Events/Tournaments « American Go E-Journal

2022 U.S. Go Congress gets underway in Colorado

Sunday July 31, 2022

The 2022 U.S. Go Congress – the first in-person event since 2019 – got underway on Saturday as hundreds of go players from across the country made the trek to The YMCA of the Rockies playing site in Estes Park, Colorado. Despite the additional challenge of having to covid test all attendees, the registration process went smoothly. While the vast majority of attendees tested negative, several did test positive, underlining the need to observe the Congress masking rules to protect everyone’s safety, organizers told the E-Journal.

With the U.S. Open not beginning until Monday morning, many players used the extra day to take in the scenic opportunities offered by the site amid the Rocky Mountains, while others participated in the ever-popular Self-Paired Tournament, which began at 5p on Saturday. Also on Saturday was the first round in the Redmond Cup for youth players, and on Sunday afternoon the top players met in the first round of the U.S. Masters.

Once again this year, the E-Journal is providing extensive coverage of the Go Congress: follow us on Twitter and for live game coverage, check out our Twitch channel, where we’ll broadcast games from the U.S. Masters and the U.S. Open (starting each morning at 9a Mountain Time), with commentary by professional go players as well as popular go streamers and strong amateurs. And of course we’ll be posting reports on our website and in the EJ. Another great option this year is to get the YAPP app, which has its own social stream, where Congress participants are posting photos and updates.

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

YAPP is back!

Friday July 15, 2022

The handy Yapp app that allows Go Congress attendees to see the latest Congress events schedule, post photos and see profiles of other attendees is back. The app – first used at the 2018 Congress in Williamsburg, VA, enables users to see the latest schedule of events like pro simuls as new information is added, and Congress attendees can create their own personal schedule to ensure they get the most out of the event. The Social Feed a great place to share photos, which may be picked up by the EJ Congress team to share on the AGA’s Twitter feed as well as in EJ reports. The attendees section is a great way to introduce yourself to other Congress participants with a pic and a bio about your interests.

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

EJ team seeks Congress game recorders

Sunday July 10, 2022

The E-Journal plans to livestream top boards once again this year at the upcoming U.S. Go Congress — July 30 – August 7 in Estes Park, CO — and is looking for a few dedicated volunteers to record the games. This is a great way to provide an important service to the world go community, as well as to gain valuable experience closely watching top games. Game recorders must have their own laptops and need to be available during the U.S. Open rounds, which generally take place in the morning during the Congress. Email journal@usgo.org if interested and/or need more details.
photo: Justin Teng recording at the 2016 U.S. Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock

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

The 32nd International Amateur Pair Go Championship Officially Announced

Thursday July 7, 2022

After a 2-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Japan Go Association and World Pair Go Association have announced The 32nd International Amateur Pair Go Championship (IAPGC). Players from around the world will be invited to participate in a 2-day tournament in Tokyo, Japan from December 10-11, 2022.

Similar to previous years, the two U.S. representatives will be determined at the Pair Go Championship at this year’s in-person Go Congress. To be an eligible pair, both players must have U.S. citizenship and have one year of continuous AGA membership. The highest-ranked four pairs will play in a 2-round tournament to represent the U.S. at the IAPGC. An online sign-up form will be available at the Congress.

Categories: Main Page,Pair Go,U.S./North America

Kevin Yang and Alexander Qi top 2022 NAGF professional tournament

Friday July 1, 2022

A pair of precocious 14-year-olds are North America’s newest professional go players.

Kevin Yang and Alexander Qi topped a competitive field at the North American Go Federation’s (NAGF) 2022 Pro Qualification tournament this week. Click here for final standings, game records and links to video commentaries.

Held at the National Go Center in Washington D.C., the pro qualifier featured eleven top North American amateurs facing off in two rounds a day over five grueling days starting last Monday. Yang swept Group A, defeating Eric Yoder, Qiyou Wu, Eric Lee, Yuan Zhou and Val Lewis. Qi was also undefeated in Group B, beating Remi Campagnie, Edward Zhang, Nate Morse and Tyler Oyakawa.

