American Go E-Journal » Go News

Seattle Go Center Seeks New Operations Manager

Sunday August 8, 2021

The Seattle Go Center is looking to hire a part time Operations Manager, who can work 50 hours a month. Their current operations manager, Brian Allen, is planning to retire and concentrate on documentary photography. He started volunteering in 2002, and became General Manager in 2008. In 2018, his manager position was divided into two roles, programs and operations. Kyle Burg is the current Program Manager.

The Operations Manager position includes paying bills, doing payroll, filling out tax forms, doing maintenance, supervising maintenance contracts, and meeting and coordinating with the Board. The Operations Manager should be familiar with the game of go, and passionate about sharing it, but they do not have to be a strong player.

The Seattle Go Center was built in 1995 in the University District, and it has the largest weekly gathering of go players in North America. A new building is being planned for their location, and when it is done, the Seattle Go Center will be on the 2nd floor of a very tall apartment building. The center will move to an interim location during the construction. Because of these changes, the Operations Manager will be organizing for two moves, but they will have less maintenance work to do once the Seattle Go Center leaves its old building.

For additional information about this unique position feel free to contact Board President Bill Chiles. Report by Brian Allen. Photo by Cullen Mott.

Categories: Go News,Main Page,U.S./North America

The Power Report: Wang wins Globis Cup; 6th LG Cup starts; Fujisawa defends Women’s Hollyhock Cup

Sunday August 8, 2021

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Wang wins Globis Cup
The 8th Globis Cup World Igo U-20, which decides the world’s top teenaged player, was held on the Net on June 5 and 6. It was won by Wang Xinghao 6p, who defeated his compatriot Tu Xiaoyu 6p in the final. This was the fourth victory for a Chinese player, to three for Korea, and one for Japan (that was Ichiriki Ryo in the first term).
This tournament has a dual structure, starting with four mini-leagues, each with four players, who compete over three rounds. Players who score two wins proceed to the next stage, a standard knock-out; players who lose two games are eliminated (this is known as the “double elimination” system). As the host country, Japan fields six players; they are joined by three each from China and Korea, and one each from Chinese Taipei, Europe, North America, and Asia/Oceania. The time allowance follows the NHK format: 30 seconds per move plus ten minutes to be used in one-minute units.
Three Japanese players, Ueno Asami, Otake Yu, and I Ryo, made the best eight, but here they were eliminated. China also got three in the best eight, of whom two sent through to the final. Park 5p of Korea beat Moon 4p, also of Korea, in the play-off for third place. First prize is 1,500,000 yen (about $136,000). Second is 250,000, and third 100,000.

6th LG Cup starts
The opening rounds of the 26th LG Cup, a Korean-sponsored tournament with a first prize of 300,000,000 won (about $262,000), were held on the Net on May 31 and June 2. Korean players did best, scoring four wins in each round, China
scored three in each, and Chinese Taipei won one game in the first round and Japan one in the second. For Japan, Ichiriki Ryo qualified for the quarterfinals for the third international tournament in a row. He seems to be the only player Japan can rely on. The quarterfinals are scheduled for November 7 and 8. Incidentally, the number of participants was reduced from 32 to 24 this year.

Round 1
(May 31) Weon Seongjin 9p (Korea) (B) beat Kyo Kagen (Xu Jiayuan) 9p (Japan) by resig.; Kim Jiseok 9p (Korea) (B) beat Ida Atsushi 8p (Japan) by resig.; MiYuting 9p (China) (B) beat Lee Changseok 7p (Korea) by resig.; Tao Xinran 8p (China) (W) beat Heo Yongho 9p (Korea) by resig.; Kang Dongyun 9p (Korea) (B) beat Xie Erhao 9p (China) by resig.; Tan Xiao 9p (China) (W) beat Park Jinsol 9p (Korea) by resig.; Kim Myounghoon 8p (Korea) (B) beat Xie Ke 9p (China) by resig.; Chen Chirui 7p (Ch. Taipei) (W) beat Hong Seongji 9p (Korea) by 1.5 points.

