Per a recent report by the Korean Baduk Association, which regularly updates professional player ratings, Shin Jin-seo 9P has been No. 1 in the among Korean professional rankings for 27 months. Popular go teacher and Asian Games gold medalist Yoonyoung Kim 8P ascended to #5 after going 3-1 in the recent Daeju Cup.
As a new mom, Kim says she enjoys a balanced life juggling family, tournaments and teaching. Speaking of promoting go via Twitch streaming, where she has 3,600 followers, she said “I hope to meet many of you over there.”
She and her husband temporarily moved from Canada to Korea a year ago and in January, Kim defeated Jung dongsik 6P, Cha Sukwun 8P and Kim Chanwoo 6P to make the final 16. Her fourth match was broadcast live on TV on Feb. 11. The Daeju Cup, which invites men over 50 and women over 30, has a top prize of 15 million Won ($12,400 USD).
Registration for the 2022 Go Congress is proceeding briskly with over 170 attendees so far,” reports Co-Director Eric Wainwright. “Rooms in the Main Lodge are almost filled up, but there’s still plenty of rooms left in the East Lodges. If you’re thinking about staying at one of the many offsite locations around Estes Park, now’s the time to make your arrangements.
The main playing site is Assembly Hall situated in the center of the YMCA campus. Built in 2009, it’s a modern facility with over eleven thousand square feet of space for tables to be spread out. Lectures, game reviews, and other events will take place in other buildings and cabins scattered nearby. ”It looks like we’ll have sizable group of young players this year, as many pros and teachers are bringing their students,” reports Wainwright, “It’s a good thing that our Youth Room will be the size of a basketball court. Actually, it is a basketball court!”‘
More information and registration are at GoCongress.org.
The AGA Board of directors is seeking candidates to take on the Presidency of the AGA at the end of the current term (September 1, 2022). “The position involves a lot of work and a lot of responsibility,” says outgoing President Andy Okun, “but also the opportunity to join with the board, the chapters, and the members of the AGA to build a remarkable future for our game and our organization.”
The search committee established April 15 as the deadline for submissions in its initial March 15 announcement, so there is only a week to go. A brief functional description of the position can be found here.
Interested members should email a statement of candidacy and a CV to the AGA Presidential Search Committee at president-search-committee@usgo.org by April 15, 2022. Qualified candidates will be sent a preliminary questionnaire to submit for further review.
by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal
Park Jeonghwan first Wooseul-Bongjo League champion The Wooseul-Bongjo Korean Baduk Association Championship, a.k.a. Wooseul-Bongjo League is a new domestic tournament established last year. It was named after one of the sponsor Infobell’s products. The qualifiers took place in three stages, from February to August 2021, to select ten players who joined the seeds Shin Jinseo and Park Jeonghwan in the two parallel leagues. The league games began in August 2021 with a thinking time of 90 minutes and five periods of 40 seconds byoyomi. Ranked #1 and #2 on the Korean rating list since January 2020, Shin Jinseo 9p and Park Jeonghwan 9p were expected to win their respective leagues and meet in the final; however, Lee Donghoon 9p pulled a surprise by defeating all five players in the Wooseul League. Meanwhile, Park Jeonghwan went undefeated in the Bongjo League. From February 20th to March 8th, the two league winners met in the best-of-five finals. Park swept the first three games and became the first Wooseul-Bongjo League champion. This is Park’s first domestic title in two years. The final Wooseul-Bongjo ranks shown in the table were determined after matches between the same-ranked players in each league. The total prize money was 250 million KRW ($205,000), including 50 million KRW ($41,000) and 20 million KRW ($16,000) for the 1st and 2nd placed players. The prize money for the 3rd to 12th place ranged from 4 million to 10 million KRW.
7th Future Star Park Shinyoung 2p (left) and runner-up Han Woojin 3p. Photo courtesy of Han Chankyu/Hangame.
