American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments

During the week following the U.S. Go Congress, Takemiya Masaki  9p from the Nihon Ki-in and Chihiro Chujo 1p from the Kansai Ki-in each taught three times at the Seattle Go Center.  Ms. Chujo was an enthusiastic go teacher, and an eager student of the English language.  Her English vocabulary increased notably during her week-long visit. In his first lecture, Takemiya gave commentary on two of his games; one from the beginning of his career in 1969 and one with his friend and competitor Cho Chikun from 1988.  Takemiya’s second lecture was for kyu players, and stressed that “those who play where they want lose more games but get stronger faster”.  He admitted that sometimes there is only one move on the board, and showed an example of this situation, but he reassured the audience of 22 players that usually there are options to try out.  Both Chujo and Takemiya played simultaneous games on Tuesday, Aug. 14,  the busiest day of the week at the Go Center.  Two of Takemiya’s games with strong players were recorded and broadcast on KGS, and then shown in the kitchen with a digital projector.  At one point there was a roar from the kitchen when the internet connection was temporarily lost, puzzling the players in the main room who did not know what had happened.  The games are posted in the news section of the Go Center website, along with the two games Mr. Takemiya presented in his lecture.

There was also time for sight-seeing, and for good seafood dinners.  Miss Chujo went for a canoe ride, while Mr. Takemiya had a fine round of golf, with three birdies, and also went tango dancing after one of his lectures.  Top photo: Takemiya Masaki; bottom: Chihiro Chujo. Report/photos by Brian Allen

In a surprise announcement, not one but two Lasker Awards were made at this year’s U.S. Go Congress. The recipients were two longtime go organizers, Richard Dolen (middle in photo at right) and Frank Fukuda (right in photo below). As Dolen himself modestly noted, his greatest claim to fame in 60 years in the go community is having taken Michael Redmond to Japan as a young boy, where he was accepted as a pupil by Oeda Yusuke 8P and eventually became the first US-born 9-dan professional go player. Fukuda’s long go history in Seattle includes being part of the Last Exit Go Club’s team that organized the second U.S. Go Congress in Seattle in 1985. Dolen, whose go career has taken him around the world, has played a key role in the Los Angeles go scene for many years, and the Cotsen Open – one of the major events on the U.S. go calendar – is the result of Dolen introducing Eric Cotsen to Yilun Yang 7P. Fukuda was a key player in the creation of the Seattle Go Center, as well as helping ensure its survival and growth. Click here for Dolen’s “Snapshots from 60 Years of Go” and “Chris Kirscher on Frank Fukuda.” The Lasker Award is named after Edward Lasker, a founder of the American Go Association. photos: top right: Dolen (center) with AGA President Andy Okun (left) and E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock; bottom left: Fukuda (right) with 2013 Congress Director Chris Kirschner; photos by Phil Straus