On right: Alex Qi 1P (L) faces off against Eric Lui 2P (R) as rising star Richard Duan 2D (C) watches
Tied up with 3-1 records, Eric Lui 2P and Alex Qi 1P shared first place at the National Go Center’s Back To School Tournament this past Saturday, September 24th. With 27 participants, the tournament featured a “plethora of exciting games” and gave players an opportunity to watch professional players in action. “It was great to see two of our North American professionals competing in one of our local tournaments,” said TD Gurujeet Khalsa.
Other notable appearances included rising local go star Richard Duan 2D (pictured above at right watching a game between Eric and Alex), and Mark Fraser 7K from Albuquerque who can be seen above left playing six-year-old Winston Yan 7K. “Winston is another young up-and-comer destined for the Dan ranks,” Khalsa noted.
The tournament kicked off the previous evening with the return of the popular Pair Go/Paella night. Chris Garlock made his famous paella and 16 players socialized and competed at four tables. The top board winners were James Pinkerton 5D and Larry Kaufman 2D.
Three-game winners at the Back To School Tournament on Saturday were Eric Liu (2P), Alex Qi (1P), Richard Duan (2D), Jake Vikoren (1D), Lee Hyungwook (5K), Mark Fraser (7K) and Ashley Qi (11K).