7th Future Star Rookie Championship The Future Star Rookie Championship, a national tournament, was launched in 2015 with the help of Mok Jinseok 9p and some individual sponsors. This year, Han Woojin 3p and Park Shinyoung 2p advanced to the finals. Han Woojin (16) became a pro in 2019 and was promoted to 2 dan and 3 dan in 2020 and 2021, respectively. His winning rate in 2022 was an astonishing 77.4% which elevated him to rank #58 on the Korean rating list. The other finalist was Park Shinyoung (19) who started his professional career last year. Even though he was lower in rank (#92), he had a better winning rate (78.3%) than Han Woojin 3p in 2022. In the final, both rookie pros showed high ambitions to win their first title and had a fierce fight from the very beginning. In the early opening, Park Shinyoung started a ko with Black 33, after creating ko threats in the lower right corner. As the proverb says, “There are no ko threats in the opening”, Black ignored White’s ko threat, and KataGo’s winning rate jumped to 85% proving his judgment right. He managed to maintain his lead until his mistake, Black 111, turned the match into a close game. When Han tried to capture a black group with White 122, he missed a big chance and allowed Black to regain his advantage. White should have defended his group at 127 instead. Due to the thinking time of 2 hours, and byoyomi of 1 minute 3 times, a long match was expected, however, it ended rather quickly after 2.5 hours. Park won the first title match in his career by resignation after 131 moves. The winner’s purse was 10 million KRW ($8,200), and the runner-up received 5 million KRW ($4,100).
Award for ‘Baduk’ magazine The Korean Magazine Association selected the monthly magazine ’Baduk’ as an “Excellent Content Magazine” in the category of sports, hobbies, and leisure. The annual award comes with a publication subsidy from the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. ’Baduk’ is published by the Korean Baduk Association. This is the sixth award for the magazine. It is the only Go magazine in South Korea with a 54-year history dating back to August 1967 when the first edition called ‘Baduk World’ came out. It was later renamed ’Baduk’ in 1969. The 657th 2022 April issue took pride in putting the award banner on its cover.
International Women’s Team Go Cup announced The Korean Hoban Women’s Go Championship has been transformed into an international team women’s Go tournament, combined with a revival of the defunct Paewang title. The official name of the new competition is “Hoban Cup Seoul Shinmun Paewang World Women’s Baduk Championship”. It is sponsored by the Hoban Group and co-hosted by the Seoul Shinmun and the Korean Baduk Association. The Seoul Shinmun has been published since 1904 and is known as the oldest daily newspaper in South Korea. This is the first international women’s Go tournament hosted by South Korea since 2011. In the past, South Korea hosted the Bohae Cup (1994-1998), and the Jeong Kwan Jang Cup (2002-2011). Currently, there are only a few world women’s Go championships held, with the majority not opened during the pandemic. China hosts the Wu Qingyuan Cup (also known as Go Seigen Cup), the Bingsheng Cup, the Huang Longshi Cup, and the Tiantai Mountain Cup, while Japan hosts the Senko Cup. The new tournament is modeled after the Nongshim Cup with teams consisting of five female players from China, Japan, and South Korea who will compete in a “win-and-continue” format. The first stage of seven games is scheduled for May 22nd to 28th, while the second stage will be held in October. The total prize money is 300 Million KRW ($246,000) with the winning team taking home 100 Million KRW ($82,000). In addition, there is an incentive of 2 Million KRW ($1,600) for a 3-win streak, as well as for each additional win thereafter.
Jubango under discussion At the end of March, the Korean Baduk Association has proposed a jubango between the #1 ranked players of China and South Korea, Ke Jie (24) and Shin Jinseo (22). The match would not only be a good opportunity for the Go development in both countries, but also for promoting Go worldwide. KBA’s proposal stated face-to-face games and that the entire USD 1 Million prize would go to the winner. While both players expressed their interest in such a spectacular event, the Chinese Weiqi Association has yet to respond to the proposal. When the last jubango took place in 2014 between Lee Sedol 9p and Gu Li 9p, it gained worldwide attention among Go fans.
KBF president Seo Hyoseok (right). Photo courtesy of Seo Hyoseok.
