In an online International Friendship Match last month with the Hong Kong Go Club GoLegend, the National Go Center prevailed 3-0. GoLegend is a go school in Hong Kong, China, and the games were played on OGS. NGC’s Michael Zeller 8K beat GoLegend’s Yan Chuan 10K in the first match on October 9; Jim Bonomo 2K defeated Darren Kwok 2k in the second on October 16, and Richard Duan 2D beat Ernie Hui 2D in the final match on October 30, with American professional Eric Lui providing live commentary. The San Diego Go Club played GoLegend in a match earlier this year.
The Seattle Go Center celebrated its’ 27th anniversary on (date), the Center’s first big event since before COVID hit. “While our members are still returning to our usual open times for face-to-face play, we’ve been having our regular monthly ratings tournaments and finally hosted one of our annual big events,” reports Bill Chiles. “We had a good turnout for both, lots of fun with folks hanging out until 11pm, but the crowd was smaller than pre-COVID.” The event included a handicap tournament and a strong player Open. “We are working on more regular events, such as state championship, Pair Go, and our usual winter and spring tournaments,” adds Chiles. photos: Intense final open round analysis, set up for the party.
Jared Nishikawa’s prize for winning the Bodhi Tree Tournament is going to require more care than the usual trophy. Nishikawa took home a Fukien Bonsai tree after sweeping the October 22 Bodhi Tree Tournament dan section in Lakewood, CO. Kyu section winner Matt Murray’s prize was a rare set of suwabute clamshell stones donated by Baduk.Club; Murray was also 4-0. “The Buddhist Association of Colorado hosted us,” reports Jordan Hagen. “Yintong especially was very welcoming. We hope to continue doing go tournaments here in Colorado, as more players become interested we’ll be able to offer better prizes and more interesting tournaments.”
Jeremy Chiu 7D topped the San Francisco Go Club October Tournament, held on Saturday, October 22. Attendees competed over three rounds for cash prizes and certificates. Lunch from Andersen Bakery was included with admission. First-time tournament participants were given prizes and a random participant won a new set of tournament-grade go stones. Tournament results were as follows:
The Ing Foundation is organizing the 2022 World Collegiate Weiqi Invitational Tournament with a new format consisting of 8 versus 8 matches between teams across the world. The first match will be between the US and China on November 26, 2022. Games will be played online from the New York Institute of Go (NYIG) in Manhattan, NY with each player playing two games against the opposing team. The winner of each game will receive a $50 cash prize, and the winning team of each match will receive a $200 bonus prize. Players can additionally apply for up to $200 in travel reimbursements to travel to NYIG for the event. Players on the US team must be a current student at a US university. After the matches against the China team, there will be a friendly match with young New York players. If you are interested in playing, please contact Stephanie Yin at president@ny-go.org for more details.
Welcome to the opening of the 11th season of the Pandanet AGA City League. We are looking again for the most competitive cities and players to compete in this long running tournament. Join the more than 30 teams looking to be the best around. Read through the rules on the Pandanet League site to learn of the new qualifications. The new registration system will help walk you through signing up and accept new rules and policies. If there are any questions contact the TD for more information.
Promotion To 8-dan: Anzai Nobuaki (150 wins, as of Sept. 27)
Quasi-professionals
The Nihon Ki-in has long had a system of “quasi-professionals.” Players who failed to qualify as professionals by the age deadline are able to become professional teachers, though they cannot play in tournaments. They have also played a part in go history. They do not play in a promotion tournament, but are periodically granted promotions. In recognition of their long years of service, the four quasi-professionals registered at the Nihon Ki-in were each promoted a rank on August 30 (the decision was made by the board of directors). Details follow. To 5-dan: Sumino Sachiyo (age 99). To 4-dan: Kawamura Noriko (turned 77 on Oct. 17); Kobayashi Takayuki (age 66); Mizuno Yoshika (also 66). Ms. Sumino was a disciple of Kubomatsu Katsukiyo 8-dan; she was married to the late Sumino Tsunehiro 9-dan, a member, like her, of the Kansai branch of the Nihon Ki-in; the late Kubouchi Shuchi 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in was her elder brother. Kobayashi is the second of the four go-playing siblings Chizu 6-dan, Kenji 7-dan, and Satoru 9-dan. The last-mentioned has won the Kisei title and is at present chairman of the board of directors of the Nihon Ki-in.
Retirement
Koyama Hideo 5-dan retired as of September 28. Born on February 26, 1951, in Tokyo, Koyama became a disciple of Kitani Minoru. He became 1-dan in 1974 and reached 5-dan in 1989. After his retirement, he was promoted to 6-dan.
2021 King Cup winners pose with their trophies and plaques
The San Diego Go Club has opened registration for the 2022 King Cup – California State Go Championship, scheduled for November 26-27.
“Registration is off to a strong start”, reports organizer Ted Terpstra, “Eighteen go players, including three 6 dans, have already registered in the first week.”
Entry fee is $20 for adults (and youth playing in the Open section) and $10 for youth. Unrated beginners (above 20 kyu) will have their entry fee waived; pre-registration for Round 1 closes on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th at 11:59 pm PST, but same-day in-person registration is available for rounds 2-5. American Go Association membership is necessary for all players. The tournament will be held at the San Diego Chess Club in Balboa Park, CA.
