American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments

Long Live the King! Final NAMT Qualifier Scheduled for July 6-7

Wednesday June 19, 2013

The final North American Masters Tournament (NAMT) qualifier of the 2013 season is scheduled to be played online the weekend of July 6-7. “This tournament coincides with the rise to power of both Richard the Lionheart and Elvis Presley,” reports AGA Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. Richard (right) was crowned on July 6, 1189, and Presley’s first single — “That’s All Right” — was broadcast 765 years later on Memphis radio station WHBQ on July 7, 1954. You don’t have to be a king or a rock star to play in the tournament but you do need to be at least 4-dan and you must register by July 3. The 4-round online tournament is open to players rated 4D+ and eligible to compete in this year’s North American Masters Tournament at the Go Congress in Tacoma WA. Eligibility for AGA players is based on citizenship or permanent residency in the US, residency in the US for 6 of the past 12 months, and continuous full or youth AGA membership. Click here for detailed schedule and rules, as well as a link to registration. “Long Live the King!” says Burrall.

Categories: Events/Tournaments,U.S./North America

Takemiya Confirmed for U.S. Go Congress; Chinese Weiqi Names Two from Chongqing Go Team

Thursday June 13, 2013

The Nihon Ki-in has just confirmed that the legendary Takemiya Masaki 9P will attend the 2013 U.S. Go Congress, which runs August 3-11 in Tacoma, WA. Famous for his ‘cosmic style‘ of play – focusing on the construction of large moyos and taking territory in the center — Takemiya wowed 2009 Congress attendees with his lectures, game commentaries and demonstrations of ballroom dancing. “We are so thrilled to welcome Takemiya sensei back to the U.S. Go Congress,” said American Go Association President Andy Okun. “We’re sure he’ll be even more illuminating and entertaining this year.” The Chinese Weiqi Association has also just announced that they’re sending two attendees – Yang Yi 6P and Chen Wei 3P — to the Go Congress. Yang (top left) is director of the Chongqing Qiyuan and senior coach of the Chongqing Go Team, while Chen (bottom left), also from the Chongqing Qiyuan, is Coach of the Chongqing Go Team. Chen primarily teaches now, and more than forty of his students have achieved amateur 5-Dan status. “We are deeply grateful to Chinese Weiqi for the help and collegiality in spreading go and building the go community in North America,” said Okun.
– includes reporting by Lee Anne Bowie; Takemiya photo by Phil Straus

Categories: U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America

Korea Knocked Out In LG Cup Stunner; Japan Fights On

Thursday June 13, 2013

For the first time in the history of the LG Cup, there are no Koreans in the quarter final line-up. Korean fans were left in shock after Tuo Jiaxi 3P (left) knocked out Lee Sedol 9P (right) in a game with a very unusual opening. Japan continued the charge through the draw, with two of the Japanese players, Iyama Yuta 9P and Takao Shinji 9P, making it through, while Kono Rin 9P was defeated by Chen Yaoye 9P. This is the first time Japanese players have made it through to the quarter finals of the LG Cup since 2008, when Kono Rin did so. If Iyama or Takao manages to win the 18th LG Cup, it will be Japan’s first victory in this tournament since O Rissei (who was born in Taiwan) won it in 1998. There are six Chinese players still in the draw. The most notable is Li Zhe 6P, who is making an amazing comeback from his sabbatical, storming his way to the quarter final. Chen, Tuo and Li will be joined by their countrymen, Zhou Ruiyang 9P, Li Qincheng 1P and Xia Chenkun 2P. The two youngsters, Xia Chenkun and Li Qincheng, could turn out to be the dark horses in this competition, as China has some frighteningly strong children coming through the ranks. Though the quarter finals and semifinals will not take place until November, Japanese finalists Iyama and Takao will duel it out in the fourth game of the Honinbo on June 17 and 18. Meanwhile, Chinese finalist Chen Yaoye will compete against defending champion Lee Sedol on the international front at the Chunlan Cup also on June 17.
-Annalia Linnan, based on reports — including pairings, photos, and game records — on Go Game Guru. photo at bottom left: Team Japan (from left, clockwise): Kono Rin, Takao Shinji, Yamashiro Hiroshi, Iyama Yuta and Hane Naoki.