KBF elects new president Seo Hyoseok The Korean Baduk Federation (KBF), the national amateur Go organization, elected Seo Hyoseok (76) as its 8th president. He is known as a passionate amateur 6 dan who has been playing Go for 60 years. He has served as an advisor to the KBF and as a director of the Korean Baduk Association (KBA). The owner of Pyunkang Oriental Medicine Clinic has been sponsoring Go activities generously, such as the international Pyunkang Cup and since 2016 the Pyungkang Cup Senior Baduk League. Concerned with the lack of publicity, he stepped forward and wrote in March an article for a Korean newspaper titled “Let’s teach Go for children’s happy future” in which he emphasized the educational benefits of Go. In his inauguration speech, Seo said, “There was a time when we saw a Korean Go population of 15 million, but now there are only 7 million. As the president, I will do my best to help Go regain its former popularity and grow beyond that.”
The North American Go Federation (NAGF) will hold the 2022 Pro Qualification Tournament at the National Go Center in Washington, D.C. from June 26 to July 1, 2022.
Because last year’s tournament was canceled due to covid, the NAGF will certify the top two players from this tournament as new professional players. For more information on the tournament, including eligibility requirements, please click here. The details of the competition rules and the selected contestants will be announced in May.
Any player who is eligible and interested in participating in the tournament must submit the application form by the end of April 24 to be considered for entrance.
For questions regarding this tournament, please contact the NAGF at contact@nagofed.org
Word came to us this week that Jack Clark passed away on March 21. Virtually all Congress veterans, seeing the headline, will no doubt be thinking “Jack who?” Most know Haskell Small as the “Father of the U.S. Go Congress” for heading the first Congress effort in 1985. Those upon whom I inflict my oft-repeated stories might recall Arthur Lewis, longtime Secretary-Treasurer of Hal’s Greater Washington Go Club, whose careful book-selling and dues-taking put Small and company in the financial position to take the leap. But who was Jack Clark? Not only did he never officially attend a Go Congress, I’m not sure he ever even played a rated game.
Jack Clark learned go while a math professor at the University of Massachusetts in the early 1970s. Around 1980 he became a Math and Computer Science professor at Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland. And, as an enthusiastic go player, he would trek down to Kensington on Friday nights to play at the Greater Washington Go Club. So when Haskell decided to initiate plans for the first U.S. Congress, Dr. Clark was there to help arrange for his school to be the site for the first Congress.
Dr. Clark’s go class
I probably met Dr. Clark at Western Maryland in 1979, and certainly not as a student, as I avoided the math department with a passion. Instead, I came upon him in the student center, playing a strange board game with some of his students. Immediately fascinated, I recall watching on numerous occasions, gradually picking up the rules. Finally, a student with an exam left early, and Dr. Clark allowed me to lay out nine stones in my first-ever game. I hadn’t even had any 9-by-9 practice, and I suspect I was quite an embarrassment; hopefully I played quickly. But I did know liberties and by some chance — or perhaps it was generosity — I pounced when Dr. Clark played a long string of stones into atari and I won my first-ever game of go. Naturally this had the perhaps intended effect of creating an instant love of the game. Dr. Clark made a nice show of regretting his error, those of you who know me may also regret the addiction it created.
Dr. Clark was probably around 2-3 kyu at that time, and I suspect he eventually flirted with shodan. Longtime friend Robert McGuigan (translator of the AGJ and Slate and Shell’s “Masterpieces of Handicap Go”), recalls his razor-sharp focus. As a kyu player “he learned/memorized all the variations in the three-volume Ishida joseki dictionary!” Bob recalls. “Typical of Jack,” it was nonetheless an impressive achievement, and believable in a time when passion for go was poured into book study without internet opponents to play. When he took up rock climbing as a graduate student at Stanford he spent “days on the face of Half Dome during a climb”. A classical music lover, he “learned to recognize all 81 Haydn string quartets, which he tested by randomly choosing a record and putting the needle anywhere on it”. When he took up cycling, he became a serious racer.
I suspect he may have offered the second-ever go course in US college history (I believe Ted Drange was first in West Virginia). Although I did not take the class, it did provide me with a few opponents to feed my addiction. I did crash the class one day and played a simultaneous 9-by-9 game with the late Don Weiner; the boisterous Weiner was quite a contrast with the quiet, eccentric Dr. Clark. Warren Litt, my predecessor as head of the GWRM Baltimore Go Club often would tell the story of playing go at Dr. Clark’s home, relating that he would heat the stones up in the oven because he did not like them to be cold to the touch.
