American Go E-Journal » 2023 » January

The Power Report: Sumire’s progress; Promotions & retirements

Tuesday January 31, 2023

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Sumire’s progress

(Nov. 17) Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko, Senko Cup-holder, by resig. (26th Women’s Kisei, main tournament, round 2).

(Nov. 21) Sumire (B)  lost to Sakai Yuki 2-dan by resig. (prelim. round final, Teikei Young Stars).

(Nov. 26) Sumire (W) lost to Koike Yoshihiro (round 1, 17th Young Carp).

(Dec. 1). Sumire (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by resig. (main tournament sf, 26th Women’s Kisei).

(Dec. 5). Sumire (W) beat Koyama Ryugo 7-dan by resig. (First Tournament, round 1, 48th Kisei)

 (Dec. 8) Sumire (B) beat Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo by resig. (play-off to decide the challenger, 26th Women’s Kisei).

(Dec. 15) Sumire (W) beat Okuda Aya 4-dan (prelim., round 2, 10th Women’s Hollyhock Cup).

(Dec. 22). Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko by resig. (34th Women’s Meijin League).

Promotions

To 9-dan: Cho Riyu (200 wins, as of Dec. 16)

To 6-dan: Yamamoto Kentaro (90 wins, as of Aug. 12). The go press missed this promotion at the time. 

To 2-dan: Mito Shuhei (30 wins, as of Nov. 25)

Retirement

Takamura Tetsuro 5-dan retired as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Born in Kumamoto Prefecture on Jan. 1, 1961, he became a disciple of the late Shimohira Akio 9-dan and qualified as a professional in 1979. He reached 4-dan in 1986 and was promoted to 5-dan on retirement. He was a member of the Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in.

Obituary

Aragaki Takeshi 9-dan died on November 28. He was born in Okinawa on June 4, 1956. He became a disciple of the late 23rd Honinbo Sakata Eio and made 1-dan in 1971. He reached 9-dan in 1994 and retired in 2020. He won the 4-dan, 5-dan, and two 6-dan championships in, respectively, the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 9th Kisei tournaments. 

My next report will be a statistical overview of 2022.

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Explainable Ai: Enhancing Trust In Human-ai Interactions

Monday January 30, 2023

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Explainable Ai Models And Strategies

For instance, the consumer concerned, nature of content or time and date of content posting. Try AI Studio by Integrail FREE and begin building AI purposes without coding. The code then trains a random forest classifier on the iris dataset utilizing the RandomForestClassifier class from the sklearn.ensemble module. Prepare for the EU AI Act and establish AI Robotics a responsible AI governance method with the help of IBM Consulting®. Govern generative AI fashions from anywhere and deploy on cloud or on premises with IBM watsonx.governance. Explainable AI lends a hand to legal practitioners by trying into huge authorized paperwork to uncover related case legislation and precedents, with clear reasoning offered.

Explainable Synthetic Intelligence (xai): Understanding And Future Perspectives

ModelOps, short for Model Operations, is a set of practices and processes specializing in operationalizing and managing AI and ML models throughout their lifecycle. Understanding how an AI-enabled system arrives at a particular output has quite a few benefits. Explainability assists developers in ensuring that the system functions as intended, satisfies regulatory necessities, and enables individuals impacted by a decision https://www.globalcloudteam.com/explainable-ai-xai-benefits-and-use-cases/ to change the outcome when essential.

How Does Explainable Ai Differ From Traditional Machine Learning?

benefit from explainable ai principles

This architecture can provide useful insights and advantages in several domains and purposes and might help to make machine studying models more clear, interpretable, reliable, and truthful. This work laid the inspiration for lots of the explainable AI approaches and methods that are used today and offered a framework for clear and interpretable machine learning. Explainable synthetic intelligence (XAI) refers to a group of procedures and techniques that enable machine studying algorithms to provide output and outcomes that are understandable and reliable for human customers.

