American Go E-Journal » Go News

DC Metro School Tourney Set for Sept 29

Thursday September 13, 2012

“The first DC Metropolitan Area School Go Tournament will be held at George Mason University in Arlington, VA on Saturday, September 29,” reports  American Go Honor Society Vice President Julian Erville. “Registration for the tournament is still open, and anyone is welcome to watch, or play self-paired games. AGA membership is not required, and all DC Metro schools are invited to attend,” adds Erville. For information — including about prizes — contact Justin Teng at lightvolt@gmail.com.
– Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

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AGA Pro Tourney Game Records Posted; Women Who Get Go; Vogue interviews Xie Yimin; GoGoD Publishes Chinese Classic in E-Book Form; Go Mention in Stevie McCabe Mystery; Nice Go

Wednesday September 12, 2012

AGA Pro Tourney Game Records Posted: AGA-TYGEMGO Pro Tournament game records for both the main tournament and the Exhibition League have been added to the AGA Professional System page on the AGA website. To see the tournament draw – and download game records – scroll down to “Results.” Thanks to Dennis Wheeler and Steve Colburn for their work on this.

Women Who Get Go: Go has been catching on recently among young women in Japan, Daniel Krieger reported in The Japan Times earlier this year (The women who get go 5/15/2012). “Just last year, it started to get more popular,” said Mayumi Otsuka, 29, who has been hosting monthly get-togethers since last year at a go parlor in Osaka where she and her 27-year-old sister, Satomi, have been working (and playing up to 10 times a day) for the past three years. International Go Federation vice president Thomas Hsiang said that “To facilitate the next big change, we need a model” like a “Bobby Fischer” of women’s go, and suggested that the two best bets on the pro scene are 18-year-old Joanne Missingham, who is a sensation in Taiwan, and Hsieh Yi Min (Xie Yimin), a 22-year-old prodigy who came to Japan 10 years ago and is now at the top of the women’s game. photo: Yasuko Mantani (left) and Aya Kitano commence a game of go at the Shinsaibashi Igo Salon in Osaka. photo by AIMI NAKANO, courtesy The Japan Times

Vogue interviews Xie Yimin: In a related story, GoGameGuru’s David Ormerod reports that “Vogue Taiwan and the fashion house Chanel recently did a video interview with Xie Yimin, the Women’s Honinbo Meijin in Japan. It’s part of a series of interviews with directors, musicians, go players – basically artists.” Although the video is in Mandarin, GoGameGuru has posted an English transcript along with the video here. “When I first arrived at the Nihon Kiin, I had to learn to kneel while I played,” Xie Yimin says in the interview. “I would kneel until my legs and feet went numb. However, my Go Sensei (teacher) said that, before the goban, one must learn to display a modest demeanour before one can become strong at Go.”

GoGoD Publishes Chinese Classic in E-Book Form: GoGoD has issued another e-book on Amazon: Gateway To All Marvels. Gateway is special edition of the 1347 Chinese classic Xuanxuan Qijing (Gengen Gokyo in Japanese), which John Fairbairn says “is surely the most significant go book ever produced. It has become the foundation for virtually every problem book since, as well as being the main source for early go theory.” The new e-book version “brings together every problem and every variant from perhaps every subsequent edition, and discusses how the almost 500 problems and their solutions have evolved and varied, and also how even modern professionals often disagree on the correct solutions or, dare we say it, trip up,” Fairbairn adds. Previous GoGoD e-books include Inoue Genan Inseki and The Life of Honinbo Shuei, also available on Amazon.

Go Mention in Stevie McCabe Mystery: “Go is mentioned in the fifth novel in the Stevie McCabe mystery series, No Shadow in the City by John Callaghan, a Scottish author,” reports Su Co Chon Duc (Marjorie E. Hey). “In Chapter 4, there are several pages introducing go to the private investigator, Stevie McCabe. It is mentioned again in passing in Chapters 6 and 29. There’s some mayhem, but there are no ripping viscera, no splintering skulls. Yes, there are sexual encounters, because the characters have real lives, but no lingering erotica. It is marked for For Adults because of language.” While the first four books are available in paperback and Kindle format, Su Co Chon Duc notes that this book is currently only available on Kindle.