Round 2 (June 2). Ichiriki Ryo 9p (Japan) (W) beat Chen by resig.; Mi (B) beat Lee Donghun 9p (Korea) by resig.; Shin Jinseo 9p (Korea) (W) beat Tao by 3.5; Shin Minjun 9p (Korea) (B) beat Kang by resig.; Byun Sangil 9p (Korea) (W) beat Kim Myounghoon by 4.5; Park Junghwan 9p (Korea) (W) beat Tan by 1.5; Ke Jie 9p (China) (W) beat Weon by 0.5; Yang Dingxin 9p (China) (W) beat Kim Jiseok by resig.
Quarterfinal pairings are: Byun v. Mi, Park v. Ke, Shin J. v. Ichiriki, Shin M. v. Yang

Fujisawa defends Women’s Hollyhock Cup
The semifinals and finals and the best-of-three title match of the 8th Aizu Central Hospital Women’s Hollyhock Cup were all held at the Konjakutei Inn in Aizu Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, over a period of five days. Ueno
Asami became the challenger, but Fujisawa Rina defended her title with straight wins. She has now held the Hollyhock Cup for five years in a row and six times overall. This is her 18th title.
Results are given below.

Semifinals (June 15). Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei (W) beat Kato Chie 2p by resig.; Nyu Eiko 3p (B) beat Nakamura Sumire 2p by 6.5.
Final (June 16). Ueno (W) beat Nyu by resig.
Title match, Game 1 (June 18). Fujisawa (W) beat Ueno by resig.
Game 2 (June 19). Fujisawa (B) beat Ueno by resig.

Categories: Japan,John Power Report,Main Page

Officer Applications Open for the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) 2021-2022

Saturday August 7, 2021

Applications for the 2021-2022 American Go Honor Society (AGHS) officer team are now open. The American Go Honor Society is an organization driven primarily by high school students to promote go among young players throughout America. Tournaments, leagues, and other go events catered towards youth are hosted throughout the school year by the AGHS.

Please fill out this form to apply.

The application deadline is Sunday, September 5, 2021 at 11:59pm PST.

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America,Youth

2021 NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament finalized

Thursday August 5, 2021

The North American Go Federation (NAGF) has finalized the format of the 2021 NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament, which will take place in person at the National Go Center in Washington DC over six days – from August 16 to 21. A total of 10 players will play a preliminary round in two round-robin groups, followed by a best-of-three semi-final round and a concluding best-of-three final. The winner of the tournament will receive the title of NAGF Professional 1 Dan, plus a $2,000 USD prize. The runner-up will receive a $1,000 USD prize.

All players will have 75 minutes main time with 60 seconds/5 times byo-yomi for each game. All games will be broadcast live on KGS by the AGA broadcast team. There will be a live Twitch streaming event on August 21, starting at 10 AM US Eastern Time, details TBA. All players and staff who are eligible and able to receive COVID vaccines are asked to come to the competition fully vaccinated, and everyone will be asked to wear a mask inside the venue. “It’s been a difficult journey preparing for this tournament during the pandemic, but we are thrilled to be certifying a new professional player in this competition,” says NAGF Executive Director Hajin Lee. “For the players who couldn’t attend this year due to various circumstances, we’d like to note that we will continue to organize annual Pro Qualification Tournaments going forward.”

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

Looking for a few good game recorders

Wednesday August 4, 2021

The EJ broadcast team – which will be bringing you the upcoming 2021 NAGF Pro Qualifier Tournament – still has a few game recorder slots available.

“This tournament will feature some of North America’s top players competing at an extremely high level,” says EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “It’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in top-level games and help bring them to a wider audience.”

Some experience game recording is preferred and recorders must have their own laptops. The tournament runs August 16-21 at the National Go Center in Washington, DC. The rounds are at 9:30 and 2:30 daily, so game recorders must be available during those times (be sure to specify which days/times you’re available).

Email journal@usgo.org if interested.

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Pro Tournament,U.S./North America

2021 e-Go Congress Credits

Wednesday August 4, 2021

Over 500 players took part in the AGA’s second e-Go Congress from July 17-25th across multiple online platforms. This dedicated team of volunteers worked tirelessly to put the e-Go Congress together. We wanted to take a moment to gratefully acknowledge their work. Next year’s Congress is set for July 30– August 7, 2022 in Estes Park, CO; if you’d like to consider being a part of the Congress team, email Lisa Scott or AGA E-Journal if you’re interested in the E-Journal team.