Belief, Transparency And Governance In Ai

Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as a cornerstone in the development of synthetic intelligence, transforming our interplay with expertise and our ability to process and generate human language. Some of the frequent methods contributing to attaining explainability in AI are SHAP, LIME, attention mechanisms, counterfactual explanations and others. For instance, evaluating why a particular a part of a picture influences the classification done by Convolutional Neural Network or CNN’s classification. They show the logic behind every decision department and therefore are broadly used for offering transparency. By utilizing these strategies, we can make AI more clear and trustworthy, main to higher decision-making and extra responsible AI.

benefit from explainable ai principles

Continuous model analysis empowers a enterprise to match model predictions, quantify mannequin threat and optimize model efficiency. Displaying positive and adverse values in mannequin behaviors with information used to generate rationalization speeds model evaluations. A data and AI platform can generate feature attributions for mannequin predictions and empower teams to visually investigate model habits with interactive charts and exportable documents. With explainable AI, a business can troubleshoot and improve mannequin efficiency whereas helping stakeholders understand the behaviors of AI models. Investigating mannequin behaviors through tracking model insights on deployment standing, equity, high quality and drift is crucial to scaling AI. As AI gets more and more interwoven with our lives, there’s one thing for positive – builders of AI instruments and applications shall be compelled to adopt responsible and moral principles to build trust and transparency.

It aids folks from non-technical backgrounds in using the mannequin with understandability. For occasion, one can use it to know the rationale for product suggestions by the chatbot. The approach aims to coach the simpler and extra interpretable model to mimic the habits of the complex model. It provides a simplified model that carefully approximates the unique model’s choices. However, this is important because it allows us to belief the AI, guarantee it’s working accurately, and even challenge its decisions if wanted.

  • The 4 principles of Explainable AI—Transparency, Interpretability, Causality, and Fairness—form the backbone of constructing belief in AI methods.
  • This is important because it enables us to belief the AI, guarantee it is working correctly, and even challenge its selections if wanted.
  • This precept underscores the creation of AI techniques whose actions humans can easily perceive and hint without the data of advanced information science.
  • This recent legislation has pressured firms to rethink how they store and use personally identifiable data (PII).

By understanding how AI works, we are able to use it responsibly and make better decisions. As AI becomes increasingly more widespread, XAI becomes a crucial software for bridging the gap between people and machines, promoting collaboration and moral AI practices. While both are part of the identical technology, the important thing difference lies in their transparency level. Traditional AI, usually often identified as “black box” AI, uses complicated machine learning algorithms to make decisions with out explaining clearly their reasoning. This lack of transparency has sparked concerns about the equity and safety of AI, particularly in healthcare, regulation, and finance fields, the place AI selections might need serious real-world influences.

It’s built to give clear and simple explanations of how its selections are made. The key distinction is that explainable AI strives to make the internal workings of these refined models accessible and comprehensible to humans. One of the keys to maximising efficiency is knowing the potential weaknesses. The higher the understanding of what the fashions are doing and why they sometimes fail, the simpler it is to improve them. Explainability is a robust device for detecting flaws within the mannequin and biases within the knowledge which builds trust for all users. It can help verifying predictions, for enhancing models, and for gaining new insights into the issue at hand.

It does this by identifying a minimal set of options that, if modified, would alter the model’s prediction. In the healthcare sector, explainable AI is essential when diagnosing illnesses, predicting affected person outcomes, and recommending remedies. For occasion, an XAI mannequin can analyze a patient’s medical historical past, genetic data, and lifestyle components to foretell the risk of sure ailments.

GAMs can be explained by understanding the contribution of every variable to the output, as they’ve an addictive nature. By addressing these five reasons, ML explainability through XAI fosters better governance, collaboration, and decision-making, ultimately resulting in improved business outcomes. The XAI impacts human-AI collaboration by bettering belief, aiding in efficient decision-making, reducing bias and enhancing the training from AI. It makes use of cooperative game theory ideas to distribute relevant factors among the many options. For occasion, the importance of options like amenities, size and location in the home price prediction.

