U.S. Go Congress « American Go E-Journal

Andy Liu and Ryan Li to team up with Facebook’s ELF OpenGo in Pair Go exhibition

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Facebook’s OpenGo, which defeated top-30 professional players 14-0 before its debut in May, will join forces with humanity in an Andy+OpenGo vs. Ryan+OpenGo Pair Go Match at the upcoming U.S. Go Congress. Liu and Li will be competing for a substantial $3000 prize. American players will be familiar with both players, who have provided spectacular matches at major North American tournaments and U.S. Go Congresses for years, even before they became professionals and distinguished themselves in international tournaments. This event will provide a fascinating window into how each of them adapts to playing alongside OpenGo. The match will take place at the Go Congress on Tuesday, July 24th, at 7 PM in the Commonwealth auditorium in the Sadler Center. There will be plenty of seats available. The match will be covered by a commentary team of Chris Garlock partnered with a to-be-determined pro.

Categories: Computer Go/AI,Main Page,U.S. Go Congress

Terpstra Named Teacher of the Year

Monday July 9, 2018

Ted Terpstra has been named the American Go Foundation’s Teacher of the Year in recognition of his work with children in the San Diego, CA area. Terpstra has been actively coordinating programs for kids, in as many as six different locations, for several years. “There is great joy in teaching someone to play go, especially a youth,” says Terpstra, “and there is no greater reward in teaching the game than to see the enthusiasm of a student as he or she learns and finally becomes better than the teacher.” Terpstra’s most recent program, held for the sixth year, was at the Jing Institute of Chinese Martial Arts and Culture, where members of the San Diego Go Club came to teach go to the summer day campers. “Thirty youngsters, from kindergarten to sixth-grade, listened attentively as I explained the game,” said Terpstra. “They then grabbed boards and stones to spread out over the floor to play. Several of the students had attended the go class in previous summers and helped the new players learn the game. Hikaru No Go books had already been read by many of the students, as the American Go Foundation had provided them to the school several years ago.” Terpstra has also run programs at a K-12 school, a high school, a Chinese language school, and a public library.

Terpstra is coordinating the Go Teachers’ Workshop at the 2018 U.S. Go Congress in Williamsburg, Virgina in July. Prospective go teachers can be certified by the American Go Association if they attend eight-hours of instruction at the Congress. Several go professionals as well as other seasoned go teachers have agreed to teach the classes. Sign-up for the Workshop can be done at Congress registration on July 21. Terpstra will also hold a special session entitled “How I Started Teaching Go,” on July 23rd, at 4 pm, which will be open to everyone. -Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor. Photos by Ted Terpstra: Top: Terpstra teaching 4th graders how to play; Bottom: Go Class at the 2018 Jing Martial Arts School Summer Camp

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

Congress 2018 Preparation: Get Listed!

Sunday July 1, 2018

At the 2018 US Go Congress coming up later this month in Williamsburg, Virginia there are new social features to help attendees get to know one another and to share their Congress experiences. These are built into the free Congress mobile app for iOS and Android devices. One feature is an ‘Attendees’ page where everyone coming can have a short biography and a picture published.

To get listed just send an email to Gurujeet Khalsa — gurujeet.khalsa@nationalgocenter.org — with a few paragraphs about what you’d like to share about yourself with fellow Congress-goers. Attach a recent picture to the email as well. Take a look at other listings for inspiration by seeing what they have shared. If writing (especially in English) isn’t your strong suit, Congress staff will be happy to edit your posting for grammar and spelling. Your listing can be in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean as well if you send it that way. You can optionally add other Social information including: City, State, Country, Facebook page, personal website, Twitter handle, LinkedIn page, or email.

Congress starts on July 21, so if you have still not registered you should do so now here.

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

Save $50, register for U.S. Go Congress before July 1

Tuesday June 26, 2018

If you’re thinking about attending this year’s U.S. Go Congress, register before this Sunday and save $50. The registration late fee increases $50 on Sunday, July 1st. The biggest U.S. go event of the year includes the U.S. Open, a six-day tournament of epic proportions, the U.S. Masters, where top players compete for $12,000 in prizes, lectures, game reviews, and simuls from American and Asian professionals, youth activities and tournaments including the Redmond Cup, a host of tournaments including the U.S. Women’s tournament, Seniors (55+), 9×9, 13×13, Die Hard, and more!

Plus: great evening activities including Crazy Go and Pair Go, teachers workshops, the first-ever Congress workshop to train Tournament Directors, all in a gorgeous location on the campus of America’s second-oldest institute of higher learning, next to Colonial Williamsburg, one of the most-visited tourist destinations on the East Coast. “Make memories that will last the rest of your life!” say Congress organizers Nate Eagle and Diego Pierrottet.

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

Eric Lui sweeps in DC as players prep for U.S. Go Congress

Sunday June 24, 2018

Eric Lui 1P swept the annual Congress Tune-up tournament 4-0 Saturday at the National Go Center. Eric’s undefeated streak in NGC tournaments now extends for over a year, and the local crowd is rooting for him in the prestigious Open Masters next month at the US Go Congress in Williamsburg VA. Justin Teng (6D) and Qingbo Zhang (5d) tied for second in the high Dan division.

