On July 13th, the Evanston Go Club hosted a fundraiser simul event with Albert Yen 8 dan, winner of the 2022 Midwest Open and Chicago Open. Players ranging from 8K to 3d contributed $25 to play a 3-person simul with Yen (at right, in red shirt), who reviewed each game. The proceeds went toward buying more equipment for the upcoming November tournament.
“After organizing the record-shattering Chicago Open, which drew 84 people, we knew it was time to expand,“ said Mark Rubenstein, president of the Evanston Go Club, in Evanston, Illinois. “There has been a huge influx of kyu and dan players in the past year,” said Yen. “I want our club members to have an opportunity to interact with strong players.”
During the regular club meeting, Yen played two 90-minute sessions. “We were thrilled that all six slots were taken very quickly, and we even had to turn people away,” said Rubenstein. “If you wanted to sign up but couldn’t, don’t worry… we plan on having another one in the fall!“
The handy Yapp app that allows Go Congress attendees to see the latest Congress events schedule, post photos and see profiles of other attendees is back. The app – first used at the 2018 Congress in Williamsburg, VA, enables users to see the latest schedule of events like pro simuls as new information is added, and Congress attendees can create their own personal schedule to ensure they get the most out of the event. The Social Feed a great place to share photos, which may be picked up by the EJ Congress team to share on the AGA’s Twitter feed as well as in EJ reports. The attendees section is a great way to introduce yourself to other Congress participants with a pic and a bio about your interests.
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
The E-Journal plans to livestream top boards once again this year at the upcoming U.S. Go Congress — July 30 – August 7 in Estes Park, CO — and is looking for a few dedicated volunteers to record the games. This is a great way to provide an important service to the world go community, as well as to gain valuable experience closely watching top games. Game recorders must have their own laptops and need to be available during the U.S. Open rounds, which generally take place in the morning during the Congress. Email journal@usgo.org if interested and/or need more details. photo: Justin Teng recording at the 2016 U.S. Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock
After a 2-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Japan Go Association and World Pair Go Association have announced The 32nd International Amateur Pair Go Championship (IAPGC). Players from around the world will be invited to participate in a 2-day tournament in Tokyo, Japan from December 10-11, 2022.
Similar to previous years, the two U.S. representatives will be determined at the Pair Go Championship at this year’s in-person Go Congress. To be an eligible pair, both players must have U.S. citizenship and have one year of continuous AGA membership. The highest-ranked four pairs will play in a 2-round tournament to represent the U.S. at the IAPGC. An online sign-up form will be available at the Congress.
“T minus 25 days and counting,” reports 2022 U.S. Go Congress Co-Director Eric Wainwright. Nearly 400 have signed up for the first in-person Go Congress since 2019, set for July 30 through August 7 in the scenic Rocky Mountains in Estes Park, Colorado. In addition to both rated and unrated tournaments, the Congress features 85 sessions with professional go players, including lectures, game analysis, and simuls. “On-site lodging is full,” Wainwright reports, “but we’re seeing a few random cancellations. The waitlist is near empty, so get your name added here.” Some off-day tours are still available, including Rocky Mountain National Park, horseback riding, and town tour.
A pair of precocious 14-year-olds are North America’s newest professional go players.
Kevin Yang and Alexander Qi topped a competitive field at the North American Go Federation’s (NAGF) 2022 Pro Qualification tournament this week. Click here for final standings, game records and links to video commentaries.
Held at the National Go Center in Washington D.C., the pro qualifier featured eleven top North American amateurs facing off in two rounds a day over five grueling days starting last Monday. Yang swept Group A, defeating Eric Yoder, Qiyou Wu, Eric Lee, Yuan Zhou and Val Lewis. Qi was also undefeated in Group B, beating Remi Campagnie, Edward Zhang, Nate Morse and Tyler Oyakawa.
Yang and Qi then faced off in a best-of-three match, splitting the first two games, with Yang winning the third game on Thursday morning to clinch the first pro spot. Qi then took on Eric Yoder for the second pro slot, going 2-0.
American Go Association president Andy Okun congratulated all the players for their “extremely high level of play,” and said that it was a “special pleasure” to award Yang and Qi the 2022 NAGF professional certificates after their impressive performances this week. Okun thanked the NAGF for organizing the qualification tournament, I-Han Lui for directing, and the National Go Center for hosting. The qualification tournament was partly sponsored by the Iwamoto North American Foundation for Go (INAF).
Yang, who hails from California, started playing go when he was nine years old and in addition to his mother, who got him started, credits professional instruction for improving his game. His favorite part of the game, he told the EJ, “is probably the fighting in the middle game. It really gets your adrenaline flowing, you know?” His advice to amateurs who want to improve is “study life and death and don’t get too caught up in AI game analysis” because the AI moves are so high level they can be confusing “until you get up around 6-dan.”
Qi, who’s from New Jersey, started playing go when he was eight years old, learning from his father. He credits studying life and death with helping improve his game, along with reviewing pro games. Although he says he doesn’t have a lot of time for other hobbies, he does enjoy playing table tennis.
Special thanks to all the game recorders at the NGC this week, and to the amazing team at Baduk Club – led by Devin Fraze – who provided the online game commentary for the NAGF Pro Qualification tournament. – report by Chris Garlock NOTE: (7/6) Post updated to reflect INAF’s sponsorship.
Clockwise from top left: Postgame analysis of the final Qi-Yoder game; Rene Campagnie ponders Yoder’s broken ladder magic; postgame analysis of the final Yang-Qi game; Yang (standing in yellow) and Qi at the 2018 Cotsen Open; Yang-Qi final round game; AGA president Andy Okun, TD I-Han Lui, Yang and Qi with their pro certificates and winner’s checks. photos by Chris Garlock except the 2018 Yang-Qi photo by Robert Qi.
