American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments

Behind the Scenes at the US Go Congress: Andy Olsen

Friday August 11, 2017

Every tournament must have a director, and Andy Olsen has consistently stepped up to the plate on the Wednesday day off to direct the Die Hard tournament for those players that don’t want to take a rest day in the middle of the annual U.S. Go Congress. Olsen believes this is the fifth time he has directed the event. “I like to volunteer and help out, and this tournament is a focused one-day effort,” Olsen says. “The rest of the time, I get to play.” He first learned to play go in college, and began playing on IGS while also playing in his college chess club in 1993. After graduating college he moved to Houston, and tried both the local chess and go clubs. “The part of go I like best is the exchange of ideas with your opponent and reviews after the games,” Olsen explains, and the players at the Houston go club did that – the players at the chess club didn’t – so he stuck with go. The 2003 Go Congress in Houston took place during a lull in his go playing habit, which Olsen characterizes as unfortunate, but he has attended every Go Congress since 2009 in Washington DC. At more than half of those he has served as the TD for the Die Hard tournament, working hard behind the scenes to make sure that go players who want to maximize this once-a-year opportunity to immerse themselves in the game are afforded a chance to pass up local charms and get some more rated games under their belts.

-report/photo by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

Categories: Events/Tournaments,U.S. Go Congress

U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap: Day Five

Thursday August 10, 2017

US Go Congress Tournament Schedule: Thursday 8/10
9:00a: US Open, round 4; US Open Masters Division, round 6
1:00p: Seniors’ Tournament, round 4; Youth Relay Go
3:00p: Youth Redmond Cup; Women’s Tournament, round 3
7:00p: North American Pair Go Championship; Evening League day 4

Die Hard
While other players relaxed and gave themselves a break from go on Wednesday, over 90 players decided they didn’t need a break and played four rounds in the Die Hard tournament yesterday. Five die hard go players went undefeated: Aaron Ye 7d, James Carrier 3k, James Funk 6k, Darwin Kim 8k, and Zongren Huang 20k.

Crazy Go
Tuesday night was abuzz with go activity ranging from slightly nontraditional to downright bizarre. “We’ve got a new variation of Treasure Go this year,” says long-time TD Terry Benson about Tuesday night’s Crazy Go event. The new variation was introduced as an addition to regular favorites including Tessellation Go (photo left), Zen Go, Rengo Kriegspiel, and Galactic Go. Treasure Go is played on a 13×13 board with golden treasures on each of the 4-4 points; a captured treasure is an automatic win. Players must prevent their opponent from capturing any of the treasures and still win on the board. “The upset of the night was when Cole Pruitt and Ben Lockhart – who made a special request to be sure to play – lost to two 24 kyus,” reports Benson. “The crowd was enthralled and then went wild. But as always in Crazy Go, everyone wins!”

-photo (right): Die Hard go players concentrate on their games on Wednesday.
-report/photos by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

Categories: Events/Tournaments,U.S. Go Congress

Aaron Ye achieves Redmond Meijin; Ary Cheng and Matthew Cheng tied in Junior Division

Thursday August 10, 2017

15-year old Aaron Ye 7d (at left) defeated Muzhen (Alan) Ai 7d (right) 2-0 to claim his fifth Redmond Cup title, making him the third Redmond Meijin (following Eric Lui 1p in 2001 and Curtis Tang 8d in 2010). Ai put up a good fight throughout the match, having held a large territorial lead for most of Game 1 until a decisive mistake in the endgame gave Ye the opportunity to just barely reverse the game and win by 1.5. Determined to cement his title in Game 2, Ye played a solid game, establishing an early territorial advantage and holding it until Ai was forced to resign after miscalculating the life and death of one of Ye’s groups. Ye has been a dominant force in the Redmond Cup ever since he started playing in it at the age of 9, winning the Junior Division four times in a row from 2011-2014. While the competition grew tougher once he aged into the Senior Division (13-17), Ye has remained at the top of the North American youth scene.

