American Go E-Journal » South America

50 Years aGO – September 2022

Sunday September 25, 2022

By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

The month began with the 3rd International Tournament taking place in New York on September 2. Unfortunately, we cannot recover any further details on this fun team event.

On September 3-4 the Hawai’i Ki’in celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a visit from the Great Kitani, his wife, his daughter Reiko, as well as Ishida Yoshio, Takemiya Masaki and Haruyama Isamu. More than 40 were in attendance.

Also this month the Argentine Championship was won by a Mr. Hara, over 100 players participated.

Beginning on September 5-6 the Meijin Title continued. Rin Meijin won Game 3, and Game 4 on September 14-15 putting challenger Fujisawa Shūkō‘s back to the wall. But in Game 5, Shūkō extended the match on September 26-27. (Game records: Game 3, Game 4, Game 5).

On September 9th, Katō Masao defeated defending champion Sakata Eio in the first round of the 20th NHK Championship. (Game record available here.)

Finally, Stuart Dowsey reported extensively on the Japanese Tour of America (the term used advisedly because it included visits to Canada). The month started in New York on September 1 and then went to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Northfield, Edmonton and Seattle (the West Coast swing will be covered in our next column). The tour group consisted of Dowsey, Okubō Ichigen 9d and Nagahara Yoshiaki 6d (who wrote several the early Ishi Press books and attended one U.S. Go Congress). The New York Go Club was located on West 10th St. in the basement of the Marshall Chess Club. Mitsuo Horiguchi was the long standing President of the club which was open daily. Dowsey praises Vice President John Stephenson for various initiatives regarding membership and teaching. More evidence of Stephenson’s efforts are contained in the “Go Digest” pictured, which covered the visit by the two professionals. Brief mentions were made of Robert Ryder’s Bell Lab Go Club, Bill Mann’s Massachusetts Go Association, Walter Reitman‘s work at in Ann Arbor on computers and go, with James Kerwin on his team and Craig Hutchinson teaching go to cadets at West Point. Of particular interest to your correspondent was the visit to Baltimore, where Bob Gross knew of only two other players in town and a few others in Annapolis. But when over 300 people turned out for the two day visit, the pros left behind a thriving Gilbert W. Rosenthal Memorial Go Club, which, at least started out with 70 people turning out to sessions at Johns Hopkins. It seems current President and your author needs to work on increasing membership…

Dowsey reports that activity in Canada was centered on Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton but activity was increasing, from one club 5 years ago to at least 13, and the recent formation of the Canadian Go Association led by first President John Williams. Dowsey estimated the Japanese tour addressed 600 players in Canada.

Overall, the group visited 19 clubs and 17 universities and reached 4,500 people, over half of whom were taught how to play. We would love to hear from anyone who learned the game from this very successful effort.

Photos from GoReview, game records from SmartGoOne

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50 Years aGO – August 1972

Sunday August 28, 2022

By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

August 4th found Iwamoto Kaoru in London on his European tour. He gave a lecture and scored 9-1 in a simultaneous exhibition.

The European Go Congress carried into the first two weeks of August, in Ensechede, Holland. Iwamoto made an appearance there as well, along with 120 participants from all over Europe, including visitors from the U.S. and Mexico. Jürgen Mattern of Germany was undefeated, and secured his fifth Championship. Germany won the team championship, followed by the host nation.

On August 14, James Davies played T. Miyoshi, a mystery author known as the “Literary Hon’inbo,” in a special televised match. Davies opened on tengen and secured a convincing victory.

The Meijin Title, between Rin Kaihō Meijin and Fujisawa Shūkō 9d began on August 16. Go Seigen is pictured in our photo of the match, which was won convincingly by Shūkō. In the second game, on August 26-27, our photo captures the moment, after a long game and long ko fight, that Shūkō realizes he has lost by one point. As the month closes, the match is tied. (Game records: Game One, Game Two.)

Finally on August 19-20, the Brazil Ki’in celebrated its 25th anniversary, with an incredible 218 players participating.

