American Go E-Journal » Youth

The American Go Foundation (AGF) is offering $200 youth discounts to this year’s US Go Congress.  Interested youth must write an essay on why they want to go; the application deadline is May 30th. Twenty scholarships are available, and up to 15 awardees will be selected by June 1.  Applications received after May 30th will be placed in a lottery with the remaining scholarships  awarded at random from qualifying essays.  The scholarships are available for youth who are under 18.  For more information, and to apply, click here.  – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Youth Room at the 2009 Congress, photo by Paul Barchilon

Second-grader Jeremy Chiu 1d topped the MorningStar Happy Cup Youth Go Tournament with six wins last Saturday, May 8 in Santa Clara, California. “Thirty-four elementary and middle school kids gathered together on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and played six rounds of 19×19 games,” says Yanping Zhao, who co-organized the third-annual event with Wenguang Wang. To ensure “a really fun experience for every kid,” Zhao reports that players earned prize tickets after each round, “and used these tickets to exchange various fancy prizes.” Each participant was also rewarded with a trophy and at the event’s conclusion, “all the kids and their parents enjoyed a refreshing ice cream party.”
– photo by Wenguang Wang; click here and here for more photos

The Orange County Go Club (CA) took top honors in the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) School Team Tournament, which concluded last week after two months of competition.  The OC Go Club — featuring Curtis Tang 8d, Calvin Sun 7d, and Jerry Shen 4d, who were undefeated in the event — jumped up to first place after having finished second last year.  On the opposite coast, New Jersey’s East Meadow High fielded four teams, and moved up from last year’s runner-up position to win the National Sweepstakes Championship, given to the school with the best overall performance from all teams entered. Nationwide, 92 schools or youth clubs entered the competition, each with 3-person teams, totaling 276 youth of all ages.  Now in its 9th year, the event continues to be run primarily by high school students, with guidance from previous AGHS officers. Winners report: Team Champions: Grand National Champions: Orange County Go Club, California; Varsity Division: Jasper High School, Texas; Junior Varsity Division: Bellaire High School, Texas; Intermediate Division: Morningstar Chinese School, California; Novice Division: Mason Huaxia Chinese School, Ohio; Beginner Division: Morningstar Chinese School, California; Sweepstakes Champions: Grand National Champions: East Meadow High School, New York; Rookies Sweepstakes: Morningstar Chinese School, California; Junior Sweepstakes: Fair Oaks Elementary School, California.  Click here for full results.
– Paul Barchilon, E-Journal Youth Editor; photo: 3rd grader Natalia Loosli of the Fair Oaks Go Club, CA, playing her final round. photo by Vincent Eisman

Nathan Harwit 3d and Luke Zhang 1d topped their divisions at the Boulder, CO, United States Youth Go Championship (USYGC) this past Saturday, April 24. Harwit, age 12, beat his twin brother Matthew to take the regional title. The boys have alternated as champion for the past four years, and this is their first year in the Senior Division.  Nine-year-old Luke Zhang 1d took top honors in the Junior Division. Six-year-old Robin Luo 7k, also made a strong showing, winning a special trophy in the under 12 division.  Winners Report:  1st: Nathan Harwit 3d; 2nd: Luke Zhang 1d; 3rd: Matthew Harwit 4d; 4th: Erwen Yu 13k; Special Under 12: Robin Luo 7k; Newcomers Award: Lenny Den 18k.
– Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor; photo: Prize winners relax after their matches at the Boulder USYGC. From left to right: Erwen Yu, Luke Zhang, Robin Luo, Lenny Den; photo by Dave Weiss

Chong Lee 6D topped the Chicago Spring Tournament Saturday, while Will Zhou 7D won the Senior Youth Tournament and Haisong Yang 5k the Junior Youth. “After 60 tournaments in the same venue, we took a chance and moved to the new Chicago Go Center for the 61st,” reports longtime tournament director Bob Barber. “By moving to the suburbs, we lost some people, and gained some others.  Everybody was very impressed with the Center, which is the best thing to happen to go in Chicago in 30 years.” There were 34 players.
Winner’s Report: Senior Youth Winner:  ZHOU, Will, 7d; Junior Youth Winner:  YANG, Haisong, 5k. HANDICAP TOURNAMENT: Tie 1st Place Dan: LEE, Chong, 6d
HUYNH, Lee, 1d; 1st Place High Kyu: SOLBERG, Richard, 3k; 1st Place Mid Kyu: NORMAN, Matthew, 9k; 1st Place Low Kyu: FISCHLER, Mark, 11k
Photo: Will Zhou 7D (l) vs. Daniel 10k; Haisong Yang (l) vs. Henry Zhou 13k; photo by Mark Rubenstein

The US Youth Go Championship, now separated from the World Youth Go Championship, will feature both regional and online qualifiers over the next few weeks.  Boulder and Chicago are both holding events on April 24th, and the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) is hosting an online qualifier on May 1st.  The finals, on June 5 and 6, will determine National Dan, Single Digit Kyu (SDK), and Double Digit Kyu (DDK) Champions. Any youth living in the US may enter, citizenship is not required. The winners will receive trophies, and prizes will be awarded in the following brackets: 1-5 dan, 1-4 kyu, 5-9 kyu, 10-15 kyu, 16-20 kyu, 21-25 kyu, 26 and up kyu. Contestants will also receive free audio go lessons courtesy of Guo Juan 5P.
– Paul Barchilon, Youth Editor

Top California youth face off in the Bay Area High School Go Tournament on April 25th. The AGF and the Bay Area Go Players Association (BAGPA) are co-sponsoring the event, which was almost canceled after losing Ing funding last year.  Enterprising teen organizer David Su has fought to keep the event going, securing funding from the AGF and taking responsibility for organizing the event.  Nine schools have entered, some with several three-person teams.  Late entries will still be accepted says Su; more info and the entry form are on the BAGPA website.
-Paul Barchilon, E-Journal Youth Editor