In the Junior Division, 11-year old Ary Cheng 6d came out swinging against 10-year old Matthew Cheng 5d, slaying a dragon in what would be a swift Game 1 victory that took just over an hour and only 139 moves. However, Matthew was not deterred and came back in Game 2, able to kill a large group himself and bring the series to a tie. Ary is trying to win his third consecutive Junior title, but this year could be the most difficult yet. He won both of his previous titles with clean 2-0 sweeps. The third and deciding game will take place on Thursday, 8/10 at 3 pm PDT and will be broadcast live on KGS, Youtube, and Twitch, with live video commentary by Michael Chen 8d and Lionel Zhang 7d. Missed any of the games? You can watch recordings of the two Senior Division games with video commentary by former Redmond Cup champions and finalists below: Game 1 (commentary by Eric Lui 1p and Julie Burrall 1d) Game 2 (commentary by Gansheng Shi 1p and Ricky Zhao 7d) – Story and photo by AGA Youth Coordinator Justin Teng.

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

Behind the Scenes at the US Go Congress: Keith Arnold

Wednesday August 9, 2017

Keith Arnold is one of very few with a perfect* US Go Congress attendance record. The second tournament he played in after learning go in college was the very first US Go Congress at Western Maryland College – now called McDaniel College – his alma mater. He hasn’t just been an attendee; Keith directed the 2001 Go Congress in York, PA, and has directed the Lightning Tournament for about two decades now, he’s not quite sure. “That’s a horribly good question,” he says when asked. “I wish I knew the answer to that, but probably in the realm of 20 years.” What brought this baseball cap-clad player to the game in the first place? “Do you want the truth or the lie?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. He continues with a lovely story of traveling with his aunt at the age of 12 to visit her friend Helen in Southern California. They stayed with Helen and her father, who happened to play often with Peter Redmond, Michael Redmond’s father, and Michael himself when he was a kid. Turns out that everything about this story is true. Except that there was no go taught or played on this trip; he actually learned to play after after seeing it played during college and becoming interested. “I love playing go, it hasn’t in the slightest lost its attraction or interest for me,” says Keith. , but on attending Go Congress he adds it’s a combination of the game and the people.

–photos: Keith Arnold in his signature baseball cap (right); counting players off to their tables in the Lightning Tournament.
–report/photos by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

Categories: Events/Tournaments,U.S. Go Congress

U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap/Preview

Tuesday August 8, 2017

US Go Congress Tournaments Schedule: Wednesday 8/9
9:00a: Die Hard
7:00p: Evening League

Hao Wu leading US Open Masters Division
Hao Wu 2P of China is leading the US Open Masters Division this year with an undefeated record of five wins, but the North American professionals are making a fine show with Ryan Li 1P, Andy Liu 1P, and Eric Lui 1P all with 3-1 records. Longtime US Open players Yongfei Ge 7d and Michael Chen 7d also have three wins each. They’ll be back at it Thursday morning with Round 6. Check the Masters crosstab for latest results and top-board game records.

Ryan Li prevails over Bao Yun in Blind Go match: Bao Yun showed off his impressive go skills Tuesday afternoon in a Blind Go match against Ryan Li 1p (right). His eyes covered with a rolled-up bright orange 2017 Go Congress staff shirt, Bao duked it out with Li as E-Journal game recorder Dennis Wheeler called out the coordinates of the moves. A big crowd gathered around the game and this year it was also streamed live on the AGA’s YouTube channel with commentary by Jennie Shen 2p, hosted by Steven Hu 6d. Once again — this was the second year for the Blind Go match — the game was as exciting as it was amazing but in the end Bao Yun ran out of time while trying to break into Ryan Li’s massive moyo.

Youth Lightning, 13×13, and 9×9
Youth Lightning table winners: Hong Yang 6d, Ben Gong 3d, Sangho Wang 2k, Lucas Lu 9k, Stephanie Tan 10k, ZhongRen Huang 20k.
Youth 13×13 table winners: Jeremy Chiu 7D, Tim Cui 5d, Terry Luo 2d, Ben Gong 3d, Andrew Luo 1d, Derek Su 4k, David Volpe 7k, Yulissa Wu 10k, Lujia Chen 21k.
Youth 9×9 table winners: Jeremy Chiu 7d, Seowoo Wang 2d, Darwin Kim 8k, Justin Lee 10k, Vedat Veziroglu 12k, Isabella Leong 22k.

