Go News « American Go E-Journal

2014 SportAccord World Mind Games Launch in Beijing

Thursday December 11, 2014

The fourth SportAccord World Mind Games officially opened at an evening ceremony held on December 10 in the banquet hall of the V-Continent Beijing Parkview Wuzhou hotel near the Beijing International Conference Center, which is the competition venue. Thirty go players representing the best of China, Chinese Taipei, Europe, North America, Japan, and Korea will compete with each other December 11-17, rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s best bridge, chess, draughts, and xiangqi players. Counting all five disciplines, there are 150 contestants, drawn from nearly forty countries and territories on six continents. Click here for Ranka Online’s reports on the SAWMG’s Opening ceremony and draw and Players Converge on Beijing for the 4th SportAccord WorldMind Games.

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Michael Redmond 9P’s gives a commentary (right) on the Round 1 game between France’s Fan Hui 2P and China’s Shi Yue 9P. “Shi Yue showed powerful fighting, starting with a center-oriented opening that developed into a big fight,” says Redmond. “Two early mistakes on Fan Hui’s part made this fight difficult for him.” Redmond also noted that “In the 1st round for women, Europe played well, got only one win out of it.”

Click on another insightful Redmond commentary, Dinershteyn-MiYuting_annotated.sgf, for an incredible game, in which Black opens with a 5-7 point play in each corner for his 1st four moves!

Click below for other first-round games:
DainelKo-ChangCheHao.sgf
IlyaS-Tuo.sgf
LinLi-Huiren.sgf
Mingjiu-ChenShihIuan.sgf
NaHyun-Ida.sgf
Seto-KangDongYoon.sgf
Yuki-Park.sgf
DinaB-KimChaeYoung.sgf
NataliaK-ChangKaiHsin.sgf
Okuda-SvetlanaShikshina.sgf

photo: EGF President Martin Stiassny (above right) drawing for the European team
– based on reporting by James Davies on Ranka Online; edited by Chris Garlock with technical assistance by Myron Souris

Categories: China,Europe,Japan,Korea,SportAccord World Mind Games,U.S./North America,World

UK Go Updates: Andrew Kay Holds British Championship; Local Winner at Warwick; UK Youth Go team triumphs over Italy; Race for 2014 Youth Grand Prix reaches final month

Wednesday December 10, 2014

Andrew Kay Holds British Championship: November 29, Andrew Kay defeated Alex Kent to retain the British Championship by three games to nil. The game will be made available shortly, with commentary from Matthew Macfadyen.

Local Winner at Warwick: The Coventry Tournament at the University of Warwick had a local winner for the second year in a row. Philip Leung (5d) took first at the tournament organized by former winner Bruno Poltronieri. Second was Wu Ruizhu (5d) also from Warwick and third was Alison Bexfield from Letchworth. 32 players took part.

UK Youth Go team triumphs over Italy: The UK Youth Go team is one of 13 teams signed up to the European Youth Go Team Championship 2014/15. In the second round of matches, the UK team beat Italy on Sat. 29th November. Congratulations to the team for their 4-1 win, which places the UK currently 6th out of the 13 teams taking part. The next round is scheduled for Saturday 13 December.

Race for 2014 Youth Grand Prix reaches final month: December – the final month of the 2014 Youth Grand Prix. The three winners, who will receive cash prizes of either £50, £30 and £20, are predicted to be among four talented youths. There are still 3 tournaments in UK, with plenty of opportunities for other players to rise to the top.
– compiled/edited by Amy Su, based on reports on the BGA website

Sincerely,
Amy Su

Categories: Europe

Your Move/Readers Write: Peter Freedman Urges Support for AGF

Wednesday December 10, 2014

“I just received a request from the American Go Foundation for a contribution towards their work,” writes Portland Go Chapter Organizer Peter Freedman. “I will again this year donate $100, and urge everyone who reads this to donate something. While about 130 donors are listed on this year’s request, there’s no reason why we cannot double that number this year! There are lots of you out there, and, what go player does not appreciate the AGF’s efforts to bring go to children? Please celebrate the holidays this year with a gift to the AGF…and while you are at it, thank the AGF people for all their efforts to bring go to children and youth.”

Categories: U.S./North America,Youth

Electronic Go Board Inventor Seeking N.A. Partners

Tuesday December 9, 2014

The inventor of a physical go board that records moves and enables online play on an actual board is looking for North American partners to

market it in the West. According to Sihong Zhou, the board, which lights up to show where your opponent has played, is compatible with some go servers, like Tygem/eWeiqi or Sina. Additional features, Zhou says, include joseki and tesuji training, games against a computer program up to 4d, and a built-in game clock. More details are available, in Chinese, on the RuiQi Tech website. Those interested may email Zhou in Shenzhen China at 1838349552@qq.com.

