American Go E-Journal

The competition was fierce for large orange vegetables as a field of 43 competed at the NOVA Pumpkin Classic in Arlington, Virginia on October 30. Justin Teng 4d (r) won the dan division with a 4-1 record, while the 2009 winner, Jing Guo 7d, came in second.  First places in the kyu divisions included an undefeated Kelsey Dyer 2k, David Reed 6k (also undefeated), Joey Phoon 7k, Kenny Huynh 10k, Joseph Lee 15k (undefeated), Tristan Tran 17k (undefeated), and Tariq Khan 26k (undefeated).  Second places in the kyu divisions included Kevin Chin 3k, Robert Ehrlich 5k, Daniel Monahan 8k, Julian Erville 11k, Jake Altizer 14k, and Jordan Howar 17k. The popular Team Tourney was back and Team Phoooon (below) decimated the competition by winning 15 out of their 16 games. NOVA organizer Gary Smith was “delighted that we signed up 10 new AGA youth members at the event.” Tournament Director Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang managed to schedule five rounds for players interested, adding an option for fast players to enjoy more go and have more fun. The final score is calculated by winning percentage, with is uniform for traditional four-round players (i.e. 4-1 record is better than 3-1; 3-1 better than 3-2). This new approach not only reduced wait time for some players, but also encouraged a competitive spirit of going the extra mile by playing a fifth game to be the clear winner instead of settling on a tie-breaker.
– Garrett Smith; photos by Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang