Go News « American Go E-Journal

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

Syracuse go club hosts screening and simul

Saturday June 2, 2018

The Syracuse Go Club hosted a two-part event at the Manlius Library last month, consisting of a showing of the film The Surrounding Game followed by a simul given by 16-year-old club member Tony Tang 8d. “Tony played fifteen games over almost two and half hours and maintained a torrid pace, taking no breaks and averaging under five seconds per move throughout (see video of one circuit here),” reports Richard Moseson. Three players came from Buffalo for the movie and simul, “but most of Tony’s opponents (3 dan players, 9 single-digit kyu players, and 3 double-digit kyu players) were members of the Syracuse club. Even though Tony allowed everyone to choose their own handicaps, he ended up winning all but four of the games.” Pictures from the event can be seen here.

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

First Boston Youth Go Tournament held

Friday June 1, 2018

Sixteen kids participated the first Boston Youth Go Tournament in Neo Millennium Go Club on May 28th. The top three players

of senior division were Chase (Bin) Fu, Andrew (Hancheng) Xu and Hanchi Ou. Top four players of junior division were Hantong Li, Yuheng Xue, Jin Greene and Jate Greene.

photo: (left) From left: Back row: Chengyou (Charlie) Zhong, Yuheng Xue, Xinran Shu, Jiayong (Justin) Liu, Wai Fong Loh, Ke Lu and Hantong Li; Front row: Jate Greene, Jin Greene

– reported by Ke Lu

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

AGA Board election update: deadline June 15

Friday June 1, 2018

Nominations have started to come in for the 2018 board seats. Incumbents Lisa Scott, central region and Gurujeet Khalsa, eastern region will be running to retain their seats. Former board member Paul Celmer is running for the at-large position. No nominations for the western position have been made. Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made by full members for the At-Large or for the regional seat in which the member resides and must be received by June 15, 2018. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.
– Arnold Eudell

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

U.S. Go Congress and European Go Congress back-to-back in 2018

Thursday May 31, 2018

With an early U.S. Go Congress this year at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, there are just two days of overlap with the European Go Congress in Pisa, Italy. “For the hard-core go enthusiast, what better way to celebrate than a full three weeks of high quality go across two continents!” says USGC Co-Director Diego Pierrottet. This year, the 34th USGC is sponsored by the National Go Center July 21-28 while the 62nd EGC is hosted July 27-August 12 by the Italian Go Association.

Here’s a message from Francesco Potortì, the main organizer of the 2018 EGC:

“The Italian Go Association and its community welcome you to the 62nd annual European Go Congress in the historic city of Pisa! From July 27th until August 12th over 1100 players from 45 countries will be our guests, breaking all records for EGC attendance up to this point. Here is what you can expect from our congress:

The European Go Championship is of course our main event where the very best of Europe will be competing for fame and fortune. Alongside however, everyone can take part in the Open European Championship (ten rounds MacMahon over the course of ten days), as well as lots and lots of side tournaments and lectures by accomplished teachers. Aside from the professional players attending as official EGC teachers though, a large amount of high-ranking professionals will also visit as attendees. This continues the trend from last year’s EGC in Oberhof, Germany, when Zhang Tao 6p gave our strongest players a run for their money and won the Open Championship. We look forward to a congress with top quality gameplay in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Outside of playing game itself, we offer afternoon and full-day excursions (on Wednesdays) to the many neighbouring cities in the Tuscany province (e.g. Florence, Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Volterra). Of course if you don’t mind spending time on a longer trip, you can catch a flight to any of the nearby cultural hotspots of central Europe. Or if you just want to relax after a hard-fought game, the Mediterranean sea and Pisa’s beaches are within arm’s reach.

Click here for further details, news, results, and more.

The prize pool for winners in all the EGC tournaments combined (incl. vouchers and non-cash prizes) exceeds 35.000 EUR (~40.500 USD). This is made possible by proud sponsorship from the European Go Federation and other generous sponsors. See you in Pisa!”

Categories: Europe,Main Page

Seattle Go Center selects Mike Malveaux as Program Manager

Thursday May 31, 2018

The Directors of the Seattle Go Center have selected Mike Malveaux to be the Program Manager for the center. This is a new part-time position with responsibility for classes, workshops, visiting pros, outreach and school programs. Malveaux will also be updating the website, the mailing list, and the center’s social media. Brian Allen, the current General Manager, will be continuing at the Go Center as Operations Manager, with responsibility for the building, bookkeeping, and tax reports. The formal name of the Seattle Go Center is the Nihon Ki-in Go Institute of the West.