Categories: China,Tools: books, software & hardware,U.S./North America

GoGameGuru and AGA offer Joint BadukTV English Holiday Membership Promotion

Monday December 8, 2014

Anyone who joins, renews or extends their membership with the AGA between now and New Year’s Day will receive two months of free access to BadukTV English, AGA President Andy Okun announced. “We’re grateful to GoGameGuru, David Ormerod and the folks at BadukTV for this generous offer,” Okun said. People who are already BadukTV English subscribers can opt instead for a free go book (US shipping address only, limited choice of titles). AGA life members who request it can take advantage of the two months without doing anything, as it would be tricky to extend their memberships, Okun said. Baduk TV English takes the best of the 24-hour Korean cable channel Baduk TV, with lessons, game commentary and problems analyzed by professionals, and adds English subtitles. There are several hundred hours of material in the library already and new material all the time. After joining or renewing, click here to take advantage of the offer.

Categories: Tools: books, software & hardware,U.S./North America

Horn & Cha Top Davis-Sac Winter Tourney

Monday December 8, 2014

The Davis/Sacramento Go Club held its Winter Tournament on December 6th at the Arden-Dimick library in Sacramento. There were 14 players, including three who were playing in their first AGA tournament: Clete Reader, Laura Sparks, and Barry Stiefel. Jeff Horn 1D (left) won the upper division and Tai-An Cha 5k (right) won the lower division, both with 3-1 scores.
– Willard Haynes

Categories: U.S./North America

4th SportAccord World Mind Games Kick Off Next Week

Sunday December 7, 2014

The 4th SportAccord World Mind Games (SAWMG) will be held in Beijing December 11-17. Contestants will compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in five areas: go, chess, contract bridge, draughts and xiangqi (Chinese chess). The go competition will follow the same format as last year: 18 men representing China, Chinese Taipei, Europe, Japan, Korea, and North America will compete in a three-man team round-robin; 12 women from the same areas will compete in an individual double knockout; and 16 of these contestants will also compete in a single knockout mixed pair tournament.

The Chinese team this year is comprised of 5 professionals, four 9 dans and a 5 dan. The players participating in this year’s SAWMG are older than last year’s, with only 3 teenagers divided between the Chinese, Japanese, and North American teams, including the granddaughter of Fujisawa Shuko, who is returning for her second SAWMG.

The European and North American teams are fielding mixed pro-amateur teams. The North American team is comprised of three veteran players and one young Canadian woman, Ming Jiu Jiang 7P, Huiren Yang 1P, Daniel Daehyuk Ko 7D and Irene Sha 6D. The European team is primarily Russian, but also includes a professional 2 dan from France.

Coverage of the SAWMG will begin on the 11th, with daily reports and commentaries posted on the RANKA website. Click here for the schedule.
– Amy Su, based on reports on Ranka.
Correction: updated to reflect that it’s the granddaughter of Fujisawa Shuko (not the daughter) who will be playing

Categories: SportAccord World Mind Games,U.S./North America,World

EuroGoTV Update: Ukraine, Turkey, Russia

Friday December 5, 2014

Ukraine: Yevhen Kolodin 4k took the Vitalii Trost Memorial on November 30 in Odesa. Serhii Stupachenko 9k placed second and Oleksandr Viter 7k was third. Turkey: Also on November 30, the Turkish Go Championship finished in Istanbul with Ozgur Degirmenci 3d in first, Kerem Karaerkek 2d in second, and Hayri Kilic 1d in third. Russia: Anton Zantonskikh 6d bested Andrej Arkharov 2d at the Championship of Khabarovsk District on November 23. Sergej Kastorin 4d came in third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news

Categories: Europe,Events/Tournaments,Go News

Your Move/Readers Write: Where to Play Go

Friday December 5, 2014

“Do you have any info on Washington DC or Northern VA Go association?” asks Jonathan Kim.
Click on a state here to see a list of AGA chapters and other clubs and meeting places for go players in that state. Official chapters of the American Go Association are indicated by the AGA logo. Click on a chapter or club name to visit their webpage, if available.

Categories: U.S./North America

China, Japan, and Korea All Contenders in 16th Nongshim Cup Finals

Thursday December 4, 2014

Players met from November 28 to December 3 in Busan, Korea for the 2nd round of the Nongshim Cup. China’s performance was especially stunning with Wang Xi 9p winning four games in a row before he was defeated by Korea’s top player Park Junghwan 9p. Pressure was on Japan in game ten when Park faced Japan’s top player Iyama Yuta 9p (right). However, Iyama came through and secured a place for Japan in the Nongshim Cup Finals for the first time since the 12th Nongshim Cup in 2010-2011.

Shanghai will host the final round of the 16th Nongshim Cup in March 2015. Kim Jiseok 9p will represent Korea while China has Shi Yue 9p, Mi Yuting 9p, and Lian Xiao 7p on its roster. Historically, the Nongshim Cup has been dominated by Korean players (11 wins) while Japan has only won once. For more information on this year’s Nongshim Cup including photos, game records, and commentary, please visit Go Game Guru.
–Annalia Linnan, based on a longer article by Go Game Guru

Categories: China,Events/Tournaments,Go News,Japan,Korea

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