American Go E-Journal » 2022 » October

Seattle Go Center celebrates 27 years

Monday October 31, 2022

The Seattle Go Center celebrated its’ 27th anniversary on (date), the Center’s first big event since before COVID hit. “While our members are still returning to our usual open times for face-to-face play, we’ve been having our regular monthly ratings tournaments and finally hosted one of our annual big events,” reports Bill Chiles. “We had a good turnout for both, lots of fun with folks hanging out until 11pm, but the crowd was smaller than pre-COVID.” The event included a handicap tournament and a strong player Open. “We are working on more regular events, such as state championship, Pair Go, and our usual winter and spring tournaments,” adds Chiles.
photos: Intense final open round analysis, set up for the party. 

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Victors claim unusual prizes at Bodhi Tree Tournament

Monday October 31, 2022

Jared Nishikawa’s prize for winning the Bodhi Tree Tournament is going to require more care than the usual trophy. Nishikawa took home a Fukien Bonsai tree after sweeping the October 22 Bodhi Tree Tournament dan section in Lakewood, CO. Kyu section winner Matt Murray’s prize was a rare set of suwabute clamshell stones donated by Baduk.Club; Murray was also 4-0. “The Buddhist Association of Colorado hosted us,” reports Jordan Hagen. “Yintong especially was very welcoming. We hope to continue doing go tournaments here in Colorado, as more players become interested we’ll be able to offer better prizes and more interesting tournaments.”

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Jeremy Chiu 7D tops SF tourney

Monday October 31, 2022

Jeremy Chiu 7D topped the San Francisco Go Club October Tournament, held on Saturday, October 22. Attendees competed over three rounds for cash prizes and certificates. Lunch from Andersen Bakery was included with admission. First-time tournament participants were given prizes and a random participant won a new set of tournament-grade go stones. Tournament results were as follows:

Division 1: 1. Jeremy Chiu 7D; 2. Jonathan Ketner 1D; 3. Amy Guo 6D
Division 2: 1. Evan Shi; 2. Casey Dahlin; 3. Benjamin Lam
Division 3: 1. Shuoyuan He; 2. Gavriel Hirsch; 3. Kyle Lam

Matthew Barcus, President

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Registration Open for 2022 World Collegiate Weiqi Invitational Tournament Match between US and China

Sunday October 30, 2022

The Ing Foundation is organizing the 2022 World Collegiate Weiqi Invitational Tournament with a new format consisting of 8 versus 8 matches between teams across the world. The first match will be between the US and China on November 26, 2022. Games will be played online from the New York Institute of Go (NYIG) in Manhattan, NY with each player playing two games against the opposing team. The winner of each game will receive a $50 cash prize, and the winning team of each match will receive a $200 bonus prize. Players can additionally apply for up to $200 in travel reimbursements to travel to NYIG for the event. Players on the US team must be a current student at a US university. After the matches against the China team, there will be a friendly match with young New York players. If you are interested in playing, please contact Stephanie Yin at president@ny-go.org for more details.

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AGA City League Registration opens for the 11th year

Thursday October 27, 2022

Welcome to the opening of the 11th season of the Pandanet AGA City League. We are looking again for the most competitive cities and players to compete in this long running tournament. Join the more than 30 teams looking to be the best around. Read through the rules on the Pandanet League site to learn of the new qualifications. The new registration system will help walk you through signing up and accept new rules and policies. If there are any questions contact the TD for more information.

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The Power Report: Most wins; Most successive wins; Winning streaks recently ended; Promotion; Quasi-professionals; Retirement

Wednesday October 26, 2022


By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Most wins

The top four players in this list are all women, which is probably a first.

