American Go E-Journal » U.S./North America

The Tournaments Ratings Status page, formerly available at the American Go Association Go Database (AGAGD), is now available here. Game results are submitted to the AGA by the tournament director. Results must be cross checked for
new and duplicate members, payments must be received and processed for new and renewing members, the membership database must be updated, and only then can tournaments be rated. If your event is not listed, it is waiting for submission or weekly processing, and if it’s listed as not rated, the status page now explains why. Thanks to Jonathan Bresler and Greg Smith for their work in creating the new Tournaments Ratings Status page.

While others were out fighting the holiday crowds at local malls in Northern Virginia, some 20 area go players had a better plan. “Win books to give as holiday gifts!” report Slate and Shell Open local organizers Gurujeet Khalsa and Gary Smith. Sponsor Slate and Shell supplied the prizes, which were won by Kelsey Dyer 1D and Quinn Baranoski 9K – who topped the event – along with other first place finishers, including Edward Zhang 6D, John Gipson 5K, and Mulan Liu 17K.  Second place finishers included Allan Abramson 2D, Mohan Sud 4K, Anderson Barreal 9K and Timothy Koh 22K.

Fourteen pairs of go players gathered at the Seattle Go Center Saturday night, December 7, for a gala dress-up event that included two rounds of Pair Go and three kinds of cake provided by the stylish Bakery Nouveau of Capitol Hill.  Among the strong players, the winning team was “EASTWEST” – Momoko Tsutsui and Jon Friedman.  TD Bill Chiles reported that the middle group was led by Deborah Niedermeyer and Brian Allen.  The aptly named “DRESS TO KILL”, Marilyn and Rainer Romatka, ruled the last group.  Participants enjoyed door prizes from Pandanet Internet Go, while the winners received fans with calligraphy from the Go Center.  At the end of the holiday evening, organizer Bill Thompson revealed his secret plan to make this an annual event, and there was no objection.  Photo by Joe Schneider, report by Brian Allen

Ted Terpstra of the San Diego Go Club topped a field of 8 at the December 7-8 go section of the 2013 Las Vegas MindSports event. Sponsored by MindSports International, the event included other “brain” games such as chess, Scrabble, Magic: The Gathering and various miniature war-games. Runners-up in the 4-round go competition were locals Michael Wanek (LV Go Club) in second place and Jun-Suk Kim (LV Go Club) placed third; the three medal winners split a nearly $200 prize pot. During breaks, players were allowed to watch the other games at MindSports, watch sports in the Sports Book, or gamble at the gaming tables.  “The event coincided with the National Finals Rodeo,” reports local organizer Chris Tettamanti, “and in the Venetian Hotel venue, there were plenty of places to buy authentic Western wear and cowboy gear. photo courtesy Chris Tettamanti

After three successive years of declining participation, the Syracuse Go Club’s Fall Self-Paired Tournament broke its all-time attendance record on November 23, with the 27 players more than doubling the attendance from the previous year.  Players ranging in strength from 5d to 28k played 55 AGA-rated games.  Bob Sollish 1d of Syracuse had the best individual record, with four wins and no losses against three other dan players and a 1k player.  Every participant was able to select a prize to take home at the end of the day, including several discounted books provided by Slate and Shell.
– report/photo by Richard Moseson 

photo: Xinde Ji 5d (left) plays an unrated high-handicap game with first-time participant Yan-Yeung Luk 13k, while Luk’s daughter and a friend, also players in the tournament, look on.