I hope to see many of you at this year’s U.S. Go Congress, July 30-August 7 in Estes Park, Colorado. I will be thinking of Dr. Clark. I am fortunate to be able to recall my first opponent, but none of us can know our last. As we return to the Go Congress, let’s make every game memorable.
photos by Keith Arnold and Western Maryland College Yearbook 1980, 1981
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
EDITOR’S NOTE: The previous report has been updated holus-bolus with the latest results and also includes new reports.
Ichiriki wins Kisei after Iyama saves two kadobans (NEW)
Ichiriki looks happy
Ichiriki Ryo’s chances of winning his first big-three title looked good when he took a 3-1 lead (see my report of Feb. 28), but Iyama made him work hard to pull it off. The final three games are described below.
The fifth game of the 46th Kisei title match was played at the Hotel Kagetsuen in the town of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture on March 3 and 4. Taking black, Iyama played brilliantly and survived his first kadoban. Ichiriki resigned after 213 moves.
The sixth game was played at the same venue on March 10 and 11. Iyama (W) took the lead, but complications ensued when Ichiriki set his sights on a large white group. Iyama just barely managed to save it, and that decided the game. Ichiriki resigned after White 236. Iyama had now saved two kadobans, which must have put a lot of pressure on Ichiriki. Last year, he had taken the lead over Iyama in both his Gosei defence and his Meijin challenge, but each time had fallen victim to an Iyama fightback.
The deciding game was played at the Ninnaji temple in northeast Kyoto on March 17 and 18. The nigiri was conducted again, and Ichiriki drew black. He took a small lead in the middle-game fighting, putting a lot of pressure on Iyama. At a crucial point in a large-scale fight, Ichiriki thought for exactly one hour and found a move that kept the initiative. Iyama went wrong in his continuation here, playing two moves that Yamada Kimio 9-dan called “probably the losing moves.” Ichiriki took a lead of over ten points on the board. Iyama couldn’t get back into the game, so he resigned after move 199.
This is Ichiriki’s third top-seven title and his first top-three title. All told, he has won 15 titles. Winning the Kisei makes him the top-ranked player in Japan. First prize is 45,000,000 yen (about $364,845). Incidentally, this is 50% more than the number two title, the Meijin. Iyama missed out on becoming the first player to win the Kisei for ten years in a row. Ichiriki is the tenth player to have won the Kisei title.
Kido Prizes
The magazine Kido is defunct, but the Kido Prizes live on. The 55th Kido Prizes for the outstanding Nihon Ki-in players of 2021 were decided by a committee of go journalists, including staff on TV go programs, on February 7. Details follow.
Most outstanding player: Iyama Yuta, for holding on to the top three titles, the Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo, and adding the Oza and Gosei, to give him a quintuple crown. The choice was unanimous, and he was picked for the 10th year in a row. Even in his 30s, Iyama continues to dominate Japanese go.
Outstanding player: Kyo Kagen, for winning the Judan New Star: Nakamura Sumire Woman’s Prize: Fujisawa Rina International Prize: Iyama Yuta Most wins: Ueno Asami (54-25) Best winning percentage: Tsuneishi Takashi (76.9%, 30-9) Most successive wins: Ichiriki Ryo (14) Most games: Ueno Asami (79)
Kyo Kagen Judan
Kyo starts well in Judan (UPDATED)
The Daiwa House Cup 60th Judan title match featured a clash between two Taiwanese players: Kyo Kagen Judan (Hsu Chiayuan or Xu Jiayuan) (aged 24) and Yo Seiki 8-dan (Yu Chengch’i or Yu Zhengqi) (aged 26), the latter being a member of the Kansai Ki-in. Kyo led 10-5 in past encounters, including a win in the play-off to decide the Judan challenger last year.
The first game was played at the Osaka University of Commerce on March 1. Taking black, Kyo played strongly and seized the initiative, but Yo fought back and made the game a very close endgame contest. However, he fell short by half a point.
