American Go E-Journal » Cotsen Open

Dark horse Youwhan Kim 7D, a former Korean insei, won the 2014 Cotsen Open, upsetting 2014 Masters champion Mark Lee in the second round and going on to sweep the rest of the tournament, 5-0. Kim’s play was consistently sharp and tough and he was unfazed by the speedy 20-second overtime, which added pressure to some of his opponents. Tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen congratulated the new tournament champion, saying “I like change. Anything that shakes things up at the top, that works for me.” Click here for top-board game records and complete results. Additional photos are on the AGA’s Facebook page.

Kim is part of an informal dojo at Myungwan Kim 9P’s home in Los Angeles, where Beomgeun “Evan” Cho and Mark Lee also live. Youwhan Kim arrived three months ago to study English and says Myungwan Kim (no relation) “has been a big help with advice about life in Los Angeles.” Although Youwhan Kim and Mark Lee did not know each other back in Korea — Lee is of a younger generation — the two have played at Myungwan Kim’s, where they split games 1-1. Youwhan Kim was in the second insei league, “close to professional,” says Myungwan Kim, but is now too old to become a professional in Korea. He’s studying go at Myongji University and had many friends in Korea who spoke English, and realized he’d need to learn English too. He has one more semester of study at Myongji and will return to finish up in a few months. His advice to amateur players who want to improve: “Review your own games carefully; this is the best way to get better.”
– report/photos by Chris Garlock

Click here for top-board game records and complete results. Additional photos are on the AGA’s Facebook page.

Special Awards: Richard Dolen (top right) and Larry Gross received special awards from tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen for their longtime support and promotion of the game of go.

Open
1. Youwhan Kim 7d
2. Calvin Sun 8d*
3. Mark Lee 7d*
4. Qipeng Luo 7d*
5. Beomgeun Cho 9d*
* Sun & Lee were tied for 2nd; Sun was awarded 2nd place by default when Lee missed the award ceremony; Luo and Cho were tied for 4th place and Luo won 4th place in a rock-paper-scissors shoot-out conducted by Eric Cotsen.

A – 3d-5d
1. Jerry Shen 4d
2. Michael Wanek 4d
3. Nathan Harwit 4d

B – 1d-2d
1. James Lou 2d
2. Tina Bai 2d
3. Dan Alvira 2d

C – 1k-5k
1. Ryan Kierulf 1k
2. Clement Wong 3k
3. Yunyen Lee 3k

D – 6k-11k
1. Greg Kulevich 8k
2. Christopher Rumsey 9k
3. Chris Kaynor 8k

E – 12k+
1. Dowson Yang 19k
2. James Maloney 25k
3. Victoria Blue 26k

CLUBS
1. Orange County
2. Bay Area
3. YuGo*
* YuGo was tied with Arizona and won 3rd in a rock-paper-scissors shoot-out (at right)

Cotsen Staff: Samantha Davis & crew: Wenguang Wu, Katie Dicus, Matthew Jarrell, Torey Byrne was photographer, and Jerry Miller. Chris Sira was the Tournament Director.
E-Journal Team: Richard Dolen (Board 2), Nick McNelis (Board 3), Joe Cepiel (Board 4); team coordination (& Board 1 recording) by Chris Garlock

You can tell how some go players feel about their game by the expression on their face, nervous if they’re losing or cheerful if they’re winning. But not Eric Cotsen. He always looks happy and excited to be playing, no matter what the situation is on the board.

“It’s just the way I am, I guess,” Cotsen told the E-Journal in an interview Saturday morning at the Los Angeles Korean Cultural Center as players registered for the Cotsen Open, which he’s been sponsoring for “about 25 years now.” Cotsen’s proud of the tournament’s “different vibe,” pointing out the free lunches and team of masseuses for players, the refundable entry fee for players who attend both days, and the club team prizes. “I wanted it to be something out of the ordinary,” he says.

The 2-kyu started playing in the mid-80’s and while he admits that “sure, I’d love to have a higher rating,” that would mean more intensive studying at the expense of his family, work and other interests. After some three decades, the ancient game continues to fascinate and entertain Cotsen (center in photo), a longtime student of Yilun Yang 7P (at left). “I do feel like I’ve gotten stronger,” Cotsen said thoughtfully. “I can see things I couldn’t see before, though often they’re just shapes and sequences and I have to figure out how they go together.”

Cotsen also says the game has helped him in his business dealings, “though of course my strengths and weaknesses tend to manifest themselves in similar ways.” But his go rank seems to concern Cotsen as little as appearances, whose preferred attire is a comfortable t-shirt, shorts and Crocs. “I learn something new every single time I play,” said Cotsen. “That’s something that never gets old.”
– report/photo by Chris Garlock; check us out on Facebook and @theaga on Twitter for more photos.

