Traveling Go Board « American Go E-Journal

Tuesday tradition continues at Seattle Go Center

Sunday July 17, 2022

by Brian Allen

Players from beginner to 3 or 4 dan come to the Seattle Go Center on Tuesdays, and everybody can find a game or informal instruction. Lately, Haichen Zhu, a 7 dan, has also been coming, and I noticed last week that he was taking black, facing a player I did not know.

The doors open at 3 p.m., with the busiest time between 6 to 8 p.m. We close at 9 p.m. About 15 to 20 players have been coming in July. In late May, we had more than 30 players.

The Go Center is still being careful about COVID: the windows in the large playing room are kept open, and masks are required, except when sipping drinks or eating food. As usual, food is not allowed at the playing tables, but it may be enjoyed at the conference table, lounge area, kitchen and outdoor deck. Chris Kirschner has been bringing in his fresh baked bread, and toppings from the local Trader Joe’s are purchased with donations.

The local light rail station for the U District is now open, so visitors to Seattle should note that they can take a train from SeaTac airport directly to our neighborhood. There is a bit of walking at both ends of the train trip, totaling about .6 mile. Our website has directions to the center.

Development plans for the Go Center property (and new Seattle Go Center space) are proceeding, but it looks like the current location will continue for a while. So if you are in Seattle, come visit us on Tuesdays!

Report and photo by Brian Allen. (Brian retired as Operations Manager in 2021, but he is still a Tuesday regular.)

Categories: Go News,Main Page,Traveling Go Board,U.S./North America

The Traveling Board: Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday February 5, 2019

Max Dohme of Berlin, Germany recently completed a swing through Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur, managing to find and make new go friends at each stop, “including a go lesson from Jimmy Cheng, secretary of the Malaysia Weiqi Association!” During the trip, Max — who started out as a 2-kyu — was promoted to Singapore 1-dan by Yang Jinhua 6p. He also kept records of his games and got them analyzed online by an AI:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

Categories: Main Page,Traveling Go Board

Traveling Go Board: Montreal, Canada

Thursday November 29, 2018

by Peter Schumer

Montreal is just north of the border for go players in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. They have a thriving go community and a full time place to play go and enjoy some quality tea, baked goods, soups, and sandwiches at Senthe Tea House located at 6547 Saint-Hubert. They also hosted the 41st Canadian Open at College Jean-de-Brebeuf in early September. I often play in their tournaments; Americans are warmly welcomed!

But I recently discovered an interesting place to play go that the folks in Montreal might not even be aware of. While walking around Old Montreal I found a restaurant, The Keg Steak House and Bar, located at the corner of Saint Paul and Saint Jean-Baptiste that has an outdoor terrace with chairs and tables with full-sized go boards inscribed on them! This is probably unknown to the proprietors as well.

Categories: Main Page,Traveling Go Board,U.S./North America

The Traveling Board: “Pi” to app to local club: a blogger’s journey

Monday August 20, 2018

“This is a game that has serious appeal to me,” writes independent filmmaker, website designer “and sometimes teacher” Chris Knight in recent blog post, “Do Not Pass Go: An evening with the world’s oldest board game.” “I’m looking forward to playing again, and trying to improve.”

Knight, who lives in North Carolina, first saw go in “Pi,” Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 directorial debut. His curiosity about the game portrayed in the film led him to an iPad app and then to his local go club in North Carolina, where a lesson with Brendan got him hooked. “Go seems to have a really good community around it, and quite a diverse player base,” Knight says. “And I can’t help but think that in time, though it may be decades from now, it’s going to become as popular among Americans as is already chess, checkers, and Cards Against Humanity!” In additional to a number of cultural references, the blog post includes a description of how to play, with helpful photos.

Categories: Main Page,Traveling Go Board,U.S./North America

The Traveling Board: Painting connects players

Thursday November 9, 2017

“At this year’s U.S. Go Congress in San Diego, I had the pleasure of playing Steve Uhl from Sante Fe, NM (left in picture) in round 2 of the Open,” writes Eric Wainwright (right). “We had a very close and exciting game. Steve had also brought many of his go-related paintings he had created and was showing them to attendees outside the main playing hall. I found one that would look perfect in my go room and bought it from him. Steve and his family recently came up to Boulder, CO where we had a friendly rematch in my go room (with his painting overlooking). And, as luck would have it, we had another close and exciting game.”

Categories: Go Art,Traveling Go Board

The Traveling Go Board: Eclipse go in Casper, Wyoming

Tuesday August 22, 2017

“Thanks to Facebook, my wife Margaret discovered that (longtime Princeton NJ go organizer) Rick Mott and his family were also in Casper, Wyoming for the total eclipse of the sun,” reports EJ photographer Phil Straus. “That was a great surprise, but in hindsight, I am not surprised another go player would find the spot on the path of totality that had the best probability of clear skies.”

“We all met at a lovely country road intersection within a few hundred yards of the center line of the totality path,” Straus writes. “We had trees, birds, and no crowds and a clear view of the southern sky.”