Congress Staff
Congress Director – Steve Colburn
Deputy Director & Pro Facilitator – Stephen Hu
Registrar – Emil Meng
Congress Coordinator – Lisa Scott
Logo Design – Alex Kim
Teachers – Feng Yun 9p, Michael Redmond 9p, Myungwan Kim 9p, Mingjiu Jiang 7p, Yilun Yang 7p, Ryan Li 3p, Eric Lui 2p, Calvin Sun 1p, In-seong Hwang, Julie Burrall, David Kahn, Cat Mai, Milan Mladenovic, Neil Ritter, Sathya Singh, Rognarr Markssen, Gary Watson, Luis Palacios, Brian Kirby, Felipe Herman van Riemsdijk, Alex Smolenski, Charles Hammack
Tournament Directors – Steve Colburn, Dan Ritter, Milan Mladenovic, Devin Fraze, Eric Wainwright, Emil Meng, Solomon Smilack, Jon Boley, Katherine Xie, Kevin Chao, Yixian Zhou, Lionel Zhang, Andrew Zhang
Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest – Terry Benson, Chris Kirschner, Wanda Metcalf, Roy Laird
Silly Go Songs – Terry Benson, Barbara Calhoun, Roy Laird
Picture A Go Player – Samantha Fede
AGF Auction – Solomon Smilack, Terry Benson
Platforms – Online Go Server, KGS, Pandanet, AGA Twitch, AGA YouTube, Zoom, Baduk.Club

Broadcast Team
Executive Producer – Stephen Hu
Line Producer – Eva-Dee Beech, Jared Meadows
Stream Hosts – Keith Arnold, Julie Burrall, Michael Fodera, Devin Fraze, Stephen Hu, Lisa Scott, Sathya Singh
Stream Commentators – Myungwan Kim 9p, Michael Redmond 9p, Kim Seungjun “Blackie” 9p, Yoonyoung Kim 8p, Ryan Li 3p, Eric Lui 2p, Stephanie Yin 1p, Diana Koszegi 1p, Inseong Hwang 8d, Albert Yen 7d, Jeremy Chiu 6d, Professor Daniela Trinks
USGO Congress 2022 – Eric Wainwright, Howard Landman, and Paul Barchilon for
Twitch, Discord, and OGS Chat Moderators – @ejournal, @gobaduk, @polarbear, @sirocco, @vash3g, @xhu98, @lionGuySai, @Goshi
Overlay Design – Stephen Hu
Motion Graphics – Jared Meadows
Music – “Reverence”, Tritonal x Nick Sibicky, Tritonalmusic.com
Broadcast Content Sponsors – AI Sensei (Benjamin Teuber), Guo Juan’s Internet Go School (Guo Juan 5p), New York Institute of Go (Ryan Li 3p and Stephanie Yin 1p), Yunguseng Dojang (Inseong Hwang 8d)

Special Thanks
Sirocco Hamada, American Go Association, American Go Foundation and prize sponsors; North American Professionals, AI Sensei (Benjamin Teuber), Guo Juan’s Internet Go School (Guo Juan 5p), AwesomeBaduk, Go Magic

e-Go Congress Coverage
Twitch broadcast videos

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America

2021 e-Go Congress tournament results

Monday August 2, 2021

After a week of online play between over 500 participants, the results are in! This year’s 2021 e-Go Congress hosted six tournaments, plus the Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest and two new events.

Pandanet AGA City League Tournament and Championship
TD: Steve Colburn
A League Champions: New York City – Ryan Li 3P, Hanchen Zhang 1P, Stephanie Yin 1p; Runner Up: Canwa Vancouver 1 – Henry Yu 2p, Bill Lin 8d, Brady Zhang 7d; 3rd Place: Greater Washington, 4th Place: Toronto, 5th Place: Chicago 1
B League: 1st Place: Boston, 2nd Place: Seattle 1, 3rd Place: Los Angeles, 4th Place: Chicago 2
C League: 1st Place: Seattle 2, 2nd Place: Canwa Vancouver 3, 3rd Place: Washington DC 2
D League: 1st Place: North Corvallis, 2nd Place: New Mexico, 3rd Place: NY City 4

Double Digit Kyu Tournament
TD: Kevin Chao; ATDs: Yixian Zhou
Group 1 (10 kyu) – 1st: gorabbit 10k, 2nd: Emily Hjulstorm 10k, 3rd: Savanni D’Gerinel 10k, 4th: xltra76 10k, 5th: dl123 10k
Group 2 (11-12 kyu) – 1st: Paul Adamski 12k, 2nd: Stefan Weissner 11k, 3rd: Harold Stockton 11k
Group 3 (13-14 kyu) – 1st: Ben Schwartz 13k, 2nd: Mic841 23k, 3rd: tamplee 13k, 4th: Elphiya Khodger 14k
Group 4 (15-18 kyu) – 1st: Junxiong Lin 15k, 2nd: Joevan 15k, 3rd: Abizer Nasir 17k, 4th: Wes Isenhart 18k
Group 5 (19-30 kyu) – 1st: Laurie Ensworth 19k, 2nd: Ji-Xin Cheng 30k, 3rd: kt112 19k, 3th: melodyliu 20k

