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

by Paul Goodman 2D

The first wave of Japanese immigration to San Francisco came after the Civil War, in 1869. Legend has it that in the 1880’s a group of Japanese fisherman wanted a place to play go, and founded the San Francisco Go Club. That story may be apocryphal, but the club is certainly the oldest in North America. In 1936, the Nihon Kiin was so impressed that it made the club its first overseas chapter.

Since then the peripatetic club has had six homes. Our newest, and by far the nicest, had its official opening on March 19, with a three-game tournament and a grand opening party. Our new home is located in San Francisco’s Nihonmachi (Japan Town) in a spacious and comfortable suite in the Japan Center next to the Kabuki Hotel.

The past two years have been difficult, but with the help of many people — especially the vision of Matthew Barcus, the energy of Mishal Awadah, and the financial foresight of Aaron Rosen — an empty storefront has been transformed into a warm, comfortable, inviting place to enjoy a game of go. We have new furniture and equipment for playing, a small kitchen area for snacking, and a comfortable lounge area for shmoozing. The walls are decorated with historical mementos of the club, including a calligraphy by Honinbo Shusai from 1936 commemorating the acceptance of the club into the Nihon Kiin. 

And let’s not forget the enticing sounds and smells wafting into the club from Nihonmachi, where in between games you and your friends can enjoy some ramen or sushi.

About forty people participated in the 3-game tournament at the grand opening. The tournament winner in the Dan Division was Jay Chan who walked away with a $150 prize as well as a seat at the 3-person simultaneous table with Hajin Lee (4P) on April 23 at the club. Tied for 2nd place in the Dan Division were Yuelun Yang, James Lou, Jason He, Cole Pruitt, and Lukasz Lew. In the Kyu Division four people tied for first: Yunyen Lee, Youchen Zhao, Joseph Marino, and Keelan Gardner 

We’re a friendly bunch, so if you’re ever in San Francisco, do come to the club. Everyone is welcome, beginners to experts. Even better, become a member: help support go in San Francisco and keep the tradition alive. Check the club website for information about membership and playing times.

We’re very pleased to offer E-Journal readers a special bonus today: a hot-off-the-boards game commentary by regular Member’s Edition (ME) contributor Albert Yen. ME subscribers receive these weekly commentaries and problems by from a team of pros and top amateurs that includes Michael Redmond, Yilun Yang, Guo Juan, Kaz Furuyama, Yuan Zhou and Albert Yen. Click here to find out more about other benefits of joining the AGA, including participating in local and national tournaments, the national rating system and in the annual US Go Congress – the largest go event in North America – at member rates.

Today’s game commentary — The “broken ladder” game — is by Albert Yen, who swept last weekend’s Midwest Open 4-0. For this game review we also have comments from his opponent, Eric Yoder, so readers can see perspectives from both players. We hope you enjoy it and again, please consider joining the AGA to get Member’s Edition content every week! Speaking of which, ME subscribers are receiving the game records for Albert’s Round 1, 3 and 4 games, as well.

Midwest Open, Round 2
White: Albert Yen 8d
Black: Eric Yoder
Commentary: Albert Yen

The American Go Association’s Board of Directors has announced that it’s now accepting applications from members of the American go community for the post of AGA President. A brief functional description of the position can be found here.

“The position involves a lot of work and a lot of responsibility,” says outgoing President Andy Okun, “but also the opportunity to join with the board, the chapters, and the members of the AGA to build a remarkable future for our game and our organization.”

Interested members should email a statement of candidacy and a CV to the AGA Presidential Search Committee at president-search-committee@usgo.org by April 15, 2022. Qualified candidates will be sent a preliminary questionnaire to submit for further review.

Young players made a strong showing in the 2022 South Central Go Tournament. Thirteen-year-old Derek Zhou (bottom right) finished first in the Open section, 11-year-old Juanshu Lan (3rd in the Open, top right) became Texas State Champion (the Texas resident finishing best) and 12-year-old Massa Jin (left) won the top band of the Handicap Section.

Because of COVID the tournament was held online on February 19 and 20. It included players from all around the U.S. and one living in Canada. The Open Section had ten players ranging in strength from five dan to three dan. The Handicap Section had thirty-nine players in four bands. Strengths ran the gamut from 1 dan to 29 kyu.
– Bob Gilman

Just like the famous cherry blossoms, tournaments are returning to the National Go Center in Washington, DC. The April 2nd Cherry Blossom Tournament will be the NGC’s first tournament of the year, and organizers say “It will be great to see faces old and new for a day of tournament go.”

Doors will open at 8:30a on April 2 for the 4-round AGA-rated tournament; fees are still the same with discounts to NGC members. “Joining the NGC is easy and also gives the Center a much-needed financial boost after being mostly shut down the past two years,” says Gurujeet Khalsa. “We are a 501(c)3 non-profit and if you can afford to also make a tax-deductible donation to the NGC it will be a huge help as we restart.” CLICK HERE to register. Memberships and donations can also be done at the National Go Center website. There are prizes in every section and all players can win.

“For all the WORDLE fans out there we’ll also be having a fun side event with entries from the WORDLE archives to be completed during the day when not in your tournament go games and a scoring system to win a prize as the top WORDLE’r of the day,” Khalsa adds. Organizers are also finalizing participation for a booth to promote go at the annual Sakura Matsuri festival in downtown DC the following weekend and will be recruiting volunteers; details coming soon.

Kevin Yang advanced to the Transatlantic Online Pro League by defeating Brady Zhang in Round 1 and Alexander Qi in Round 2 of the qualification tournament held Feb 18-19. Brady Zhang takes the second seat in the Transatlantic Online Pro League, defeating Alexander Qi in the 3^rd-round playoff.

See below for the game records.
Round 1: Yang-Zhang
Round 2: Qi-Yang
Round 3: Qi-Zhang