“After the thrilling minutes of totality, we of course, pulled out a go board. Note the eclipse glasses and binocular filters.”

photo by Margaret Harris

Categories: Traveling Go Board

The Traveling Board: Go and the Family Robot

Tuesday November 29, 2016

By Lisa Schrag

We got a glimpse of the future when our good friend Matsumoto Mamoru recently had us as guests in his home near Osaka, Japan. His family robot, Pepper, entertained us with conversation and song. Then Pepper politely looked on while Matsumoto and Roger played a few games of go.

Matsumoto — who attends the U.S. Go Congress most years — also took Roger to play at the Kansai office of the Nihon Ki-in one afternoon. There were 25-30 people there that day, and Roger met some very nice local players.

While in Tokyo, we had the pleasure of a nice visit and dinner with go teacher Kazunari Furuyama, author of the E-Journal “Lessons with Kaz” series.

Thanks to the game of go, we have made some wonderful friends in the beautiful country of Japan. This was our third trip, and we visited several small towns, did a four-day pilgrimage walk, and learned about the rich history of Japan. But most of all, we enjoyed spending time with our Japanese friends. And Roger was lucky to get in some go games along the way!

Roger Schrag is a co-founder and past president of Bay Area Go Players Association. Photos by Lisa Schrag.

Categories: Traveling Go Board

The Traveling Board: Pete Schumer on the Nihon Kiin Summer Go Camp

Sunday September 18, 2016

The Nihon Kiin Summer Go Camp, an intensive training program targeted at non-Japanese go players, was held from August 21st through September 3rd at the Nihon Kiin in Tokyo. Vermont go player Peter Schumer was among those attending; here’s his report.

The 2016 Nihon Ki-in Summer Go Camp was attended by around 20 go enthusiasts from all over the world, all of whom were warmly welcomed and got to participate fully in all activities. World renowned professionals including Kobayashi Koichi 9d, Ishida Yoshio 9d, O Meien 9d, and Michael Redmond 9d gave regular lectures, went over famous games, and played several simultaneous games with the attendees. Sometimes you really had to pinch yourself that you were actually there hanging out with these stars of the go world. In addition to pro instruction, the daily routine was packed with go activities, including games, problems, tournaments, social events, and sightseeing to Kamakura, Asakusa, and Yokohama.

Camp attendees had ample opportunity to play many games throughout the two weeks, participating in goodwill matches with college students, insei, and go clubs from around the city. Notably, attendees were given the unique chance to play in the Takara Shuzo Cup, the most popular amateur go tournament in Japan, which featured over 1,400 people this year.

The night before the first game of the Meijin title match, camp participants joined go legends including Cho Chikun 9d, Cho U 9d, Takemiya Masaki 9d (at right, with Schumer), Otake Hideo 9d, Iyama Yuta 9d, and Takao Shinji 9d to enjoy a lavish reception at the 5-star rated Hotel Chinzanso. The following day they were allowed to sit in the same room as the players for a few minutes during the match itself, which was truly a special honor and very exciting.

The camp featured its own league system with participants playing against one another in a double-elimination tournament. The winner, a 4-dan from Europe, was given the honor to play a 3-stone handicap game against none other than O Meien 9d, with Michael Redmond providing live commentary.

All in all the go camp was enjoyable, highly educational, and well worth it; the price of the camp was very reasonable. The camp was a first-rate experience where you can improve your go, meet wonderful people from around the world, and get to enjoy some Japanese sites and culture.
– Edited by Brian Kirby

Categories: Japan,Traveling Go Board

The Traveling Board: Bart Jacob finds a Go Kaisho in Tokyo

Monday September 12, 2016

While in Tokyo recently on business, Bart Jacob found his way to “this very nice Go Kaisho near my hotel in Nihonbashi” where he played a couple of games with Soma-san (right). “I believe the street is shin-ohashi, near the suitengumae station and a short walk from the Royal Park Hotel.”

On his last day in Tokyo, Jacob found “very nice boards, stones and bowls” at Nakamura Goban Ten. “One special board sold for around $100,000 (Yes..that is USD). Others were in the 10,000 range. I was going to buy a set of slate and she’ll stones for $300…but they only took cash.” Store details: TEL03-3351-5360, 東京都港区新橋４丁目３１－７, TOKYOTO NINATOKU SHINBASHI 4-31-7

Categories: Traveling Go Board

The Traveling Board: The Small World of Go

Monday June 27, 2016

by Keith Arnold
As I sit down for breakfast at our hotel in Beijing, the gentlemen next to me asks “Are you Chris?” “No, my name is Keith.” “Sorry, similar face.” And I thought that was over.

But when he returned with food he tried again. “Your voice is familiar – are you AGA?”

And that is how I met Jeff Kwang 5-dan from North Carolina. The small world of go.

Longtime go player and local organizer Keith Arnold lives in Baltimore, MD.

Categories: Traveling Go Board,U.S./North America

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