American Go E-Journal » China

Once again, the Hangzhou Branch of China Qiyuan is running the Shanglv Cup International City Go Tournament in Hangzhou from October 27 through November 1. This is China’s biggest amateur go tournament and they will generously cover attendee’s entire accommodation fee and ground transportation to their 5-star hotel (attendees must provide transportation to/from Hangzhou). There are individual tournaments for men and women, as well as team events: men’s double, women’s double, mixed doubles, parent-children group, and children group. Deadline to register is September 30.

The Chinese Weiqi Association invites two men (professional or amateur) from North America to participate in the 4th Bailing Cup Championship. The first three rounds of the tournament will be held between July 24-27 in Beijing, China. (Note that this is during the US Go Congress and it will not be possible to attend both events.) The final will be held sometime in 2019. Full airfare, meals, and accommodations will be provided to participants. If you have any questions, or to apply to participate, please contact tournaments@usgo.org no later than June 30th.

The organizers of this event are inviting participants to this tournament, which will be held from August 8th to 14th, 2018, in the city of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There are six round of Open Team and Open Individual events and 6 round of Women’s Individual event. Minimum AGA rank is 5D for men and 3D for women. Up to three players may participate and, if necessary, selection criteria will be added should more people express interest. International travel will the responsibility of the participants, but food, accommodations, and local transportation will be provided by the organizers. AGA President Andrew Okun will be in attendance. Please send your interest to attend to president@usgo.org as soon as possible.

by Sarah Yu 6D

Recently I was lucky to attend the first Wu Qingyuan (Go Seigen) Women’s Tournament in Fuzhou, China. It was like a dream come true. I was one of four North American representatives; the other three were Feng Yun 9P, Stephanie Yin 1P, Gaby Su 6D. A qualifier game was held for the eight North American and European players to determine which four would proceed to the main tournament. After the draw, each North American player would play against a European. Feng Yun, Stephanie Yin, and I won the qualifier (click here for details). Then at the main, we respectively lost to Qu Yin, Yu Zhiying, and Ueno Asami.

I enjoyed playing with Ueno Asami very much and had a good game, and it was a pleasure to be participating in this memorable event with Feng Yun, Stephanie and Gabby. I especially appreciated those who worked so hard to make this tournament happen, and to acknowledge Go Seigen’s milestone contributions to go. Thanks to the tournament, I was able to meet players who had known Go Seigen, and to get a glimpse of his passion for go and peace.

I remember that during the opening ceremony, I felt strongly that Go Seigen had “sacrificed” his life for go. That moment was when children singing “coming towards home,” while photographs of Go Seigen were playing on the screen behind them. We also had the chance to visit the cemetery where Go is buried (photo), where Chang Hao 9P, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Go Association, gave an inspiring speech. As the children sang and danced, I saw that the future belongs to the next generation. Go Seigen said that the 21st century will be about the harmony of go — North, South, East, West, Heaven and Earth — he dreamed of promoting peace through go, and I hope that with the help of AlphaGo, we will further comprehend both.

photo (l-r): Feng Yun 9P, Rin Kaihō (Lin Haifeng 9P – Go Seigen’s disciple), Sarah Yu 6D, Stephanie Yin 1P, Gabby Su 6D