Nice Go: Bob Barber reports that go pops up in “Mr. Nice,” a 2010 film about a Welsh drug dealer. “There’s a minute of go at minute 19,” says Barber.

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9/12 Deadline for SportAccord World Mind Games Online Tournament Registration

Wednesday September 12, 2012

Wednesday, September 12 is the deadline to register for the second SportAccord World Mind Games Online Tournament. This online tournament is sponsored by SportAccord, the city government of Beijing, Pandanet, and the International Go Federation. Top prize is an all-expenses-included trip to observe the Second SportAccord World Mind Games held in Beijing later this year. There are other prizes for sectional winners as well, plus three iPads as lottery prizes drawn among all players who finish the preliminary round.

 

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American Go Honor Society Elects New Officers

Saturday September 8, 2012

The American Go Honor Society (AGHS) announced their new officers for the 2012-13 school year on their Facebook Page.  Run mainly by high school students, the AGHS organizes the School Teams Tourney and other events every year.  The new officers are:  Co-Presidents: Justin Teng and Eric Chen;  Vice Presidents: Hugh Zhang and Julian Erville; Promotion Head: Junhee Kim; Tournament Organizer: Andrew Huang; Secretary: Viral Kotecha; Officer: Asa Euster. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

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WBaduk Intercontinental Team Cup Seeks American Players

Tuesday September 4, 2012

American players are wanted for the second WBaduk Intercontinental Team Cup (WITC), with $10,000 in prize money at stake. Anyone can play in this 3-continent tournament that pits players from each of the participating continents — America, Europe and Asia – in a last-man-standing prelim to choose three 5-player teams that will then play off in the finals. Prizes will be awarded in both the prelims and finals. Registration is free but the September 23 deadline for sign-up is fast-approaching, as play begins later this month. Click here for details and to see who’s signed up thus far.

 

 

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Categories: World
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Hikaru Author Hotta Yumi Interviewed

Monday September 3, 2012

Hikaru no Go author Hotta Yumi was interviewed on film at the International Go Symposium on August 5th, 2012. For those who missed the live stream,  the Tiger’s Mouth website has printed the entire text of the interview.  The AGF is currently editing the videos from the symposium, all of which will be available online at a later date.  A few choice highlights from the Hotta interview are below, you can read the full article here.

On how the series began, Hotta says “I wanted to learn go, so I paid a go school and started to attend classes once a week with a pro. He was mean, and never let the students win the teaching games. This was frustrating to me, because I was thinking ‘Why am I paying to lose all the time?’ I wished that I had a guardian angel or a ghost that could help me beat him really bad. It was at that moment that Hikaru no Go was born.”  When asked about how go has affected her life, Hotta replied: “Honestly, I had no idea that so many kids would want to learn how to play go. Not just in Japan, but all over the world. Especially kids in other countries where there aren’t many teachers or resources for playing go. Nowadays many more kids can play go thanks to the efforts of teachers, professionals, and groups that are helping to bring go to kids around the world. For my own life, Hikaru has made it very hard for me to attend go tournaments. So many people will watch over my shoulder during my games, and I’m not a very strong player so it is very embarrassing!” – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Translation by Akane Negishi and Solomon Smilack.  Photo: Hotta Yumi, by Paul Barchilon.

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Hikaru Trivia Winners

Monday September 3, 2012

Thirteen readers submitted answers to the E-J Hikaru no Go trivia contests, published on Aug. 6, but only four readers got all the answers right.  The winners are  Hena Garcia, Linden Chiu, Elizibeth Comer, and “Jeffrey” who did not provide a last name.  All four win a free month of KGS+.  The questions and answers are below. Q:Who drank his coffee black, even when he was in middle school? A: Kishimoto. Q: Who was Isumi’s roommate in China? A: Yang Hai. Q: What is Akira’s mother named? A: Akiko (best wrong answers: Mrs. Touya and Sue Me).  Q: How is Hikaru able to take the Insei test, even though he missed the deadline? A: Ogata vouches for him. Q: On what day does Sai disappear, and how can you tell? A: Children’s day, May 5th.  You can tell because of the carp streamers in the window. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Questions by Paul Barchilon and Justin Teng.