9 X 9 Tournament
TD: Eric Wainwright; ATDs: Emil Meng, Solomon Smilack
Dan Division: 1st: JtaoOMG 2d, 2nd: Xingke Sun 5d, 3rd: Pengyu Sun 2p
Single-digit Kyu Division: 1st: Hypernova 8k, 2nd: Khang Hoang 2k, 3rd: Luis Palacios 2k
Double-digit Kyu Division: 1st: dl123.2020 10k, 2nd: William Seiyo Shehan 25k, 3rd: JBX2010 10k

Pair Go Tournament
TD: Lionel Zhang; ATD:Andrew Zhang
Table Winners: Seowoo Wang & Eric Lui, Juliaz & Brightstar, Yhe & JtaoOMG, Baileyy & sparkycat, Angelzhou & Yixian Zhou, Vpxie & Khang Hoang, Vivienne Blandy & Mark Fraser, HILT1 & Monstral1, Seagal & Asbayen, Sergey Hodger & Arina7, KoBa & AndyL2011, Mari Oshima & Junxiong Lin

Blitz Tournament
TD: Jon Boley, ATDs: Katherine Xie
Group 1 (5 dan +) – 1st: Xingke Sun 5d, Yhe 5d, 2nd: AlexQi2008 6d, Brightstar 7d, 3rd: GCCongress 5d
Group 2 (1-4 dan) – 1st: JtaoOMG 2d, 2nd: Eyz 2d, Jason 1d, Wirtuoosi 2d, SeanSong 1d
Group 3 (1-3 kyu) – 1st: Al123 1k, 2nd: Sunbunny6 1k, Piotr Millan 3k, 3rd: iGo4Now 1k, Iulian Bogaciev 2k
Group 4 (4-7 kyu) – 1st: Khang Hoang 2k, 2nd: Angelzhao 5k, Tevis Tsai 6k, 3rd: Angelzhao 7k, DashZhang 7k
Group 5 (8 kyu – 30 kyu) – 1st: Xltra76 10k, 2nd: Triberos 11k, 3rd: Aman6a 13k, Dl123 10k

e-Go Congress Open
TD: Dan Ritter, ATDs: Devin Fraze, Milan Mladenovic, Neil Ritter
7 dan+ – 1st: Kbs8438 7d, 2nd: eponymous 7d, 3rd: Henry0202 2p
6 dan – 1st: jamessun 6d, 2nd: Jeremiah Donley 6d, 3rd: Tianyi Chen 6d, Meng Wang 6d
5 dan – 1st: bkCongress 5d, 2nd: Xingke Sun 5d, Toranosuku Ozawa 5d
4 dan – 1st: Jeff Kuang 4d, 2nd: Joel Kenny 4d, 3rd: Hkt008 4d
3 dan – 1st: juliaz 3d, 2nd: Lucman Bounoider 3d, 3rd: Francisco Rodriguez 3d
2 dan – 1st: David Weimer 2d, 2nd: Andrew Swan 2d, 3rd: eyz 2d
1 dan – 1st: Tao Li 1d, 2nd: LiuJason 1d, 3rd: pokeseansong 1d
1 kyu – 1st: ss22 1k, 2nd: Jerty 1k, 3rd: al123 1k
2 kyu – 1st: Khang Hoang 2k, 2nd: Mark Fraser 2k, 3rd: Iulian Bogaciev 2k
3 kyu – 1st: Yeming 3k, 2nd: ericmao 3k, 3rd: Stephen Tanner 3k
4 kyu – 1st: Cadspen 4k, 2nd: Zhihan1 4k, 3rd: tshelix 4k
5 kyu – 1st: Anderson Barreal 5k, 2nd: Marta Miksa 5k, 3rd: David Rohlfing 5k
6 kyu – 1st: AbigailC 6k, 2nd: Tevis Tsai 6k, 3rd: Andy321 6k
7 kyu – 1st: angelzhou 7k, 2nd: KorbloxDex 7k, 3rd: Rostislav Kuksin 7k
8 kyu – 1st: Raghavendra Murty 8k, 2nd: Poppilo5116 8k, 3rd: Anthony Li 8k
9 kyu – 1st: agcKai 9k, 2nd: Richard Newman 9k, 3rd: David Pesa 9k
10 kyu – 1st: go_rabbit 10k, 2nd: JBX2010 10k, 3rd: chenruij 10k, ct112 10k
11k-12k – 1st: Stefan Weissner 11k, 2nd: quantumjo 11k, 3rd: springleaf 12k
13k-14k – 1st: Ben Schwartz 13k, 2nd: Alicia Selfrid 13k, 3rd: TheNopenator 14k
15k-19k – 1st: Junxiong Lin 15k, 2nd: Lee Edwards 15k, 3rd: Francisco Riberio 15k, Laurie Ensworth 19k
20k-30k – 1st: Roland Bijvank 20k, 2nd: Brandon Sallot 20k, 3rd: melodyl112 20K