Yang and Qi then faced off in a best-of-three match, splitting the first two games, with Yang winning the third game on Thursday morning to clinch the first pro spot. Qi then took on Eric Yoder for the second pro slot, going 2-0.

American Go Association president Andy Okun congratulated all the players for their “extremely high level of play,” and said that it was a “special pleasure” to award Yang and Qi the 2022 NAGF professional certificates after their impressive performances this week. Okun thanked the NAGF for organizing the qualification tournament, I-Han Lui for directing, and the National Go Center for hosting. The qualification tournament was partly sponsored by the Iwamoto North American Foundation for Go (INAF).

Yang, who hails from California, started playing go when he was nine years old and in addition to his mother, who got him started, credits professional instruction for improving his game. His favorite part of the game, he told the EJ, “is probably the fighting in the middle game. It really gets your adrenaline flowing, you know?” His advice to amateurs who want to improve is “study life and death and don’t get too caught up in AI game analysis” because the AI moves are so high level they can be confusing “until you get up around 6-dan.”

Qi, who’s from New Jersey, started playing go when he was eight years old, learning from his father. He credits studying life and death with helping improve his game, along with reviewing pro games. Although he says he doesn’t have a lot of time for other hobbies, he does enjoy playing table tennis.

Special thanks to all the game recorders at the NGC this week, and to the amazing team at Baduk Club – led by Devin Fraze – who provided the online game commentary for the NAGF Pro Qualification tournament.
– report by Chris Garlock
NOTE: (7/6) Post updated to reflect INAF’s sponsorship.

Clockwise from top left: Postgame analysis of the final Qi-Yoder game; Rene Campagnie ponders Yoder’s broken ladder magic; postgame analysis of the final Yang-Qi game; Yang (standing in yellow) and Qi at the 2018 Cotsen Open; Yang-Qi final round game; AGA president Andy Okun, TD I-Han Lui, Yang and Qi with their pro certificates and winner’s checks. photos by Chris Garlock except the 2018 Yang-Qi photo by Robert Qi.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament

Yang v. Qi in decisive Game 3 Thursday morning for next NAGF Pro

Wednesday June 29, 2022

*Yang (left) and Qi; photo by I-Han Lui*

The next NAGF professional will be decided at Thursday morning’s final between Kevin Yang and Alex Qi, who split games on Wednesday. Yang — the top player in Group A — prevailed in their head-to-head match Wednesday morning, but Qi — the top player in Group B — bounced back to take Game Two on Wednesday afternoon, setting up the exciting finale on Thursday.

Eric Yoder and Remi Campagnie, who had both placed second in their groups and lost their semifinal placement games, mirrored the top-board battle, with Yoder taking the Wednesday morning game and Campagnie returning the favor that afternoon. The winner of their next match on Thursday morning will play the loser in Group A, and the winner of that final best of three showdown will become the second North American professional.

*Campagnie (left) vs Yoder; photo by I-Han Lui*

Complete standings here, and follow the NAGF Pro Qualifier’s live streaming coverage at 9:30am ET and 2:30pm ET, click here for live pairings and game files. Click here for photos, follow on Twitter, tournament details and player profiles here.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

Kevin Yang & Alexander Qi lead in NAGF Pro Qualifier

Tuesday June 28, 2022

With a 4-0 record, Kevin Yang leads Group A in the NAGF Pro Qualifier taking place at the National Go Center in Washington, DC, while Alexander Qi is 3-0 in Group B. Complete standings here, and follow the NAGF Pro Qualifier’s live streaming coverage daily at 9:30am ET and 2:30pm ET, click here for live pairings and game files. Click here for photos, follow on Twitter, tournament details and player profiles here.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

NAGF pro qualies kick off in NGC; early round results

Monday June 27, 2022

The 2022 North American Go Federation pro qualifiers kicked off today. Players are split into two groups, and from each group two will make it to a playoff round. Eleven players are competing, after one late withdrawal. After two preliminary rounds, Kevin Yang and Eric Lee are 2-0 in Group A, while Edward Zhang, Remi Coulon and Alexander Qi are 1-0 in Group B.
Click here for informal standings (stay tuned for a formal version with SGF links) and here for photos. Tournament details and player profiles here.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament: Player Profiles

Thursday June 23, 2022

The 2022 Pro Qualification Tournament, organized by the North American Go Federation (NAGF) will be held next week, from June 26 to July 1 at the National Go Center in Washington, DC (read more here).
Here are profiles of some of the players.

photos: top row (l-r): Alexander Qi, Qiyou Wu, Kevin Yang; bottom row: Eric Yoder, Edward Zhang, Yuan Zhou.