– reported by Tournaments Bureau Chief Karoline Li and Chris Garlock; photo by Garlock

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

Exhilaration in both victory and defeat abound at Lightning Tournament

Tuesday August 8, 2017

“Lightning tournament in five minutes!” called TD Keith Arnold outside the main playing room Monday night as players gathered to test themselves against the clock. After subsequent three and one minute warnings, Arnold lined all the players up along the wall according to rank and began explaining the rules. Most of them were common rules for a normal tournament with a notable exception: each player only gets 10 minutes on the clock with sudden death, no overtime. “If your opponent forgets to hit their clock, think very carefully about your next move,” Arnold quipped before counting the players off into tables of six players each. In the spirit of his speed tournament, the rules announcement and pairings are done in less than 10 minutes, and games commenced immediately. Choruses of laughter and surprised exclamations resounded as players did their best play as quickly as possible without making foolish mistakes, especially as the clocks ticked inexorably down to zero. “Oh my god, why am I so dumb!” came the plaintive cry from one table, followed by “What am I doing!” from another. Even AGA President Andy Okun (right) got in on the fun, taking a break from his numerous official duties at Go Congress, and hilarity ensued around the room as players explored the limits of their go abilities at ludicrous speed.

–photo (left): a player reacts to his mistake under time pressure
-report/photos by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

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

U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap: Day Three

Tuesday August 8, 2017

US Go Congress Tournament Schedule: Tuesday 8/8
9:00a: US Open, round 3; US Open Masters Division, round 5
1:00p: Seniors’ Tournament, round 3; Youth-Adult Pair Go
1:30p: Under-16 Girls’ Tournament, day 1
7:00p: Crazy Go

Lightning Tournament
The main playing area at the Go Congress is usually a scene of quiet concentration. Not Monday night, when it was a cacophony of slammed stones, slapped clocks and raucous laughter as go players tried desperately to play coherent games with only 10 minutes of basic time and sudden death. TD Keith Arnold extended a special thanks to Mark Nahabedian for graciously bowing out of the tournament to make an even number of players. See our full story on this year’s Lightning Tournament and a behind-the-scenes profile of TD Keith Arnold.
Table winners: Yom Nonaka 5d, Tanimiya Yuichi 5d, Zhaoting Han 5d, David Glekel 4d, Konrad Scheffler 2d, Boris Bernadsky 1d, Noah Doss 1k, Jim Fienup 3k, Luke Belyeu 4k, Caleb Johnson 6k, David Baran 8k, Zougren Huang 20k.

–report by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief; photo by Chris Garlock

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

U.S. Go Congress Updates: Andy Liu and Wu Hao undefeated in Masters; Tuesday’s Congress coverage; Congress tournament recap coming; Pro game commentaries, Masters Rounds 1-3

Tuesday August 8, 2017

Andy Liu and Wu Hao undefeated in Masters: And then there were two. After four rounds of spirited play in the 2017 US Open Masters Division, just two players remain undefeated: Andy Liu 1p and Wu Hao 2p. Wu Hao began the day by defeating 2016 Masters champion Bao Yun in a game that looked good for the defending champion until the late endgame, when the margin had narrowed so much that Bao was forced to launch a last ditch — and as it turns out, unwinnable — ko that cost him a large group and the game. In the evening round, Wu Hao forced Ryan Li to resign after just 150 moves. Andy Liu beat Eric Lui 1p in Round 3 and then bested Tim Song 1p in a dramatic game that included a late-game swap of groups. Check the Masters crosstab for latest results and top-board game records.

Tuesday’s Congress coverage: The E-Journal’s live coverage on Tuesday, August 8 begins with a preview of the day on the AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels at 8:30a PDT, and broadcast of Round 5 of the U.S. Masters top boards starts at 9a on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting around 10a. At 2p we’ll broadcast Bao Yun’s “Blindfold Go” game against Ryan Li on all three platforms.