By following these ideas, we can construct AI methods that are dependable, trustworthy, and useful to society. Explainability builds trust with prospects, inside groups, and regulatory our bodies. For example, a gross sales team would feel more confident in the event that they knew the explanation behind the recommendation of an AI mannequin throughout a negotiation. Whatever the given rationalization is, it must be meaningful and supplied in a method that the intended users can understand. If there’s a vary of customers with numerous knowledge and skill units, the system ought to present a spread of explanations to meet the wants of those users. Morris sensitivity analysis, also referred to as the Morris technique, works as a one-step-at-a-time evaluation, that means just one input has its level adjusted per run.

SBRL could be appropriate if you need a model with excessive interpretability with out compromising on accuracy. They look to supply their prospects with financial stability, monetary awareness, and monetary management. The variety of industries and job capabilities that are benefiting from XAI are infinite. So, I will listing a number of specific advantages for some of the primary features and industries that use XAI to optimize their AI methods. Every inference, along with its rationalization, tends to extend the system’s confidence.

E.g., the sheer complexity of AI itself, the costly trade-off with performance, data privateness concerns, and the risk of rivals copying machine studying models’ inner workings. Kolena platform transforms the present nature of AI growth from experimental into an engineering discipline that may be trusted and automatic. The primary use of machine studying applications in enterprise is automated determination making. For example, you can train a model to foretell retailer sales across a large retail chain using information on location, opening hours, weather, time of 12 months, merchandise carried, outlet dimension etc. The mannequin would let you predict gross sales throughout my shops on any given day of the yr in a selection of weather circumstances. However, by building an explainable mannequin, it’s possible to see what the primary drivers of sales are and use this data to spice up revenues.

The AI system selections ought to have a transparent line of responsibility the place its developers and operators may be held accountable. This encourages the developers to create a cautious design, deployment, and monitoring process. An instance of explainable AI could be an AI-enabled cancer detection system that breaks down how its mannequin analyzes medical photographs to succeed in its diagnostic conclusions. The AI’s explanation must be clear, accurate and correctly reflect the rationale for the system’s course of and generating a specific output. Graphical codecs are maybe most common, which include outputs from data analyses and saliency maps. Another important side of information and XAI is that information irrelevant to the system should be excluded.

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The Power Report: Ichiriki and Shibano win Teikei Young Stars leagues; Konishi wins first title; Women’s Meijin League

Monday January 30, 2023

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Shibano & Ichiriki win leagues

Ichiriki and Shibano win Teikei Young Stars leagues

The final section of the Teikei Young Stars tournament consists of two six-player leagues. The winners meet in a play-off to decide the title. In a tournament labeled as for “young stars”, it was a little surprising to find holders big-three titles, namely, Shibano Toramaru Meijin in the A League and Ichiriki Ryo Kisei in the B League. All the games were played from December 17 to 22, and, not surprisingly, each won his league 5-0 (each was two wins clear of the field) and will meet in the best-of-three play-off scheduled for March. Actually, Seki Kotaro Tengen also played in the B League, though he did not do very well, scoring 2-3.

Konishi wins first title

Konishi Kazuko 8-dan

The three Teikei tournaments are now in their second terms. The first to be decided was the Female Legends tournament. In the final, held on December 24, Konishi Kazuko 8-dan (B) beat Kuwahara Yoko 6-dan by resignation. The game was played in the Ryusei Studio at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. In her fifth appearance in a tournament final, Konishi finally scored her first success. First prize is 2,000,000 yen ($15,564 at $1 = ¥128.5).

Women’s Meijin League

With three rounds completed, there are only two undefeated players in the 34th Women’s Meijin League:  Ueno Asami on 3-0 and Nakamura Sumire on 2-0.

Below are results since my previous report.

(Nov. 7) Ueno Asami, Women’s Hollyhock title-holder, (B) beat Ueno Risa 2-dan by resignation. This is the first official game between the sisters.

(Dec. 1) Ueno Asami (W) beat Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 5) Nyu Eiko (B) beat Xie Yimin 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 15) Ueno Asami (W) beat Kobayashi Izumi 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 19) Ueno Risa (W) beat Suzuki by resig.

