“The 2020 AGHS School Team Tournament has concluded,” reports Promotion Head Sophia Wang, “Twenty-two teams competed in four rounds. Each round consisted of three games between two teams, and the team that won two or more games won the round. In Division 1, the New York Institute of Go Team 1 took first place after winning all four rounds. The New York Institute of Go Team 3 came in second, and the Feng Yun Go School Team A came in third. The team from CNY Chinese School won Division 2, going undefeated. In second place was the team representing Russellville High School, and in third was the Saint Ann’s School. All players and substitutes who competed in each of their rounds will receive a T-shirt participation prize, and the top three teams in each division will also be awarded trophies.” – Lionel Zhang, EJ Youth Correspondant
This year four American Go Association (AGA) Board of Director seats are open for the Eastern, Western, Central regions and the At-Large position. The current terms of office expire this September. If you know of someone who you believe would offer guidance and service to the AGA, please consider making a nomination. Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made by full members for the region in which the member resides or without restriction for the At-Large seat and must be received by June 15, 2020. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.
Deprived of face-to-face go, we gaze with great longing at this fantastic photo of the climax of the 24th Honinbo league on April 8, 1970 (right).
In the foreground at left is my favorite player, Fujisawa Hideyuki, forever to be known as Shuko. A truly brilliant — if erratic — player, his passion for go was without equal. And you can see him living the game in his face in this photo. We can surmise that perhaps poker would not be his best game, but of course we know go was. A favorite player of my teacher, Yilun Yang, he played a prominent role in supporting go in China and his teaching boot camps were legendary. We can access them through Hinoki Press’ two volume “Shuko: The Only Move, as well as Slate and Shell’s 4 volume “Basic Tesjuji” and finally (though first) Ishi Press’ “Reducing Territorial Frameworks”
Foreground right is Kato Masao, the kid in the room, and his manner evokes a quiet respect for his far more emotive elder. Indeed, in all of my reading about this great player, who went on lead the Nihon Kiin, I have never read a word suggesting anything but kindness about him. He game was far more aggressive, “Killer Kato” was his reputation, and he shared his skill in Ishi Press’ “Kato’s Attack and Kill”. He was the first of the “Three Crows” of the Kitani school to make a name for himself, but the last to breakthrough. He needs to win this game to catch another player in the room to challenge for the title. Game record here.
Background right, hunched over the board, is Fujisawa Hosai – the older nephew of Shuko and the first Oteai 9 dan. A player of extraordinary concentration and determination who once played a match with his letter of resignation in his pocket, Hosai was known for his deliberate play, which is evidenced by the far fewer stones on the background board. Although he could not win the league, he is determined to make his opponent earn it.
His opponent is “Razor Sharp” Sakata, and his personality also shines in this picture. Wiry and erect, cigarette in hand, Sakata seems amused by time Hosai is taking, his mind racing from one brilliant counter to the next to whatever ploy Hosai comes up with. This is a man in his element, not showing the pressure of needing this win to become the challenger. Hosai’s determination would take them until after midnight, and Sakata became the challenger. Game record here.
April 25-26 featured what was billed the “First International Team Tournament” in New York city. Fourteen three player teams competed from the USA, China, Korea, Canada, Japan and Yugoslavia. The Chinese team emerged victorious, followed by Japan and the US. The US team was Matsuda, Ryder and Kaslow – all 5 dan – as good as it got in those days. The match was featured in the NY Times and we can clearly see (top left) the great Edward Lasker playing. In an early moment of “fake news” the Times says the event took place at “The Chess House” but I trust Mr. Horiguchi’s report in Go Review stating the event happened in the Nihon Kiin Chapter House at the same address.
Finally the first game of the Honinbo title took place on April 27 and 28. I am not sure challenger Sakata and Honinbo Rin Kaiho are actually interested in whatever Takagawa is saying in this staged photo (top middle). We will be hearing a lot about Rin who was in the young and early stages of his dominance. Reading Go Review it seems that the go press was not yet buying it, and seemed to expect Sakata to be the victor. We shall see…Game One record is here.
After two days of games, the China-US internet Go Tournament concluded successfully. “The tournament went well,” says organizer Stephanie Yin 1P. “The CWA appreciated the AGA’s cooperation in this tournament, especially in such a short time.” Albert Yen 7d scored one win for the US team in the first round. “Albert had a good chance against Wei Xiaolin 7d on Board 2 of the second round,” reports broadcast host Stephen Hu. “There was an intense back-and-forth exchange, but eventually Albert lost a large group after a huge ko fight in byo-yomi and had to resign. This means that the final score of the event was 11-1 to China.” Live video commentaries were provided by Kim Yoonyoung 8P and Cho Hyeyeon 9P for the first and second round respectively. Recordings of the commentaries will be uploaded to the AGA’s YouTube channel soon, and in the meantime viewers can find these recordings on Twitch. The tournament was organized and coordinated by Stephanie Yin 1P for the AGA and the Chinese Weiqi Association.