The Hiring Committee of the Seattle Go Center interviewed three candidates for the Program Manager position, and all three were well qualified to do the job. However, when it came to teaching beginners, teaching in the schools, and organizing go events, Malveaux’s experience was particularly impressive. Malveaux ran go clubs in two schools in Tacoma around 2000 – 2006, and he was a frequent volunteer at Seattle Go Center events up to 2010. He has run or helped run about 25 tournaments, and has been a mainstay of the Tacoma Go Club, and now the South Sound Go Club. He did graphics for the 2005 Go Congress, and for several Summer Go Camps. In 2011, he started teaching snowboarding at Snoqualmie Pass to children and adults, and from 2013 – 2017, he was a paraeducator in public elementary schools, helping students with behavioral challenges.

Mike Malveaux will continue to live in Tacoma, and he plans to keep up with the South Sound Go Club. He hopes to commute to Seattle by bus, and to get some reading done on the way. He will be at the Go Center most Tuesdays, effective May 29. photo: Mike Malveaux teaching at the 2018 U District Street Fair. photo/report by Brian Allen.

Categories: Go News,Japan,U.S./North America

New York City Go Club hold first ratings tournament

Wednesday May 30, 2018

The first New York City Go Club ratings tournament was held on May 19. The tournament boasted a full house of 32 players across four divisions and was sponsored by Pie By The Pound, a restaurant that has been hosting weekly go meet-ups since 2013 and was founded by well-known tournament director Matthew Hershberger.

In addition to entry into the event, registration included all you can eat pizza and drinks during the tournament. Top winner was Peixuan Wang 8d, a former go student from China, who went undefeated for the day. The other division winners were Jason Chimon 1k, Peter Armenia 3k and Jeffrey Losapio 8k. The tournament even garnered a bit of international attention, with players from Israel and Scotland who were in NYC on holiday were in attendance.

Details for Pie By The Pound’s weekly meetups, as well as other NYC Go clubs and events can be found here.

– report/photo by TD Ying Zhi Qian

Categories: Main Page,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

2018 Cotsen dates announced

Tuesday May 29, 2018

Free massages. Free lunch. Pro analysis. Oh yeah, and one of the best fields in the AGA tournament calendar. Mark your calendar now for this year’s Cotsen Open, which has just confirmed for October 13-14 at the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Watch this space for registration, which is expected to open soon.

Meanwhile, organizers are looking for volunteers for set up, take down and during the event. Contact Ryan Murray ryan@thelec.com if interested.

Also, the E-Journal will be covering the tournament again this year, and is looking for a few good game recorders for the team. Email journal@usgo.org if interested.

photo: Eric Cotsen (r) and friends at the 2016 Cotsen Open; photo by Chris Garlock

Categories: Cotsen Open,Main Page,U.S./North America

Eric Lui wins Maryland Open

Sunday May 27, 2018

Eric Lui 1P (right) won the 45th Maryland Open, winning all five rounds on May 26-27 to claim his fifth title at the long-running tournament. Fifty-one players participated, Gurujeet Khalsa directed and Todd Heidenreich was Assistant TD.

Complete results:
Open Section
1st: Eric Lui 1p (5-0)
2nd: Justin Teng 6 dan

A Section
1st – Frederick Bao 4 dan
2nd – Benjamin Armitage 3 dan

B Section
1st – Lee Huynh 2 dan

C Section
1st – James Funk 1 kyu – Kyu Champion
2nd – Seth Liang 3 kyu

D Section
1st – Steve Colburn 5 kyu
2nd – James Picket 6 kyu
3rd – Joon Lee 5 kyu

E Section
1st – Julian Turim 15 kyu
2nd – John Christensen 13 kyu

F Section
1st – Alexander Yang 19 kyu (5-0)
2nd – Michael Yang 25 kyu (5-0)

Gregory Lefler Award – Feng Yun Go School
Go Ambassador Award – Yuan Zhou and the XYZ Go Club
photo at left: The last game, waiting for a break in the rain that never came to load the cars

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

American Go E-Journal » Go News