Pre-registration for the Cotsen Open will be closing at midnight on Thursday night.  After that, players will have to register at the door on Saturday morning. The 2-day tournament will be held on October 25-26 at the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. “We will also be printing hats with the Cyclops Killer logo on them,” reports organizer Samantha Davis. “They will be for sale at the tournament.” Organizers are still looking for more volunteers for setup on Friday from 11am-5pm.  “All volunteers will get a free hat and a pizza lunch,” says Davis. Email her at cotsenopen@gmail.com. Sponsored by Eric Cotsen, the tournament is one of the biggest on the annual U.S. go calendar and features thousands of dollars in prizes, an Open Division, live KGS commentary on top board games, free masseuses for players, and free food truck lunches to all those who pre-register for both days of the tournament. There will also be a demonstration game between Yilun Yang 7P and Yigang Hua 8P. As usual, everyone who pre-registers and plays in all five of their matches will have their full entry fee refunded; click here to register. Follow the Cotsen on Twitter and Facebook for the latest tournament news.

Registration for this year’s Cotsen Open is now open. The 2-day tournament will be held on October 25-26 at the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Sponsored by Eric Cotsen (at right), the tournament is one of the biggest on the annual U.S. go calendar and features thousands of dollars in prizes, an extremely competitive Open Division, live KGS commentary on top board games, free masseuses for players, and free food truck lunches to all those who pre-register for both days of the tournament. There will also be a demonstration game between Yilun Yang 7P and Yigang Hua 8P. As usual, everyone who pre-registers and plays in all five of their matches will have their full entry fee refunded; click here to register. Follow the Cotsen on Twitter and Facebook for the latest tournament news.

“Can you confirm that the Cotsen dates (Cotsen Dates Confirmed for 2014-2016 4/1 EJ) are real, not an April 1st joke?” writes Anders Kierulf. “It just seems so unlikely after the dates moving around every year and being announced very late. Also, the 2016 dates should probably be Oct. 22-23, not Oct. 23-24, as that’s not a weekend.”
Yes, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Cotsen dates are real, though as Kierulf notes, the 2016 dates are actually October 22-23. The Dumb Cluck? 9×9 Go Reportedly Solved story, on the other hand, is not real. Our apologies for any confusion. 

Not only have this year’s Cotsen Go Tournament has been confirmed and scheduled for October 25-26, according to AGA President Andy Okun, but dates have been set for 2015 and 2016 as well. For the third time running, this year’s event will take place at the Korean Cultural Center-Los Angeles (KCCLA), in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles.

“Our thanks to Eric Cotsen (left) for his continued hosting of this outstanding event, and our gratitude as well to retired Ambasador Suh Dae-won (right), the Korean consulate in Los Angeles and the staff and management of KCCLA for providing such a beautiful venue,” said Okun. The two-day, five-round event will include lunch, some pro go teaching and massage therapy and, Okun hopes, “a vendor table or two and other goodies.” As in previous years, the E-Journal will provide full on-site coverage, broadcasting top-boards live on KGS.

In addition, though venues have not been locked down, two more Cotsen tournaments have been agreed to between Cotsen and the AGA for Oct. 24-25, 2015 and Oct. 22-23, 2016.
– photo: Cotsen (left) and  Ambasador Suh Dae-won at the 2013 Cotsen; photo by Chris Garlock
Update: the 2016 dates have been corrected.  

Beumgeon (Evan) Cho defeated Zhi Yuan (Andy) Liu in an edge-of-the-seat nailbiting Round 5 victory on Sunday to win the 2013 Cotsen Open. The thrilling last-round contest between the two undefeated players — Liu was going for a bi-coastal sweep after winning the Gotham Open earlier this month in New York City — drew a crowd in the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles as well as online where observers watched Myungwan Kim 9P’s live analysis of the game. In third place was Eric Lui, Won Sik Lee took 4th place, Calvin Sun 5th and Andrew Lu 6th. Santa Monica won the $1,000 Club Champion prize, Orange County was second and Tucson third. In other division results, Anders Kierulf won Division A (4d-3d), Daniel Alvira won Division B (2d-1d), Jung Kang won Division C (1-5k), Gary Huang won Division D (6-11k) and Charles Polkiewicz won Division E (12k+). Click here for the final crosstab and see below for game records. photos: at right: Cho (center) with tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen (right) and AGA President Andy Okun; at left: the round 5 game. report by Chris Garlock; photos by Chrissy Hampton.

Round 4
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd1_Won Sik Lee-Beomgeun Cho-Hajin Lee Commentary
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd2_Andy Liu-Eric Lui
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd3_Deuk Chang-Rui Wang

Round 5
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd1_Beomgeun Cho-Andy Liu-Myungwan Kim Commentary
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd2_Juyong Ko-Won Sik Lee
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd3_Eric Lui-Ari Saito

2013.10.27_Cotsen-pro-pro_Wang Qun-YilunYang