American Go E-Journal » U.S. Pro Tournament

Andy Liu defeated Gansheng Shi on Friday morning to become the first US certified go professional, prevailing 2-1 in the final match of the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro tournament. Shi then defeated Jianing Gan Friday afternoon by 1.5 points in the first round of the three-game match to determine the other US certified professional. The second round will be held at 9a Saturday morning, with the third round (if necessary) to be held Saturday afternoon. Both games will be broadcast – with live commentary by Myungwan Kim 9P– on TygemGo Korea1 Server and on KGS. “This was a really exciting Final,” an exhausted Kim told the E-Journal. “All the top finalists were young players, which bodes well for the future of the new American pro system. This Final was not the end,” Kim added. “There’s a lot to do, both domestically and internationally, now that our first two US certified pros have joined the ranks of American professionals.” 

Here are the full results of Friday’s games from the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Finals. The name in ALL CAPS is the winner (color played, next match). For latest standings and game records, click here and scroll down to Results.

Morning games (8/3):

Promotional League:
4A (Game 3): ANDY LIU (B, PRO), Gansheng Shi (B, 7A)

Exhibition League:
Game 1: CURTIS TANG (W), Andrew Lu (B)
Game 2: CALVIN SUN (W), Sooil Kim (B)
Game 3: BILL LIN (B), Hugh Zhang (W)
Game 4: EDWARD KIM (W), Justin Teng (B)
Game 5: MATTHEW BURRALL (B), Ben Lockhart (W)
Game 6: NED PHIPPS (W), Yuan Zhou (B)

Afternoon games:
7A (Game 1): GANSHENG SHI (B), Jianing Gan (W)

Saturday’s (8/4) schedule:

Morning game:
7A (Game 2): Gansheng Shi, Jianing Gan

Exhibition League
Game 1: Curtis Tang, Calvin Sun
Game 2: Sooil Kim, Matthew Burrall
Game 3: Yuan Zhou, Edward Kim
Game 4: Bill Lin, Andrew Lu
Game 5: Justin Teng, Ned Phipps

Afternoon schedule:
7A (Game 3, if needed): Gansheng Shi, Jianing Gan

photo at right: TD Jeff Shaevel congratulates Liu; photos (left) by Nik Gonzales, Second Camera, The Surrounding Game

Here are the full results of Thursday’s games from the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Finals. The name in ALL CAPS is the winner (color played, next match). NOTE: Myungwan Kim 9P is doing live daily game commentaries at 10:30a and 5:30p EST on the TygemGo Korea1 Server; some games are also being broadcast on KGS. For latest standings and game records, click here and scroll down to Results.

Morning games:

Promotional League:
4A (Game 1): ANDY LIU (W), Gansheng Shi (B)
6A (Game 1): Eric Lui (B), JIANING GAN (W)

Exhibition League:
Game 1: Jing Yang (B), CURTIS TANG (W)
Game 2: CALVIN SUN (B), Yuan Zhou (W)
Game 3: Sooil Kim (W), BILL LIN (B)
Game 4: Edward Kim (W), ANDREW LU (B)
Game 5: MATTHEW BURRALL (B), Ned Phipps (W)
Game 6: Ben Lockhart (B), JUSTIN TENG (W)

Afternoon games:

4A (Game 2): Andy Liu (B), GANSHENG SHI (W)
6A (Game 2): Eric Lui (W, Seed), JIANING GAN (B, 7A)

Exhibition League: SURPRISE EXTRA ROUND!
Game 1: CURTIS TANG (W), Bill Lin (B)
Game 2: CALVIN SUN (W), Hugh Zhang (B)
Game 3: SOOIL KIM (B), Edward Kim (W)
Game 4:, ANDREW LU (B), Justin Teng (W)
Game 5: Matthew Burrall (W), YUAN ZHOU (B)
Game 6: Ben Lockhart (W), NED PHIPPS (B)

Tomorrow AM:
4A (Game 3): Andy Liu, Gansheng Shi
(+Exhibition games TBD)

Photo: Professional Maeda Ryo gave lectures and played simuls with players in Boulder and Denver, Colorado this week before continuing to the Go Congress later this week; photo courtesy Karen Jordan

Results of Wednesday’s games from the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Finals. The name in ALL CAPS is the winner (color played, next match).