Congress tournament recap coming: Watch the website Tuesday morning for our updates on the Lightning, Youth Lightning, 13×13 and 9×9 tournaments. Meanwhile, check the US Open crosstab for latest results.

Pro game commentaries, Masters Rounds 1-3: Click here to download the following pro commentaries:
Jennie Shen 2p on the Round 1, Board 2 game between Bao Yun and AaronYe.
Yilun Yang 7p on the Round 2, Board 4 game between Andy Liu and Albert Yen.
Shirley Lin 1p on the Round 3, Board 2 game between Bao Yun and Wu Hao.

– photos (right): US Open Round 2 (by Chris Garlock); (left) Congress main playing area lobby (by Phil Straus); report by Chris Garlock

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

U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap

Monday August 7, 2017

US Go Congress Tournaments Schedule: Monday 8/7
9:00a: US Open, round 2; US Open Masters Division, round 3
1:00p: Seniors’ Tournament, round 2; Youth 9×9
2:00p: Youth 13×13
3:00p: Women’s Tournament, round 2; Youth Redmond Cup
7:00p: US Open Masters Division, round 4; Lightning; Evening League, night 2

Evening League
The Evening League – the evolution of the Self-Paired Tournament – has gotten a major tech upgrade in its second year thanks to TD Andrew Hall. Hall developed a web app for tracking played games and statistics that anyone can access for tournament updates. “I’ve been running a continuous version of the tournament in the Boston community since last year,” Hall says, allowing him to refine the tournament structure and improve results tracking. Visit evening-league.massgo.org to see the results of the first night of play, and throughout the week to check on player results and statistics. This year there are only four nights of scheduled play, but like last year players may play self-paired games and submit them to the tournament throughout the week.

13×13 Tournament
A smaller than usual but still jovial crowd gathered for the 13×13 tournament Sunday evening. TD Jim Hlavka reported a few over 40 players, and expects that the lower numbers this year are a result of the lack of 13×13 tournament at last year’s Go Congress. Table winners: Brandon Zhou 6D, Yin Zhang 2D, Eugene Zhang 1D, Jim Conyngham 4k, Darwin Kim 4k, Maria Espinosa 9k, Josh Johnson 16k.

Women’s Tournament
TD Lisa Scott also reported a lower turnout than previous years. However, she concedes that part of this is due to some women choosing to play in the Seniors’ Tournament, which takes place on an overlapping schedule. Regardless, Scott is pleased with the strong field of players, a good number of whom are 4 dan and stronger.

photo (right): Evening League TD Andrew Hall punches the clock.
photo(left): Players smile over their tiny boards in the 13×13 tournament.

-report/photos by Karoline Li, E-Journal Tournaments Bureau Chief

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

U.S. Go Congress Updates: Monday’s Congress coverage; US Open/Masters crosstabs published; Game records reminder

Monday August 7, 2017

Monday’s Congress coverage: The E-Journal’s live coverage on Monday, August 7 begins with a preview of the day — and an overview of Congress tournaments with E-Journal Tournaments Bureau Chief Karoline Li — on YouTube and Twitch at 8:30a PDT, and broadcast of Round 3 of the U.S. Masters top boards starts at 9a on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting around 10a. Coverage of the Redmond Cup continues on all three platforms at 3p. Starting at 7p our coverage of Round 4 of the U.S. Masters will be carried on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting about an hour later.

US Open/Masters crosstabs published: Tournament crosstabs for both the US Open and Masters are now up. If you believe the wrong result has been posted, contact the Tournament Director at Usopen@gocongress.org.

Game records reminder: To get your game records added to the official US Open crosstab, email your sgf files to us at journal@usgo.org. Be sure to complete the game information with both player’s names and the game result. For best results, please send them in by 6p on the day the game is played.
photo: checking US Open Round 1 pairings; photo by Chris Garlock

Categories: U.S. Go Congress

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