Categories: Events/Tournaments,Go News,Go World

EuroGoTV Updates: Ireland, Romania & Hungary

Wednesday June 12, 2013

Ireland: At the Galway Go Tournament, Justyna Klezcar 2k (right) bested Thomas Shanahan 6k while Anthony Durity 7k placed third. Romania: In Braila, Theodor Toma 2d conquered the under-18 Campionatul National de Go knock-out. Behind Toma were Elian Ioan Grigoriu 2k and Alexandru Georgian Iacob 2k. Hungary: Renato Tolgyesi 1k defeated Dominik Boviz 3d at the 3rd Csiki Cup Group 5 tournament in Budapest; Robert Czismadia 3k took third.
-Annalia Linnan, based on reports on EuroGoTV, where complete result tables and all the latest European go news are available.

Categories: Europe,Events/Tournaments,Go News

DC & Toronto Lead Pandanet-AGA City Leagues; Round 8 Set for Sunday

Monday June 10, 2013

Greater Washington has a slim one-point edge over Los Angeles in the the Pandanet-AGA City A League after seven rounds of play. In the B League Toronto has come out with a strong record and is leading the league with San Francisco hot on their heels. Round 8 is set for this Sunday, June 16 at 2p on IGS. In the A League, Los Angeles will play New York City, Greater Washington will play Boston, and Seattle will play Vancouver. With the field so strong at this point, Boston could wind up challenging LA and GW for the top slot. In the B League, Southern California will take on San Francisco in a tough match-up, Massachusetts will play Washington DC’s Team 2 and Toronto will play Montreal. It will be exciting to see if Toronto will gain another win to stay on top of the standings or will there be a tight playoff the last two rounds to determine the winner. Up-to-date standings are available on the Pandanet-AGA City League Page.

While the east coast has arguably been dominating national tournaments in recent years, LA found a secret weapon in 22-year-old anchor BeomGeun ‘Evan’ Cho 7D. The former Korean insei is 6-0 in the league, and has defeated several former US Open and/or North American Masters champs including Jie Li 7D, Andy Liu 1P, Ziyang Hu 1P and Huiren Yang 1P. And with Daniel Ko and Curtis Tang on tap, the LA team is so solid that if a team cannot beat Cho, then it must beat both Ko and Tang. Team captain Andrew Okun, President of the American Go Association, probably knows how to motivate his team. Meanwhile, with AGA legend Jie Li on board, DC is a legitimate champion candidate. Vancouver’s 2-4 score may be a bit of a surprise, but if they get Ziyang Hu 1P back to the lineup, they are still in the striking range. Boston is 3-0 against three teams with 2 wins, yet win-less against top two teams; it may be time for the team to step out of their “comfort zone”. Seattle has demonstrated the powerful strength of Korean American players, while New York City is also strong, but just has not yet had a good opening. Toronto is leading after beating San Francisco but the DC Team 2 is closely behind, followed by Montreal, Southern CA and Massachusetts.

Jon Boley and Steve Colburn head up the team running the City League, in which teams from North American cities play in a league system on the Pandanet-IGS server in the AGA room. The teams consist of up to five players, out of which three are selected to play in each round.
– report by Steve Colburn and Edward Zhang

Categories: Pandanet-AGA City League,U.S./North America

Tan Xiao, Liu Xing, Shi Yue & Lian Xio Blaze Into Changqi Cup Semi-Finals

Wednesday June 5, 2013

Preliminaries for the 10th Changqi Cup finished May 31 after three days of fierce matches. When the smoke cleared, Tan Xiao 7P, Liu Xing 7P, Shi Yue 9P, and Lian Xio 4P stood above the rest, including last year’s defending champions Chen Yaoye 9P and Tuo Jiaxi 3P. The finalist’s circle was especially sweet for Liu as he competed in 2007, 2008, and 2011 to no avail. However, this year he bested his two-time conqueror Gu Li 9P. No date has been set for the semifinals, although the finals have been scheduled for late October 2013.

