This year three American Go Association (AGA) regional Board of Director seats are in play for the Eastern, Western, 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 region in which the member resides and must be received by June 15, 2017. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click h
American Go E-Journal
Shubert hands KGS over to new management
Wednesday May 3, 2017
KGS founder Bill Shubert has handed over management of KGS — the largest Western-based international go server in the
world — to a new team. “Building and running KGS was incredibly exciting, and I’m very proud of how popular it is and how many people enjoy and use it every day,” said Shubert in a recent post. “But in recent years I haven’t been able to give KGS the attention and effort that it deserves. I’m thrilled that the AGF and the new KGS management team are ready to take it over! With their resources and skills we can all expect great changes for KGS.” The American Go Foundation has assumed stewardship of the server, and, according to the post, plans to stabilize it financially and support the upgrades needed to make KGS even more accessible and more usable to the go world.
“We’d like to thank Bill for his contribution to the game of Go and the Go community in the years he’s dedicated to this service,” said the KGS admin team, comprised of head Administrator Akane Negishi (KGS sweety), Lee Schumacher (KGS lelliot), who will handle KGS operations and Oren Laskin (KGS oren), who will focus on development. “We hope to continue to uphold his high standards and continue to make KGS the best go server.”
“This is a big moyo move for the AGF.” said AGF President Terry Benson. “To reach more kids and more players we need to build the community of online players into a force to spread the game.”
Cuban Mind Sports Conference gets underway
Wednesday May 3, 2017
by Roy Laird
The first Cuban Mind Sports Conference got underway today (Wednesday) in Camaguey, the island’s second largest city, at the Santa Cecilia Conference Center in the Plaza de los Trabadores under the auspices of the University of Camaguey. Under the watchful gaze of several images of Che Guevara, seventy or so participants assembled for the kickoff. Dr. 
Lazaro Bueno, the principal organizer, introduced Thomas Hsiang, the Executive Director of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), which helped to sponsor the event. Dr. Hsiang explained the rigorous criteria for admission to IMSA, and reviewed recent developments such as the University-Industry Cooperative Program, through which anyone who achieves dan level in go is guaranteed a job. The university, where the program began, now partners with more than 30 local businesses. After a brief discussion of Chinese go, Dr. Hugo Beltre spoke about various orthopedic injuries he has treated in many mind sports competitors, possibly the first such presentation at a mind sports conference. After a lunch break, the afternoon was devoted to a Cuban – American informal friendship matchup, and a demonstration of contract bridge.
To this observer, Cuba seems to be a remarkably friendly and welcoming place. I am staying at a “Casa Familiar,” a very picturesque small hotel with seven rooms, a rooftop bar, and its own restaurant. Prices are almost embarrassingly low. My lovely room is only $40 per night, and I found a decent slice of pizza for about $.25. At the same time, there are surprising challenges. No Internet, and some wireless phone plans do not work here. You have to purchase a card and be in the right place to use it. But that adds to the charm – no Internet dishes, no cell towers, and forget about any chain restaurant you have ever heard of. There are two separate currencies, with similar denominations, but one is worth 25 times the other, so keeping them straight is important. Fortunately, the unfailingly honest and helpful Camagueyans were always eager to help. The streets, often barely wide enough for one car, twist and wind through the city, but the downtown area is small and easy to learn. Street traffic includes bicycles, pedicabs, horse-drawn carts, and a few cars now and then, many of them vintage autos from the 1950s. On a nighttime walk, I felt quite safe. Many buildings that seemed abandoned during the day turned out to be occupied, and the residents had thrown their doors and windows wide open. In many cases they could have reached out and shaken my hand as I passed without getting up. A group of perhaps 50 people had gathered in a side street, listening quietly as a middle-aged woman spoke passionately to them. When I passed by later on my way home, they were still there.
The conference continues tomorrow and Friday, and appears to be a harbinger of great things to come, in Camaguey and perhaps throughout Cuba. Dr. Bueno told us that the university plans to begin a serious program of research into the benefits of competitive games. Considering Cuba’s prominence in the world of chess, it seems likely that we can expect great things from our neighbor to the south. The next time there’s an event in Cuba, sign up if you can!