1. Ueno Asami, Women’s Hollyhock: 39-15; Nakamura Sumire 2-dan: 39-18
3. Fujisawa Rina, Women’s Honinbo: 37-14
4. Nyu Eiko, Senko Cup: 36-16
5. Ichiriki Ryo Kisei: 34-20
6. Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan: 32-9
7. Otake Yu 7-dan: 31-9
8. Ida Atsushi 9-dan: 30-14; Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan: 30-19
10. Hirata Tomoya 7-dan: 29-6

Most successive wins
8: Rin Kanketsu 8-dan, Motoki Katsuya 8-dan, Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan
6: Akiyama Jiro 9-dan, Shida Tatsuya 8-dan, Sakai Yuki 3-dan
5: Yamashita Keigo 9-dan, Cho U 9-dan, Kono Rin 9-dan, Kono Takashi 8-dan, Muramatsu Hiroki 6-dan, Konishi Yoshiakira 1-dan

Winning streaks recently ended
10: Hane Yasumasa 9-dan
9: Kato Yuki, Nakamura Sumire 
8: Nyu Eiko
7: Ueno Risa 2-dan
6: Shibano Toramaru 9-dan, Mizokami Tomochika 9-dan
5: Yamashiro Hiroshi 9-dan, Sotoyanagi Sebun 4-dan, Kono Mitsuki 8-dan

Promotion
To 8-dan: Anzai Nobuaki (150 wins, as of Sept. 27)

Quasi-professionals

The Nihon Ki-in has long had a system of “quasi-professionals.” Players who failed to qualify as professionals by the age deadline are able to become professional teachers, though they cannot play in tournaments. They have also played a part in go history. They do not play in a promotion tournament, but are periodically granted promotions. In recognition of their long years of service, the four quasi-professionals registered at the Nihon Ki-in were each promoted a rank on August 30 (the decision was made by the board of directors). Details follow. To 5-dan: Sumino Sachiyo (age 99). To 4-dan: Kawamura Noriko (turned 77 on Oct. 17); Kobayashi Takayuki (age 66); Mizuno Yoshika (also 66). Ms. Sumino was a disciple of Kubomatsu Katsukiyo 8-dan; she was married to the late Sumino Tsunehiro 9-dan, a member, like her, of the Kansai branch of the Nihon Ki-in; the late Kubouchi Shuchi 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in was her elder brother. Kobayashi is the second of the four go-playing siblings Chizu 6-dan, Kenji 7-dan, and Satoru 9-dan. The last-mentioned has won the Kisei title and is at present chairman of the board of directors of the Nihon Ki-in. 

Retirement

Koyama Hideo 5-dan retired as of September 28. Born on February 26, 1951, in Tokyo, Koyama became a disciple of Kitani Minoru. He became 1-dan in 1974 and reached 5-dan in 1989. After his retirement, he was promoted to 6-dan. 

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Registration opens for SDGC Thanksgiving Tournament

Tuesday October 25, 2022

2021 King Cup winners pose with their trophies and plaques

The San Diego Go Club has opened registration for the 2022 King Cup – California State Go Championship, scheduled for November 26-27.

“Registration is off to a strong start”, reports organizer Ted Terpstra, “Eighteen go players, including three 6 dans, have already registered in the first week.”

Entry fee is $20 for adults (and youth playing in the Open section) and $10 for youth. Unrated beginners (above 20 kyu) will have their entry fee waived; pre-registration for Round 1 closes on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th at 11:59 pm PST, but same-day in-person registration is available for rounds 2-5. American Go Association membership is necessary for all players. The tournament will be held at the San Diego Chess Club in Balboa Park, CA.

2021 King Cup prizes on display

The tournament will be composed of five rounds, with 45 minutes/player main time and a byo-yomi of five 30-second periods. Masks are recommended for players and spectators. There will be tables outside for anyone wishing to play outdoors. Check-in will occur on both days from 9-9:30 am with Saturday’s three rounds scheduled for 10 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Sunday’s two rounds will be at 10 am and 1 pm with the tournament’s award ceremony at 4 pm. All participants will receive a complimentary book from Yutopian Press.

The Open winner of the King Cup will receive at least $400 out of a cash pool of over $1,000. Her/his name will also be engraved on the permanent state championship plaque next to past winners Kevin Yang (2021), Bo Luan (2020), Evan Lin (2019), and Calvin Sun (2018).  Go professionals are ineligible to win the King Cup although they are allowed to play in the Open.

This will be the fifth annual California state go championship hosted by the San Diego Go Club and the second King Cup sponsored by the Bi family. The 2021 King Cup drew a total of over 70 players in four different sections with ratings from 7-dan to 25-kyu.

“All indications are that this will be the largest go tournament SDGC has hosted except for the 2017 U.S. Go Congress in San Diego”, said Terpstra. “Competition for the King Cup this year should be fierce with several new go arrivals at UCSD playing in the Open section. The San Diego Go Club also welcomed several new players who will populate the beginner’s section.”

