Forget the midterms, all U.S. go eyes are on the upcoming AGA Board elections. Ted Terpstra has been nominated for the Western board seat, while Paul Celmer will be challenging incumbent Stephanie Yin in the East. No nominations yet for the Central and At-Large positions. If you know of someone who you believe would offer guidance and service to the AGA, consider making a nomination. Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made by full members for the regional seat in which the member resides. At-Large nominations may be made from any region. All nominations must be received by June 15, 2022. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.
The AGA Board has recently posted the agendas and approved minutes for their recent Board Meetings (held on January 9, February 27, and May 1). The schedule of meetings for the 2021-2022 term can be found at the end of each posted agenda and minutes.
Summary of May 1, 2022 Board Meeting During the May meeting, the board received the annual report of the VP of International Affairs. The Board spent much of the remainder of the meeting discussing developments with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the US Go Congress, scheduled to be held in-person in Estes Park, CO, July 31 – August 7, 2022. The Directors of the 2022 US Go Congress presented on the high number of registrations and their enthusiastic plans for the Congress. The Board also received an update from the Presidential Search Committee on the progress of the search. The Board will meet again on May 29 at 8pm EDT for the purposes of electing the next AGA President before the June 1 by-laws deadline.
Summary of February 27, 2022 Board Meeting During the February meeting, the board discussed whether or not to hold an in-person US Go Congress in 2022. After reviewing the results of the member survey, input from the local organizing team, and advice from the VP of Events, the board gave authorization to proceed with planning and registration for an in-person congress. Consequently, Lisa Scott resigned as VP of Events. Other topics discussed included routine reappointments and notification of vacancies, as well as status updates on ongoing projects.
Summary of January 9, 2022 Board Meeting The January meeting of the AGA Board had as its main topic of discussion developments of the COVID pandemic and their effects on go, particularly the US Go Congress. The Board authorized proceeding with the development of an in-person US Go Congress, and authorized a deficit of up to $35,000.
The Presidential Search Committee has received applications from three dedicated and highly capable candidates with long records of service to the AGA: Lisa Scott, Devin Fraze, and Gurujeet Khalsa. Among their many contributions to the go community, they all have experience on the AGA Board. Lisa is the current chair of the board and a Central Region representative; Devin is a Central Region representative, and Gurujeet was formerly chair and an Eastern Region representative.
The application process was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the Search Committee collected statements of candidacy and CVs from all the applicants. In the second stage, applicants were asked to respond to a set of written questions. And in the third stage, the Search Committee held an interview with each applicant. Each of these stages is now complete.
The AGA bylaws specify that the Board needs to appoint the incoming president with an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the full board, which is five of seven members. However, the bylaws do not address how to specifically handle situations where board members are candidates for the presidency, which is the case with two of the candidates. With this in mind, the Board established the Search Committee to navigate the process and both current board members who are candidates for the presidency have been asked to recuse themselves from the process as well as the vote, which they have agreed to.
The committee invites anyone who wishes to discuss or offer comments on the candidates with the search committee at president-search-committee@usgo.org, or to reach out to their Board representative.
The bylaws stipulate that the Board announces the new president by June 1, 2022. The Board will meet in special session on May 29, 2022, to determine the new president, and will announce its decision by June 1, 2022.
Over fifty players with ratings from 7-dan to 25-kyu are already registered for the 11th annual San Diego Go Championship coming up this Sunday, May 15 at the SD Chess Club in Balboa Park, CA; click here for details and to register.
The tournament is hosted by the San Diego Go Club; players must register by 11:59 pm this Friday, May 13 to play in the first round. On-site registration for rounds 2-4 is allowed. The Open is 3-rounds, 45-min/player plus byo-yomi while the Handicap section is 4-rounds, 30-min/player plus byo-yomi.
The Triangle Go Group has announced one of their “most ambitious and unique events to date”, the Burning Board Go Festival. The four-day event will consist of tournament games and workshops and will take place June 16-19 in Umstead State Park near Raleigh, North Carolina. The event features the option of low-cost, on-site accommodations in primitive cabins. Tent camping and nearby hotels also available.
“This is a great spot for those who love hiking, mountain biking, lake swimming, or just being out in the beauty of Nature,” says Co-Director Paul Celmer. The site is 10 minutes from RDU international airport, and twenty minutes from the Cary Amtrack station. “We already have a significant number of registrants from out of state,” reports Co-Director Bob Bacon. The site is limited to 120 participants, click here for registration details.
“Every year, I meet some high school students who know how to play go,” says Xinming Simon Guo. When he asks them how they learned the game, the answers is often “You visited my elementary school several years ago”. In fact, Guo, the founder of Go and Math Academy in Chicago, has taught go to more than 40,000 students in the Chicago area, visiting more than 80 schools.