Bob High Memorial Song and Poetry Contest
Organizers: Terry Benson
Judges: Terry Benson, Wanda Metcalf, Barbara Calhoun, Roy Laird
Best Song: Invasion Man by Freeman Ng

Picture A Go Player
Organizer: Samantha Fede
T-Shirt Winner: Jiayang Wei
Adult Winner: Brian Kirby
Youth Winner: Tianning Li

Leon Chen’s Tsumeogo Challenge
Organizer: Stephen Hu & Leon Chen
Winners: Rong Qi Chen, Yiduo He, Satoru Inoue, Brain Kirby, Stephanie Tan, Colin Williams (lackita), Albert Yen, Eric Yoder, Qingbo Zhang, Andy Zhou

Categories: Main Page,U.S. Go Congress,U.S./North America

Yoonyoung Kim 8P and women’s team hold 2-0 lead over the veterans at 15th Korean Gigi Auction Cup

Sunday August 1, 2021

Yoonyoung Kim 8P won her two opening games against Sujang Kim 7P and Yoo Changhyuk 9P on July 26 and 27 at the 15th Gigi Auction Cup veteran-women Go Challenge in Seoul, Korea. Each team, a women’s team and a veterans team – with players all 45 years old or above – has 12 players and sends out one competitor at a time. All games are live on BadukTV and can be found on their YouTube channel. On Monday morning, August 2nd, Kim 8P will take on Lee SungJae 9P hoping for a three-win streak, which will mean an additional prize. The winning team prize is $100,000 (120 million won). Since 2007, the women’s team has won eight times (the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th) and the veterans team has won six times.

-photos from BadukTV
-report by Capital Go Club

Categories: Korea,Main Page,Other

50 Years aGO – July 1971

Saturday July 31, 2021

by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

On July 11, the 4th Pro-Amateur Go Congress took place, between ten pros and ten top amateurs. Our source is silent on the handicap, but the score was a tie, with each team winning 4 games and two games ending in jigo, There was quite a sensation when 13 year old M. Kanazawa defeated Hashimoto Utarō 9d.

The Meijin League entered its final phases. On July 8, Rin Kaihō’s perfect 5-0 start was ended by veteran Takagawa Kaku, keeping suspense alive as to the challenger for another round. But on July 22, Rin defeated Ōtake Hideo and secured the right to challenge Fujisawa Shūkō. (Game record: Rin-Takagawa.)

On July 26 (televised on August 1) Kojima Takaho 6d won the 3rd Shin’ei TV event by a half a point over Cho Hunhyun 5d. (Game record: Kojima-Cho.)

Two amateur players visited Japan to study go this month. The more famous, at the time, was Manfred Wimmer, amateur 5d and former European Champion. His plan was to stay for two years. With a plan to stay for two months, James Kerwin arrived to study as well. He is pictured on the left facing Takenaka 4d at the Nihon Ki’in.

Kojima Takaho and Cho Hunhyun in the final game of the 3rd Shin'ei Tournament — Kojima Takaho and Cho Hunhyun in the final game of the 3rd Shin’ei Tournament

James Kerwin at Nihon Ki'in — James Kerwin at Nihon Ki’in

Photos courtesy of Go Review.

Categories: 50 years aGO,Go Photos,Japan,Main Page

Amateur Pair Go Championship postponed due to COVID

Friday July 30, 2021

The 32^nd International Amateur Pair Go Championship has been postponed to next year. It had been scheduled to be held on December 11 and 12 this year, but due to the fact that the COVID-19 situation in Japan is not improving, organizers decided that “it’s just too difficult to safely invite players from overseas.” The Championship is expected to be held in late November or December of 2022.

Categories: Japan,Main Page,World

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »