American Go E-Journal » Go News

Janice Kim, 3 Dan professional, will teach a two-day go workshop the weekend of June 23 and 24 in Berkeley, California. Berkeley is home to two go clubs and Bay Area Go Players Association, and is just across the bay from San Francisco.

The workshop is open to go players of all strengths (players below 10 kyu may want at least a year’s go experience to benefit from this workshop), and advanced registration is required. Each student will have the opportunity to submit game records before the workshop, and Janice will use them to tailor discussions to the specific interests and needs of the students. Each student will receive a workshop manual containing the records to be discussed, and files will be available for download as well.

“I enjoy seeing the clever moves played in finely-tuned games between world-class players,” Kim says, descriibing the main idea of the content of this workshop is, “but what I really need to know is what to do with the messed-up positions, wacky moves, and mistakes that come up in my games.”

Janice Kim co-authored the award-winning Learn to Play Go book series and also writes a go blog. Her recent workshop in Portland, Oregon and lectures at the Cotsen Go Tournament in Los Angeles were very popular. Learn more about the workshop and sign up on the Bay Area Go Players Association website.

photo: Janice Kim at the 2012 Cotsen Open; photo by Chris Garlock

With Lisa Scott running in the Central region AGA Board of Directors election and Gurujeet Khalsa in the Eastern region, the American Go Association is still seeking candidates for both the Western and At-large seats.  Nominations, including self-nominations, are being accepted now through June 15 and should be sent to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.

The registration deadline for this weekend’s Oscar Wilde Liberation (OWL) Tournament has been extended to Thursday, May 17. A dozen players have registered thus far for the tournament, which will be run on KGS, and there are still slots available for interested players. This will be the second online tournament this year where players can earn points towards the North American Ing Masters tournament at this year’s US Go Congress  in North Carolina in August, and the World Mind Sports Games in Lille, France, also in August. Click here to register.

Daniel Smith 2d took top honors at the May 12 “It Was 20 Years Ago Today” tournament in Chicago, IL. Not a Beatles song reference, the title refered to this being the 20th anniversary — to the month — of Tournament Director Bob Barber’s (at right, at work) first tournament. This was the indefatiguable organizer’s 70th imaginatively-named competition and the 65-year-old — who claims to have “never lost even a single game” at one of his tournaments — says he plans to keep going “for at least another 20 years.” He also noted that three people who played in his first event two decades ago were there this time as well: Ian Feldman, David Rockwell, and Chris Greene. “Greene is also the publisher of Hinoki Press, which generously donates a book to each player at Chicago tournaments,” Barber said.
Winner’s Report: 1st Place High Dan: SMITH, Daniel 2d; 1st Place Low Dan: CHENG, Lixin 1d; 1st Place High Kyu: YU, Patrick 3k; Tie 1st Place Mid Kyu: ROHDE, David 5k & GABELMAN, Joel, 5k; 1st Place Low Kyu: DAVID, Brian, 10k. All six of these players won all four of their games; 36 players participated. photo by Daniel Smith

President Allan Abramson called today for go players at all levels to play in the Tygem online pro qualifier, which begins the first weekend in June. Abramson said he was “encouraging everyone to participate in this history-making event, and tell your friends that you competed to become a pro!”

All those interested should sign up to play on the Tygem server (see below). “Practice with the Tygem server now will make your online competition easier,” he said. “Note that it is Windows-based only, so you may need to arrange to use a friend’s PC.” (5/11 Update: Tygem runs on the iPad, but will not run on a Macintosh computer.  iPad users can download the app from the Mac App Store.) Interested players 7 dan and up should register online, and send Abramson a note stating your interest in competing,  your AGA ID and statement of US/Canadian citizenship (President@usgo.org). For everyone else, “just play and enjoy this historic event.”

The first round of the three-round competition is a simple single elimination tournament open to all eligible AGA members, regardless of rank. Eligible players are US and Canadian citizens who are not already professionals.  Anyone who signs up on TYGEMGO and competes in the tournament will receive an “I Went Out For Pro” enamel pin as a keepsake. Players who are not yet AGA members can join the AGA through TYGEMGO for a promotional $15 rate.

Players who get their TYGEMGO ranking of 6d or higher can skip Round 1 and start in Round 2 with the survivors of Round 1.  Those who make it through Round 2 will join seven pre-seeded players for Round 3. The tournament will select seven finalists to compete from 7/28 to 8/4 in North Carolina, where sixteen players will compete for two pro certifications. The finalists in North Carolina will each receive a $500 subsidy and another $3,000 in prize money will be distributed.

In order to play, go to Tygem’s English-language website and sign up for a TYGEMGO account. Then go to to the registration page and hit the “register” button. Registration runs through May 27. The first round will start the first week-end in June. Contact Yixian Zhou at missbear@gmail.com or Andrew Okun at sponsorship@usgo.org if you have questions.