Go News « American Go E-Journal

Tony Yang 5D sweeps NGC Fall Online Tournament

Sunday November 15, 2020

Seventy six players from across the country participated in the National Go Center’s first online tournament on Saturday, November 14, competing via Zoom and KGS. Tony Yang 5D was the overall tournament champion with a perfect 4-0 score. All three- and four-game winners are being sent an NGC t-shirt in the style and color of their choice as a prize. Co-TD’s Gurujeet Khalsa and Garrett Smith kept the rounds running on time. “It helped a lot,” reports Smith, “to have an optional training session on Zoom the night before the tournament so everyone knew how to use the technology. We learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t and will use that in future online tournaments.”

The tournament was also the pilot of the online ratings system that Josh Lee and the NGC have developed. Says Khalsa, “After reviewing the numbers with Josh, we will publish the results online for community comment.”

Winner Report
4 Game winners: Tony Yang (5D), Jared Nishikawa (2D), Mario Espinoza (6K), David Rohlfing (9K)
3 Game winners: Soren Jaffe (5D), Rujun Ding (5D), Sophie Lin (2D), Alan Yang (1D), Jerry Jaffe (1D), Jeroen Meijer (1K), Peter Schumer (2K), Austin Robinson (2K), Michael Sherman (2K), Gordon Fraser (3K), Eric Yang (3K), John Gipson (5K), Ragnarr Markssen (5K), Theodore Terpstra (5K), Caleb Lesher (6K), Bradley Johnston (10K), Howard Cornett (10K), Juliet Zhang (11K), Adam King (13K), Lewis Reining (13K), Vaughn Hannon (14K), Nicholas Liddington (17K), Patrick Blackstone (18K)

Categories: AGA Chapters,Main Page,U.S./North America

Michael Redmond 9P joins Osaka Go School teachers

Friday November 13, 2020

After two months of successful operation, the Osaka Go School staff is excited to welcome new teacher Michael Redmond 9P, who joined the school in November. The Osaka Go School opened in September with 25 students, including 10 American players. Redmond joins teachers Ryo Maeda 6P, Francis Meyer 1P, and Ting Li 1P of the Kansai-Kiin. “Mr. Redmond will play special teaching games every month,” reports Ryo Maeda 6P, who founded the school and is one of the primary organizers. The school offers players teaching games, game reviews, and professional lectures all online every month, giving players a chance to continue to study and have fun with Go during a time when much activity is restricted due to COVID-19. Mr. Maeda invites all interested players to the International Osaka Go School website for more information. “Please come join us!”

Categories: Japan,Main Page,World

Registration for 2020 Young Lions Tournament Closing Soon

Tuesday November 10, 2020

“The AGHS Young Lion’s tournament is just a few weeks away,” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “This is one of AGHS’ longest running events and will be held on November 22nd and 29th this year. All eligible participants must be 18 years of age or younger, or currently enrolled in high school, and are citizens/permanent residents of North America.”

The Young Lions Tournament is funded by the American Go Foundation.
Registration deadline is 11/15/2020 at 11:59 pm PST.

For rules and regulations, click here
For registration, click here

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America,Youth

National Go Center to test online ratings at upcoming Fall Tournament

Saturday November 7, 2020

With the hiatus in over-the board tournament play due to Covid-19, there has been a lot of interest in online tournaments. The online US Open at this year’s e-Go Congress was hugely successful with hundreds of players participating from around the world.

At its upcoming Fall Tournament on November 14, the National Go Center will test a new project to rate online tournaments. “We wanted to do something to make online tournaments more attractive while also advancing the state of the art for ratings,” said project coordinator Josh Lee. The project uses the Glicko2 algorithm, which is used by the OGS go server, Chess.com and other sports.

Current AGA membership is required to play in the NGC tournament, and the online rating will be initialized from a player’s current AGA rating. Testing of the algorithm is being done with two earlier online tournaments from this year, with sample results posted here (Note that these are just a sample and the numbers are still changing as the calculations and parameters are being finalized).

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America

Redmond AlphaGo game commentary live tonight at 7p EDT

Sunday November 1, 2020

Michael Redmond 9P returns with more live commentary, this time on AlphaGo vs AlphaGo Game 49, tonight at 7p EDT on the AGA’s Twitch channel. His review of the relatively peaceful Game 48 was released Friday night and the latest in the AlphaGo vs. The World series features AlphaGo Master vs. Meng Tailing 9P.