Wednesday morning (8/1): 3B (Game 3): GANSHENG SHI (B, 4A), Hugh Zhang (W, Exhibition)

Wednesday afternoon: Exhibition League
Game 1: Ned Phipps (B), JUSTIN TENG (W)
Game 2: Edward Kim (W), CURTIS TANG (B)
Game 3: BILL LIN (W), Yuan Zhou (B)
Game 4: Matthew Burrall (W), SOOIL KIM (B)
Game 5: CALVIN SUN (B), Ben Lockhart (W)

Thursday, 8/2 AM schedule:

Promotional League:
4A (Game 1): Andy Liu, Gansheng Shi
6A (Game 1): Eric Lui, Jianing Gan

Exhibition League:
Game 1: Jing Yang, Curtis Tang
Game 2: Calvin Sun, Yuan Zhou
Game 3: Sooil Kim, Bill Lin
Game 4: Edward Kim, Andrew Lu
Game 5: Matthew Burrall, Ned Phipps
Game 6: Ben Lockhart, Justin Teng

Thursday, 8/2 PM schedule:
4A (Game 2): Andy Liu, Gansheng Shi
6A (Game 2): Eric Lui, Jianing Gan

The First AGA – Tygem Pro Finals — under way now in Black Mountain, North Carolina — are double-elimination. After the first round the contests are best-of-three matches. After his first loss a player drops to the second band; but the leader of the 2nd band, who at the end will have had only one loss, will play a match with the loser of the championship match, who also will have had only one loss, to determine second place.  That’s important because second place will be the second American certified professional.

Andy Liu has been a steam roller; not only has he won all his matches, but he has won all his games, winning matches two-zip vs Janing Gan and Eric Lui. As I write this, Gan-Sheng Shi (who beat Jing Yang 2-1 the previous round) is playing Hugh Zhang (who beat Yuan Zhou 2-1) in their third-game playoff (they split yesterday) for the right to challenge Andy Liu for the championship. Either way a bloodied veteran will confront a locomotive in what will have to be a great battle.

I can see why recording other’s games is so important in go pedagogy: you have to spot the move before the opponent replies. A few moves played in rapid succession, which can happen abruptly at any time, can make the move order mystifying even if you catch up to the current position. So the recorder must effectively play the game, identifying candidate moves and sorting them, so he can recognize the move and record it before play progresses too far. It’s quite a bit of work, but it’s fascinating. You are putting yourself in the head of another player, as in Rengo (Pair Go). The two games I recorded yesterday wore me out about as much as if I had played two rounds myself.

Fortunately, sitting in a rocking chair on a cottage veranda in the cool night-time breeze at the end of the day, overlooking the wooded ravine passing among the cottages here in Black Mountain, relaxes beautifully.
– Peter St. John, Triangle Go Group; photo: game recorder Terry McIntyre at the AGA-Tygem Finals; photo by Nik Gonzales, Second Camera, The Surrounding Game

Editor’s Note: The E-Journal has room for a few more game recorders next week at the U.S. Go Congress! If you’d like to be part of the team that brings the Congress to the rest of the world, email us at journal@usgo.org

NOTE: Myungwan Kim 9P is doing live daily game commentaries at 10:30a and 5:30p EST (note updated times!) on the TygemGo Korea1 Server; some games are also being broadcast on KGS. For latest standings and game records, click here and scroll down to Results.

Here are the full results of Tuesday’s games from the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Finals.  The name in ALL CAPS is the winner (color played, next match).