Final results:
DAY 1 – CHINA 5:1 USA Board 1: REN Ke 6d (B) vs. Albert YEN 7d (W) Board 2: Andy LIU 1P (B) vs. HU Yuqing 7d (W) [MAIN BOARD] Board 3: CAO Ruxu 7d (B) vs. Aaron YE 7d (W) Board 4: Alan HUANG 7d (B) vs. WEI Xiaolin 7d (W) Board 5: CHEN Junyu 7d (B) vs. Kellin PELRINE 6d (W) Board 6: Audrey WANG 6d (B) vs. XIA Jun 5d (W)
DAY 2 – CHINA 6:0 USA Board 1: Andy LIU 1P (B) vs. HU Yuqing 7d (W) [MAIN BOARD] Board 2: WEI Xiaolin 7d (B) vs. Albert YEN 7d (W) Board 3: Alan HUANG 7d (B) vs. CAO Ruxu 7d (W) Board 4: CHEN Junyu 7d (B) vs. Aaron YE 7d (W) Board 5: Audrey WANG 6d (B) vs. XIA Jun 5d (W) Board 6: REN Ke 6d (B) vs. Kellin PELRINE 6d (W)
The 2020 U.S. Go Congress has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The following statement was released on April 17 by the American Go Association Board of Directors:
At a Special Board Meeting held on April 15th, the AGA board, with the agreement of the Go Congress organizers in Colorado, voted to postpone the 2020 US Go Congress in Estes Park to a future year, meaning that there will be no US Go Congress in 2020.
Over the next few weeks, the AGA and the US Go Congress will continue with the cancellation process, including refunding registration fees that were already paid. We expect these refunds to happen over the next month or so; you do not need to reach out to the Congress team to get your refund.
Given the seriousness of the Coronavirus epidemic, the AGA cannot in good conscience bring together our customary crowd from around the country and the world. The AGA does not take this decision lightly, and plans to resume our annual US Go Congress in 2021, with as much play (both fun and serious) as always.
At this time, the AGA is recommending cancelling all in-person go events (both club meetings and tournaments) through the end of May, but feels that it is too soon to make recommendations about summer events, given that local conditions may vary.
The first round of the China-US tournament, organized by the China Weiqi Association and the AGA and coordinated by Stephanie Yin 1P, was held on Tuesday evening, with Albert Yen 7d giving the US team its first win against Ren Ke 6d of the Chinese team. The second round will be held Wednesday evening April 15th on the Fox Go Server. Viewers can tune into the AGA Twitch channel to see the broadcast of the games and game commentary by Cho Hyeyeon 9P and hosted by Stephen Hu.
Players across the AGA and KGS are mourning the loss of David Saunders, AKA dsaun, who died on Monday March 30th from COVID-19 and pneumonia. A page on Sensei’s Library has been created dedicated to memories of dsaun, particularly the large amount of poetry he wrote and shared with his friends on KGS.
An example: Go is fun // I do not lie // and so is eating apple pie // apple pie is truly great // but playing Go does not add weight.
LGSam remembers his friend in a way Saunders would have appreciated, with “a questionable limerick in honor of the master of questionable limericks.”
Once, there was a great man named dsaun. A grand Go legacy had he drawn that will be remembered, and celebrated too, into each and every new dawn
After initially announcing a league in March of this year that would allow New York players to compete both in-person and online, the New York Go Honor Society has taken the New York Go League international in light of the recent pandemic and the inability of players to meet in person. “We are proud to announce that we will be opening the league to all players, not just those who reside in New York,” says NYGHS vice-president Patrick Zhao. Participants will play two games per week be allowed to schedule their games with their opponents on their own time. Entry and play in the league is completely free and open to any player with a stable rank with any association or credible Go server. All players interested in joining the league should fill out the Google registration form before the registration deadline of May 1, and take time to read the rules and regulations. Players should address any questions to co-president.nyghs@ny-go.org.
The first China-US Internet Go Tournament, organized on the AGA side by Stephanie Yin 1P, will be held this Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14-15 starting at 9:30 PM EDT on the Fox Go Server and broadcast on the AGA Twitch channel. English commentary will be provided by Kim Yoonyoung 8P (Tuesday) and Cho Hyeyeon 9P (Wednesday), hosted by Stephen Hu for the AGA E-Journal.
“With so many of us are feeling isolated from our communities, it is great to have a chance to make some new connections and new friends with other go players around the world,” said AGA president Andy Okun.
The U.S. team includes Andy Liu 1P (New York), Albert Yen 8D (Chicago), Aaron Ye 7D (California), Alan Huang 7D (New Jersey), Kellin Pelrine 6D (Colorado) and Audrey Wang 6D (Indiana).
On the Chinese team are: Hu Yuqing 7D (Shanghai), Cao Ruxu 7D (Zhejiang), Chen Junyu 7D (Jiangxi), Wei Xiaolin 7D (Shanxi), Xia Jun 5D (Jiangsu) and Ren Ke 6D (Hubei). Note: A setup tutorial video for the Fox Go Server is available on Youtube.
The votes are in and Shusaku vs. Sanchi was the people’s choice for Sunday night’s live commentary by Michael Redmond 9. Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel at 7p EDT to see Redmond and Chris Garlock review Honinbo Shusaku’s first castle game. “His opponent is the 9th Yasui Sanchi (Shuntetsu), a strong fighter,” says Redmond. “They have opposite game plans, in that Shusaku has Black and tries to play solidly, while Yasui starts by avoiding the Shusaku opening and plays aggressively.” Also, the Redmond/Garlock “Alphago to Zero” March 12 Twitch stream has now been released on the AGA’s YouTube channel. The two talked about what it was like to provide the English-language commentary for the 2016 match for a global audience with intense media attention, and took questions from viewers. “Their passion for this game is infectious,” said CalmExit.
