American Go E-Journal » Youth

Six young students have won free lessons with professional go players, as part of a new AGF program that is being supported by a private donor.  Winners wrote essays on why they wanted the lessons, and some submitted letters of recommendation as well.  The winners include a 12 kyu from Illinois, a 7 kyu from New York, a 21 kyu from Washington, two kyu players from Georgia, and a 5 kyu from Texas.  The teachers are  Yi Lun Yang 7P, Janice Kim 3P, and  Jennie Shen 2P, who will give each student six lessons.  Four more students will be selected at a future date as well.  “We expect these kids to keep playing, learning, and to try to pass along the knowledge they gain to other players, particularly young people,” writes program organizer Keith Arnold . -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Janice Kim 3P

Aresh Pourkavoos took first place at the 1st Simsbury Open Scholastic Go Tournament, at the Simsbury Library, in  Connecticut,  on March 2nd.  The tournament was held in conjunction with the Simsbury Scholastic Chess Tournament. “We had 6 fierce go competitors enter the tournament,” reports Mike Spaner.  “This was the first go tournament for all of the entrants.  Our young players not only battled for 5  rounds, but they also took  the time to teach many curious onlookers from the chess side of the playing hall  (there were roughly 90 chess players). Although outnumbered, our young go ambassadors  (all new AGA members) did a wonderful job promoting the game of go.  The kids were all very excited to meet  others who share  their love for the game. Between rounds, there were some great hallway discussions on suggested playing strategies and tactics. One of the chess player’s parents had not played go for many years and was excited to get in a game between rounds.  As an observer, I was very happy to see how energized the kids were during and after the tournament. A small, friendly, but competitive tournament for our our youth really helps spark a deeper interest in the game that we love. The Central Connecticut Go Club would like to  extend a special thank you to Gert Hilhorst for organizing the overall Chess and  Go  tournament. The entire event was flawlessly executed by Gert and his team with the helpful assistance of the library staff. We also would like to  thank Mike Scudder for  serving  as  our Tournament Director.  Kiseido publishing graciously provided a discount on gift certificates for our prize winners, and the kids were thrilled with their prizes,”  adds Spaner.  Winners Report: 1st place: Aresh Pourkavoos; 2nd place: Sophie Spaner; 3rd place: Matt Miller. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Story and photo by Mike Spaner.

Nominations for the American Go Foundations  Teacher of the Year award are now open. The award is presented each year at the U.S. Go Congress and recognizes an outstanding American teacher. The winner  will receive an all expenses paid trip to the congress.  To be eligible, a teacher must be a member of the AGA, have been teaching go to children for at least two hours a week (during the school year) for two years, have started a go club or organization for youth, and have helped their students enter appropriate tournaments, if possible.  If you would like to nominate someone for this award, including yourself, e-mail mail@agfgo.org.  Nominations are due by April 30th and should include a description of the teacher’s activities,  how long they have been teaching, and how many students attend their program. – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Photo: Last year’s winner Joe Walters, of Pasadena, CA, with students from his program.  To read more about Joe’s work, check out Sensei #8.

Time is running out to register for the American Go Honor Society’s 14th annual School Team Tournament. On March 16th and 23rd, go clubs from across North America will compete online for glory and prizes.  Each school may enter up to three teams, consisting of three players of any levels from the same K-12 school. There are multiple divisions, so teams of any level will be able to compete.  A total of $3,000 in prizes will be awarded, with prizes in each division, but also to every team that has a high participation rate. Visit www.aghs.cc to register and to read important information about the new rules and prizes. The registration deadline has been extended to March 6th, so gather a team from your school and enter before it’s too late. -Julian Erville, AGHS Vice President.

Fifteen-year-old Andrew Lu 6d has just won the Senior Division of the US Youth Go Championships, dethroning Calvin Sun 7d, age 16, who has had a lock on this event for the past six years.  Sun seemed almost sure to win again, emerging from the finals with a perfect record, and defeating Lu (at left) in the final round of the qualifiers.  Both boys then started fresh in the four-player double-elimination finals, which began on Jan. 20th.  Sun defeated Andrew Huang 6d in round 1, while Lu defeated talented newcomer Albert Yen 6d, who at just 12 years of age is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.  Round 2 gave Sun another edge, defeating Lu, while Yen knocked Huang out.  Yen then faced Lu a second time, and the victor would go on to face Sun.  Although he fought his best, Yen was not able to prevail and was eliminated.  This left Lu in the uncomfortable position of being out if he lost a game, but needing to defeat Sun twice in a row in order to win.  Despite having lost to Sun in both of their previous matches, Lu was determined to break through.  He opened strongly in round 4, on Feb. 16th, and then waged and won a protracted ko fight to claim a decisive victory.  The final showdown came Feb 23rd, and again featured a strong opening from Lu.  Sun tried to create complications, but in the end was down by komi, and resigned.  The game is attached below.  To get a sense of just how difficult a player Calvin Sun is to beat, check out the members-only Feng Yun commentary on Lu and Sun’s earlier match up in the qualifiers, where Sun turns the tables on Lu.  With this victory under his belt, Lu is now the US National Youth Champion, and has won a free trip to the US Go Congress.  The Junior Division matches are not yet finished, but the E-J will report the results when the final games are played.  Paul Barchilon – E-J Youth Editor.  Photo: Andrew Lu 6d