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What do a 5-dan, a 5-kyu and a 12-kyu have in common? They all tied for first at the recent Skip Ascheim Memorial Go Tournament in Boston. David Cho 5D, Benjamin Coplon 5k and Howard Cornett 12k were all 4-0 at the July 9 tournament, organized as usual by the Massachusetts Go Association. “Charles Chapple, the English Teacher from Franklin High School in Franklin NH, who had come with five students to the MGA’s Spring Tournament, was back with student Miriam Fallahi, despite it being summer vacation,” reports TD Eva Casey.
photo (l-r): Coplon, Cho and Cornett. Click here for more photos.

by Terry Benson

Forty years ago today, I was staring down intently at my go board on the second floor of the Zen Oriental Book Store in midtown Manhattan when all the lights snapped off. “The breaker blew,” said a player, intent on his own game.  I looked up from my game, over the board, past my opponent and out the windowed front onto a completely darkened West 57th street. It was the 1977 New York blackout.

Of course, being go players, we kept playing.   Our wonderful waitress/hostess Kazuko calmly brought out candles. The tea was still warm. There were little Japanese cakes and games to play.

Eventually, though, we all headed out into the city. Riding my bike past the rioting and looting on Broadway was surreal, like simultaneously watching and being in a movie. We all made it home safely that night and to this day we remember holding off the world’s chaos  – for a little while anyway – with go.

The temperature is definitely sizzling in DC. Unless you are enjoying the area beaches, the place to be on July 15 to get out of the heat is at the Summer Sizzler tournament at the National Go Center. This is a 4-round AGA-rated tournament with prizes for all divisions. Doors open at 8:30 with first round at 9:00 AM. The at-the-door fee is $20/adult and $15/youth, but you can save 20% by pre-registering now online. Pre-register here.

The NGC is hosting the DC Premiere of “The Surrounding Game” at 7:30 PM on July 15, with a second showing at 1 PM on July 16. If you come to the Summer Sizzler tourney on the 15th, there will be time to get dinner at one of the many area restaurants and get back for the showing. and the Center will be open after for those who want to play some more go. No spoilers, but some local luminaries appear in the film as well.

Register for the Saturday night premiere here, or the Sunday afternoon showing here.

The Evanston Go Club has arranged their very own screening of The Surrounding Game. “It was so easy to set up!” said club president Mark Rubenstein. “I just followed the instructions under the film’s Host A Screening section, and the theater accepted our request. The only requirement is that we have to sell at least 73 tickets by July 5, or the screening will be canceled, in which case all tickets will be refunded.” At presstime 59 tickets still need to be sold; click here for tickets. The movie will be shown Wednesday, July 12, 2017 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at Century 12 Theatre, 1715 Maple Ave. Evanston, IL 60201.

“This is Evanston’s main movie theatre, and it’s really nice; stadium seating, free parking, and they sell beer and wine that you can bring into the theatre if you want to,” says Rubenstein. “Tell your friends and family about this unique event. It’s not just for go players; the film was made in order to reach a wider audience and introduce more people to the game. Remember, it won’t happen without your support, so reserve your tickets now!” said Rubenstein. “And for those of you who don’t live in the Chicagoland area and would like to promote the film, check out the website. It’s not often we have the opportunity to reach a mainstream audience like this, so let’s take advantage of it!” For any questions, please contact Mark Rubenstein at mark@evanstongoclub.org or 847-869-6020.

Update: The Surrounding Game will screen July 18 in Lehi, UT at Adobe from 12pm-1:30pm. The address is 3900 Adobe Way, Lehi, UT 84043. Contact: Devin Flake, dflake@adobe.com.