Registration, membership checking, pairings, tie-breaking, and posting of tournament results to the AGA will all be done by GoClubs.org. “Hats off to the developers of this software,” added Terpstra, “and thank you to our sponsors at Rubio’s Coastal Grill, State Farm Insurance, and Yellow Mountain Imports”.

For more info/details, email Ted.Terpstra@gmail.com

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The Power Report: New Honinbo League starts; Ueno doing well in 1st Hoban Cup; Sumire promoted to 3-dan; Sumire’s progress

Tuesday October 25, 2022


By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

New Honinbo League starts

Top left: Choi Jeong at the Hoban Cup; top right: Li He of China; bottom right: Ueno wins; bottom left: Ueno being checked for electronic devices.

The first game in the 78th Honinbo League was played on October 3. Yo Seiki (W) 8-dan beat league newcomer Fujita Akihiko 7-dan by 3.5 points.

Ueno doing well in 1st Hoban Cup

The Hoban Cup Seoul Newspaper World’s Women’s Baduk Championship is a new international tournament for female teams. Its main sponsors are the Hoban Construction company and the Seoul Newspaper and it is organized by the Korean Baduk Association. First prize is 100,000,000 won (about $69,400 at $1 = 1440.8 won).

The second round was held on the net in mid-October. China dominated the first round, with Wu Yiming earning a promotion to 4-dan by winning five games in a row. After that, China and Japan each won a game. (See my report of June 22.) In the second round, Li He of China won two games in a row, then Ueno Asami of Japan won three in a row. However, China still has two players left.

Results to date:

Game 8 (Oct. 15). Li He 5-dan (China) (B) beat Fujisawa Rina 5-dan by resig. (193 moves).

Game 9 (Oct. 16) Li (W) beat Oh Yujin 9-dan (Korea) by resig. (166 moves).

Game 10 (Oct. 17). Ueno Asami 4-dan (Japan) (B) beat Li by resig. (183 moves).

Game 11 (Oct. 18). Ueno beat Choi Jeong 9-dan (Korea) by resig. (Korea was eliminated).

Game 12 (Oct. 19). Ueno (W) beat Lu Minquan 6-dan (China) by resig. (266 moves).

Sumire promoted to 3-dan

A win in the Teikei Young Stars tournament over Takei Taishin (see next item) on October 13, earned Sumire promotion to 3-dan. It was her 40th win in a game that counts toward promotion. At this stage, her career record was 120 wins to 60 losses, a statistic of interest for two reasons. One is that Sumire has a winning record of exactly two thirds, which is quite respectable. The other is that it shows that 50 of her wins (women’s tournaments, unofficial tournaments, etc.) don’t count for promotion. 

Moving on to new records: at 13 years seven months, Sumire is the second youngest 3-dan at the Nihon Ki-in, the record being held by Cho Chikun, at 13 years four months. However, she makes a big dent in the previous record for youngest female 3-dan, which was 16 years four months, set by Xie Yimin.

Sumire’s progress

The two wins in the TK Young Stars tournament listed below not only earned Sumire a promotion but also secured her a share of the lead in the most-wins list—see below. 

(Sept. 29) Sumire (B) beat Tsuji Hana 2-dan by resig. (Prelim., 10th Women’s Hollyhock Cup). 

(Oct. 6) Sumire (W) lost to Motoki Katsuya 8-dan resig. (Prelim. A, 48th Gosei).

(Oct. 13) Sumire (W) beat Yo Chito 6-dan by 5.5 points; Sumire (W) beat Takei Taishin 2-dan by resig. (prelim., 2nd TK Young Stars).

Tomorrow: Most wins; Most successive wins; Winning streaks recently ended; Promotion; Quasi-professionals; Retirement
UPDATE: The post has been updated to reflect Sumire’s promotion at 13 years seven months, making her the second youngest 3-dan at the Nihon Ki-in, the record being held by Cho Chikun, at 13 years four months (we had switched the promotion ages in our original post)

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Registration Open for 2022 Young Lions Tournament

Monday October 24, 2022

“The AGHS is delighted to announce that this year’s annual Young Lions Tournament will take place on consecutive Sundays of November 13 and November 20,” says AGHS Vice President Patrick Zhao, “All 18-and-under (or currently in high school) North American players are welcome to participate!”

