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Representatives of the Chinese Weiqi Association (CWA) will visit the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles right after the Go Congress finishes up Saturday in Tacoma, WA. CWA Vice Chairman Yang Yi (right) says he’d like to meet as many go players as he can during the two-week trip. The first event is Sunday, August 11 from 1-5 PM (887 Oak Grove Ave. Menlo Park, Suite 203, CA 94025). The second event is Thursday, August 15 from 7-10 PM at the Westfield Plaza Mall near Topanga Canyon Blvd and Oxnard St (21801 Oxnard Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367). “The Woodland Hills Go Club is very happy to host the Chinese pros,” said organizer Joe Walter, “and we’ve set up the main floor area to get maximum exposure for the public.” Walter also says the Woodland Hills event is free of charge, although donations are fine if a player wants to show appreciation for the simul games. The delegation also include Chen Wei 3P who has trained over two dozen top amateurs and several pros, and Li Cong 3P who is still actively competing in a lot of professional tournaments. “When friends come from afar, isn’t it a joy?” said longtime SF organizer John Kwei from the American Ing Chang-Ki Goe Foundation, quoting Confucius. He plans to have a lecture on pro training besides a simul and group dinner with the players.
– reported by Edward Zhang; photo by Phil Straus

Go’s breadth of history is on display this week in the Vendor’s Room at this year’s U.S. Go Congress. Next to the very latest books about go is an exhibit that features old Japanese go books painstakingly  hand-copied by internee Giichiro Mizuki at the Minidoka Relocation Camp in 1945. On Yutopian’s heavily-laden table are dozens of books about go, just across the room from a hard-cover copy of Arthur Smith’s “The Game of Go,” first published in 1908. Contrast Yutopian’s shiny new go boards with the age-darkened goban and chipped stones that traveled from Japan in the late 1800’s to Austria and then to the United States during World War II and now rests in Chris Kirschner’s living room. Kirschner, who organized this year’s Congress, marvels at the long and improbable link of events and history that connect us with the “kindly Japanese gentleman” who taught Chris’ seafaring great-uncle how to play go in 1898. “I don’t think he had any idea of what he was accomplishing,” Kirschner says. “I know that I have no idea of what I accomplish when I teach someone, and I’m equally certain that you don’t either. But I am absolutely certain that it is good.” The exhibit was organized with the assistance of the Wing Luke Museum and includes material from Brian McDonald’s extensive collection of go books, as well as from Chris Kirschner and Keith Arnold.
– report by Chris Garlock; photos by Phil Straus

Amy Wang and Justin Ching (at left) won the Pair Go Tournament Thursday night, earning themselves a trip to the International Amateur Pair Go Championship this Fall in Tokyo. They defeated April Ye and Willis Huang (at right) in the first round and beat Wan Chen and Dae Hyuk (Daniel) Ko in the second round. Todd Heidenreich directed, Yuan Zhou assisted, with support by Pair Go Coordinator Rachel Small. The Round 1 game between Wan Chen/Daniel Ko and Julie Burrall/Lionel Zhang and the final round between Chen/Ko and Wang-Ching were broadcast live on Pandanet by the E-Journal’s Dennis Wheeler.

“Try to give your students the bigger concept of the game, not small ideas and techniques,” urged Takemiya Masaki 9P Thursday afternoon at a Teachers’ Workshop lecture at the U.S. Go Congress. “It’s very important to keep them enthusiastic about the game.” Takemiya, who had just arrived at the Congress Thursday morning, explained how his father taught him go and then turned over his training to a professional when Takemiya had learned everything his father had to teach him. “My teacher never praised me and that was smart, I think,” Takemiya said. He added that “Teaching is challenging, but sometimes maybe the problem is with the teachers, not the students.” The Teacher’s Workshop is new this year, and has attracted nearly 50 participants, who have been meeting each day to learn new teaching techniques from professionals like Lee Dahye 4P, who has taught Korean soldiers, students and multicultural youth, and is co-author of “Falling in Love with Baduk.” Takemiya said that “technique and tactics are where most players and teachers start but there’s so much more to the game.” Patting his heart, he said “It’s about how you look at the game, how you love it. This is the most important thing. It’s the key to opening the door to go further ahead.” One thing professionals and amateurs have in common, Takemiya said, “is that we both have only one life to live, so we must all make it count!”
– report by Chris Garlock, photo by Phil Straus

Early Tuesday night was slow at the Seattle Go Center, with only about 20 players, since so many members were at the U.S. Go Congress in nearby Tacoma.   But then a meeting organized by Dae-won Suh, President of the Asian Go Federation, and former Korean Ambassador to the U.N., doubled the attendance, as Suh met with the leadership of the Center, including president Lee Anne Bowie, and local Korean players.  Also attending from the U.S. Go Congress were three Korean professional players, and KBA General Manager Jong-Ryeol Kim.  A reporter from the Korea Times, and staff from the Seattle Korean Consulate also attended.

While no specific events were scheduled at the meeting, Mr. Suh strongly encouraged the group to plan medium-sized events in the future that attract players from all backgrounds, according to local organizer Sonny (Sung-Chul) Cho.   Mr. Suh seemed pleased with the diversity in the Board and in the  membership of the Seattle Go Center.  After the meeting, an official photo was taken, and the group broke into lively discussions of  teaching methods, go equipment, and trips to Korea.  Story and photos by Brian Allen. Top photo: Local business leader Seok-Dong Kang greets Dae-won Suh.  Bottom: Pros Hyunghwan Kim, Dahye Lee,  Myungwan Kim and Go Center organizer/teacher Sonny Cho. 

Tuesday night is Crazy Go night at the U.S. Go Congress, and the main playing area was filled with players trying out variations, including 3D Go (top right); Galactic Go (middle right); 4-color go (bottom right); Joker Go (bottom left); Rengo Kriegspiel (middle left) and Hex Go (top left). photos by Chris Garlock, except for 4-color go, by Phil Straus
Click here for Phil Straus’ complete photo album of the day.