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

Winner’s reports for the 2011 North American Ing Masters (NAIM) and the 2011 U.S. Go Congress Strong Players Open (SPO) have now been posted; a similar PDF report for the 2011 U.S. Open is expected soon. Click here for crosstabs on the major Congress tournaments 2008-2011.

Registration for the 2012 U.S. Go Congress — August 4-11 in Black Mountain, North Carolina — is now open. “If you loved the 2006 Go Congress in Black Mountain, you are not alone,” says Congress Co-Directors Peter Armenia and Paul Celmer. “It was rated one of the best events in the entire history of the Go Congress, and our team of new and returning volunteers has worked hard to make 2012 even better.” In addition to the usual; cornucopia of go playing and professional instruction, the 2012 Congress features modest costs — with accommodations for all styles and budgets — a serene and scenic mountain setting, boutique arts and crafts shops in Black Mountain, nationally known brew pubs and a vibrant music and arts scene in nearby historic Asheville. Special Congress events like the “Fuseki Challenge” and the return of the legendary “Mountaintop Go” are also bound to be popular, as well as a variety of day off activities such as the Biltmore house and winery, whitewater rafting, brew pubs, zip lines, and Asheville city tours. This year’s Congress will also host the first-ever North American Go Symposium where academics and others will present studies on the literary, historical, mathematical, and cultural aspects of the game. “Registration costs will increase as the Congress date nears,” Armenia and Celmer warn, “so sign up early to ensure the accommodation style you desire.” Organizers are “working hard on making this Congress affordable and enjoyable,” the Co-Directors add. “Looking forward to seeing you on the mountain!” photo by Roy Laird

The American Go Association is looking for volunteers to organize the 2013 US Go Congress. “It’s a big job,” says Chris Kirchner, “but has great rewards for the organizers who step forward to join the elite class of Congress organizers,” like 2012 Congress Directors Paul Celmer and Peter Armenia. If interested, contact Kirschner at development@usgo.org.  “Be aware that the organizing will start right now,” Kirschner warns, “as you will need to determine a site and come up with a preliminary budget to present at the Congress this year.” Click here for details about what’s involved in organizing a Congress.

As this year’s U.S. Go Congress drew to a close, someone suggested to me that perhaps the E-Journal team is doing our job a bit too well and that some folks are staying home from the Congress because our coverage provides such a great experience of this annual event. Though I don’t think that’s the case – the coverage seems to inspire even more folks to want to be there in person — I took this as high praise for our extensive Congress coverage, which is only possible through the dedication, commitment and hard work of the entire EJ team.

This year we broadcast top-board games from five major events, including the North American Masters, the brand-new Strong Player’s Open, the U.S. Open, the Redmond Cup Senior and Junior Divisions and the North American Pair Go Tournament.

All told, we broadcast and posted 54 top-board game records, 23 pro game reviews, as well as reports and photos from a number of other Congress events. Click here for all the crosstabs and game commentaries and all the news and photos.

We’re fortunate to have an experienced crew as the core of the EJ Congress team, starting with EJ Congress Team Assistant Manager Todd Heidenreich (who did double-duty as Pair Go TD) and IT Manager/Beverage Wrangler Steve Colburn, who keep our recording team well-supplied and running smoothly no matter what the crisis of the day might be.

The always stylish KGS Admin Akane Negishi – who provided key pro relation support — was joined on-site by Greg Wright and was backed up by the usual crew of ever-helpful KGS admins, including Matthew Heymering, Mef, and FlameBlade, with Bill Shubert’s support.

Chris Burg, Richard Dolen and Dennis Wheeler anchored the recording/broadcasting teams for both the U.S. Open each morning and the North American Masters each night; Chris is the master of play-by-play reporting, Richard has been playing longer than the rest of the team combined and Dennis is the unflappable zen master of the team.

Our other game recorders/broadcasters included Gordon Castanza, Calvin Clark, Jim Hlavka, John Mangual, Peter Martin, Michael Scudder, Daniel Short, Solomon Smilack (who also helped with some of the pro game commentaries this year), Phil Straus & Marc Willerth. Todd Blatt was once again our Simulcast Broadcaster for the nightly NAMT pro game commentaries and this year launched the “ToddCam” which provided some unusually-entertaining views of the top boards.

Brian Allen and Phil Straus were our photographers this year, and deserve special recognition and appreciation for matching this year’s gorgeous location with such wonderful images of the Congress.

EJ Youth Editor Paul Barchilon once again did our youth reporting and youth game recording/broadcast coordination and Roy Laird was our roving reporter.

There are lots of prizes given out each year at the Congress, but as far as we’re concerned, none are as well-earned as the distinctive black EJ caps awarded to the hardest-working folks there: Congress Directors Lisa Scott and Andrew Jackson (in photo at left), and U.S. Open/NAMT/Strong Player’s Open Tournament Directors Karoline Burrall and Mike Malveaux, who were ably assisted by Todd Blatt, Jasmine Yan & Jesy Feliccia.

Finally, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the professional go players who took the time to provide us with such great live game commentaries: Michael Redmond 9P, Seo Neong-Wook 9P, Wang Qun 8P, Mingjiu Jiang 7P, Maeda Ryo 6P, Hajin Lee 3P, Jennie Shen 2P, and Li Ting 1P.

It was a real joy and pleasure to work with such an accomplished team, and I’m hugely proud of how each member of the team helped bring the U.S. Congress – American go’s biggest and brightest event of the year — to thousands of go fans around the world.

I’m already looking forward to next year in North Carolina!

– Chris Garlock, EJ Congress Team Managing Editor

top photo by Phil Straus/Brian Allen; bottom photo by Phil Straus

American Go Association Board Chairman Andy Okun and None Redmond hosted lifetime AGA members at a special appreciation luncheon on Tuesday, August 2 at a restaurant in Santa Barbara, CA. “Our thanks to these generous visionaries who are thinking many moves into the future,” Okun said.
Top row (left to right): Andy Okun/Mike Lash, Darrell Malick, Mark Fraser, Steffen Kurz/Lee Anne Bowie,  Haskell Small, Cynthia Gaty
Bottom row (l-r): Yoko Ohashi/group shot, None Redmond, Terry Benson, Phil Straus/Eric Jankowski
– photos by Phil Straus (except Straus by Brian Allen); collage by Chris Garlock

Above left: Youth All Stars Tournament Award, with TD Paul Barchilon cheering them on
Top right: Korean Baduk Association Award Winners, 1 Dan to 6 Dan
Bottom right: Korean Baduk Association Award winner, 2 Dan
photos by Brian Allen