Tuesday morning (7/31):
3A (Game 1): ANDY LIU (W), Eric Lui (B)
3B (Game 1): Hugh Zhang (W), GANSHENG SHI (B)
3C: Calvin Sun (B, Exhibition), JING YANG (W, 4B)
3D: Ben Lockhart (B, Exhibition), YUAN ZHOU (W, 4B)
3E: CURTIS TANG (W, 3E), Sooil Kim (B, Exhibition)
3F: Andrew Lu (W, Exhibition), JIANING GAN (B, 4C)

Tuesday evening:
Promotional League:
3A (Game2): ANDY LIU (B), Eric Lui (W) [Andy gets Wednesday off]
3B (Game 2): HUGH ZHANG (B), Gansheng Shi (W)  [Game 3: only morning game tomorrow!]
4B: JING YANG (W, 5A), Yuan Zhou (B, Exhibition)
4C: Curtis Tang (B, Exhibition), JIANING GAN (W, 5B)

Exhibition League (round 4):
Game 1: Calvin Sun (B), BILL LIN (W)
Game 2: Sooil Kim (W), ANDREW LU (B)
Game 3: EDWARD KIM (W), Ned Phipps (B)
Game 4: MATTHEW BURRALL (W), Justin Teng (B)

photo by Nik Gonzales, Second Camera, The Surrounding Game

NOTE: Myungwan Kim 9P is doing live game commentaries at 10:30a and 5:30p EST (note updated times!) on the TygemGo Korea1 Server each day; some games are also being broadcast on KGS. For latest standings and game records, click here and scroll down to Results.

Here are the full results of Monday’s games from the AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Finals being held in Black Mountain, NC. The name in ALL CAPS is the winner (color played, next match).

Morning session: Monday, 7/30
2A (Game 2): ANDY LIU (W, 3A), Jianing Gan (B, Exhibition)
2B (Game 2): Sooil Kim (B), ERIC LUI (W)
2C (Game 2): HUGH ZHANG (B, 3B), Yuan Zhou (W, 3D)
2D (Game 2): GANSHENG SHI (W, 3B), Jing Yang (B)
2E: Edward Kim (W, Exhibition), CALVIN SUN (B, 3C)
2F: BEN LOCKHART (W, 3D), Matthew Burrall (B, Exhibition)
2G: CURTIS TANG (W, 3E), Justin Teng (B, Exhibition)
2H: ANDREW LU (W, 3F), Bill Lin (B, Exhibition)

Afternoon session: Monday, 7/30

Promotional League:
2B (Game 3): Sooil Kim (W, 3E), ERIC LUI (B, 3A)
2D (Game 3): GANSHENG SHI (W, 3B), Jing Yang (B, 3C)

Exhibition League:
Game 1: EDWARD KIM (B), Matthew Burrall (W)
Game 2: BILL LIN (W), Ned Phipps (B)

Tuesday morning schedule (7/31):
3A (Game 1): Andy Liu, Eric Lui
3B (Game 1): Hugh Zhang Gansheng Shi
3C: Calvin Sun, Jing Yang
3D: Ben Lockhart, Yuan Zhou
3E: Curtis Tang, Sooil Kim
3F: Andrew Lu, Jianing Gan

Photo by Terry McIntyre

The winners in the recent AGA-Tygem Online Pro Prelim were Soo-il Kim, Matthew Burrall, Eric Lui, Daniel Chou, Bill Lin, Will Gan and Juyong Koh. With the final qualifier over, invitations have now been sent out for the first AGA-TygemGo Pro Qualification Tournament, which will be held the week prior to the upcoming U.S. Go Congress. In addition to the Online Prelim winners, Cotsen winners Calvin Sun and Curtis Tang, Maryland Open winner Andy Liu and Seattle prelim winner Edward Kim have also been invited to compete in the Final. The Canadian Go Association selected Gansheng Shi and Jing Yang to receive invitations and the AGA picked Jie Li, ZhaoNian Chen and Danny Ko from its active high-ranked players. Curtis Tang, Calvin Sun, Gansheng Shi, Bill Lin and Jing Yang have already indicated they will play; stay tuned for updates.