Tomorrow: Sumire’s progress; Promotions & retirements

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Risks & Dangers of Quitting Alcohol Cold Turkey

Monday January 30, 2023

Drinking beer can also help maintain hydration throughout the taper. Direct tapering is not recommended for liquor drinkers as it is challenging to measure amounts and can result in binge drinking. Additionally, mixed drinks may contain sugar or other additives that could exacerbate withdrawal symptoms and should be avoided during the taper. Quitting alcohol cold turkey is not recommended and can be dangerous.

Get Professional Help

  • In fact, a relapse can be a valuable learning experience that helps you avoid slipping in the future.
  • With his expertise, experience, and passion for helping others, David is an asset to the Freedom Center, empowering individuals on his recovery journey.
  • Alcohol withdrawal can be deadly, especially for people with alcohol use disorder.
  • Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that affects your brain.

Diluting alcohol with other beverages is another option people may use. This is because it allows for a more controlled reduction in alcohol. Whether you are struggling with addiction, mental health or both, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way. Don’t wait— reach out today to take the first step toward taking control of your life. While the link is still being studied, there is evidence that heavy drinking increases the risk of several types of cancer.

After 2 days of alcohol withdrawals, health risks are at their highest. There is a risk of delirium tremens (DT) on the third day (48-72 hours). If you are struggling to stop or cut down through alcohol tapering, this may be a sign to seek more help, Lee said. There are a variety of resources to explore, including 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or SMART Recovery, Lee explained. Below are some ideas to help people reduce their drinking by alcohol tapering.

Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. Judy is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Maryland, and a National Certified Counselor. She earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University sober house of Maryland. She has served in both clinical and leadership positions in a number of roles, in inpatient and outpatient settings, as a Primary Therapist and Clinical Supervisor. Vanessa is certified in addictions counseling by Maryland’s Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, with credentials as a clinical supervisor.

It is important to understand safe tapering methods and how they contrast with quitting cold turkey. Taking the best path toward sobriety can make a significant difference in your journey to recovery. In severe cases, alcohol withdrawal can lead to alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which includes delirium tremens (“DTs”) and can be fatal. Therefore, it is crucial to seek professional guidance when considering quitting alcohol to ensure a safe and effective detox process. Programs such as inpatient or outpatient rehab, medical detox, individual or family therapy and support groups are available.

Alcohol Withdrawal and Detox

For example, if you typically drink five beers a night, you might cut down to four, then three, and so on. Getting support from peers, friends, and family to continue recovery is essential. Talking to a therapist can help address potential triggers that caused the relapse and help the individuals navigate challenges in the future. There are two ways to taper off alcohol⁠—a direct or substitution taper. The success of these strategies will depend on how much you drink and what you drink.

alcohol tapering vs cold turkey

Insurance May Cover The Cost of Alcohol Rehab

Once you know it is medically safe to stop drinking, you should loop in a therapist or addiction specialist. They will be able to help you uncover the underlying causes of your drinking issues and properly diagnose any co-occurring mental health conditions that you may be suffering from. Quitting drinking, “cold turkey,” means you suddenly stop consuming alcohol. Tapering off (or tapering down) alcohol means you gradually reduce the amount of alcohol that you consume over time. Alcoholism, more correctly known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), impacts more than 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 12. Luckily, there are ways to safely reduce your alcohol consumption and get your life back on track.

This Season, Give Yourself the Gift of a Fresh Start.

An example of a long-term goal would be to achieve complete abstinence from alcohol within six months. Alcohol disrupts the important REM stage of sleep and may interfere with your breathing and cause you to wake up multiple https://www.inkl.com/news/sober-house-rules-a-comprehensive-overview times during the night. Quitting drinking can lead to more restful sleep, improving your productivity, cognitive function, emotional regulation, and behaviour. Tim enjoys writing about addiction and recovery, this topic has personally affected him, fuelling his desire to help others. At the end of the first day of going ‘cold turkey’, hallucinations tend to occur.

  • A doctor can supervise your tapering progress, helping you manage your cravings and prevent relapse.
  • To aid in this process, a person should seek professional guidance and treatment from a reputable alcohol rehab.
  • Alcohol is a diuretic, causing dehydration, which can lead to headaches, fatigue, and decreased motivation.
  • After abrupt cessation of alcohol, delirium tremens can last up to 5 days.