AGA Master Review Series, Games 29 and 50
Wednesday May 3, 2017
Game 29: Jennie Shen 2p, hosted by Andrew Jackson, translates Meng Tailing 6p’s commentary and adds her own analysis
of Master’s (AlphaGo) 29th game. In this game, Master plays white against Mi Yuting 9p. Click here for the video.
Game 50: Michael Redmond 9P, hosted by American Go E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock, takes a look at another Ke Jie-Master game. In this game, Redmond says, “Ke Jie tries Master’s moves on the AI: up to Black 13, this is actually the same fuseki as in Game 20, with Master as Black and Park Junghwan as White. Ke Jie plays Master’s moves with Black, maybe to see how Master is going to handle it.” Click here for the video.
4th Mind Sports Championship to be held this August
Tuesday May 2, 2017
The Qatari Tourism Authority and the Mind Sports Academy will co-host the 4th Mind Sports Championship this August in 
Doha, Qatar, writes Michael Fodera. In addition to go, the event features scrabble, chess, and E-sports.
The go portion of the event has a similar structure to the US and European Go Congresses, including a week-long main tournament from 9a to 1p each day, with a break in the middle of the week for a 3-round Diehard Tournament. Pro workshops, lectures, and simultaneous games are held in the afternoons, with evening activities featuring a 9×9, 13×13, blitz, and pair go tournaments. An Awards Ceremony will be held at the end of the tournament, featuring over $40,000 in cash and prizes. Click here for a full schedule and registration details.
“If you’re a diehard go player, a fan of a variety of Mind Sports, or even just looking for a new travel destination, this event has you covered,” says Fodera. For questions about the event, contact Fodera at mdf116@gmail.com.
Eric Lui 1P wins first National Go Center tournament
Sunday April 30, 2017
Eric Lui 1P swept the first tournament held at the brand-new National Go Center in Washington, DC. The Cherry Blossom
Festival Go Tournament was held on Saturday, April 29, with a field of 48 comfortably breaking in the new Center, which just opened Friday. “Everyone played well,” Lui said, “especially Jiang Xinying in the second round, who I had a lot of trouble with; she played very tough.” The final round against Zhaonian Chen was also an exciting match, with a rapid flurry of complicated moves at the end as Lui’s overtime periods steadily slipped away but in the end Chen came up short on points and had to resign, leaving Lui with a perfect 4-0 record. The Board 1 games were all broadcast live on KGS and the last two games were streamed on the AGA’s Facebook page.
photo: Mr Dan from the Nihon Kiin watches final at National Go Center between Eric Lui (right) and Zhaonian (Michael) Chen; photo by Chris Garlock
Winner’s Report
First place: Eric Lui, 1P, 4-0; Qingbo Zhang, 5D, 3-1; Yanqing Sun, 3D, 3-1; Quinn Baranowski, 1D, 4-0; Isaac Weiner, 2K, 3-1; Anderson Barreal, 7K, 4-0; Brandon Sloan, 8K, 4-0; Lewis Reining, 13K, 2-2
Second place: Zhaonian Chen, 7D*, 3-1; James Pinkerton, 5D, 3-1; Benjamin Armitage, 2D, 2-2; Nathan Epstein, 1D, 2-2; Jiayang Su, 1K, 2-2; Zhao Zhao, 5K and Patrick Sun, 5K, 2-2 (tie); Joon Lee, 10K, 2-2; Dennis Ting, 16K, 2-2
* (AGA policy is that top amateur rank is 7D, consistent with international practice, even if the AGA rating is 8D). Note that NOT present at the award presentation were: Zhaonian Chen, Jiayang Su, Lewis Reining, and Dennis Ting.
2017 Cherry Blossom Round 1: Chou-Chen
2017 Cherry Blossom Round 2: Chen-Huang
2017 Cherry Blossom Round 3: Huang-Lui
2017 Cherry Blossom Round 4: Lui-Chen
AGA Master Review Series, Game 33: Gu Li 9p [W] vs. Master [B]
Sunday April 30, 2017
“This game against Gu Li features 3 of Master’s favorite moves, Black 5, 7, and 11,” says Michael Redmond 9P in his latest commentary with American Go E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “While playing opening moves that seem to 
indicate a big moyo strategy, Master doesn’t seem to be trying to surround, but goes more for control of the flow of play.”
