 25% discount on already reduced prices, free shipping included. Sets of shell and slate stones are 10% off, again with free shipping, and a wide range of thicknesses—from 7.5mm to 11.3mm—is available. A special offer is two pairs of rare mulberry bowls made from Mikura Island mulberry trees by master Tagami Sukeshiro. Click here for complete details.
Kiseido is also offering two new books from Shibano Toramaru 9d, which it says “are perhaps the most important books on the opening since Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru introduced their ‘New Fuseki’ theory in the 1930s.” “Fuseki Revolution: How AI Has Changed Go” and “Joseki Revolution: Overthrowing Conventional Wisdom” both offer detailed insights into how go has evolved since the emergence of AlphaGo in 2016, examining AI’s influence on fuseki and joseki.
SmartGo’s SmartGo One app has added a handy new feature called Tournament Mode. When selected during tournament play for recording a game, Tournament Mode disables all AI functions and joseki matching. The mode is clearly indicated to both your opponent and tournament officials through onscreen icons, allowing easy game recording without the risk of computer-aided interference. “Looking forward to using it myself at the US Go Congress,” says SmartGo’s Anders Kierulf (read more here). SmartGo pro tip: When you replay a game on the iPhone, you can zoom in to make the board bigger. As play moves to different areas of the board, SmartGo automatically keeps the current move visible.
– Hailey Renner