Alexander Qi
Alex is 14 years old and lives in New Jersey. He started playing go six years ago. His teachers include Feng Yun, Zhongfan Jian, and Ryan Li. Some of his recent accomplishments include first place in the 2022 Stone Brook Sakura Matsuri Go Tournament, and second place in the 2021 Canadian Open in 2021. Representing the US he took second place in the 2021 CCTV World Youth Amateur Online Go Tournament (13 and under group). He also represented the US in the 36^th World Youth Goe Championship Junior Division in 2019.

Qiyou Wu

I first started playing go at the age of 7 back in China, achieving the rank of 5D at the age of 10, when I came to Canada. I took a detour into chess before realizing that go is my true passion. The evolution of AI in the game was fascinating, as I now find joy in watching Ai games and studying with it. The thing I love the most about go is the endless possibilities for remarkable moves. I hope to play some good games this tournament and learn from the best amateurs in North America.

Kevin Yang
I was born in Rhode Island in the United States and now live in Los Angeles, California. I am 15 years old. I began to learn Go at the age of 9 and developed a strong interest in it. I have studied with Yilun Yang 7P and Han Han 5P. I like playing basketball and piano. I have two younger brothers and one sister. They all like to play go.

Eric Yoder

I learned about go from a friend in 2009, and played a few games online before giving up. Then, in 2011 I read the manga Hikaru no Go, and this time something clicked, as I climbed up the ranks. With not many people nearby who played go, I learned and played almost entirely online, before going to my first tournament in 2016, the Go Congress that year. I’ve gone to congress most years since, and enjoyed making new friends and getting better and better at go over the years.

Edward Zhang

Edward Zhang learned go in 1986. Major past titles include the US Pair Go Championship, NOVA Cherry Blossom, Virginia State Champion, Minnesota Open, Carolina Spring Tournament and the Maryland Open. Edward has served the AGA as tournament director, National Tournament Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator and Board Director. He lives in Fairfax Virginia and is the father of two children. He was educated at Peking University, University of Minnesota. Recent records: 2021 Canadian Open: 4W-2L; 2022 Midwest Open: 3-1; 2022 Pandanet-AGA City League: 7-0. Instructors include Yoonyoung Kim 8P (金仑映),Niu Yutian 7P（牛雨田) and Cao Hengting 5P （曹恒珽).

Yuan Zhou

Yuan Zhou (AGA 7 dan) joined AGA in 1989. Zhou was the president of the University of Maryland Go club, winning 34 go tournaments in the US. Zhou was also elected to the AGA board of directors in 2005. He’s represented the US in international tournaments many times (WAGC, Korea Prime Minister Cup, World Pair Go Championship, etc). In addition to his competitive successes, Zhou is a popular go teacher and lecturer, frequently giving lectures and teaching lessons at various Go clubs in the US. He has also published many books and lives in Maryland.

Other players: Rémi Campagnie; Eric Lee; Val Lewis; Nate Morse; Tyler Oyakawa.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

Four Go Congress rooms now available

Monday June 13, 2022

The US Go Congress in Estes Park now has four East Side lodge rooms available. Onsite lodging sold out several weeks ago, but offsite registration has remained open. Organizers have filled all the rooms for people on the waiting list, and are pleased to offer a few extra. If you want a room act fast, they will likely sell out quickly again. A revised Covid plan is coming out shortly for the congress, and all attendees will receive an update by email in the next few days. For more information, and to register, visit GoCongress.org.

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

American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments