American Go E-Journal » Go News

The 2012 Vintage Go event lived up to its name, with participants enjoying plenty of wine along with their crackers and tesujis. The LLNL Go Club organized the festivities September 22 in Livermore, CA.
photo by Bruce Bailey

Chinese professional Yang Shuang 2P is paying a surprise visit to the metro Washington area Friday, October 5. Ms. Yang – who played a simul in DC earlier this year (Yang Shuang 2P Visits DC-Area Go Clubs 4/24/2012) – will play an exhibition game with Josh Lee, one of the Greater Washington Go Club’s strongest members, followed by analysis of the game. There will be no charge for the event, which will start about 8:30p at the GWGC, Cedar Lane Unitarian Church [downstairs room 15], 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda MD. A dinner will be held at the Aji Nippon restaurant in Bethesda starting at 7p; RSVP with Haskell Small by noon on Friday: haskell@haskellsmall.com

This month only, join or rejoin the American Go Association in October and get a free one-month trial subscription to BadukTV, a $50 value. BadukTV is the new online video service from GoGameGuru (GGG), featuring a live 24-video feed from BadukTV in Korea and a growing archive of English translations.  “Why are Asian players so good?” asks GGG founder David Ormerod. “Access to better quality information. In Asia, people can watch go 24 hours a day. We want to bring that experience to the English-speaking world. ” This valuable offer is available for a limited time: you must renew or join the AGA in October to receive your free one-month trial subscription. One trial per customer (sorry, not available to current BadukTV subscribers). AGA members also get the Member’s Edition of the American Go E-Journal, which includes game commentaries. Click here  to find out more about AGA membership or BadukTV. GGGBadukTV works fine on most mobile devices too; note that the BadukTV iTunes app, a completely separate product, only provides the live feed in Korean, not the English-language features, and is not associated with GGG BadukTV.

Eleven players — including Marek Gotkowski from Ireland — participated in the four-round Davis/Sacramento Go Club Fall Quarterly, held at the Arden Library in Sacramento, CA on September 29. Jeff Newmiller led the upper division with three wins; in the lower division there was a tie between Allen Louderback and Cameron Yu, both with three wins.
– Willard Haynes
photo (l-r): Cameron Yu, Jeff Newmiller, Allen Louderback

A gentle but temperate desert breeze ruffled the results slips as players from northern New Mexico vied for a place in the first Chamisa Flower Go Tournament. Held on Saturday September 22nd at the Aldea Community Center in Santa Fe the tournament brought in players from across northern New Mexico.  In the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos mountains where the chamisa (Ericameria nauseosa, left) blooms and the aspens are golden this time of year, the Santa Fe Go Club is working hard to build up the active go-playing community by holding such handicap tournaments and teaching beginners. After the second round, players repaired to the local Cafe Aldea for a hearty lunch. After four rounds, there was a three-way tie for the top places. Doug Sorensen 4d won on the first tiebreaker followed by Conrad Skinner 1k and Robert Cordingley 2k for second and third. “Interestingly, if head-to-head results had been relied on it could have been a problem, because while Sorensen beat Skinner who beat Cordingley, Cordingley beat Sorensen,” Cordingley reported. As well as award certificates and cash the top two winners enjoyed gift certificates generously underwritten by Slate and Shell.  Full details including the cross tab and final placings are available to all players and subscribers of GoClubsOnline  where the tournament was managed and rounds paired.

With events on two recent weekends, the Seattle Go Center celebrated 17 years of teaching and sharing the game of go.  Hiroshi Yamashiro 9P, the V.P. of the Nihon Ki-in,  and Hiroko Shinkai 5P, a former student of Go Center founder Kaoru Iwamato 9P, visited the Go Center from September 13 – 16, playing simultaneous games and giving lectures.  They also attended the anniversary party, which featured the koto ensemble “Silk Strings”.  At speeches during the  party on September 15, which also was attended by Japanese Special Consul Hana and AGA President Andrew Okun, both the Seattle Go Center and Nihon Ki-in “reaffirmed their commitment to Iwamoto-sensei’s vision, and to cooperating over the long term toward achieving that vision together.”  More information on the visit by the Nihon Ki-in is posted here.

The SGC Anniversary Tournament attracted 20 players on Sunday, September 23.  The Open Section was won by Ho Son, with Edward Kim second and Kum Kang Lee third.  The handicapped Section A was won by Chris Kirschner, with Frank Brown second.  Section B was won by Gordon Castanza, with Yukiko Miyake second.  Tournament Director was Bill Chiles, with assistance from Dan Top, and also from John Hogan, who provided support by phone from his new home in Michigan.

Photo: Hiroshi Yamishiro 9P playing simultaneous games at the SGC.  Photo and report by Brian Allen.