Photos from Go Review, game records from SmartGo One

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Latin American Go teachers announce pan-American youth team league, registration open until March 20

Sunday March 7, 2021

Diego Albuja of Ecuador, Paola Sarmiento of Colombia, and Sid Avila of México invite players of all the countries of the Americas and the Caribbean to take part in the Liga Panamericana de Go por Equipos Sub 18 “SIRIO” (U18 Pan-American Go Team League Sirio), a Go team league from March to July of 2021 with rounds to be played the last Sunday of each month. Teams of three players under 18 years of age can enter in the following three divisions: Division 19×19 for teams with players from 13 kyu and above; Division 13×13 for teams with players from 19 kyu to 14 kyu; and Division 9×9 for teams with players from 30 kyu to 20 kyu.

The organizers have set up a dedicated group on OGS where games will take place. Registration is open until March 20th. An adult responsible for the players should register the team here.

Schedule
Round 1: March 28, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT
Round 2: April 25, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT
Round 3: May 30, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT
Round 4: June 27, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT
Round 5: July 25, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EDT

The first game on the day of the matches will be played from official pairings. After finishing the paired game, players may play up to two more self-paired games with appropriate handicaps among other players in their division. They can send challenges freely and victories in these games will count as points for their teams.

The full rules and regulations and the tournament website are available in Spanish. Organizers recommend using Google translate or a similar tool to read the rules in English. If any questions remain, contact the organizers at sidd.avd@gmail.com

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Help Wanted: KGS Go Server

Wednesday May 29, 2019

-by Paul Barchilon, AGF Vice President, KGS Liaison

As many of our readers are aware, the American Go Foundation (AGF) agreed to take on ownership of the KGS Go Server in 2017.  Our goal was to stabilize and grow the server, and also provide a financial buffer for the service after its creator, Bill Shubert, no longer wanted to run it.  We think KGS is the best place for reviewing games online, with unparalleled game review tools, and terrific chat features that allow people to build real community.  Although there are many other go servers out there, including Asian ones with beautiful graphic design and strong players, we think KGS is still a unique and valuable server.  A common complaint has been that many high level dan players have moved to other servers. The AGF’s mission focuses on education and learning, and we think KGS is the perfect place for beginners and more advanced kyu players to learn and grow.  Dan players are important too, but we think the server can grow more of them, and that more strong players will come back to the server if we can revitalize it.

We had hoped that by providing financial security for the server, it would be able to survive and grow on its own.  However, as time has passed, it has become clear that we need more support from the community to make that a reality.  Our team of programmers (all volunteers) have busy day jobs, and although they do their best, there is too much work to be done. Our admin team has also become smaller, and is greatly in need of an infusion of volunteers.  

The go community should have lots of programmers out there who can help.  We should also have lots of people who are willing to be admins. If you are interested in volunteering to help make KGS the best possible server it can be, please email me at kgs@agfgo.org.  

On the programming level, we need people who can code in Java and Javascript.  The code for ShinKGS is actually open source. Skilled coders could help us bring more features to the web compatible version of KGS and – most urgently  – to create a registration module that can run from any web-browser and doesn’t require Java. If you are willing to help us with our task list, email kgs@agfgo.org.

On the Admin side, we need team players who have a helpful, forthcoming attitude, can stay calm under pressure, and are able to properly judge if, when, and how to intervene in public chats, deal with complaints and enforce KGS policies on escaping. A community only thrives with the support of those in it. The more people maintaining the spirit of KGS, the easier for all.

Admins need enough spare time to be on several times a week and should be able to keep an idle window open on the server. They should be quick to step in when needed.  We also need admins in many languages and time zones, and would like to have at least one admin on at any given time.

While the AGF owns KGS and, with the help of many donors, provides the basic financial support, KGS really belongs to all of us. If the server is to move forward, we need help from the community. 

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Ye, Velasco, Trujillo top Pan-American Championship

Saturday November 24, 2018

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 3.21.40 PMAaron Ye 7d of the US took first place in the Pan-American Championship in Mexico City on November 10th.  Canadian Player Manuel Velasco came in second and Cuban player Orlando Trujillo placed third.  Mr. Kijin Song, the director of the Korean Cultural Center in Mexico presented the winners with certificates and cash prizes of $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000 Mexican pesos for their respective placings in the tournament. The online qualifiers drew players from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Cuba, the USA, and Canada. The finals were held at the Museo Nacional de las Culturas, within walking distance of the Zocalo Plaza in Mexico City. The event drew a large audience from the local go community. “The 2nd Baduk Festival in Mexico was held at the same time,” reports organizer Sid Avila, “we had free games amongst the public participants, the majority of them being children; 2 raffles were held so that 18 people could play simultaneous games with Soohang Ryu 7P, from the Korean Baduk Association.Later prizes were raffled for the public, and we had a baduk book exhibition and a photographic exhibit as well.”

