American Go E-Journal

The Midwest Open Tournament on March 12-13 attracted 53 players from throughout the region, from home state Ohio, as well as Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and even Virginia. This was the second edition of the event, the first having taken place in January 2020, just before the pandemic.

The Midwest Open was held at the new Yokoso Center in Columbus’s Japan Marketplace, and participants were greeted with custom, high-quality name tags and a welcome by the Columbus Kyoto Ensemble, who kicked things off with a performance of Japanese music in traditional kimono dress. 

The Open Division, consisting of 16 players, was a traditional bracket system of four intense rounds. The Main Division featured an innovative “Arena Style” pairing: participants were paired for the first round by the tournament director, but the remainder of the games were self-paired and managed with custom software, which will be available soon to organizers via Baduk.club. This allowed players to take breaks and manage their own availability, get food as needed, and record their games using the software app. Division winners all received medals, and the Open winners were able to select among rare, high-value go-related prizes. Albert Yen swept the section; click here for his analysis of his Round 2 game.

Sunday morning also saw the final match of the Ohio State Championship, a lively showdown between a father and son. The winner, Soren Jaffe, was crowned Ohio State Champion.

Organizers extended special thanks “to all the members of the Baduk House, who assisted greatly to the success of the tournament.” To learn more about the Baduk House residency program and volunteering for future events, click here. See below for the winners list, and information about the tournament—and next year’s Open—is available here.

• reporting/photos by Devin Fraze, edited by Hailey Renner. TD/Open winners photo (below left) by Eva-Dee Beech.
  

Ohio State Champion: Soren Jaffe

Juggernaut Award (most games and most wins): Jamin Kochman

Open: 1st Albert Yen; 2nd Edward Zhang; 3rd Alex Qi

Dan: 1st Shawn Ray; 2nd Jerry Jaffe; 3rd Mitchell Schmeisser
High SDK: 1st Dylan Jian; 2nd David Rohlfing; 3rd Manny Juargegui
Low SDK: 1st Richard Crawley; 2nd Angelo Di Lorenzo; 3rd Steven A Zilber
High DDK: 1st Joe Miller; 2nd Kara Ray; 3rd Winston Yan
Low DDK: 1st Jamin Kochman; 2nd Paul Mendola; 3rd Abhinav Gadde

For more than a year now, 2021 California Go Champion Kevin Yang 7d has been playing games against challengers online. The two players immediately analyze the game afterwards, while San Diego Go Club (SDGC) members watch and learn. This has been a volunteer project for Kevin ever since he started high school.

Any AGA member who would like to challenge Kevin to an even or handicap game can do so at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays on KGS (SDGC room). If more than one challenger would like to play, the higher rated player is usually given the game. Or a player can email Ted.Terpstra@gmail.com to reserve a specific Tuesday.

As a special incentive/bonus, if a player beats Kevin, she will be sent a San Diego Go Club T-shirt.

Ted Terpstra, San Diego Go Club

by Paul Goodman 2D

The first wave of Japanese immigration to San Francisco came after the Civil War, in 1869. Legend has it that in the 1880’s a group of Japanese fisherman wanted a place to play go, and founded the San Francisco Go Club. That story may be apocryphal, but the club is certainly the oldest in North America. In 1936, the Nihon Kiin was so impressed that it made the club its first overseas chapter.

Since then the peripatetic club has had six homes. Our newest, and by far the nicest, had its official opening on March 19, with a three-game tournament and a grand opening party. Our new home is located in San Francisco’s Nihonmachi (Japan Town) in a spacious and comfortable suite in the Japan Center next to the Kabuki Hotel.

The past two years have been difficult, but with the help of many people — especially the vision of Matthew Barcus, the energy of Mishal Awadah, and the financial foresight of Aaron Rosen — an empty storefront has been transformed into a warm, comfortable, inviting place to enjoy a game of go. We have new furniture and equipment for playing, a small kitchen area for snacking, and a comfortable lounge area for shmoozing. The walls are decorated with historical mementos of the club, including a calligraphy by Honinbo Shusai from 1936 commemorating the acceptance of the club into the Nihon Kiin. 

And let’s not forget the enticing sounds and smells wafting into the club from Nihonmachi, where in between games you and your friends can enjoy some ramen or sushi.

About forty people participated in the 3-game tournament at the grand opening. The tournament winner in the Dan Division was Jay Chan who walked away with a $150 prize as well as a seat at the 3-person simultaneous table with Hajin Lee (4P) on April 23 at the club. Tied for 2nd place in the Dan Division were Yuelun Yang, James Lou, Jason He, Cole Pruitt, and Lukasz Lew. In the Kyu Division four people tied for first: Yunyen Lee, Youchen Zhao, Joseph Marino, and Keelan Gardner 

We’re a friendly bunch, so if you’re ever in San Francisco, do come to the club. Everyone is welcome, beginners to experts. Even better, become a member: help support go in San Francisco and keep the tradition alive. Check the club website for information about membership and playing times.

We’re very pleased to offer E-Journal readers a special bonus today: a hot-off-the-boards game commentary by regular Member’s Edition (ME) contributor Albert Yen. ME subscribers receive these weekly commentaries and problems by from a team of pros and top amateurs that includes Michael Redmond, Yilun Yang, Guo Juan, Kaz Furuyama, Yuan Zhou and Albert Yen. Click here to find out more about other benefits of joining the AGA, including participating in local and national tournaments, the national rating system and in the annual US Go Congress – the largest go event in North America – at member rates.

Today’s game commentary — The “broken ladder” game — is by Albert Yen, who swept last weekend’s Midwest Open 4-0. For this game review we also have comments from his opponent, Eric Yoder, so readers can see perspectives from both players. We hope you enjoy it and again, please consider joining the AGA to get Member’s Edition content every week! Speaking of which, ME subscribers are receiving the game records for Albert’s Round 1, 3 and 4 games, as well.

Midwest Open, Round 2
White: Albert Yen 8d
Black: Eric Yoder
Commentary: Albert Yen

The American Go Association’s Board of Directors has announced that it’s now accepting applications from members of the American go community for the post of AGA President. A brief functional description of the position can be found here.

“The position involves a lot of work and a lot of responsibility,” says outgoing President Andy Okun, “but also the opportunity to join with the board, the chapters, and the members of the AGA to build a remarkable future for our game and our organization.”

Interested members should email a statement of candidacy and a CV to the AGA Presidential Search Committee at president-search-committee@usgo.org by April 15, 2022. Qualified candidates will be sent a preliminary questionnaire to submit for further review.