The second game was played at the “Hotel & Resorts NAGAHAMA” (the official English name) in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, on March 23. The venue is a tourist hotel that overlooks Lake Biwa. Taking white, Kyo won by resignation after 210 moves. The game started with fierce fighting in which neither side was able to take the lead. However, clever play in two interrelated ko fights enabled Kyo to edge ahead of his opponent. Yo finished off one of the kos, but at the price of having a center group come under attack. He was unable to save it.
The third game will be played on April 7.
77th Honinbo League (UPDATED)
Yo Seiki’s chances of becoming the challenger are looking better and better. He enjoys the sole lead on 5-0 and has played and beaten his closest rival, Ichiriki Ryo, who is on 4-1. Yo’s remaining game is against Shibano Toramaru.
(Feb. 17) Tsuruyama Atsushi 8-dan (W) beat Hane Naoki 9-dan by resig. (March 10) Kyo Kagen Judan (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan by resig. (March 14) Yo (W) beat Tsuruyama by resig.; Sada Atsushi 7-dan (W) beat Motoki Katsuya 8-dan by resig.
47th Meijin League (UPDATED)
Two players are undefeated in the current Meijin League: Shibano Toramaru and Shida Tatsuya, who are both on 2-0. However, all of the other players are still in the running. (Feb. 15) Yo Seiki 8-dan (B) beat Ichiriki Ryo 9-dan by resig. (March 7) Yo (B) beat Motoki Katsuya 8-dan by resig. (March 14) Ichiriki Ryo 9-dan (W) beat Hane Naoki 9-dan by resig. (March 17) Kyo Kagen (B) beat Ida Atsushi 8-dan by resig.
Sumire leads 33rd Women’s Meijin League (NEW)
With four of the seven players in this league having completed their games, Nakamura Sumire 2-dan has the provisional lead on 5-1. Her only rival is Xie Yimin 7-dan, who is on 4-1. If she can win her final game with Ueno Asami, she will draw level with Sumire and meet her in a play-off to decide the challenger to Fujisawa Rina. Results since my previous report follow.
(Feb. 14) Xie Yimin 7-dan (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by resig. (Feb. 17) Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan (B) beat Nakamura Sumire 2-dan by 4.5 points.; Nyu Eiko 4-dan (W) beat Omori Ran 1-dan by resig. (Feb. 23) Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by 7.5 points. (Feb. 24). Nakamura (B) beat Xie Yimin 7-dan by 2.5 points. (Feb. 28) Nyu (B) beat Ueno by resig.; Mukai (B) beat Omori by resig. (March 7) Xie (W) beat Nyu by resig. (March 10) Nakamura (B) beat Ueno by resig.; Suzuki (W) beat Mukai by 4.5 points. (March 17) Nakamura (W) beat Nyu by resig.; Suzuki (W) beat Omori by resig. (March 24) Nakamura (B) beat Mukai by half a point; Xie (B) beat Omori by resig.
Teikei Cup New Stars
Teikei New Stars
Some details of the three new Teikei tournaments can be found in my report of January 29. The New Stars is limited to players 25 and under. The pairing in the final was predictable: Kyo Kagen Judan v. Shibano Toramaru, a former Meijin. They are members of the top group in Japanese go, so it feels a little funny to find them playing in a self-proclaimed “junior” tournament, but this is possible because there is no dan ceiling, unlike most junior tournaments. Kyo has started well in the best-of-three final, winning the first game.
Game 1 (March 4). Kyo Kagen Judan (B) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan by half a point. (This was Kyo’s second half-point win in four days: he won the first Judan game by the same margin.)
Teikei Cup Legends Tournament (NEW)
Sonoda Yuichi
The final of this new tournament was held in the Ryusei TV studio in the basement of the Nihon Ki-in on March 18. Taking white, Sonoda Yuichi 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in beat Aoki Kikuyo 8-dan by resignation. He noted wryly that this was his first tournament victory since 1995. First prize is ¥5,000,000 (about $40,500). (Aoki qualified for this tournament by winning the Teikei Cup Women Legends Tournament, in which first prize is ¥2,000,000.)