“How to play and teach go” workshop at the Chinese Cultural Center of San Diego State University. (l-r): Jackson Hranek, Ted Terpstra from San Diego and Xinming Guo from Chicago
During the school year of 2021-2022 alone, Guo visited more than 20 schools and taught about 4,000 students. Since the pandemic, Guo, with the support of the local go community, has begun to provide online teaching for students both within and outside of Illinois, in places like Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Last month, Guo visited San Diego to share the results of the Academy’s second pilot program of the Go and Math project, teaching about 120 3rd graders at Barrington School District 220, IL. The project was conducted in partnership with Professor Xiuwen WU from National Louis University during the 2019-2020 school year. A research paper titled “The Game of Go in Elementary Classrooms: Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Go’s Benefits for Mathematics” was accepted by the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA) held in San Diego this year.
During his short stay in San Diego, Mr. Guo also arranged a workshop for local go players to share their experience teaching go in school classrooms. In this particular workshop, he shared major aspects of his experience promoting go in schools. Demonstrating how to teach go in a classroom, Guo shared the classroom box for 32 students, small boards (6×6 and 7×7) and a special rule reinvented for beginners, which is compatible with other go game rules. He also discussed how to work with Chinese language teachers and teach go in Chinese language classrooms, and how to work with math teachers and teach go in early elementary classrooms.
“We plan to offer similar workshops online this year, to help more go players to promote go in their local schools,” said Guo.
This event features an AGA Handicap Go tournament open to all players and a single-elimination MI State Championship open to Dan level players. All games follow the AGA ruleset. MI State Championship games are 45 minutes main time and 5x30s byo-yomi. Handicap Tournament games are 30 minutes main time with 3x30s byo-yomi.
For the Handicap Tournament, prizes will be awarded for each of 3 segments: Double-digit Kyu, Single-digit Kyu and Dan level players. For each segment, 1st place is awarded $60, 2nd place is awarded $40 and 3rd place is awarded $20.
For the MI State Championship a cash prize and trophy will be awarded to the winner. Prizes will also be awarded to 2nd & 3rd place. A 3rd place tie-breaking round will be held after the semi-final. 1st place is awarded $120 and a trophy, 2nd place is awarded $80 and 3rd place is awarded $60.
Early Registration: $18 ends May 7th; Standard Registration: $22 ends May 18th; Late/Same-Day Registration: $28 (HC Tournament Only).
Registration for the Evanston Go Club’s 2022 Chicago Open – coming up May 14 — has skyrocketed in the past week, with over 60 players signed up already. “This makes it the largest tournament we’ve ever held… and it hasn’t even started yet!” says club president Mark Rubenstein.
The tournament, which will be held Saturday May 14 at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, will feature the standard self-paired Main section, a new Open section for players 5 dan and up, and a free beginner’s section with lessons offered by 2015’s Teacher of the Year, Simon Guo.
“We’ve been working hard to make this the best tournament we’ve ever had.” says organizer Albert Yen. “We already have 14 players who are 5 dan or stronger, which makes the Open section very competitive! And the top boards will be broadcast on the AGA Twitch channel.”
And for the first time ever, the club will be selling its Ing boards at the tournament. “These are the nice, thick boards that we’ve used for many years, and we’re making them available to attendees.” says Rubenstein.
Due to the extraordinary turnout, Rubenstein and Yen are encouraging everyone to sign up early to ensure that they have enough seats in the venue. “The Early-Bird pricing and custom name tag deadline has passed, but there is still room… for now!” says Rubenstein.
For more information and registration details, visit chicagobaduk.com.
The Evanston Go Club’s largest tournament yet, the 2022 Chicago Open, is set for Saturday, May 14. “With three divisions, cash prizes, medals, live streaming, donuts and a day filled with enjoyable go-goodness, there will be something here for everyone to appreciate,” say organizers.
The tournament, which will be held at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, “will be a big upgrade from our previous biennial tournaments,” writes Albert Yen 8-Dan. “Our event will include the familiar Chicago-style handicap divisions and a free beginner section, as well as a new Open championship for high-Dan players.”
The champion of the inaugural Open section will go home with a cash prize and the 2022 Chicago Open Trophy. Those who come out on top in the classic self-paired Main divisions will receive medals and their pick of the prizes provided by the Evanston Go Club and Yellow Mountain Imports. The top boards will be broadcast on the AGA Twitch channel.
For more information about the tournament format and registration details, visit chicagobaduk.com. “We would love to see players from all over come out to visit Chicago to enjoy this event with us,” add organizers. “Be sure to sign up by April 30th for early-bird pricing and commemorative name tags!”
Nominations for the American Go Foundation’s Teacher of the Year award are due by May 5th. The winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to the US Go Congress in Estes Park this summer. To be eligible a teacher must be a member of the AGA and have been teaching go to children for at least one hour a week for two years. The award is now open to other kinds of teachers as well, including online efforts. Teachers of the Year for 2020 and 2021 are also invited, and all three will be honored at the awards banquet. Click here for more information. If you would like to nominate someone for this award, including yourself, email mail@agfgo.org. Nominations should include a description of the teacher’s activities, how long they have been teaching, and how many students attended their program. – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.