Known as one of China’s “most generously sponsored tournaments” with a grand prize of over $73,000 USD, the Changqi Cup always draws China’s top players. Pros who made an appearance this year were Chang Hao 9P, Fan Tingyu 9P, Kong Jie 9P, and Jiang Weijie 9P, to name a few. Joint-hosts the Chinese Go Association and the Ing Foundation (Shanghai Branch) originally came together in 2004 to honor Ing Chang-ki. For more information about this year’s tournament including photos and game records, please visit Go Game Guru.
– Annalia S. Linnan, based on reporting on Go Game Guru

Categories: Events/Tournaments,Go News,Go Photos

Third International Children’s Art Contest

Wednesday June 5, 2013

The popular International Children’s Go Art Contest is back for the third year in a row, and children are invited to submit their pieces. Last year’s contest drew almost 70 entries, from ten different countries, and this year organizers hope to pull in even more. The entries will be exhibited at the US Go Congress in Tacoma, in August. The categories will be for under 12 and under 16, with three winners, and 2 notable entries in each category. Magnetic go sets for the top six winners will be provided by Yellow Mountain Imports. To see some highlights of last year’s entries, visit the online gallery on the Go Symposium site. The contest also has a Facebook page here. Complete entry information is available in the pdf file attached to this link (right click to download once it takes you to the page with the file) GoArtContest2013. –Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

Categories: Europe,Go Art,U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America,World,Youth

Hsiang Elected IMSA General Secretary, Urges Strong N.A. Players to Participate in 2013 SportAccord World Mind Games

Monday June 3, 2013

Longtime International Go Federation and American Go Association official Thomas Hsiang (second from right) was elected General Secretary of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) at the 2013 SportAccord Convention held during the week of May 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia. IMSA also announced that the 2013 and 2014 SportAccord World Mind Games (SAWMG) will be held December 12-18 in Beijing for both years. For 2013, North America is invited to send a three-man team and one female player to compete for a total prize fund of $400,000 USD. “For North American players, this will be the most lucrative international tournament,” Hsiang told the E-Journal. For example, the team would get $9,000 if they defeat Europe; the female player would get $2,000 if she places 8th; and the pair would get $5,000 if they defeat Europe. “The AGA is planning a selection tournament, possibly using the NAMT event, to select our representative,” Hsiang said. Strong players, especially pros with North American citizenship, are encouraged to make inquiries with the AGA tournament coordinator, at tournaments@usgo.org. The IMSA executive committee also elected the following officials: President: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (FIDE); Deputy President: Harry Otten (FMJD); Treasurer: Marc de Pauw (WBF). In addition, Geoffrey Borg (FIDE) was designated the Executive Director. photo: Hsiang (second from right) with IGF Secretary General Yuki Shigeno (far right); photo by Ivan Vigano

Categories: Europe,SportAccord World Mind Games,U.S./North America,World

U.S. Go Congress Calendar Posted

Sunday June 2, 2013

Attendees at this year’s US Go Congress can start planning their daily activities now with the Congress’ handy Google Calendar. The the 29th Annual US Go Congress is set for August 3-11 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and the schedule includes the US Open, the largest annual go tournament in the US, professional lectures and game analysis, continuous self paired games, and all kinds of go-related activities from morning to midnight. Congress organizers credit “the talented work of Bart Jacob and Jared Beck” for the first-ever online calendar. “Remember, though, that the calendar is a dynamic production,” notes Gordon Castanza, “so come back to it now and then to see if there are any updates. We will strive to use this valuable tool during the Congress as well. So those with portable devices, laptops, tablets, etc. can see the calendar at any time.”

Categories: U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America

KBA Names Two Pros for US Go Congress

Wednesday May 29, 2013

The Korea Baduk Association is sending Kim Hyunghwan 6p and Lee Dahye 4p to the US Go Congress in Tacoma this year. Kim Hyunghwan, 27, is a student of famed teacher Kapyong Kwon, whose students include Lee Sedol 9p and Park Junghwan 9p. He distinguished himself as a youth player, and was unbeaten in the 2001 WYGC in Maui, Hawaii, becoming pro the following year. The Maui experience prompted him to study English. He is also a student of Chinese and teaches go at university clubs. Lee Dahye, 28, aside from representing Korea in international play, is a specialist at teaching beginners, expertise she will be sharing as an instructor at the first ever AGA classroom teaching certification workshop at Congress. Since 2008, Lee has amassed an impressive record broadcasting lessons on Baduk TV, K-Baduk and Cyberoro (you can see some of her lessons on YouTube here). She has also taught soldiers in Korea’s military, students at university clubs, and multicultural youth. She edited the Korean edition of Hikaru no go as well. Most relevant for the teaching workshop, she is co-author of the Korean-English go book, Falling in Love with Baduk, which will be distributed to workshop students free in PDF form (it is available for download through the AGF here as well). She graduated Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, majoring in Japanese, and is in graduate school in the same university. -Andy Okun, with assistance from Myungwan Kim 9p. Photo: Lee Dahye 4p

Categories: U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America,World,Youth

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