Go News « American Go E-Journal

EGF takes lead in Transatlantic Pro Team championship

Sunday April 7, 2019

Mateusz Surma 2P from the European Go Federation (EGF) defeated Andy Liu 1P in the first round of the 2019 Transatlantic Professional Go Team Championship on Sunday, April 7. The game was played live and broadcast by the AGA on Twitch with host Nick Sibicky and commentator Eric Lui 1P. More than 12,000 viewers observed the nail-biting game that lasted more than three hours.

In early mid-game, Surma’s mis-steps in the upper right corner led to Liu’s advantage, building strong shape in the center. However, Surma persisted, collecting points on both the right and left sides, and perfectly timing a deep invasion into Liu’s territory on the lower side. The invasion led to a complex fight when both players were in byoyomi. A series of ko fights created huge exchanges that were much favorable for Surma, and Liu resigned.

The AGA’s next player will be Calvin Sun 1P, and Surma will be playing with Black in the next round, scheduled for April 14, 14:00 EDT on KGS in the Transatlantic Pro Team room, and broadcast live on Twitch. All videos of the live streaming will also be available on YouTube.

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

Eric Lui 1P and Justin Teng 6D top NGC Cherry Blossom 2019

Sunday April 7, 2019

The National Go Center held its first ever two-day tournament on March 30-31. Forty two players turned out including contingents from Stonybrook University and the Feng Yun Go School. First place at 5-0 — and still undefeated in NGC tournaments — went to Eric Lui 1P, followed by Justin Teng 6D at 4-1.

The cherry blossoms are at peak bloom in DC this week. All 4- and 5-game winners are receiving two tickets for the upcoming Sakura Matsuri festival on Saturday, April 13th, and 3-game winners are getting one ticket each. Sakura Matsuri is an annual festival on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC and the NGC will carry on the tradition of staffing a booth and teaching go to all comers. All volunteers also receive a free ticket to the event. If interested in volunteering contact NGC Outreach Coordinator, Patrick Sun (patrick.sun@nationalgocenter.org). The NGC is also fundraising by selling tickets to the festival. The tickets are $10 and can be purchased using this link, which will credit the NGC.

NGC Cherry Blossom 2019 results:
5-game winners: Eric Lui (1P); Laurie Ensworth (18K)
4-game winners: Justin Teng (6D); Taewon Kim (1D); James Funk (1K); John Christensen (8K); Julian Turim (13K)
3-game winners: Joey Phoon (2K); Fengqi Wen (2K); Jack de la Beaujardiere (6K); Gurujeet Khalsa (7K); Noah Mullinax (7K); Amber Boyden (15K).

photo by Garrett Smith

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

Sedgwick third-graders learn go

Friday April 5, 2019

Third graders at Sedgwick Elementary School, in Cupertino, CA, learned how to play go at their school’s annual Discovery Day on March 26th. As in previous years, the school invited many presenters to teach various kinds of fun activities, such as fencing, YoYo, and robotics. Wenguang Wang, Hongya Qu, and Yi Luo, from The VMware Go Club and Santa Clara Youth Go Club, volunteered as presenters and hosted the “Learn to Play Go” session for about 100 third-graders. The same session was presented to the entire third grade (4 classes of students). Students learned the rules of go and played a few games on 9×9 boards. They enjoyed the session, especially those who won! Story and Photo by Wenguang Wang.

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

“AlphaGo” screens Thursday at American Film Institute; volunteers wanted

Tuesday April 2, 2019

Members of the National Go Center will provide a go demonstration at this Thursday’s screening of “AlphaGo” at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. The demo starts at 6:15p, and the screening begins at 7:15p. If you’re interested in participating in the demo, contact Outreach Coordinator Patrick Sun; all volunteers receive a free pass to the movie. Dr. Benjamin Bengfort, data scientist at PingThings will introduce the absorbing documentary, which chronicles Google’s DeepMind team as it prepares to test the limits of its rapidly evolving AI technology against one of the top professional go players in the world.