Alternative Methods for Quitting Alcohol

If done correctly, tapering off alcohol can reduce the risk of severe withdrawal symptoms by allowing your body to adjust gradually. This approach can also seem more manageable and less intimidating for those who find the idea of immediate cessation overwhelming. Choosing to taper off alcohol is an admirable decision and a step in the right direction.

  • Remember your motivation for cutting back and set realistic goals.
  • Long-term alcohol use can lead to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and physical dependence.
  • Stopping alcohol use can be a big step and, once alcohol dependence develops, a difficult one.
  • This often includes medication to reduce risks from severe symptoms – this will be provided if the patient seeks a medical detoxification programme, the first stage of an addiction treatment plan.
  • However, some groups have stepped in to try to bridge this gap and have published sample tapering schedules to help those trying to stop drinking.

Tapering can also be effective for people who are unable to attend an in-person program or detox to help them stop drinking. The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions. Usually, alcohol withdrawal symptoms occur within 12–24 hours after stopping alcohol and can last 2–10 days.

alcohol tapering vs cold turkey

A better way to recovery, right in your pocket.

alcohol tapering vs cold turkey

Some find tapering is not a suitable option to stop drinking due to various factors such as social responsibilities or peer pressure. For many people, tapering alone is insufficient to help heal their addiction. It’s always best to speak with a healthcare provider when changing your relationship with alcohol. Every person has unique needs, and tapering off may not be an adequate solution to reduce or stop drinking. Although you can use methods to taper off alcohol at home, the best way to taper is to talk to a doctor.

Sometimes, they may wait more than a day or cut out more than one drink daily. Still, this approach involves removing drinks on a regular, scheduled basis. This method requires discipline and monitoring, as misjudging the amount consumed is easy. On the other hand, quitting cold turkey involves stopping alcohol all at once. The individual must push through the resulting withdrawal symptoms. DTs is a rare but severe form of alcohol withdrawal that can be fatal.

Alexandra oversees all operations with The Freedom Center to ensure clients are given the best chance at success. She works with The Freedom Center team to develop and implement policies, procedures and oversees Intakes and Transportation. Alexandra works with Admissions and Clinical Departments for scheduling client admissions, transfers, discharges and outside appointments while maintaining positive relationships with all clients. Her primary focus is to provide all clients with a safe, structured environment while coordinating their care. Alexandra understands addiction from both familial and personal standpoints, as she is active in her own recovery. Alexandra is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend and has learned the value of recovery and succeeding in whatever she sets her mind to.

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The Power Report: Iyama saves Japan in Nongshim Cup; Shin wins Samsung Cup; Kawabata Yasunari inducted into Hall of Fame; Chinese players meet in LG Cup final

Sunday January 29, 2023

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama saves Japan in Nongshim Cup

Iyama wins

The second round of the 24th Nongshim Cup was held on the net in late November. Japan did badly, but in the final game of the round, Iyama Yuta, who won four games in a row in the previous cup, once again saved their bacon, picking up the first Japanese win. Results follow.

Game 5 (Nov. 25). Kang Dongyun 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (Japan) by resig.

Game 6 (Nov. 26). Kang (W) beat Tuo Jiaxi 9-dan (China) by resig.

Game 7 (Nov. 27). Kang (B) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan (Japan) by half a point. (This was Kang’s fifth win in a row.)

Game 8 (Nov. 28). Lian Xiao 9-dan (China) (W) beat Kang by resig.

Game 9 (Nov. 29). Iyama Yuta 9-dan (Japan) (B) beat Lian by resig.

The third round is scheduled for February 20~24.

Shin wins Samsung Cup

The 27th Samsung Cup will always be remembered as the first tournament in which a woman player, Choi Jeong 9-dan, reached the final. In the best-of-three title match, however, she lost 0-2 to Shin Jinseo 9-dan, the world’s number one rated player. The first game was played on November 7; taking black, Shin won by resignation. The second game was played on the following day; taking white, Shin again won by resig. Shin finally won this title after coming second in the 25th and 26th cups. The first game was a convincing win for Shin, but in the second the lead switched back and forth. Shin seemed to prevail because of his greater powers of concentration.

