American Go E-Journal

Your Move/Readers Write: Cup Winner Switch; Remembering T Mark Hall

Friday December 13, 2013

Cup Winner Switch: “The recent article ‘Men’s Team & Women’s Individual Events Launch Go Competitions at SportAccord World Mind Games,’  stated that Fan Tingyu won the Bailing Cup and that Zhou Ruiyang won the Ing Cup,” writes Justin Teng, “but in fact it’s the other way around: Fan Tingyu won the Ing Cup and Zhou Ruiyang won the Bailing Cup.” Good catch, Justin; we’ve corrected the report.

Remembering T Mark Hall: “Some 20 years ago or so, I wanted to learn more about the game I  had been briefly introduced to at university and discovered there was a dan-level BGA official living close by,” writes E-Journal British correspondent Tony Collman. “I phoned him and T Mark Hall was kind enough to invite this stranger to come round for a game on the famous goban, where he demonstrated that a beginner can start with 17 stones on the board and end with nothing. In fact I didn’t get into go seriously then, but this year, after having started to really study it thanks to the magic of the internet, I was delighted to renew the acquaintance at the British Open in my home town of Stevenage. T Mark was installed in the lobby of the Cromwell Hotel, just as described by Jon Diamond (but, whether due to current anti-smoking laws or having quit, minus the pipe) and happily chatted away about GoGoD and other matters until he left for dinner. He showed no sign of his illness, nor made any reference to it and it was an honour and a privilege to have had that chance to sit with him.”

Haiku for T Mark Hall: Keith Arnold sent along this haiku in honor of the famously speedy player and GoGoD co-creator who was once banned on IGS.
speed on the go board
careful transcription to bytes
ban over, pipe out

photo: Hall at the 2010 World Amateur Go Championships in China; click here for None Redmond’s interview with him there; photo by John Pinkerton.