Categories: Computer Go/AI,Main Page,Master/AlphaGo Commentaries,U.S./North America

New AGA Chapters for March 2019

Tuesday April 2, 2019

The AGA is regularly asked for new chapters around the country. These are the newly registered chapters from March 2019:

Amarillo Go Club – Amarillo, TX, Meets at GameQuest on 6th Street on Saturdays from 2-4

Sharing Go Miami – Miami, FL, Sharing Go is a project underdevelopment. I project we will be up and running July 2019. Please look at our website for dates & locations where we are meeting. goclubmiami.com

Bakersfield Go Club – Bakersfield, CA, Temblor Brewing Company, Mondays 6:30-9:00pm

Members can always update their current chapter through the AGA Membership Manager if they have moved.

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

Laoshi Zhou and the southern part of heaven

Monday April 1, 2019

by Bob Bacon

Raleigh, North Carolina is often called the southern part of heaven. We’re blessed with a comfortable climate, beautiful natural scenery, honest hard-working natives, outstanding universities, progressive businesses, lots of wonderful immigrants, healthcare workers, scientists, writers, and a sprinkling of Go players. We’re also fortunate to be within traveling range of Maryland based Yuan Zhou, one of the nation’s leading Go teachers. Laoshi (teacher) Zhou conducted another of his invaluable workshops for us last weekend, and attendees were happily educated in this finest of arts.

In addition to the usual game reviews, which were very beneficial in themselves, teacher Zhou presented two lectures on games from the recently concluded 2019 LG Cup. Describing the young players Yang Dingxin and Shi Yue as “Dragon Hunter” and “Tank Driver” helped us understand the styles of play each player employed, and some of the deeper foundations of the game. Both games were very interesting and shifu Zhou’s explanations were enlightening.

Laoshi Zhou provided much helpful advice throughout the workshop, often presenting concepts in the guise of folk stories, making them easier to remember, such as the bear and the cornfield, and dragon lover Gong Ye.

Yuan Zhou also provided an very helpful review of the 3 3 point invasion, explaining the benefits, consequences and history of this trendy move. A prolific Go author, laoshi Zhou has written a number of books on Alpha Go, Go Seigen and the 3 3 invasion, published by Slate and Shell.

We were taught much, learned as much as we could, ate well, slept just enough and enjoyed the modern meeting facility arranged by Dale Blann, one of our club members. I can’t wait until we do it again!

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

Seattle Go Center to require instructors to wear lab coats

Monday April 1, 2019

The Seattle Go Center is pivoting to teaching the science of playing Go, instead of the art of Go playing, according to Program Manager Mike Malveaux. “Our latest class, held on Wednesdays, is on programming computers in Python with Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning techniques, loosely following Deep Learning and the Game of Go by Max Pumperla and Kevin Ferguson.” Operations Manager Brian Allen notes that some of the Go Center instructors have impressive scientific credentials. For example, Yue Zhang has a Phd in Paleontology, in addition to being a 7 dan Go player. To emphasize their connection to science, all teachers will be required to wear lab coats with Seattle Go Center logo patches. “In the age of AlphaGo and Leela, our members expect this,” he reports. Visiting instructors will be allowed to wear ethnic costumes, such as two-piece business suits, if they want. – report by Brian Allen. photos: (left) Mike Malveaux by Brian Allen; (right) Yue Zhang by Mike Malveaux.

Categories: Computer Go/AI,Go News,Main Page,U.S./North America

San Diego Go Club: Cherry Blossom Festival & 8th annual championship

Sunday March 31, 2019

The weekend of March 22-24 was a busy time for the members of the San Diego Go Club. On Friday and Saturday, they manned several tables at the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Thousands streamed into the garden and many found their way next to the koi pond and under the blooming purple wisteria flowers where SDGC members were teaching and demonstrating go. Several new members were added to the club’s roster.

On Sunday, the go club hosted at the San Diego Chess Club the eighth annual San Diego Go Championship. There was a record turnout of 65 competing, with players coming from Vermont, Arizona, and all over Southern California.

