“Face-to-face Go is returning to the Washington DC area,” reports NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa. “Our NOVA Go satellite met Monday night in Arlington, VA and Wednesday night play resumed at the NGC in DC.” Play at both sites will continue weekly with details available at the NGC website.
“It was great to see smiling faces and friends old and new playing their favorite game,” says Khalsa. “We were very happy to welcome back Eli Ferster (below on the left, Larry Kaufman on the right) who recently returned to DC after 2 ½ years in Japan teaching English.”
Gary Smith reported from NOVA Go that despite a first night glitch getting the church unlocked where they play, an intrepid crew stayed and played outside (below). “We expect to be smoothly running inside the next week” says Smith. With continued good progress against Covid in the area an expanded schedule of activities will be announced in the coming weeks. Watch for the return of Pair Go/Paella night with Chris Garlock’s famous paella. Both sites are requiring vaccinations for adults for the time being and will be following local guidance on relaxing restrictions. Masks are required at NOVA Go inside the church there.
“We had another piece of great news recently,” reports Khalsa. “Our grant from the Iwamoto North America Foundation (INAF) was renewed for another 5 years. We are very grateful to INAF for their continued confidence in us and are excited about getting back out in the community and teaching Go as things open back up.”
Members should check their information from time to time. If you are not receiving the EJ make sure your email is up to date. Chapters can always update their current chapter through the AGA Membership Manager if they have changed.
Congratulations to Dan Ritter, Devin Fraze, and Chris Kirschner who are this years candidates in the East, Central and Western regions respectively and all running unopposed.
After being closed for almost 15 months because of COVID-19 precautions, the Seattle Go Center has reopened on Tuesdays and Saturdays for in-person play. Only vaccinated players are invited, and masks are required at all times when people are indoors, except when sipping drinks. Food may only be eaten on the front roof deck, where masks are not required. All players are required to update their membership forms, and to acknowledge the new COVID precautions.
All the windows are kept open, which gives the large playing room good cross ventilation. “This works well in June, when we have mild weather, but we hope that the vaccination campaigns are successful, and the COVID risk is greatly reduced, so that we can close the windows by November”, Operations Manager Brian Allen notes.
The reopening was quietly publicized through the Seattle Go Center email list. Tuesdays have 16-20 players, and Saturdays 10-12. The current schedule can be found on the Go Center home page. Families are not coming yet, because young players cannot get vaccinated. For some adult players who do not play online, this was their first opportunity to play a game in more than a year. Another group recently learned the game online, and needed instruction on how to hold a stone, and to score a game when finished. “It was surprisingly hard to match faces known from Zoom sessions with the people with masks who showed up at the Go Center,” says Allen. “In general, there was less chatter than in the old days, because the masks make it harder to be understood, and the open windows let in street noise. Still, it was great to see old friends, and to make new ones.”
You can now register here for the 2021 e-Go Congress, taking place online July 17-25, 2021.
Although work continues on the 2021 e-Go Congress website, you can find updated information about the e-Go Congress schedule here. “We are so excited to open registration and have go players join us for this event again!” says Congress Director Steve Colburn. “We’ve been working hard to improve the playing experience this year. We hope to make it as exciting as last year!”
Look for more updates – including more events with professionals – in the coming days.
The New York Go Honor Society has recently launched the NYGHS Summer Open are pleased to invite all to participate. The Open is an online tournament which will take place on June 27th and July 3rd, with cash prizes of up to $100.
The format of the tournament is unique as it is a Swiss and bracket style tournament hybrid. On June 27th, participants will be split into divisions of around 16 people and will play 4 rounds of a Swiss style tournament. On the second day, July 3rd, the top eight players in each division will be put into their own single elimination bracket tournament and compete to be the winner of their division. Players who get eliminated from the main bracket, as well as those who did not qualify, will have the chance to participate in a consolation bracket which will play for third place.
The NYGHS team is excited to organize this bracket style hybrid tournament and bring this rare experience to participants at all levels of play. If you have any questions about the tournament or how it will be run, please feel welcome to reach out to us at co-president.nyghs@ny-go.org. The registration deadline is midnight on June 22nd; entry is $15. If you would like to register or read more about the event you can find the tournament details here.
“Registration for the AGHS Charity event has been extended,” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “All are invited to join us for three rounds, held at KGS’s AGHS Tournament Room on June 12 at 1 PM, 3 PM, and 5 PM EDT. Each table will be played in a round-robin format between 3 adult players and 3 youth players. Anti-Asian violence and hate crimes have been on the rise, so we wanted to take this time to raise awareness and appreciation for Asian culture. 100% of the profits will be donated to Gold House Foundation Inc, an organization that honors the AAPI community’s achievements and voices through promoting unity, representation, and success. Please register by June 10, 2021, 11:59 PM EST.”