National Go Center opens “a very good place to play go”
Friday April 28, 2017
The new National Go Center opened Friday in Washington DC with an afternoon event featuring a ribbon-cutting and speeches by 
dignitaries from as far away as Japan and as near as Northwest DC. Festivities continue today with a tournament starting at 9a (be there by 8:30 to register; follow the Board 1 action live on KGS) and then at 7p tonight a Member’s Access event that includes pianist Haskell Small and another pianist performing Small’s “A Game of Go,” an original composition inspired by a famous game by the legendary Shusaku. Michael Redmond and Chris Garlock will then do a commentary on one of the new games by Master/AlphaGo reprising their roles as commentators on the historic AlphaGo match a year ago.
Center Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa welcomed the assemblage and American Go Association president Andy Okun called the opening — attended by a full house — “very heartening” and said that “it’s clear that DC has risen to the challenge of building a community and a sustainable institution.” The Go Center, Okun declared, “is going to be e very good place to play go.”
American Go Foundation — and former AGA president — Terry Benson reminded the attentive audience of the long history of Japanese support for American go, noting that “JAL sponsored our first US Championship,” and that Japan’s Go Review was the primary source of go news and instruction in the 1960’s. He also pointed out that “the first U.S. Go Congress was held not far from here and was 
organized by some of the same folks who have now helped found this National Go Center.” Benson showed a go fan autographed with “strong heart” by Kajiwara and, choking up slightly, said that “go is not just a game for us, it’s something that can be so much more. The Go Center will be a crossroads for the world and that’s just what Iwamoto would have wanted.”
Nihon Ki-in chairman Hiroaki Dan (right, in photo at left, with Khalsa) — who flew in from Japan just for the opening — and Iwamoto North American Foundation Executive Director Thomas Hsiang (via recorded message) offered their hearty congratulations on the Center’s opening and wished the organizers well. Mr Dan noted that the Nihon Ki-In “is over 90 years old but go has been played in Japan for over 1,000 years and our goal is to help spread it throughout the world.” Also speaking were Mark Hitzig, Executive Director of the Japan-American Society of Washington and the Japan’s Deputy Chief of Mission Atsuyuki Oike, who said that “The go board is a universe of the entire world.”
After officially opening the Center with a ribbon-cutting, everyone headed up to the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre in Silver Spring for a special private screening of the brand-new documentary “AlphaGo,” fresh from its world premiere last Friday at the Tribeca Film festival in New York City, after which many of the players, energized by the epic 2016 Lee Sedol-AlphaGo match, headed back to the NGC to play go.
– report/photos by Chris Garlock
Six Days of Outreach in Seattle
Friday April 28, 2017
The Seattle Go Center conducted back to back outreach efforts, first at the Sakura Con Anime and Manga event, April 14-16, and then for the Cherry Blossom Festival of Japanese Culture, April 21-23. Two volunteers, John Richards and David Snow, put in a total of more than 70 hours at the two events. Many other Go Center members contributed as well, with at least 15 volunteers giving instruction and playing teaching games at Sakura Con. On the Tuesday following the Cherry Blossom Festival, 6 new players came to the Seattle Go Center, showing that we had made some new friends.
Top photo: Sakura Con 13×13 winner Ivan Check with TD Daniel Top; Bottom: Teaching games at Cherry Blossom. report/photos by Brian Allen
AGA Master Review Series, Game 35: Master [W] vs. Jiang Weijie 9p [B]
Saturday May 6, 2017
“The new moves that Master plays are often hard to understand, but Master makes them work,” says Michael Redmond 9p in this video commentary, hosted by
Chris Garlock of the AGA E-Journal, of the thirty-fifth game of Master (AlphaGo). In this game, Master plays white against Jiang Weijie 9p. “In this analysis I attempt to explain two unusual corner sequences.” Jiang Weijie won the LG cup in 2012, after taking several Chinese titles.
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