Darren Bias (1K) went undefeated at 4-0 to win the 1K-3D division. Haskell (Hal) Small (2D) finished second but was only awarded his NGC t-shirt prize if the self-described “non t-shirt person” agreed to pose in it for a picture (right); Congress organizers wanted to be sure it got worn at least once. “If you see Hal at Congress this year, encourage him to wear his shirt proudly,” said TD Gurujeet Khalsa.

There was a three way tie for first in the 4K-9K division with Mike Lash (4K), Eli Ferster (6K), and Tevis Tsai (6K) taking home the honors. In the 10K-20K division, John Christensen (13K) made a strong undefeated showing, while second place was tied between Jack de la Beaujardiere (10K), Noah Mullinax (11K), and Joshua Johnson (14K).

“There was a lot of excitement among the crowd for the upcoming Congress” reports Khalsa. “We learned our lesson last year not to tamper with tradition when we renamed this tournament the Summer Sizzler only to have our air-conditioning fail in the middle of a huge heat wave. This year we got refocused on getting ready for Congress with the old name and all went well.”

Congress is less than a month away, so if you haven’t registered yet, you can still do so here. Also download the free Congress mobile app where you can see the bios of Eric Lui and other pros coming this year, and lots more.

photo by Betsy Small

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

Congress-Goer Mini Tune Up Workshop with Eric Lui 1p

Sunday June 10, 2018

Eric Lui 1p will lead a Congress-Goer Mini Tune Up workshop on Saturday June 30 in Baltimore. “Turn your 3-3 Open record into a 4-2 with the latest joseki and fuseki developments from AlphaGo and the pros,” says organizer Keith Arnold. Aimed at low dan and single digit kyu, but all are welcome. Contact Keith Arnold (hlime81@verizon.net) or Eric Lui (eric_lui2002@yahoo.com) for details. Space is limited.

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

Facebook AI “OpenGo” to play simuls at 2018 U.S. Go Congress

Monday June 4, 2018

Artificial Intelligence has taken go into new realms and this year at the US Go Congress attendees will be able to learn and improve their own games by playing against one of the new generation of AI players. Facebook’s OpenGo, which features a 20-0 record against top-30 professionals, will be playing teaching simuls early in the week.

The simuls will be held on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday afternoons (July 22, 23, and 24) with OpenGo playing 20 simultaneous no-handicap teaching games each day. Each player will be mailed an SGF file after the game with annotations from OpenGo.

Participants will play on physical boards, with volunteers relaying the moves to and from OpenGo. The Congress organizers expect high demand for the 60 simultaneous playing slots and are offering the opportunity first to those who have completed their Congress registration by June 20. If more than 60 of those registrants wish to play against OpenGo, a lottery will be held for the seats.

To sign up, select the OpenGo Simul event as part of your registration on the Go Congress website. If you’ve already registered, go to “My Account,” click on an attendee name, then find the “Simul against Facebook OpenGo” section to add the event to your registration. If you haven’t already registered, select the event as part of your new attendee registration.

The schedule of events has been added to the Congress mobile app along with other events and lots of information about the Congress. It is available as a free download for iOS and Android devices.

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

$12,000 prize pool for U.S. Open Masters

Tuesday May 29, 2018

The premier event at the 2018 US Go Congress is awarding $12,000 in prizes this year, organizers report. The US Open Masters is open to all 7-dan and professional players internationally. The overall winner will receive $5,000, with $2,500 going to second place. The top-placing North American competitor wins $2,000. This exciting 9-round event will be played in historic Williamsburg VA at the 2018 Congress July 21-28.

The discount for early-bird registration ends this week on 5/31. Register now to save and be sure to download the free Congress mobile app for the latest Congress news.

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

Go Congress “Early Bird” discount ends May 31

Wednesday May 23, 2018

If you haven’t yet registered for the US Go Congress in Williamsburg VA this year, you have until May 31 to take advantage of the Early Bird registration discount. On June 1 the cost goes up by $50 per person. To get the discount it is necessary to register and make a minimum payment of $70.

The U.S. Go Congress runs from July 21-28 and features a full week of go-related activities. Register now and reserve your spot in the premier annual event of American go.

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

U.S. Congress app has international appeal

Thursday May 17, 2018

很荣幸能在这里欢迎各位来到第 34 届围棋大会。第34回USコングレスへようこそ。This is the opening line in US Go Congress Co-Director Diego Pierrottet’s welcome message, which, for those who don’t read Chinese or Japanese, is “It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the 34th Annual US Go Congress.” The wealth of information available each year in the Congress attendee booklet has been a challenge for those who do not read English, but with the new Congress mobile app — available on both iOS and Android devices — not only will more information be available, it’s now being provided in multiple languages.

“As more textual material is added, the intent is to translate that as well,” adds app developer Gurujeet Khalsa. “This is our first effort at internationalization using volunteer translators. We think this will make it a more inviting experience for our overseas visitors, and would welcome volunteers who can translate into other Asian and European languages. We would like to thank translators Chiemi Mori, Shigeru Takehara, Daniel Chou, and Yanqing Sun for getting this effort started.”

The Congress app can be downloaded here. Congress registration is ongoing and still available at the Early Bird Discount price. The 2018 Congress will be held in historic Williamsburg, VA from July 21-28.

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

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