Online preliminaries were held in August, and determined the top five players from different countries. They were invited to Mexico City, with all expenses paid, to compete in the final stage. In addition to Ye and Velasco,  Fernando Aguilar of Argentina (who had to cancel due to family complications), Alfonso Artique of Uruguay, Abner Turkieltaub Melo of Chile, and Orlando Trujillo of Cuba (by invitation) were the finalists.  As the host country, Mexico was excluded from the online qualifier and received a seeded seat into the finals.  The Korean Cultural Center in Mexico held a separate online qualifier for Mexican players, which was won by Abraham Florencia, a high-dan  player who placed 8th at the World Amateur Go Championships earlier in the year.

A great amount of attention was focused on the game between Ye (black) and Velasco (white).  Velasco had a strong opening and held a large territorial lead until a detrimental mistake in the middle-game. Ye successfully seized the opportunity and killed a large group, ultimately securing a win-by-resignation.  After the tournament, the game was displayed on a projector in the background and was reviewed by Ryu.

Ye reports ” I was glad to have the opportunity to attend the event and make new go friends from Latin American countries. Organizing a Pan-American tournament was a creative and innovative idea to connect go players from North and South America. After all, an important part of the game is connecting with the community. I was surprised but excited to see the event attract quite a lot of local Mexican go players. The experience was very unique and memorable and I hope to continue to promote go on the continent in the future.”

The event was sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in Mexico, with the valuable support of the National Museum of World Cultures, the Korean Baduk Association, the Tygem Go Server, the Korean Sports Promotion Organization, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. For more pictures, click here. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Korean Cultural Center in Mexico photographer Seol Ha Kim.

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Second Latin American Go Congress set for Oct 12-15

Sunday August 12, 2018

The second Latin American Go Congress has been scheduled for October 12 to 15 in Antigua Guatemala. Last year’s inaugural 2018.08.12_latin-am-congressevent was held in Cancun, Mexico and attracted players and professional teachers from as far away as South Korea and Japan. “The Latin American Go Congress appeals to many go players as it is both inexpensive and short compared to other go congresses,” reports William Luff, who attended last year’s. The Congress begins on Friday and wraps up on Monday. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit World Heritage sites holding Mayan ruins. The Congress includes the second Latin American Youth Go Championship, the third Ibero-American Pair Go Championship, the second Latin American Pandanet Team Championship and the 20th Ibero-American Go Championship, which is being held in memory of Hans Pietsch, the young German professional murdered while on a promotional tour for the Nihon Ki-In in Guatemala in 2003. Anyone who knew Pietsch who would like to contribute to a short tribute video which will be played at the Congress’ opening ceremony should contact Luff at will122166@gmail.com

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Mexico readies for the first Latin American Go Congress in October

Wednesday August 30, 2017

Mexico will be the host country for the first-ever Latin American Go Congress in Cancun, Mexico October 13-15. Sponsored by the International 2017.08.27_CancunGo Federation, the event will host the 19th Ibero American Go Championship, the final match of the 1st Pandanet Go Latin American Team Championship, the 1st Latin American Youth Go Championship, the 2nd Ibero American Pair Go Championship and a Go Instructors seminar taught by experts of Kwonkapyong Baduk Academy, one of the best go academies in South Korea.

2017.08.27_Salón EmporioProfessional players from Japan, Korea and North America will be hand as well to teach lectures, review championship games and play simul games with the participants.

“We are expecting many players from abroad. From Argentina, Colombia, Brasil and Ecuador we have complete delegations registered, among participants from other countries as Costa Rica, Venezuela, Denmark and the US” reports Congress director and Mexican Go Association president Emil García. “It will be a great event. It’s about time that Latin America had its own Congress and considering the nearness of Mexico to the United States we are more than pleased to invite the AGA community to participate. See you in Cancun!”

