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

The top section of the September 19 Hoboken Open turned into a struggle for the $400 first prize among perennial stars Kevin Huang and Carson Tu, youngsters Lionel Zhang and Andrew Huang, and newcomer Xiruo Liu. In the third round (r), Zhang outfought Kevin Huang in a tense mid-board capturing race setting up a climactic final round. Kevin Huang beat Carson Tu to tie for first with three wins, while Andrew Huang spoiled Zhang’s chance to get a third win. 47 players participated, with all 3-game and 4-game winners receiving a cash prize plus a book. The tournament was played on the campus of Stevens Institute in Hoboken NJ, against a stunning backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. Organized by Larry Russ, directed by Steve Bretherick. Special thanks to Slate and Shell for sponsoring book prizes and to Paul Matthews for Accelrat technical support.

Winners: Top section: 1st (tie) – Carson Tu 7d, Kevin Huang 8d; 3rd (tie) – Lionel Zhang 6d, Andrew Huang 6d, Xiruo Liu 6d; 4-game winners: Marc Palmer 1d; 3-game winners: David Byrne 1d, Justin Ching 1k, Afa Zhou 2k, Masaaki Hamaguchi 2k, Eric Wu 2k, Barbara Huang 8k, Jessica Huang 22k, Joanne Huang 19k, Sean, Huang 27k, Diana Huang 25k, Leo Huang 26k.
photo: top boards play Round 3: L-R, Andrew Huang, Lionel Zhang, Carson Tu and Kevin Huang; photo courtesy Larry Russ. Click here for more photos.

The September 18 NOVA Go Club Back to School Tournament drew 33 players, including “a whole carload of Hokies who came all the way from Virginia Tech and joined the AGA for the first time,” reports organizer Gary Smith. Zhenying Gu 5d was undefeated in the 4-round tourney in Arlington, VA and won place first in the upper dan division. Tournament Director Edward Zhang again organized a team tournament, with the Capital Go Club walked away with the prize money, while  NOVA and nOObpunzors tied for second. RESULTS: 1st: Zhenying Gu 5d; 2nd: Binquan Wang 5d. Lower Dan Division; 1st: Jian  Liu 1d; 2nd: Jimmy Yang 4d.  1-2 Kyu Division: 1st: Hua Lin 1k (undefeated); 2nd: Greg Pongracz 2k.  3-5 Kyu Division: 1st: Kevin Chin 3k; 2nd: Sam Zimmerman 5k.  6-12 Kyu Division: 1st: Mike Lash 6k (undefeated); 2nd: Garrett Smith 11k. 13-30 Kyu Division: 1st: Tariq Khan 29k; 2nd (tie), Tristan Tran 17k; 2nd (tie), Christopher Tolley 18k.
photo collage by Edward (Zhiyuan) Zhang: left top, Capital Go Club, left to right, Hua Lin 1k, Zhiyuan Zhang 6d (Tournament Director), Binquan Wang 5d, Garrett Smith (NOVA President), Zhenying Gu 5d, Tao Wang 5d, Jian Liu 1d. left middle: Jimmy Yang 4d, Allan Abramson 3d, Greg Pongracz 2k. left bottom: the Virginia Tech Team, who drove 4 hrs to attend.

Longtime go organizer, author and teacher Milton Bradley passed away Saturday after a long illness. “Milt’s passion for go was unstoppable,” said American Go Association President Allan Abramson, who had played a weekly game online with Bradley over the last year. “We hope that the enormous amount of energy he put into encouraging go players is inspiring to a whole new generation of teachers. Milt will be missed.” An avid chess player, Bradley’s interest in go was sparked “after I read the first few issues of the American Go Journal at the Marshall Chess Club in 1950,” Bradley told the EJ earlier this year. “At that point I immediately  — instinctively, it seems — grasped go’s depth and profundity,  as well as its great superiority to chess, which until then had seemed to me to be the perfect game.” One of the AGA’s earliest members – he was AGA member 157 – Bradley’s 60-year go career highlights included playing Edward Lasker in 1952, and Honinbo Kaoru Iwamoto 9P several times in his simuls at the NY Go Club in the late 1950’s. Bradley – a mechanical/industrial/quality control engineer – had “a passion to make go both more popular and accessible,” and his efforts not only included teaching over 1,000 beginners, but unique promotional ventures like “playing go in the front window of the Takashimaya Department store on New York’s prestigious Fifth Avenue,” (he’s at left in the photo) and several years penning a go column for the national Mensa Bulletin. He was also a prolific author, whose titles included Go For Kids, New Go Proverbs Illustrated and his free online Improve Fast In Go. Click here for more on Bradley’s long and fascinating career, including photos and links to his publications.

Twenty six kids and adults played in the September monthly ratings tournament this past Saturday in Palo Alto, CA. Jean-Baptiste Chaubet 1d (right in photo), visiting from France, led the field of a dozen dan-level players with three wins. In the kyu division, Eric Hoffman 2k, Jay Chan 3k, Roger Schrag 5k, Tom Rike 6k, and Eric Sumner 17k picked up two wins apiece. Next month’s Bay Area Go ratings tournament is scheduled for October 16 in San Francisco.

Reaching out to the region which just elected her, new American Go Association Central Region Board Director Lisa Scott (l) recently wrapped up a 13-state 7,000-mile tour of more than 30 go clubs. Scott’s goal was to “offer an opportunity for clubs to meet me in person and let me know how the AGA can help them.” Local club organizers from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa welcomed Scott to their clubs, and were happy to share their thoughts with her about ways in which the AGA could support their efforts. Among Scott’s findings are that “These clubs need assistance in organizing events, and in finding teachers who are strong players.” She also found that most clubs have 6-8 regular attendees, “but at most just two to three AGA members, proving that the region has huge potential for development.” Scott said that while “Some in the Central Region currently feel overlooked, I wanted to show that the AGA does care about this region.” Scott has been directing the Women’s Tournament at the US Go Congress since 2007, and is co-directing the 2011 US Go Congress in Santa Barbara, CA with Andrew Jackson. photo: Scott at this year’s Go Congress; photo by Chris Garlock

The American Go Association’s 10-game requirement for international representation has been dropped. In a special meeting Wednesday night, reports AGA President Allan Abramson, the AGA Board voted to drop the rule requiring that potential participants in international events have played at least ten rated games in the preceding year. Pressure to drop the rule had been mounting, most recently by Feng Yun 9P, and the Board had agreed to review its status (AGA Board To Review 10-Game Rule 9/13 EJ). A statement by Board Chairman Andy Okun is expected to be issued soon.

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