Ten players, including two past champions, entered the Open Section to compete for 2019 title of Best Player in San Diego. When the top-rated 9.9-dan player lost in the first round, the title was up for grabs. After four hotly contested rounds, the Open Section ended up with a 4-way tie (3-1 records) for First Place: Hongkui Zheng 6d (2019 Champ), Xinyu Liu 6s, Yi Wang 6d (2018 Champ), Mark Lee 6d (2016 Champ). While all four players shared the combined 1st-3rd place cash prizes totaling $600, Hongkui Zheng was declared the champion based on the GoClubs.org tie-breaking system and awarded the trophy.

Thirty-five more competed in the Handicap Sections and an additional twenty youth played in a 5-round 13×13 competition run by Chinese professional Hai Li and the California Go Association.

Handicap Section Winners:

Dan/High Kyu: 1st: Christophe Humbert 2d; 2nd: Kevin Yang 1k; 3rd: Peter Schumer 2k.

Single-Digit Kyu: 1st: Arunas Rudvalis 6k; 2nd: Warren Andrews 6k; 3rd: Elias Klingbeil 4k.

Double-Digit Kyu: 1st: Lucia Moscola 15k; 2nd: Pasco Kwok 12k; 3rd: Andy Zhou 12k.

20+ Kyu: 1st: George Spellman 23k; 2nd: Enzo Moscola 26k; 3rd: David Saponara 24k.

13×13 Youth Competition: 1st: Addison Lee 20k (Girls’ Champion); 2nd: Angelino Zhao 18k; 3rd: Evan Tan 27k (Boys’ Champion).

The San Diego Go Club is now looking forward to hosting the second annual California Go Championship in the fall. Hopefully, Calvin Sun US 1P will return to defend his championship.

– Ted Terpstra, President, San Diego Go Club

Photos (l-r from top left): JFG Cherry Blossom Festival; SDGC President Ted Terpstra awarding the first place trophy to Hongkui Zheng; San Diego Chess Club with go players; Hai Li (Left) & 13×13 winners: Angelino Zhao, Addison Lee, and Evan Tan. photos by Henry You and Soo Yoon

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

Tony Tang tops Salt City Tournament

Sunday March 31, 2019

The Syracuse Go Club hosted its 12th annual Salt City Tournament on March 23; thirty-seven players participated, one shy of the tournament record.

Local high school senior Tony Tang 7d (top right) was the only four-game winner in the tournament’s A division and claimed the $100 1st place prize, while Cornell University students Jiuheng He 5d and Shao-Ting Ho 4d took home the prize money for 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Thirteen-year-old Liya Luk 2k (bottom right), of Syracuse, swept all four of her games and won the B division. Syracuse high-school student Sheng Yuan Lin 5k and Buffalo resident Patrick Wesp 7k both had 3-1 records and finished in 2nd and 3rd place in that division. Jimmy Li 22k (bottom left) was the C division’s only 4-0 winner, while Casey Beach 13k and Benjamin Braun 21k each won three games and finished in 2nd and 3rd place in the division.

Allen Noe served as tournament director, and organizer Richard Moseson’s wife Chris once again made the tournament’s traditional Problem Cake (top right), correctly solved by a majority of the players (black to play). Free refreshments for all were provided by Syracuse players, and at the end of the day, every player was able to select a new go book as a prize. Pictures from the tournament can be seen here.

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

Hengshui to host Mind Sports event in May

Friday March 29, 2019

An international Mind Sports event will be held May 13-18 in Hengshui, China. The event, announced March 26, will feature five sports, Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go, and Xiangqi and 17 disciplines and will have a total of 99 medals in gold, silver and bronze. More than 200 players from over 40 countries and regions will gather in Hengshui and fight for the title. Representing North America are three male AGA pros: Ryan Li, Eric Lui, and Gansheng Shi, plus two Asia-certified female pros: Shirley Lin and Svetlana Shikshina.
Nie Weiping was appointed event promotion ambassador and Ke Jie will serve event charity ambassador. At the launch press conference, Nie Weiping said that mind sports have added new meaning to competitive sports while there is still room for improvement. He also noted that he was especially pleased the event is being held in his hometown of Hengshui.
An “Artificial Intelligence Summit Forum” will be held during the event, featuring well-known experts and representatives of relevant enterprises from the field of artificial intelligence to discuss how artificial intelligence can be better used for board and card game education and promotion.

Categories: China,Main Page

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