Register and find more information here.

photos: Cancun beach and playing venue.

 

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Venezuela Hosts 18th Ibero-American Championship

Thursday November 10, 2016

Over forty players from seven different countries competed in the 18th Ibero-American Championship tournament, held at2016.11.13_venezuela-go the Pestana Premium City & Conference Hotel in Caracas, Venezuela from October 7-9. The field included 23 Venezuelans and 17 players from other six nations.

Locals including taxi drivers, workers from the bakery, hotel, caretakers, retired players, the Venezuelan players who live abroad, 2016.11.13_venezuela-go2teachers at the Japanese schools and the Embassy of Japan all pitched in to make the event succeed, said Loli Puerta, president of the Venezuelan Association.

Fernando Aguilar 7d (Argentina) won first place; Hisao Uyama 7d (Brazil) finished second and Juan Carlos Carrillo 1d (Chile) was third. “Venezuela is a land of peace and its people are great” said Aguilar.

In every Latin-American Championship friendship and solidarity is celebrated between people of brother counties, Juan Carlos Pachón told the E-Journal. “The beautiful discipline of go proposes perennial values ​​that allow us to be above and beyond borders of ephemeral and changing political situations.”

To close out the XVIII Ibero-American Championships, the first Iberoamerican Go Couples Tournament — sponsored by the World Pair Go Association — was conducted on Monday, October 10th.

– reported by  Special Correspondent Francisco d’Albuquerque

 

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Iberoamerican Go Championship Extends Invitation to Players Worldwide

Saturday August 13, 2016

The Venezuelan Go Association, in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, will host the 18th Iberoamerican Go 2016.08.13_IberoamericanChampionship October 7-9 at the 5-star Pestana Caracas Premium City and Conference Hotel in Caracas, Venezuela. “We would very much like to have a lot of participants from every country,” says Loli Puerta of the Asociacion Venezolana de Go.
The 7-round Swiss-paired tournament will be played using WAGC rules, with players playing even games with 6.5 komi. Trophies will be awarded to the top three players. Games will be played on all three days of the tournament, with a city tour following the closing ceremony on Sunday. Lunch will be provided on each day.
To register, contact the Organizing Committee by October 4th with your name, rank, country, and age. Include photo identification. The registration fee is $30. Transportation to and from the airport will be provided. Any questions about the event may also be directed to the Organizing Committee in either English or Spanish.

– edited by Brian Kirby

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Categories: South America,World
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Latin American Youth Tourneys Heat Up

Monday December 14, 2015

IMG_4084Chile won the Orion Latin American Online Youth Team Tournament, held November 28 and 29.  The event drew 9 three-player teams from 4 different countries, reports organizer Sid Avila. “We contacted Yunxuan Li,  President of the American Go Honor Society, about having a friendly match between the division winners in the School Teams Tournament with their Latin American counterparts, and Chile is looking forward to the match,” said Avila.  The Chilean team included Matias Salinas, Benjamin Mimiza, and Esteban Orellana.  The Mexican team took second place, and included Diego A. Luciano, Lilian Zavala, and Omar Zavala. The Venezuelan team took third place, with Abel Pérez, Yenderwin Palomino, and Yendervy Palomino.

Earlier in the year, on July 4 and 5, the Latin American Online Youth Tournament ´Las Tres Águilas´ was held on the Online Go Server. 55 players from 5 countries represented their schools, academies, and go clubs, their ranks ranging from 25 to 6k.The top three players for the 19 by 19 division were Abel Pérez 12k from Venezuela, Matías Salinas 8k from Chile, and Mateo Nava 12k from Mexico. The top three players for the 13 by 13 division were David Poblete 15k, Juan P. Ascencio 25k, and Francisco Gonzales 16k, all from Chile. Yuri León from Colombia received recognition for his fighting spirit. For more information and pictures click here for Tres Aguilas and here for Orion. -Story by Amy Su. Photo: Students from Chile competing.
Correction (12/19): Poblete, Ascencio and Gonzales are from Chile, not Colombia, as originally reported. 

 

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