Monday August 1, 2011
U.S. Open Round 1 Board 1
July 31, 2011
W: Dae Hyuk Ko 7d
B: Bill Lin 7d
Commentary by Mingjiu Jiang 7P, transcribed by Chris Garlock
It’s not a good idea to leave the scene in the middle of a fight. That’s the lesson of this game commentary by Mingjiu Jiang, who applies his usual sharp eye and dry sense of humor to the game.
Game recorder: Dennis Wheeler
Broadcast on KGS
Monday August 1, 2011
Celmer, Castanza and Smith Win in AGA Board Elections
Paul Celmer edged out Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang for the Eastern seat on the AGA’s Board of Directors in the just-concluded election; Celmer received 26 votes, or 53%, to 22 – or 44% — for Zhang. Gordon Castanza (Western) and Daniel Smith (central) were unopposed and won with 92% and 87%, respectively.
U.S. Go Congress Tournament Crosstab Links
2011 US Open
2011 North American Masters Tournament
2011 Redmond Cup Junior Division
2011 Redmond Cup Senior Division
2011 Strong Players Open
13×13 Tournament: Seth Wax 5d; Eric Su 4d; Chris Linden 1d; Luke Zhang 1d; Austen Liao 4k; Michael Lash 6k; Julian Erville 10k; Kalinda Fraser 18k. Four tables each of dan players and kyu players. Tournament directed by Jim Hlavka.
– Laura Kolb
9×9 Tournament: Tournament Director: Jay Tabaniag
# of Participants: 54
Table 1 winner: Gansheng Shi 7d 5-0
Curtis Tang 7d 0-5; Matthew Burrall 7d 2-3; Calvin Sun 7d 2-3; Hugh Zhang 7d 2-3; Lionel Zhang 6d 4-1
Table 2 winner: Zhirui Yang 6d 4-1; Table 3 winner: Tony Xie 6d 4-1; Table 4 winner: Jerry Shen 4d 4-1; Table 5 winner: Henry Zhang 1k 4-1; Table 6 winner: Michael Scudder 2k 5-0; Table 7 winner: Sathya Anand 3k 4-1; Table 8 winner: William Fraser 5k 4-1; Table 9 winner: David Niu 6k 4-1
photo: the main room at the U.S. Open on Monday morning; photo by Chris Garlock
Monday August 1, 2011
The North American Ing Masters (NAIM) Championship is the North
American continental championship. Featured in a variety of formats over the years, this year’s tournament — which kicked off Sunday night at the U.S. Go Congress — is a 16-person, 4-round Swiss tournament that will determine the North American Masters Champion. This tournament is invitation only, and participants are determined by qualification tournaments played over the six months before Congress begins.
Qualification: All players must be rated 4 dan or higher, be eligible to represent the US internationally, and have earned enough points through qualifier competitions to be listed in the top 16 eligible, interested players.
Top row: Mingjiu Jiang 7P; Zi Yang Hu 1P; Huiren Yang 1P; Calvin Sun 7d
2nd row: Daniel Chou 7d; Dae Hyuk Ko 7d; Yongfei Ge 7d; Guozhong Zhuang 6d
3rd row: Kuo-Ruey Han 6d; Vincent Zhuang 6d; Zhaonian Chen 7d; Juyong Koh 7d
4th row: Curtis Tang 7d; Kevin Chao 5d; Philip London 4d; Yuan Zhou 7d
photos by Steve Colburn; collage by Chris Garlock
Monday August 1, 2011
Calvin Sun 7d and Aaron Ye 4d both won their first round matches in the Redmond Cup this afternoon. Sun, who is 14, battled Gansheng Shi 7d, age 17, in the senior division, while Ye (at left above) squared off against Sammy Zhang 4d (at right) in the Junior Division. Ye, who is only 9 years old, took his afternoon nap before the 3 pm match against Zhang, who is 11. The games were broadcast live on KGS, and Redmond Meijin Curtis Tang 7d, provided live commentary. Tang, who has won the Redmond Cup five times, has competed against both Sun and Shi, and knows their styles well. Hundreds of observers checked out the action in the English Game Room, where E-J staff broadcast the games on USGO1, 2, and 3. Tangs commentary is attached in this game, the Jr. Division match is up on the congress crosstab. Round 2 will be at 3 pm PST on Tuesday, Aug. 2, again with commentary by Tang, the third round will be on Thursday the 4th, at 3 pm. – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Aaron Ye 4d 9 (l) vs. Sammy Zhang (r) while Redmond Cup founder None Redmond looks on.
Sunday July 31, 2011
E-Journal photographer Phil Straus will be posting portraits of go players each day this week; here’s his first collection:
Sunday July 31, 2011
(7/31/2011; 10a PST) The first round of the 2011 U.S. Open is now underway at the U.S. Go Congress in Santa Barbara, CA, with the top 
three boards being broadcast live on KGS every morning starting around 9a PST. Pairings and game records — including game commentaries — can be found online. Check back for updated pairings, results and game records throughout the week!
Sunday July 31, 2011
The American Go E-Journal’s live broadcasts on Day One — Sunday, July 31 — of the 2011 U.S. Go Congress include:
– U.S. Open: top boards in Round 1 will be broadcast live on KGS starting around 9a PST (12 noon EST)
– Redmond Cup: the four finalists in the 2011 Redmond Cup will compete live from the U.S. Go Congress in a special E-Journal broadcast at 3p PST (6p EST) Sunday on KGS. The players are Gansheng Shi 7d vs. Calvin Sun 7d and Aaron Ye 4d vs. Sammy Zhang 3d.
– North American Ing Masters: top boards in this 16-player tournament will be broadcast live on KGS starting at 7p PST.
photo: Calvin Sun (l) plays Gangshen Shi in the 9×9 tournament Saturday night; photo by Steve Colburn
Saturday July 30, 2011
Now you can follow all the action at the 2011 U.S. Go Congress — which runs July 31-August 6 in Santa Barbara CA — in a 
number of ways:
– AGA website: we’ll be posting updates each day throughout the week, including news, photos and games
– E-Journal: daily reports drawn from the previous day’s website posts
– Twitter: follow us @gocongress for updates by the EJ’s Steve Colburn
– KGS: top boards at the U.S. Open every morning and top boards at the Ing Masters every night
Photo: American Go Association President Allan Abramson (r) enjoys a casual game Saturday morning as the 2011 U.S. Congress gets started on the UCSB campus in Santa Barbara, CA. photo by Steve Calburn.
Friday July 29, 2011
The 2011 US Go Congress begins Saturday in Santa Barbara, CA, but attendees are already arriving from around the world. “This year, many attendees
have opted to arrive early and enjoy the air, the beach, and the other go players before anything official starts,” says Congress Co-Director Andrew Jackson (at left, playing the UK’s Francis Roads on Friday night). “They are as excited as we are to greet the 20 attending professionals and nearly 500 fellow go enthusiasts who will be coming to Santa Barbara this year.” Not signed up yet? It’s not too late; click here for details and to register.
– photo by Chris Garlock
Wednesday July 27, 2011
Click here to see all the 2011 U.S. Go Congress reports, including recent tips on 
Checking In/Registering, Other Games, Transportation & Parking, Arrival/Registration, Sign Up Online for Congress Pair Go and more.