2021 King Cup prizes on display
The tournament will be composed of five rounds, with 45 minutes/player main time and a byo-yomi of five 30-second periods. Masks are recommended for players and spectators. There will be tables outside for anyone wishing to play outdoors. Check-in will occur on both days from 9-9:30 am with Saturday’s three rounds scheduled for 10 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Sunday’s two rounds will be at 10 am and 1 pm with the tournament’s award ceremony at 4 pm. All participants will receive a complimentary book from Yutopian Press.
The Open winner of the King Cup will receive at least $400 out of a cash pool of over $1,000. Her/his name will also be engraved on the permanent state championship plaque next to past winners Kevin Yang (2021), Bo Luan (2020), Evan Lin (2019), and Calvin Sun (2018). Go professionals are ineligible to win the King Cup although they are allowed to play in the Open.
This will be the fifth annual California state go championship hosted by the San Diego Go Club and the second King Cup sponsored by the Bi family. The 2021 King Cup drew a total of over 70 players in four different sections with ratings from 7-dan to 25-kyu.
“All indications are that this will be the largest go tournament SDGC has hosted except for the 2017 U.S. Go Congress in San Diego”, said Terpstra. “Competition for the King Cup this year should be fierce with several new go arrivals at UCSD playing in the Open section. The San Diego Go Club also welcomed several new players who will populate the beginner’s section.”
Registration, membership checking, pairings, tie-breaking, and posting of tournament results to the AGA will all be done by GoClubs.org. “Hats off to the developers of this software,” added Terpstra, “and thank you to our sponsors at Rubio’s Coastal Grill, State Farm Insurance, and Yellow Mountain Imports”.
By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal
New Honinbo League starts
Top left: Choi Jeong at the Hoban Cup; top right: Li He of China; bottom right: Ueno wins; bottom left: Ueno being checked for electronic devices.
The first game in the 78th Honinbo League was played on October 3. Yo Seiki (W) 8-dan beat league newcomer Fujita Akihiko 7-dan by 3.5 points.
Ueno doing well in 1st Hoban Cup
The Hoban Cup Seoul Newspaper World’s Women’s Baduk Championship is a new international tournament for female teams. Its main sponsors are the Hoban Construction company and the Seoul Newspaper and it is organized by the Korean Baduk Association. First prize is 100,000,000 won (about $69,400 at $1 = 1440.8 won).
The second round was held on the net in mid-October. China dominated the first round, with Wu Yiming earning a promotion to 4-dan by winning five games in a row. After that, China and Japan each won a game. (See my report of June 22.) In the second round, Li He of China won two games in a row, then Ueno Asami of Japan won three in a row. However, China still has two players left.
Results to date:
Game 8 (Oct. 15). Li He 5-dan (China) (B) beat Fujisawa Rina 5-dan by resig. (193 moves).
Game 9 (Oct. 16) Li (W) beat Oh Yujin 9-dan (Korea) by resig. (166 moves).
Game 10 (Oct. 17). Ueno Asami 4-dan (Japan) (B) beat Li by resig. (183 moves).
Game 11 (Oct. 18). Ueno beat Choi Jeong 9-dan (Korea) by resig. (Korea was eliminated).
Game 12 (Oct. 19). Ueno (W) beat Lu Minquan 6-dan (China) by resig. (266 moves).
Sumire promoted to 3-dan
A win in the Teikei Young Stars tournament over Takei Taishin (see next item) on October 13, earned Sumire promotion to 3-dan. It was her 40th win in a game that counts toward promotion. At this stage, her career record was 120 wins to 60 losses, a statistic of interest for two reasons. One is that Sumire has a winning record of exactly two thirds, which is quite respectable. The other is that it shows that 50 of her wins (women’s tournaments, unofficial tournaments, etc.) don’t count for promotion.
Moving on to new records: at 13 years seven months, Sumire is the second youngest 3-dan at the Nihon Ki-in, the record being held by Cho Chikun, at 13 years four months. However, she makes a big dent in the previous record for youngest female 3-dan, which was 16 years four months, set by Xie Yimin.
Sumire’s progress
The two wins in the TK Young Stars tournament listed below not only earned Sumire a promotion but also secured her a share of the lead in the most-wins list—see below.
(Sept. 29) Sumire (B) beat Tsuji Hana 2-dan by resig. (Prelim., 10th Women’s Hollyhock Cup).
(Oct. 6) Sumire (W) lost to Motoki Katsuya 8-dan resig. (Prelim. A, 48th Gosei).
(Oct. 13) Sumire (W) beat Yo Chito 6-dan by 5.5 points; Sumire (W) beat Takei Taishin 2-dan by resig. (prelim., 2nd TK Young Stars).
Tomorrow: Most wins; Most successive wins; Winning streaks recently ended; Promotion; Quasi-professionals; Retirement UPDATE: The post has been updated to reflect Sumire’s promotion at 13 years seven months, making her the second youngest 3-dan at the Nihon Ki-in, the record being held by Cho Chikun, at 13 years four months (we had switched the promotion ages in our original post)
“The AGHS is delighted to announce that this year’s annual Young Lions Tournament will take place on consecutive Sundays of November 13 and November 20,” says AGHS Vice President Patrick Zhao, “All 18-and-under (or currently in high school) North American players are welcome to participate!”
Schedule: First round: 12pm EST (9am PST) on November 13 Second round: 2pm EST (11am PST) on November 13 Third round: 12pm EST (9am PST) on November 20 Fourth round: 2pm EST (11am PST) on November 20
The deadline to register is Saturday, November 5, 11:59 pm EST. All rules and regulations can be found here. If you have any questions, please contact the AGHS team at aghsregister@gmail.com. If you would like to be added to the AGHS mailing list, please fill out this form.
