American Go E-Journal » Go News

There’s now less than a month before AGA board nominations close on June 15.  Things are off to a quick start with Gordon Castanza and Paul Celmer nominated in the western and eastern regions respectively.

If you are a full member of the AGA you may nominate, or self-nominate, a candidate in your region by writing or email at elections@usgo.org.
Details of the qualifications for office and election schedule are online.  Chapter representatives must check there for special instructions due to mailing list problems

The fifth annual Santa Monica Coffee Cup — which has just been designated an NAIM Qualifier  — will be held Saturday, June 4 at the UnUrban Coffeehouse in Santa Monica, California. There is an absolute limit of 50 players so pre-registration is essential. The tournament fee is $10, plus AGA membership or renewal if necessary. Send an e-mail to Andy Okun at abc@okun.name with your name and AGA number if you have one. “Eric Cotsen, should he attend, plays free,:” reports Okun. “The temperature is liable to be cool and comfortable and the sky an attractive blue, as usual.” This year’s theme color is Orange.

Winners in the recent first round of Wisonet Cup Go Tournament were Minshan Shou (defeated Forest Song); Xinyu Tu (d. Xiruo Liu); Kevin Huang (d. Benjamin Lockhart); Andy Liu (d. Qiyun Zhu). Stay tuned for details on when Round 2 will be held.
– Ronghao Chen, TD

The Stony Brook (NY) University Go Club hosted its first annual tournament on May 7. The 4-round tournament attracted 28 players and was held during Stony Brook University’s Sakura Matsuri celebration, which included a number of other Asian cultural events which tournament goers were able to enjoy between matches. Anthony Garcia won the tournament. The tournament boasted free entry, AGA sanctioned games and $250 worth of prizes. “If all goes well, the SBU Go Club will host another tournament at the same time next year,” reports SBU Go Club President-Elect Sean Burton.

The Capital Go Club and Greater Washington Go Club (GWGC) will host a North American Ing Masters (NAIM ) qualifier in the DC metro area June 17-18. The opening round will be on Friday 6/17 in the evening at the GWGC in Bethesda, MD, and the remaining three rounds on 6/17, so that players do not have to squeeze four games into one day. Email agatd1@gmail.com to register. All levels are welcome to watch and/or play free or rated games.  Stay tuned for details.
– Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang, NAIM Co-Director

The first online NAIM tournament qualifier will be held on June 4-5. It will be a 4-round online tournament and there will be two rounds (12 PM EST, 6 PM EST) each day. Email tournaments@usgo.org to register. Please inform TD of your status (Skype ID, KGS ID, AGA ID, Green card holder or US Citizen) when you register. The deadline for registration is 8 PM EST May 28. Online qualifier 2 will be on KGS during June 25-26, and the deadline for registration is June 10.
– Tengxiao Yang, NAIM Online Qualifier Co-director

The Evanston Go Club taught over 100 people to play go May 21-22 at Anime Central at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. Anime Central (ACen) is Chicago’s and the Midwest’s largest anime, manga and Japanese popular culture convention. Last year it attracted over 15,000 attendees. “This is our favorite event of the year!” said club president Mark Rubenstein. “We teach beginners on 9×9 boards, while more experienced players play 13×13 or 19×19. We even have a 9×9 tournament at the end of the day. Some of the kids love it so much, they stay for hours.” The Evanston Go Club has been teaching Go at ACEN for the past 5 years, and also teaches at local Japanese festivals and schools.