American Go E-Journal » Go News

The Hope Chinese School-Fairfax (HCS) bested an AGA team in a December 2 friendship match  in Annandale, VA. Twelve AGA players ranked from 5k-5d participated in two rounds of 10-on-10 non-handicapped games against the HCS team, which scored 12-8 overall, with some games as close as half a point.

HCS-Fairfax principal Ms. Li described the match as “a significant and exciting cultural event,” and welcomed AGA players to come back next year. She and HCS team captain Mr. Gu awarded AGA team a trophy, and each AGA player also received a backpack. Tournament director Edward Zhang (below at left, presenting a gift to Mr Gu) gave a summary of AGA rules at the beginning of the event and introduced the benefits of becoming an AGA member, such as tournaments, ratings and the American Go E-Journal. Click here for photo albums by Yuyan Zhou and Edward Zhang.

Team roster and 2-win players:
HCS-Fairfax: Renjie Wang (2-0), Bin Deng (2-0), Guojun Zu (2-0), Jeffery Yin, Ying Zou, Weiyu Yang, Wei Feng, Chuanyi Cao, Xinran Jian, and Nan Li.

AGA-DC: Haskell Small (2-0), David Reed (2-0), Dan Hiltgen (2-0), Justin Teng, Keiju Takehara, Jim Liu, Xiao Zhang, Kelsey Dyer, Yukino Takehara, Mohan Sud, Robin Kramer and Jonathan Barlow.

Inspired by the announcement of plans to end publication of Go World, the superb quarterly that published top-level instructional material and analysis of more than 1,000 of the most important games over the past 35 years (Endgame for Go World Magazine After 35 Years  11/16 EJ), The American Go Foundation is now offering its massive inventory of the last available issues for sale to all AGA members (shipping within the US only).  All proceeds from the sale go directly to the AGF to support their work promoting go in the US. “The response has been stronger than expected,” according to AGF VP Paul Barchilon. “We’re already out of several rare issues, and running low on others.” The Feng Yun Go School alone has ordered more than 500 copies. “We have given back issues of Go World as prizes to better students for years,” Ms. Feng says. “For many, they have never seen anything like it. It’s a real eye opener. The AGF is doing good work that benefits kids and go education in America, so supporting their mission with this purchase is also attractive. ” Never seen GW? The AGF has secured exclusive rights to offer a sample issue for download. More than 30 issues are currently available, but act fast! A collection would make a perfect holiday gift for the go lover in your life. (Please feel free to print this and pass it along.)

Sooil Kim (center) took first place in the December 1 Atlanta Mega Mart Go Tournament A section; Vladimir Rerikh (right) was second and Neirong Xiao (left) was third. The Atlanta Go Club hosted, with the sponsorship of Mega Mart, a local Korean supermarket. “This is the second time Mega Mart has sponsored a go tournament and it plans to continue to support go activity in metro Atlanta in the future,” reports organizer Jeffery Kerlagon. Cash and gift cards totaling $700 were awarded as prizes to top winners winners in four divisions. The one-day, three-round event was attended by 35 players. “While the Georgia Bulldogs were getting defeated by Alabama in football, the Atlanta go community faced strong competition from Tennessee,” says Kerlagon. Yin Huasong & Shawn Ray from Tennessee took 1st place in their respective divisions, while Sooil Kim was a repeat winner from last year in one of the High Dan Divisions. “Everyone had a great time and it was very inspiring to see go players from Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia battle it out over the go boards. Young Brandon Zhou, although not placing in this tournament showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.” The Atlanta Chinese Go Association and the Korean Chess Club bring many strong players to this competition.

Winner’s Report: High Dan Division A 1st place – Sooil Kim; 2nd place – Vladimir Rerikh; 3rd place – Neirong Xiao.
High Dan Division B 1st place – Yin Huasong; 2nd place – Won So Choe; 3rd place – Frank Luo
Dan Division 1st place – Shawn Ray; 2nd place – TIE between Danni Chen & Lixian Liu; 3rd place – Seth Cardew
Kyu Division 1st place – Jackson Zhang; 2nd place – Hiroshi Yamane
photo by Jeff Kerlagon 

Time is running out to join a group of US players traveling to Havana, Cuba February 15 – 21, 2013. The trip is being organized to play go with counterparts in the Cuban go community as part of a “people to people” trip conducted under a US Treasury Department license for such travel. “Using go as a way to forge links between people of different countries, especially countries whose relations are as fraught as Cuba and the US, is very much in line with the vision of Iwamoto-sensei,” says AGA President Andy Okun. “This is a wonderful opportunity.” Besides a go competition February 16-17, the trip will also feature an itinerary of cultural/educational activities such as a visit to Finca Vigia, Hemingway’s home in Cuba. “It is still possible to add additional travelers, but it is necessary to act quickly,” says organizer Robert Gilman. “Though there is not a definite deadline at this time, the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to accommodate additional travelers.” Email goincuba@gmail.com for information.