Categories: Computer Go/AI,Main Page,Master/AlphaGo Commentaries

Chalmers repeats as Vermont joins online tourney move

Sunday October 25, 2020

“We had a very smooth and successful Stay Home Vermont Go Tournament this weekend,” reports Pete Schumer. “We began with a friendly Zoom get together Friday night, followed by Round 1 on KGS. Then on Saturday, we played rounds 2, 3, 4 and then had a fun wrap-up gathering on Zoom as well. There were 15 players mostly from Vermont, but also one from California, one from Japan, one from China, and one from Thailand. Kudos to the players from East Asia who kept up their good spirits despite the sleep deprivation.”

The tournament’s winner was Rich Chalmers (1D) who was the only player with a perfect 4-0 record. “In fact, this is a repeat performance for Rich who was already the current state champion,” says Schumer. Second place went to Jack Cary (3k) with a record of 3 -1. “Jack was also very busy helping to promote and set up the tournament and doing all the technical support throughout the weekend. Very much appreciated!” Dan Deneen (2k) finished third on 3 -1, and fourth place went to Caleb Lesher (6k) who also had a 3 – 1 record.

“We hope that more clubs will follow our lead, as well as that of the US Go Congress organizers, the Austin Go Club and a few others to continue to host additional tournaments on-line,” says Schumer. “It’s a great way to keep our wonderful community connected!”

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America

Team Boston wins Xiamen Kōdō Cup International Youth Go Tournament team competition

Wednesday October 21, 2020

Team Boston, comprised of students from the Newton Chinese Language School (NCLS) and New Legacy Cultural Center (NLCC), was the champion of the Xiamen Kōdō Cup International Youth Go Tournament over the weekend of October 10/11. Players from the USA, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Australia, and New Zealand – 130 in total – competed every weekend of a two months of competition season. The players formed 10 teams for post-season competition; team Boston beat team Melbourne (8:0), Toronto (7:1) and Ninghai (5:3) to win the championship. Team members are Andrew Xu 3d, Jenny Li 2d, Ruihan Cao 4d, Albert Tang 1k, Yao Xiao 1d, Steven Chen 3k, Christopher Huang 3k, and Ernest Lam 6k, coached by Ke Lu 4d. Andrew Xu was named MVP of the post-season. Corey Zhao and Charles Gu participated in the regular season. Youth players interested in participating in the second Kōdō Cup next year should contact Ke Lu at Go.KeLu@gmail.com.

-report and photos provided by Ke Lu

Categories: Main Page,Other,U.S./North America,World

Registration Open for 2020 Young Lions Tournament

Tuesday October 20, 2020

“Registration for the American Go Honor Society’s 2020 Young Lions Tournament is now open,” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “This is one of AGHS’ longest running events and will be held on November 22nd and 29th this year. All eligible participants must be 18 years of age or younger, or currently enrolled in high school, and are citizens/permanent residents of North America. The tournament will be held in the AGHS Tournament Room on KGS. Prizes will be awarded to top finishers in each division. The registration deadline is November 15th, so be sure not to miss it! If you have any questions about the event, feel free to contact aghsregister@gmail.com.”

For rules and regulations, click here
For registration, click here

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America,Youth

Registration Open for 2020 Youth League

Tuesday October 13, 2020

“Registration for the annual American Go Honor Society Youth League is now open,” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “We welcome all players who are citizens of the US, Canada, or Mexico, and under the age of 18 to participate. Each month will consist of four to five rounds. Players will be paired with opponents of similar strength using a ladder system. All games will be played in the AGHS Tournament room on KGS. The top players of each division will receive awards at the end of each monthly league.”

The registration deadline for this event is October 30th, 11:59 PST, and the first round will begin on November 1st. If you have any questions, feel free to email aghsregister@gmail.com.

For rules and regulations, click here.
For registration, click here.

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America,Youth

AGF College Scholarship

Thursday October 8, 2020

Applications are now being accepted for the American Go Foundation(AGF) college scholarship. The program recognizes high school students who have served as important youth organizers and promoters for the go community. To apply, download and complete the application form here. Applicants should describe their accomplishments and volunteer work in a short essay. Letters of recommendation may also be included. Applicants whose enthusiasm and ambition have helped spread go in under-served areas will be given special consideration. Strong players who spend much of their time voluntarily teaching will also be considered, although the award focuses on promoters and organizers who have made substantial contributions during their go career. Applications are due Nov. 5th this year. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.

Categories: Main Page,U.S./North America,Youth

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