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American Go E-Journal » Go News
NGC non-profit status approved
Monday July 22, 2019
Coming back from vacation to find a letter from the IRS can be a little stressful, but “it was just the opposite” reports National Go Center Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa. “It was an approval letter for our application for 501(c)3 non-profit status.” This means that donors to the National Go Center can now claim deductions under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code, and the NGC is exempt from Federal taxes. “As an all-volunteer organization dependent on grants and donations, this is huge,” says Khalsa. “It also allows us to take advantage of other benefits such as software grants that companies like Microsoft and Google make to non-profits.” The NGC was assisted in making the successful application by a pro bono legal team from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. “They guided us every step of the way and we could not have done it without them.”
U.S. Go Congress tournament results
Sunday July 21, 2019
The 35th US Go Congress closed with a celebration of the week’s tournament winners at the awards banquet Saturday evening. Tournament champions received prizes, and all players and Go Congress staff shared in good food, good cheer, and rousing recognition of the hard work put in by all.
US Open
Frederick Bao 6d won top prize in the top division of the US Open, edging out Canadian Go Association President James Sedgwick 6d in second place, and Chanseok Oh 6d in third by tie-breaks. See the full list of US Open division winners here.
Senior Tournament AKA “Geezer Go”
Bart Jacob 3k and Moon Oh 1d were both undefeated with five wins.
Women’s Tournament
Yacen Xie 5d, Sarah Crites 6k, and Hung-yao Chang 15k took the top prizes in each of the three divisions.
9×9 Tournament
James Sedgwick 6d took first place in the dan division while Neal Wright 5k won the kyu division.
13×13 Tournament
Kunxuan Li 4d and Sarah Crites 6k won the dan and kyu divisions respectively.
Lightning Tournament
Shixing Li 5d and Ben Gunby 2k won the dan and kyu divisions respectively.
Die Hard Tournament
Stephen (Xiaocheng) Hu 6d ran away with the dan division of the tournament with an undefeated four wins, and Billy Maier 3k won the kyu division, also with four wins.
Self-Paired Tournament
Jeff Horn 1d claimed three titles, “Dedicated” for most total games, “Philanthropist” for most wins given to others, and “Kyu Killer.” Other titles recognized were “Hurricane” for most total wins claimed by Marion Edey 9k, and “Dan Slayer” claimed by James Acres 1k.
-photo by Eva Casey
-report by Karoline Li Tournaments Bureau Chief
U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap: Day 7
Saturday July 20, 2019
Congress Tournament Schedule: Saturday 7/20
9:00a: US Open, round 6
Final round of the US Open underway in the main playing area
Stay tuned for US Open and other tournament results coming soon!
–photo by Chris Garlock
Nyu Eiko 2p wins 2019 U.S. Masters
Saturday July 20, 2019
The 2019 U.S. Masters tournament concluded dramatically Friday night as both Nyu Eiko 2p and Zhongfan Jian 7d killed huge groups in their final-round top-board games against Mark Lee 7d and Eric Lui 1p. Those wins gave Eiko the Masters championship and Jian second place. Click here for the Masters crosstab. Both top boards were broadcast live on the AGA’s Twitch stream, attracting 110,000 unique viewers around the world. For U.S. Open results through Round 5 (Round 6 is being played Saturday morning), click here.
Youth players dominate the North American Pair Go Championship
Friday July 19, 2019
All four pairs at the top table of Thursday evening’s North American Pair Go Championship were youth attendees. Tina Li 3D and Aaron Ye 7D (below left with Hajin Lee 4P) ultimately prevailed, defeating Sophia Wang 4D and Jeremy Chiu 7D in the final game by 2.5 points. As the winning pair, Li and Ye will represent the United States at the 30th International Amateur Pair Go Championship in Tokyo, Japan this December. “We got off to a smooth start,” reports TD Todd Heidenreich, who was able to get the games going by 7:30. “With a larger tournament field of 112 players this year, we only had three boards that needed handicaps.”
Top table results:
1st place: Tina Li 3d and Aaron Ye 7d
2nd place: Sophia Wang 4d and Jeremy Chiu 7d
3rd place: Melissa Cao 4d and Alan Huang 7d
4th place: Katherine Xie 1d and Willis Huang 6d
-report/photos by Hajin Lee
U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap: Day 6
Friday July 19, 2019
Congress Tournament Schedule: Friday 7/19
9:00a: US Open, round 5; US Open Masters Division, round 6
1:00p: Senior Tournament, round 5
3:00p: Women’s Tournament, round 4
9:00p: Self-Paired Tournament ends – get those results turned in!
Women’s Tournament
Yacen Xie 5d, Lenka Dankova 4k, and Hung-Yao Chang 15k are undefeated with one round to go in this year’s Women’s Tournament with three wins each. The multinational field includes players from Japan, the Czech Republic (Dankova), and Mexico – 12-year-old Paola Ortega 10k is part of a team from Mexico sponsored by the AGF.
-photo by Samantha Fede
-report by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief
Eiko Nyu 2P leads Masters; final Friday night
Friday July 19, 2019
Japanese pro Eiko Nyu 2P is leading the 2019 Masters tournament with a 5-0 record going into the last two rounds on Friday. Eric Lui, Mark Lee and Zhongfan Jian are all 4-1. Rounds 6 and 7 will be broadcast live on OGS and the AGA’s Twitch stream Friday; Round 6 starting at 10a EDT and Round 7 at 8p EDT (and streamed live in the Great Hall), with commentary by Yilun Yang 7p and Jennie Shen 2P, hosted by Julie Burrall 1d, Samantha Fede 5k, Tyler Oyakawa 5d and Nick Sibicki 4d. Complete tourney results posted here. U.S. Open results here.
U.S. Go Congress Tournaments Recap: Day 5
Thursday July 18, 2019
US Go Congress Tournament Schedule: Thursday 7/18
9:00a: US Open, round 4; US Open Masters Division, round 5
1:00p: Senior Tournament, round 4
3:00p: Women’s Tournament, round 3
7:00p: Pair Go
Crazy Go!
“Crazy Go was its usual laughter and insanity” reports Terry Benson, who directs the “tournament” every year. “Well over 100 congress attendees ‘played,’ but watching was at least as common.” Benson also reports that a new variant was created this year by three of the kids: One Color Knights Move Go (right), played between two players and a third to record the game and referee.
-photos by Terry Benson
-report by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief
Xiaocheng Hu 6d wins Die Hard tourney
Thursday July 18, 2019
This year’s Die Hard tournament at the U.S. Go Congress had 96 players, “exactly one more than last year,” reports TD Andy Olsen. “Let’s try to break 100 next year.”
Xiaocheng Hu 6d won the top section with a perfect 4-0. Billy Maier 3k also scored a perfect 4-0. Full results will be posted soon here.