Kawabata Yasunari inducted into Hall of Fame

Kawabata Yasunari, author of “Meijin” (Master of Go), was inducted into the Go Hall of Fame on November 11. He is the second literary figure inducted after the haiku poet Shiki. “Meijin” is a novel based on newspaper commentaries Kawabata wrote about the retirement game played by Shusai Meijin with Kitani Minoru and is the most famous literary work dealing with go.

Chinese players meet in LG Cup final

Two more rounds in the 27th LG Cup were played in mid-November. In the quarterfinals, the last remaining Japanese player was eliminated, then the world number one was eliminated in the semifinals. Details follow.

Quarterfinals (November 13 & 14). Shin Jinseo 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Mi Yuting 9-dan (China) by resig.; Kang Dongyun 9-dan (Korea) (B) beat Ke Jie 9-dan (China) by resig.; Yang Dingxin 9-dan (China) (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (Japan) by resig.; Ding Hao 9-dan (China) (W) beat Kim Myonghoon 9-dan (Korea) by 2.5 points.

Tomorrow: Ichiriki and Shibano win Teikei Young Stars leagues; Konishi wins first title; Women’s Meijin League

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Registration Open for the 2023 Redmond Cup and AGA Girls Cup

Saturday January 28, 2023

Redmond Cup and Girls Cup Finalists compete at the 2022 US Go Congress in Estes Park, Colorado

Registration is now open for the 30th Redmond Cup and 6th AGA Girls Cup, the AGA’s annual premier youth tournaments for North American youth under 18 and females under 16 respectively. Players must have an accredited rank of 1-dan or higher to participate in the Redmond Cup, and an accredited rank of 9-kyu or higher to participate in the AGA Girls Cup. The Redmond Cup features both a Junior (under 13) and a Senior (13-17) division, while the AGA Girls Cup will feature one division (under 16). Both tournaments are online preliminaries to determine two finalists in each division who will be invited to play in a best-of-three match at the 2023 US Go Congress. The American Go Foundation will cover all reasonable expenses for the finalists of both tournaments to travel to and compete at the 2023 USGC. Players who complete all rounds of either tournament will also be eligible for a $200 scholarship to the 2023 USGC.

The new tournament format that debuted last year was met with positive reception by many of the players, and will be used again for this year’s tournaments. This includes a multi-stage preliminary with proctored matches for the latter stages, and mandatory video calls with strict camera setup guidelines for all games.

Registration for the Redmond Cup will close on March 1st, with competition starting on March 6th. Registration for the AGA Girls Cup will close on March 8th, with competition starting on March 13th. Interested competitors can read about the rules for the Redmond Cup and rules for the AGA Girls Cup for more information, and email youth@usgo.org with any inquiries.

– Story and photo by Justin Teng, AGA Youth Coordinator

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Go and roast pig at SF Go Club Lunar New Year tourney

Friday January 27, 2023

The San Francisco Go Club’s Lunar New Year Go tournament was a vibrant celebration of the Chinese New Year. On a sunny but brisk Saturday, January 21, 37 players gathered to compete in three divisions. The tournament was a lively event that included a roast pig lunch. After three rounds of intense competition, the winners of each division were announced: Jonathan Ketner (1st place), Eric Lee (2nd place), and Christopher Kim (3rd place) in Division 1; Dash Zhang (1st place), Andrew Li (2nd place), and Joey Chou (3rd place) in Division 2; and Reid Byron (1st place), Patrick Vincent O’Melveny (2nd place), and Syd Shafer (3rd place) in Division 3. “Congratulations to all the winners!” said club President Matthew  Barcus.

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The Power Report: Ida sets new record in Crown; China wins 23rd Agon Kiriyama Play-off; Iyama wins Ryusei title after life-and-death hallucination

Tuesday January 24, 2023

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Ida sets new record in Crown

Ida Atsushi 9-dan

The Crown title is a regional title, open only to the members of the Central Japan (Nagoya) branch of the Nihon Ki-in. The one-game final of the 63rd title was held on November 22. Ida Atsushi 9-dan (B) beat Mutsuura Yuta 7-dan by resignation. This was his seventh successive Crown title, a new record (though other players have won it more often). First prize is 1,700,000 yen.