New Stars International Team Tournament
This is a new tournament for players 19 and under from Japan, Korea, China, and Chinese Taipei. According to the Nihon Ki-in’s HP, the full name is the Parliamentary Government International Go New Stars Team Tournament. Games, of course, were played on the net. The time allowance was one hour, followed by 40-second byo-yomi x 3. For extra details, please see the excellent report by Daniela Trinks on March 10 (she calls the tournament Uijeongbu after the Korean city that sponsors it) .
Japan came fourth, with the only player to come out of the tournament with reputation enhanced being Nakamura Sumire, who won two games. One of the wins was over Zhou Hongyu, who is one of the top woman players in China; she won the 3rd Go Seigen Cup in 2020.
Results follow (all Chinese names are given in Pinyin). In the first match, Fukuoka forfeited his game because of illness. He was replaced by Sakai Yuki in the other matches.
Round One (March 3): Chinese Taipei beat Japan 2-1: Lai Junfu 7-dan (B) beat Miura Taro 2-dan by resig.; Xu Jingen 4-dan beat Fukuoka Kotaro 3-dan by forfeit; Lin Yuting 1-dan lost to Nakamura Sumire 2-dan (B) by resig; China beat Korea 2-1: Tu Xiaoyu 7-dan lost to Moon 5-dan (W) by resig; Wang Xinghao 6-dan (W) beat Han 3-dan by resig; Zhou Hongyu 6-dan (W) beat Kim Eunji 2-dan by resig.
Round 2 (March 4): China beat Japan 2-1: Tu (W) beat Miura by resig; Wang (B) beat Sakai Yuki 3-dan by resig; Zhou Hongyu 6-dan lost to Nakamura (B) by 1.5 points. Korea beat Chinese Taipei 3-0: Moon (B) beat Lai on time; Han (B) beat Xu by resig; Kim (W) beat Lin by resig.
Round 3: Korea beat Japan 3-0: Moon (B) beat Miura by 6.5 points; Han (B) beat Sakai by resig; Kim (W) beat Nakamura by resig. China beat Chinese Taipei 3-0: Tu (B) beat Lai by resig; Wang (W) beat Xu by resig; Zhou (W) beat Lin by resig.
Placings: 1st: China (3-0); 2nd: Korea (2-1); 3rd: Chinese Taipei (1-2); 4th: Japan (0-3).
Ichiriki wins NHK Cup (NEW)
The final of the 69th NHK Cup was telecast on March 13. Ichiriki Ryo beat Takao Shinji by half a point and won this tournament for the second year in a row and the third time overall. His record in NHK finals is now 3-3. Surprisingly, this was Takao’s first appearance in the final. This was the start of a good week for Ichiriki: he also stopped a losing streak in the Meijin League and won the Kisei title.
Japan eliminated from 14th Chunlan Cup (NEW)
Chunlan Cup: Sada beats Mi
The Chunlan Cup is a Chinese-sponsored international tournament for 24 players. It was founded in 1999 and since its 4th term has been held every two years. First prize is $150,000. The time allowance is two hours 30 minutes, with the last five minutes being used for byo-yomi (according to the Nihon Ki-in HP—Go Weekly says the byo-yomi comes after all the time is used up). Five Japanese representatives took part this year, but just one player made the second round, where he too was eliminated. Results of the opening rounds follow.
Round 1 (March 22). Byan Sangil 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Ichiriki Ryo 9-dan (Japan) by resig.; Kim Jiseok 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Iyama Yuta 9-dan (Japan) by resig.; Li Qincheng 9-dan (China) (W) beat Seki Kotaro 8-dan (Japan) by resig.; Ding Hao 9-dan (China) (B) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (Japan) by resig.; Sada Atsushi 7-dan (Japan) (W) beat Mi Yuting 9-dan (China) by resig.; Li Weiqing 9-dan (China) (W) beat Ilya Shikshin 4-dan (Europe) by resig.; Kim Myounghoon 9-dan (Korea) (B) beat Shi Yue 9-dan (China) by resig.; Li Xuanhao 8-dan (China) beat Ryan Li 3-dan (North America) by 1.5 points.
