American Go E-Journal » Go News

Frank Luo 7D won the second Emory University Chinese Student & Scholar Union Go Tournament, held at Emory University on July 7. Nearly 30 players with rankings from 9 kyu to 7 dan participated in the tournament, which was organized by the Atlanta Go Club, Atlanta Chinese Go Association, and Korean Oriental Chess Club. In the high Dan division, Feijun (Frank) Luo 7D won the championship and Ge (Johnny) Wang 6D and Yongming (Michael) Zhuang 5D were the 2nd- and 3rd-place winners, respectively.  In the combined Dan and Kyu Division, Dalan Robertson and Zhou Li shared championship and Alexandros Salazar, Matt McCawley, and Alex Little tied in the second place.

“Youth players shone once again in this tournament,” reports organizer Jeffery Kerlagon. “Both 14-year-old Peiyu Tang 4D and 9-year-old Brandon Zhou 3D voluntarily played in the high-dan division and although they didn’t win a prize, their courage and go skills impressed all other players. Seven-year-old Calvin Tian has learned go for just one year and now has a rank of  near 1-dan, while Jonathan Zhang, a student in a beginning go class in the spring of 2012, played hard in his first go tournament and plan to attend more tournaments in the future.”

photo (l-r): 3rd place winner Yongming (Michael) Zhuang 5D, 1st place Feijun (Frank) Luo 7D, 2nd place Ge (Johnny) Wang 6D ; photo courtesy Jeffery Kerlagon

The roster for the “youthful” U.S. World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) team has been released. “Nine of the team’s 17 players are under the age of 18” reports coordinator Chris Kirschner. The team also features strong go families, with a father son combination, Guongzhang and Vincent Zhuang, a sister/brother pair, Cherry and Jerry Shen, and Feng Yun’s daughters, Amy and Gabriella Su. And despite the multiple Zhangs, none of the three are related. The team will compete in six events in Lille, France from August 13-23. The WMSG actually starts August 9, but the go competition was scheduled to avoid conflict with the US Go Congress. “Considering the high costs of travel, room and board, which the players have to shoulder, the team is to be congratulated for its commitment to representing us at the mind games,” said AGA Presient Allan Abramson. “We are proud of all of you!” The team, with the events they’ll play in: Matthew Burrall (Team), Wan Chen (Pairgo), Philip London (Team), Andrew Lu (Youth), Kellin Pelrine (Youth), Jerry Shen (Team), Cherry Shen (Team), Amy Su (Pairgo), Gabriella Su (Youth), Justin Teng (Youth), Yinli Wang (Individual), Jasmine Yan (Individual), Hugh Zhang (Individual), Li Zhang (Team), Lionel Zhang (Pairgo), Tina Zhang (Individual ), Guozhong Zhuang (Team), Vincent Zhuang (Youth). 7/19 update: Jasmine Yan has had to withdraw

Gordon Castanza, a Western Region representative on the American Go Association Board of Directors, announced his resignation from the Board on July 13, effective immediately. Castanza (l) said that his diabetes condition has worsened recently, necessitating his resignation “on the advice of my doctor and for medical reasons.” Regretfully accepting the resignation, AGA Board Chair Andy Okun thanked Castanza “for your years of work on the board, especially your focus on our financial issues, your careful attention to the interests of the West Coast chapters and the incredible work you did on systematizing our documents” and wished him “the best on your health.” Castanza does expect to be able to attend the upcoming U.S. Go Congress as both a player and a valued member of the EJ broadcasting team, as in previous years. Castanza’s resignation opens a vacancy on the Board, as Steven Burrall, Jeff Horn and Chris Kirschner are already running in the ongoing Board election for the Western Region seat held by Andy Okun, who was recently appointed President. The Board will appoint someone to complete Castanza’s term, which runs through 2013. photo: Castanza at the 2010 U.S. Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock

With less than two days to go, The Surrounding Game go documentary is within $4,000 of their fundraising goal. “We’re in the final stretch,” filmmaker Will Lockhart tells the E-Journal. The project, which is raising funding through Kickstarter, quickly achieved its initial goal (Go Documentary Expands Goals, Outreach 6/21 EJ) and with nearly 400 backers pledging over $21,000, is now tantalizingly close to the overall goal of $25,000, facing a deadline of 5:04 pm (EDT) this Saturday, July 7. “Thanks so much to everyone who’s stepped up to help out,” Lockhart adds, “With this final push we’re confident the go community will put us over the top!”

Ultimate authority at the American Go Association resides with an elected Board of Directors, who select the President. Four of the AGA’s seven directors are up for election this year for two year terms. Ten candidates are running, Gurujeet Khalsa (top row, far left) and Feng Yun (top row, second from left) in the Eastern region, Bob Barber (top row, middle) and Lisa Scott (top row, second from right) in the Central region, Steven Burrall (top row, far right), Jeff Horn (bottom row, far left) and Chris Kirschner (bottom row, second from left) in the Western region and Jie Li (bottom row, middle), Chuck Robbins (bottom row, second from right) and Zhiyuan Zhang (bottom row, far right) for the At Large seat (Note: Thomas Hsiang has withdrawn his candidacy for the At-Large seat).

The E-Journal asked all candidates to explain “Why I’m running for the AGA Board” in 140 characters (the length of a tweet); the results are below. Complete candidate statements are posted on the AGA website. We hope to do follow-up questions later in July.

All AGA chapters with two or more members can vote for the director in their region in this election. Chapters with 2-4 members get one vote; 5-9 members gain an additional vote; and larger chapters get an additional vote for each ten additional members. Ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters in early July, the results will be tallied and announced at the US Go Congress in Black Mountain, NC, during the first week of August. All full AGA members may vote for the At-Large Director. All ballots must be received by August 3.

 “Why I’m running for the AGA Board”:

Eastern Region
Gurujeet Khalsa: AGA membership is shrinking. I want to see go as a premier US mind sports game. My top priority is growth by removing the barriers to entry.
Feng Yun: “I have a wealth of experience worldwide, and will serve to promote go in this country for everyone, not just an AGA privileged few.”

Central
Bob Barber: Since I no longer make it to every Go Congress, serving on the Board will keep me in the loop while helping the AGA.
Lisa Scott

Western
Steven Burrall
Jeff Horn
Chris Kirschner

At-Large
Jie Li: My goal is to make the AGA an open, strong, and professional organization for go players.
Chuck Robbins
Zhiyuan Zhang: I want to ensure that the AGA Board benefits everyone, not just strong players, & bring my financial expertise to help ensure a viable AGA.