Schedule: 
First round: 12pm EST (9am PST) on November 13
Second round: 2pm EST (11am PST) on November 13
Third round: 12pm EST (9am PST) on November 20
Fourth round: 2pm EST (11am PST) on November 20

The deadline to register is Saturday, November 5, 11:59 pm EST.
All rules and regulations can be found here
If you have any questions, please contact the AGHS team at aghsregister@gmail.com.
If you would like to be added to the AGHS mailing list, please fill out this form.

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The Power Report: Tengen title match tied; Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo; 47th Kisei tournament; Nong Shim Cup

Monday October 24, 2022


By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Tengen title match tied

Left: Ida at the Tengen; top right: Fan Tingyu at the Nongshim; bottom right: Women’s Honinbo: Rina, Xie & Ueno reviewing game

The 49th Tengen best-of-five got off to a start on October 3, with the 20-year-old titleholder Seki Kotaro meeting the challenge of Ida Atsushi 9-dan, aged 28. Ida’s main claim to fame is that he challenged (unsuccessfully) for the Honinbo title in 2014; the previous year he won the 53rd Judan title and the 62nd NHK Cup. He won the latter at the age of 20 years 11 months, a youth record he still maintains. However, this is his first title match for six years.

The first game was played at the Ise Kaguraba Resort in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. Ida, who had white, played his first move on the centre point or “tengen.” He continued positively, sacrificing a group on the side so he would wall off one side of the center. Ida achieved his aim of starting large-scale fighting in the center, but at a crucial point he played a purely territorial move instead of continuing the fight and this may have cost him the game. Black was able to maintain his territorial lead. Ida resigned after Black 199.

The second game was played at the Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo on October 18. Ida (B) won by 1.5 points. The third game will be played on November 14. 

Fujisawa makes good start in Women’s Honinbo

The 41st Women’s Honinbo title match, a best-of-five, features the most common pairing in women’s go in Japan: Fujisawa Rina vs. Ueno Asami. The 24-year-old Fujisawa and 20-year-old Ueno (21 on October 26) have met in nine title matches; Fujisawa has enjoyed more success so far, having won six of these. Overall, Fujisawa has won 21 titles to Ueno’s nine, but her longer career accounts for some of that. This is the ninth year in a row she has played in this title match.

The first game was played at the Kashoen, a traditional Japanese inn, in Hanamaki Hot Spring, Iwate Prefecture, on October 4. Fujisawa drew black in the nigiri and won by resignation after 253 moves. The second game will be played on October 23.

47th Kisei tournament

First of all, Shibano Toramaru 9-dan finished off the S League with a perfect record. The last remaining game in the 47th Kisei S League was played on September 26. Shibano (B) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan by resignation to end on 5-0. The two Kansai Ki-in players, Yo Seiki and Murakawa Daisuke, drop down to the A League.

The final irregular knock-out to decide the Kisei challenger is now under way. Results follow. 

(Oct. 6). Otake Yu 7-dan (C League winner) (B) beat Suzuki Shinji 7-dan (B League winner) by 1.5 points.

(Oct. 13) Yamashita Keigo 9-dan (winner of A League) (W) beat Otake by half a point.

Nong Shim Cup

China has made the best start in Round 1 of the 24th Nong Shim Spicy Noodles Cup. Only four games are played in the opening round and Fan Tingyu of China has won three of them. Actually, the surprise was to see him lose in the 4th game, as he has twice won seven games in a row in this tournament.

Game 1 (Oct. 11). Fan Tingyu 9-dan (China) (W) beat Ichiriki Ryo 9-dan (Japan) by resig.

Game 2 (Oct. 12). Fan (W) beat Shin Minjun 9-dan (Korea) by resig.

Game 3 (Oct. 13). Fan (B) beat Kyo Kagen (Xu Jiayuan) 9-dan (Japan) by resig.

Game 4 (Oct. 14). Kang Dongyun 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Fan by resig.

The second round will start on November 25.

Tomorrow: New Honinbo League starts; Ueno doing well in 1st Hoban Cup; Sumire promoted to 3-dan; Sumire’s progress

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