China wins 23rd Agon Kiriyama Play-off

Li Qincheng 9-dan

The annual Japan-China Agon Kiriyama Cup Play-off was held on the net on December 17. Li Qincheng 9-dan of China, who held white, beat Hirata Tomoya 7-dan of Japan by resignation. Actually, the Chinese go world has apparently been in a chaotic state because of covid-related restrictions, and there were repeated changes in the arrangements for this play-off. In the end, the Chinese managed to hold their Agon-Kiriyama Cup the day before this play-off (Li beat Xie Erhao 9-dan in the final). The chaos didn’t seem to affect Li’s play. 

Iyama wins Ryusei title after life-and-death hallucination

The final of the 31st Ryusei title was telecast on December 26. Iyama Yuta (B) beat Yuki Satoshi 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in by resignation after 111 moves. This is his fourth Ryusei title, but his first for ten years. Most title matches in 2022 featured at least one young player, but this was an exception: Iyama is 33 and Yuki 50. This is Iyama’s 71st title, so he is just four behind Cho Chikun. His pace has slowed considerably, so it no longer seems so certain that he will reach three digits.

There’s a strange story attached to this triumph, though. In his quarterfinal game with Kato Atsushi 9-dan, both Iyama and Kato hallucinated that one of Kato’s groups was dead when it could live with one move. As a life-and-death problem, it could easily be solved by an average amateur. Having assumed it was dead, neither player took another look at it. At the end of the game, Iyama took this group of six stones off the board and counted the score. He and Kato had agreed the game was over and the latter made no objection when the former took the group off the board (it needed another move to live). The result was a 3.5-point win for Iyama. Kato accepted this result, so there was no problem as far as the rules were concerned. Takao Shinji 9-dan, who did the commentary for the TV program, said that in 30 years as a professional he had never seen anything like it.

Iyama confided to Cho U, who later became the commentator for the final, that he was deeply upset by his oversight and felt that he had lost the trust of go fans. He told Cho that he was determined to win the final while playing a good game to regain the trust of fans.

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Pandanet AGA City League Round 2 this weekend

Monday January 23, 2023

Round 2 of Pandanet AGA City League happens this weekend. Watch teams from almost 40 teams and among 150 players from across the US and Canada. You can best find the games this Sunday January 29th @ 3pm EST/12pm PST in the AGA City League Rooms. Root for your local squad or your favorite national players and friends. Any schedule changes will be noted on the round pages:

A LeagueB LeagueC LeagueD LeagueE League

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2023 Chicago Open registration opens

Monday January 23, 2023

Registration for the 2023 Chicago Open is now available on Baduk Club.

The tournament will take place over Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-28, in Evanston, Illinois. It will consist of eight rounds played over two days, with one-day options available. A departure from previous tournaments in Evanston, the 2023 Chicago Open will switch to McMahon pairing instead of the self-paired format. Co-organizers Cheuk To Tsui and Albert Yen anticipate a more intense tournament experience using the McMahon style. “The tournament will be more fast-paced, and players can experience a weekend packed with Go,” Yen said. “With eight rounds, winners will have to clear the field, and everyone will get a chance to prove themselves against more opponents than before.”

As part of the tournament experience, players can purchase lunch plans on both days and join the dinner party on Saturday. For lunch plans, the 2023 Chicago Open has partnered with Tealicious Bubble Tea, which will provide bentos and drinks. On Saturday evening, Dengeo’s will cater a Mediterranean buffet. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available. 

“We hope to see more young people and travelers in our event to facilitate interaction between Go players from different areas,” said Mark Rubenstein, long-time leader of the Evanston Go Club. 

Due to the success of the 2022 Chicago Open, Evanston Holiday Inn will serve as the tournament venue. Evanston Holiday Inn is offering discounted accommodations and parking. Participants are encouraged to register for the tournament by May 6 for early bird pricing and to book the discounted accommodations before they sell out.  

– by Jamie Tang

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