American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments

Beumgeon (Evan) Cho defeated Zhi Yuan (Andy) Liu in an edge-of-the-seat nailbiting Round 5 victory on Sunday to win the 2013 Cotsen Open. The thrilling last-round contest between the two undefeated players — Liu was going for a bi-coastal sweep after winning the Gotham Open earlier this month in New York City — drew a crowd in the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles as well as online where observers watched Myungwan Kim 9P’s live analysis of the game. In third place was Eric Lui, Won Sik Lee took 4th place, Calvin Sun 5th and Andrew Lu 6th. Santa Monica won the $1,000 Club Champion prize, Orange County was second and Tucson third. In other division results, Anders Kierulf won Division A (4d-3d), Daniel Alvira won Division B (2d-1d), Jung Kang won Division C (1-5k), Gary Huang won Division D (6-11k) and Charles Polkiewicz won Division E (12k+). Click here for the final crosstab and see below for game records. photos: at right: Cho (center) with tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen (right) and AGA President Andy Okun; at left: the round 5 game. report by Chris Garlock; photos by Chrissy Hampton.

Round 4
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd1_Won Sik Lee-Beomgeun Cho-Hajin Lee Commentary
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd2_Andy Liu-Eric Lui
2013.10.27_CotsenRd4Bd3_Deuk Chang-Rui Wang

Round 5
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd1_Beomgeun Cho-Andy Liu-Myungwan Kim Commentary
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd2_Juyong Ko-Won Sik Lee
2013.10.27_CotsenRd5Bd3_Eric Lui-Ari Saito

2013.10.27_Cotsen-pro-pro_Wang Qun-YilunYang 

Before a single stone had been played at this weekend’s Cotsen Open in Los Angeles, two announcements drew sustained and resounding applause from the 140 gathered players. First was tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen’s confirmation that “funding has been secured for the next four Cotsen Opens,” guaranteeing the return of the popular annual event through 2017. The second was Asian Go Federation (AGF) President Dae-won Suh’s announcement that plans are in the works for a Korean Baduk Cup in spring 2014, to be held, like the Cotsen, at the Korean Cultural Center. “I wish you all the best of luck,” said a beaming Suh. “Now let’s play baduk!” And with that, a day of fierce competition commenced over three hotly-contested rounds, broken only by a lunch break for free tacos from the food truck conveniently parked in the KCC parking lot, enabling players to enjoy a tasty lunch beneath clear Southern California skies before returning to the boards inside. Hundreds who could not attend the tournament followed the action live on KGS where the E-Journal team broadcast top boards, with pro commentaries on selected games. Leading the field are Beomgeun Cho, Andy Liu, Won Sik Lee and Eric Lui, all with 3-0 records (Click here for the tournament crosstab and see below for game records). The tournament continues Sunday with a pro-pro game on KGS starting at 8a PST between Yilun Yang 7p and Wang Qun 8p, followed by the final two rounds of the Cotsen. photo collage: top right: Haijin Lee 3p reviews a player’s game; bottom right: spectators gather around one of the top boards; bottom left: two masseuses — one of the Cotsen’s unique features — work their way through the field; top left: longtime go author Richard Bozulich (at left, talking to AGA President Andy Okun) dropped by for a brief visit Saturday morning while in town from Japan on a business trip. photo at left: Cotsen staff play a casual game.

Report, photos & collage by Chris Garlock

Game Records
Round 1
2013.10.26_CotsenRd1Bd1_Beomgeun Cho-Yixian Zhou
2013.10.26_CotsenRd1Bd2_Andy Liu-Wayne Cheng-Haijin Lee Commentary
2013.10.26_CotsenRd1Bd3_Won Sik Lee-Izuki Matsuba

Round 2
2013.10.26_CotsenRd2Bd1_Beomgeun Cho-Ari Saito-Yilun Yang Commentary
2013.10.26_CotsenRd2Bd2_Andy Liu-Gus Price
2013.10.26_CotsenRd2Bd3_Won Sik Lee-Rui Wang

Round 3
2013.10.26_CotsenRd3Bd1_BeomgeunCho-CalvinSun-MyungwanKimCommentary
2013.10.26_CotsenRd3Bd2_Andy Liu-Juyong Ko
2013.10.26_CotsenRd3Bd3_Yunxuan Li-Won Sik Lee 

Online registration for the 2013 Cotsen Go Open and 2nd AGA Pro Prelim is now closed. To register on-site in Los Angeles, come early this Saturday, October 26th; registration opens at 8a at the Korean Cultural Center (5505 Wilshire Blvd). “If you are not registered by 9:30, you will not be allowed to play in the first game,” organizers warn. The Cotsen features a number of unique attractions, including paying the AGA “one time rating fee” for all players who do not currently have an AGA membership, prizes for those who can solve certain go problems, one candidate will be selected for the AGA’s next professional certification tournament to be held later this year. Plus, Myung-wan Kim 9P, one of the organizers of the US pro system, will also be on hand to teach and play simultaneous games and local Southern California favorite and renowned US teacher Yi-Lun Yang 7P will also teach and provide game commentary. There will also be a pro game over the internet between Yi-Lun Yang 7P and another pro. Lee Hajin 3p and Kim Minhee 3p will also be there to do game reviews and simuls along with a late addition to the delegation, Kim Younghwan 9p.  Kim (left) became pro in 1987. His nickname is “Younghwan Wizard” because of his ability to give more handicap stones to amateur players than any other pro, and still win. He is currently working as a baduk instructor and a commentator for Baduk TV. The tournament also features free lunch at a food truck (but only for those who pre-register) and two masseuses who will make the rounds “to ease the tensions that arise in your shoulders when you discover that your big group really doesn’t have two eyes.” There are also go club prizes of $1,500, to be awarded to top three clubs that have the most points overall in the tournament. Top-board games will be broadcast live on KGS by the E-Journal. photo: Cotsen with son Lord at the 2012 Cotsen Open; top right photo by Chris Garlock