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Shibano draws even in 76th Honinbo title match Shibano Toramaru is making his second successive challenge for the Honinbo title. Last year he lost 1-4 and then also lost the Meijin title he had picked up in 2019 by the same margin to Iyama, so he had a lot to seek revenge for. His career record against Iyama before this match was seven wins to ten losses . In the top three titles, the ones with two-day games, he had won only twice in ten games. Shibano’s main task is to make good use of these painful experiences. Much is written in the go press about the post-Iyama generation, but as long as Iyama holds the triple crown of Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo, he remains head and shoulders above his rivals. This year he has the additional incentive of matching Cho Chikun’s record of ten Honinbo titles in a row. The first game was held at the Former Inoue Fusaichiro Residence (photo) in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, on May 11 and 12. Inoue (1898-1993) was an influential patron of the arts in Takasaki; he was friends with modernist architects in the West. His house, built in traditional Japanese style but with input from Western architects, was restored after his death and set up as a tourist site.
Shibano drew black in the nigiri. He attacked in the middle game, but Iyama skillfully rescued his weak groups and took the lead. Black resigned after 184 moves. The second game was played at the Former Inn Kaneyu in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture on May 24 and 25. The venue is a “ryotei” (Japanese-style restaurant/inn) built in 1937; it was donated to the city in 2009 and reopened as a tourist facility four years later. It is known for the Akita cedar of which it is built and which was the basis for the lumber industry in the area. Iyama, who had black, played a little unreasonably on the first day, giving Shibano the edge. According to Go Weekly, it was the first time in the 12 two-day games these two have played that Shibano took the lead on the first day. Things quickly got worse for the defending champion on the second day. After the sealed move, Black 83, Shibano attacked strongly. Iyama made another unreasonable move, so the game became one-sided. Iyama resigned after White 96. It was still only 11:18; it’s quite unusual for a game to finish before lunch on the second day. The third game was scheduled for June 1 and 2.
Sumire’s winning streak ends Sumire has won two more games since my previous report (May 14), but her winning streak has finally come to an end at 13. She also lost her first game in the C League. Her score for the year is now 24-4 (85.7%); she shares top pla ce in the most-wins list with Ueno Asami, who is on 24-9. Recent results follow. (May 9) Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko 3P by 1.5 points (Main tournament, 40th Women’s Honinbo). (May 13) Sumire (B) beat Horimoto Mitsunari 5P by 5.5 (Prelim. B, 60th Judan tournament; played at the Kansai Ki-in). (May 20) Sumire (B) lost to Komatsu Hideki 9P by resig. (Prelim. C, 47th Meijin tournament). (May 27) Sumire (W) lost to Mizokami Tomochika 9P by resig. (46th Kisei C League). Both Komatsu and Mizokami are strong 9-dans, so losing to them is no disgrace. Komatsu has played in six leagues and won seven titles; Mizokami has played in seven leagues, including five Meijin leagues, and won three titles. Sumir e’s next game will also be against a 9-dan: her success means that she is being matched against stronger opposition.
Ichiriki leads Meijin League On 5-0, Ichiriki Ryo Tengen leads the 46th Meijin League. His closest rival is Kyo Kagen Judan on 4-1. New results: (May 10) Yamashita Keigo 9P (W) beat Hane Naoki 9P by resig. (May 13) Kyo Kagen 10P (B) beat Yo Seiki 8P by resig.
Kisei Leagues So far, only five games have been played in the 46th Kisei S League, so it is too soon to be making predictions. Murakami Daisuke 9P and Ichiriki Ryo Tengen share the lead on 2-0. Yo Seiki 8P is on 1-0. Just one game has been played since my previous report. On May 24, Ichiriki (B) beat Yamashita Keigo 9P by 3.5. In the A League, four rounds have been completed. Shibano Toramaru Oza and Suzuki Shinji 7P share the lead on 3-1. In the B1 League, three players are on 3-1: Motoki Katsuya 8P, Shida Tatsuya 8P, and Mimura Tomoyasu 9P. In the B2 League, So Yokoku 9P has the sole lead on 4-0.
Promotions To 9-dan: Nakao Jungo (200 wins; as of May 21). Nakao was born in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, on April 9, 1970 and is a member of the Central Japan branch of the Nihon Ki-in. He qualified as 1-dan in 1990. He is the 84th 9-dan at the Nihon Ki-in. To 9-dan: Okada Shinichiro (200 wins; as of May 28). Okada was born on Sept. 22, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture. He is a disciple of the late Kato Masao. He became 1-dan in 1985. He is married to Yumiko, the daughter of the late Abe Yoshi teru 9P.
A new go teaching platform, Go Magic, is now in beta. “Our project is aiming to help everyone discover Go and improve their skills in a way that is both efficient and entertaining,” says Vadim Efimenko, a 4d amateur from Russia, who’s working with professional Alexander Dinerstein 3p and Anton Proskurin, the chief author, developer and cofounder of the project. Go Magic is billed as “One platform that combines everything you might possibly need on your way to Go mastery,” and features video courses, a Skill Tree for beginners and even some gamification to appeal to modern gamers. They’ve also got a YouTube channel, streaming on Twitch, and are on Discord as well. A 4-minute video outlines the project.
Bad news: No candidates have come forward. Better news: You don’t have to wear a mask to be a board member. Best News: You don’t have to wear pants to be a board member. Three American Go Association (AGA) Board of Director seats are in play for the Eastern, Western, and Central regions. The current terms of office expire this September. If you know of someone who you believe would offer guidance and service to the AGA, consider making a nomination. Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made by full members for the regional seat in which the member resides and must be received by June 15, 2021. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.