Round 2 (March 24) Tang Weixing 9-dan (China) (W) beat Sada by resig.; Byan (W) beat Gu Zihao 9-dan (China) by resig.; Li Xuanhao (W) beat Xu Haohong 7-dan (Chinese Taipei) by resig.; Ke Jie 9-dan (China) (W) beat Kim Myounghoon by resig.; Tang (W) beat Sada by resig.; Shin Minjun 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Ding by resig.; Yang Dingxin 9-dan (China) (B) beat Kim Jiseok by resig.; Shin Jinseo 9-dan (Korea) (B) beat Li Qincheng by resig.; Li Weiqing (B) beat Park Junghwan 9-dan (Korea) by resig.
The quarterfinals are to held later in the year, but I don’t have a date yet. Unfortunately, the two outstanding favorites, Shin Jinseo and Ke Jie meet each other in this round. The other pairings are: Yang v. Li Xuanhao, Shin v. Tang, and Li Weiqing v. Byan.
Sumire’s progress (UPDATED)
As of the end of March, Nakamura Sumire’s record was 12-5, but if you included the unofficial games she played in an international team tournament for young players (see above), her record is 14-6. She is also sitting on a winning streak of seven games (see below).
(Feb. 17 & 24 and March 10, 17 & 24) Sumire won four games and lost one in the Women’s Meijin League—see above. (Feb. 28) Sumire (B) beat Terayama Rei 6-dan by resig. (Prelim. B, 78th Honinbo) (March 14) Sumire (B) beat Rin Shien 8-dan by 1.5 points; Sumire (W) beat Yamada Takuji 8-dan by 2.5 points (both games in Prelim. B, 29th Agon Kiriyama Cup). Beating two 8-dans in one day shows how far Sumire has come.
Most successive wins (UPDATED)
Go Weekly is not yet publishing a most-wins list, but the most likely candidates for top place are given below (as of March 27).
The following players have seen their streaks come to an end recently. 8: Ikemoto Ryota 2-dan 7: Fujisawa Rina, Ueno Asami, Sakai Yuki 3-dan, Ida Atsushi 8-dan 6: Nyu Eiko 4-dan, Kono Mitsuki 8-dan
Iyama awarded 60th Shusai Prize (NEW)
This prize honoring the 21st and last hereditary Honinbo is awarded to the outstanding player of the previous year. Iyama Yuta won it for the 10th time.
Okura Kishichiro Prizes (NEW)
The Okura Kishichiro Prizes (previously referred to just as the Okura Prizes) are awarded to people, professional or amateur, who have made major contributions to popularizing go. This year’s prizes were announced on March 23 and went to Fukuda Yasuhisa, president of Senko Group Holdings, which sponsors the two Senko tournaments, and Takemiya Masaki 9-dan, who became famous for his center-oriented “cosmic style” and who won the Honinbo title six times and Meijin title once.
Promotions (UPDATED)
To 4-dan (50 wins): Komatsu Daiki (as of March 15). Komatsu is the son of Komatsu Hideki 9-dan and Komatsu Eiko 4-dan. Also, Kikkawa Hajime (as of March 29).
To 3-dan: (Ms.) Tanemura Sayuri (40 wins; as of Feb. 25)
Kevin Yang, Boyang Kang and Alan Huang topped the Gotham Go Tournament 2022 last weekend at The Glow Community Center in Flushing, NY as in-person tournament go returned to New York City. “We had 74 players and gave out over $1,800 in cash prizes, lots of good food, and even Gotham Go Group tee-shirts and magnets for all participants,” reports Peter Armenia. “Thank you Joel Kenny, Jino Choung, Gretchen Hanser, and Howard Wong for helping make this tournament a great success!”
The Midwest Open Tournament on March 12-13 attracted 53 players from throughout the region, from home state Ohio, as well as Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and even Virginia. This was the second edition of the event, the first having taken place in January 2020, just before the pandemic.
Casual Games: Eric Yoder plays James Funk & Patrick Kidwell plays Samual Blyveis. photo by Devin Fraze.