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12-Year-Old Albert Yen Tops Chi Tourney

Monday September 3, 2012

Twelve-year-old Albert Yen 6d (at right in top photo, playing Changyu Han) took top honors in the September 1 “Me Tarzan” tournament in Chicago, IL, undefeated in the Dan division. “Congress attendees will remember High Kyu division winner Zihang Yin (below left), who is even younger,” says TD Bob Barber. “He swept all before him as 3k then, and repeated as 2k in Chicago. In his spare time, I saw him multiplying and dividing square roots on his I-pad.” Thirty-four players participated in the Labor Day weekend tournament.

“We had many new players, including Deke and Marcus Gould, father and son in from Moline, IL,” notes Barber. “And your humble TD was especially happy to have John Hogan join us. We haven’t seen each other in years, and I recall fondly all the work John did for us during the 2002 Chicago Congress.”

Winner’s Report: 1st Place Dan: YEN, Albert, 6d; 1st Place High Kyu: YIN, Zihang, 2k; 1st Place Mid Kyu: DAVID, Brian, 7k; Tie 1st Place Low Kyu: LIN, Crystal, 16k & SONG, Kevin, 18k.
photos by Mark Rubenstein

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Categories: U.S./North America
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Fall Semester Enrollment Open at Guo Juan’s Internet Go School

Monday September 3, 2012

Guo Juan’s Internet Go School is currently accepting new students for group classes for the next term, which begins October 6/7. Group class participants also receive a 20% discount on a year’s membership for Guo Juan’s audio lectures. In addition to Guo Juan 5P, the school’s teaching faculty includes Jennie Shen 2P, Young Sun 8P and Mingjiu Jiang 7P. Click here for details on Guo Juan’s Internet Go School.

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Categories: World
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Frank Luo Wins AtlantaTournament

Sunday September 2, 2012

Frank Luo won the Atlanta tournament August 25 when the Atlanta Go Club and the Chinese Go Association teamed up with a local Korean Baduk salon for a weekend one-day tournament. The tournament featured two divisions, a High Dan Division consisting of players 4-dan or greater and a Dan/Kyu Division consisting of players 3-dan or less to about 5 kyu.

“Although this was not an AGA-rated event the 19 participants had a great time,” reports local organizer Jeffery Kerlagon. Each division played three rounds. “Luo’s final win in the High Dan division featured an exciting tesuji that captured his opponent’s corner,” reports Kerlagon.

“We really wish to thank Mr. Song Kim, owner of Oriental Chess,” says Kerlagon. “Mr. Kim’s establishment — 3182 Steve Reynolds Blvd. Suite 101 Duluth, GA 30096 678-508-6578 — features 10 go boards in half of the building and several poker tables in another part of the building for Texas Hold Em. The Atlanta Go Club encourages any AGA member to visit Mr. Kim. He is 4 Dan and welcomes all players. The entrance fee is $5 to play all day and hours of operation are from 11 AM until after midnight, 7 days a week.”

Winner’s Report: High Dan: 1st: Frank Luo; 2nd: Yaofeng Wang; 3rd: Neirong “Neil” Xiao. Dan/Kyu: 1st: Hunq Y Lee & Darrell Spence; 2nd: Dalan Robertson; 3rd: Youn Lee.

Photo from left to right: Yaofeng Wang, Lixian Liu, Junfeng Gu, Vladimir Rerikh, Yongming Zhuang, Jeff Kerlagon, Huan Tan, Song Kim, Youn Lee (in front of Mr. Kim’s Baduk Salon)

 

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