The Midwest Open was held at the new Yokoso Center in Columbus’s Japan Marketplace, and participants were greeted with custom, high-quality name tags and a welcome by the Columbus Kyoto Ensemble, who kicked things off with a performance of Japanese music in traditional kimono dress.
The Open Division, consisting of 16 players, was a traditional bracket system of four intense rounds. The Main Division featured an innovative “Arena Style” pairing: participants were paired for the first round by the tournament director, but the remainder of the games were self-paired and managed with custom software, which will be available soon to organizers via Baduk.club. This allowed players to take breaks and manage their own availability, get food as needed, and record their games using the software app. Division winners all received medals, and the Open winners were able to select among rare, high-value go-related prizes. Albert Yen swept the section; click here for his analysis of his Round 2 game.
Sunday morning also saw the final match of the Ohio State Championship, a lively showdown between a father and son. The winner, Soren Jaffe, was crowned Ohio State Champion.
Organizers extended special thanks “to all the members of the Baduk House, who assisted greatly to the success of the tournament.” To learn more about the Baduk House residency program and volunteering for future events, click here. See below for the winners list, and information about the tournament—and next year’s Open—is available here.
reporting/photos by Devin Fraze, edited by Hailey Renner.TD/Open winners photo (below left) by Eva-Dee Beech.
TD & Open Winners (l-r): Devin Fraze, Edward Zhang, Albert Yen, Alexander Qi, Soren JaffeTristram McPherson (l) plays Dylan Jian & Luke Chen plays David FangSteven A Zilber plays Della Tang
Ohio State Champion: Soren Jaffe
Juggernaut Award (most games and most wins): Jamin Kochman
Open: 1st Albert Yen; 2nd Edward Zhang; 3rd Alex Qi
Dan: 1st Shawn Ray; 2nd Jerry Jaffe; 3rd Mitchell Schmeisser High SDK: 1st Dylan Jian; 2nd David Rohlfing; 3rd Manny Juargegui Low SDK: 1st Richard Crawley; 2nd Angelo Di Lorenzo; 3rd Steven A Zilber High DDK: 1st Joe Miller; 2nd Kara Ray; 3rd Winston Yan Low DDK: 1st Jamin Kochman; 2nd Paul Mendola; 3rd Abhinav Gadde
Editor’s note: The global go community is a small one, and many of us have met Ukrainian go players across the board either in person or virtually. As the war there moves into its second month, I am reminded of how the horror of Hiroshima inspired renowned go master Kaoru Iwamoto to dedicate his life to a more peaceful future, becoming an ambassador for the game around the world to bring people together. In that spirit, here are two ways to take action now to support Ukrainian go players and their families. – Chris Garlock, Managing Editor, American Go E-Journal
Play Go for Ukraine: Go teacher In-seong Hwang and his fellow teachers at goteachers.org have organized Play Go for Ukraine. “We heard that a group of Ukrainian go families (about 25 people, mostly mothers and kids) escaped their country and participated in the EYGC (European Youth Go Championship) in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago,” they write. “However, they couldn’t go back to their country after that event and are now staying in different countries. Therefore, we’d like to help them pay for their living expenses.” Even though “many people feel powerless” against the war, “we can provide entertaining and educational games” while raising money for the Ukrainian go families. Participants make a small donation for each game and all the funds go to help the families. “Please come to enjoy the games and help our Ukrainian friends at the same time!” Click here for details.
Artem Kachanovskyi
Support the European Go Journal: As reported previously, European Go Journal editor Artem Kachanovskyi, a resident of Kyiv, has posted movingly on Facebook about how the Russian war on Ukraine has affected the go community and his own life and work as EGJ editor. When the war started, Kachanovskyi had to leave Kyiv and was forced to stop printing and distributing physical copies of the journal. He plans to continue producing the journal and distribute it digitally as a PDF until he is able to distribute hardcopies again. He takes subscriptions through Patreon and has about 235 subscribers right now. It’s $6.50 a month for a personal subscription to the monthly PDF version of the journal, and he offers a $3.50 per-person club subscription to groups participating in a Go club. – Spencer Rank.
Got more go news tips? Email them us at journal@usgo.org
