Ke Jie 9P evened the score in the Samsung Cup final Tuesday, defeating Tuo Jiaxi 9p to take the match to a Game 3 decider Wednesday night. Stephanie Yin 1P will be commenting the game, starting at 8p PST on the AGA’s YouTube and 
Twitch channels. Myungwan Kim 9p’s AGA YouTube commentary on Game 2 has been posted.
American Go E-Journal
Ke Jie 9P Evens Score Against Tuo Jiaxi 9P in Samsung Final; Game 3 Decider Wednesday at 8p PST
Wednesday December 7, 2016
Drake Hands Schmidt the Reins for Portland Tournament
Tuesday December 6, 2016
After running the annual Portland, Oregon tournament for more than ten years, Peter Drake has retired as tournament 
director, and AGA Treasurer Roy Schmidt has agreed to take over the reins.
Drake, an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Lewis & Clark College, researched computer go since arriving in 2002. With the success of AlphaGo, he is moving on to other topics. “It would have been nice if I had had a paper on the cover of Nature,” he joked, “but at least I was cited, so I’ve made some contribution to the downfall of humanity.” He said that he will certainly continue playing, but now it’s purely for enjoyment and not directly part of his work.
This year’s tournament, held October 15-16 at the scenic college, involved 23 players from around the Pacific Northwest. Stormy weather outside echoed the intense battles on the boards.
Shohei Jinno 6D won the top division, winning all five of his rounds. The next three bands were won respectively by Eugene Zhang 2D, Gordon Castanza 9k, and Olin Waxler 28k. With a 5-0 record, Waxler also won the prize for best youth player. April Hersey 11k, a former president of the Lewis & Clark Go Club, won the prize for best female player.Thanks to generous donations, there were enough prizes that everyone could take home something. The first prizes snapped up were a hardbound copy of Relentless: Lee Sedol vs Gu Li and a nice pair of wooden bowls.
photos: (top right) group photo; (bottom left) Olin Waxler vs April Hersey
Editor’s note: we apologize for the delay in posting this report; Peter Drake sent it in promptly in October but we somehow overlooked it.
Editor’s note: we apologize for the delay in posting this report; Peter Drake sent it in promptly in October but we somehow overlooked it.
Mason Go Club Hosts Second Tourney on Thanksgiving Weekend
Tuesday December 6, 2016
The Mason Go Club of Ohio hosted its second annual go tournament on November 26. This year, in order to encourage 
participation, adults and youth were rewarded separately in each of the three divisions. In Division A, John Davis (5D) of Louisville, Kentucky won adult first place and visiting student Binyun Wang (5D) from China won youth first place. Winners in other divisions include Jerry Qiu (youth Division B), Chris Martin (adult division B), Yeming You (youth division C) and George Meng (adult division C).
The event reached its climax when younger players from the local school go class joined the tournament in the afternoon, playing some fun mini games. Those younger kids weren’t quite ready for a full tournament, but they were encouraged to participate in the event. The youngest player was 5 years old, Zach Li.
The event was generously sponsored by the Confucius Institute of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. The 2017 event is tentatively scheduled for August of next year, according to event organizer Frank Luo.
photos/collage by Frank Luo
photos/collage by Frank Luo
Cuba to Host International Conference of Mind Sports in May 2017
Tuesday December 6, 2016
With Cuba in world headlines in the wake of the death of Fidel Castro comes the news that the island nation will host a 
International Conference of Mind Sports in May 2017. The event runs May 3-6 and is hosted by the University of Camagüey and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation. There will be a go competition in addition to the presentation of scientific papers. Those interested in attending may contact the program organizing committee President, Dr. C. Lázaro A. Bueno Pérez, at lazaro.bueno@reduc.edu.cu. The University has asked Michelle Cohen’s travel agency to facilitate travel for the conference; details on her website here and a brochure on the conference is here.”
“This will be a great opportunity to play go at an international event and to see something of Cuba,” says Bob Gilman, AGA Executive VP who traveled to Cuba in 2013 and 2015. ” I enjoyed seeing Camaguey on my 2015 trip. Regulations on travel to Cuba by US citizens have liberalized but are still complex. I would recommend checking the status of these regulations sometime next year after it has become clear what the next administration will be doing as regards Cuba travel.”
Tuo Jiaxi 9P Wins Samsung Cup Game 1; Game 2 Tuesday at 8p PST
Tuesday December 6, 2016
Tuo Jiaxi 9p won the first game in the best-of-three Samsung Cup final against Ke Jie 9p. Stephanie Yin 1p’s AGA YouTube commentary on Monday night’s game has now been posted. Myungwan Kim 9p will be providing commentary on
Game 2 on Tuesday, starting at 8p PST on the AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels.
AlphaGo a Finalist for Science “Breakthrough of the Year”
Tuesday December 6, 2016
AlphaGo is a People’s Choice finalist for Science’s “Breakthrough of the Year.” The stunning win by the go AI over Lee Sedol earlier this year was a top choice in the first round of voting as one of the most momentous scientific developments of
the year.
“We’ve just finished one round of voting with more than 11,000 votes tallied,” say Science editors, who will also release their list of top picks later this month. “Now it’s time to make your voice heard again. Choose your winner from among the five finalists. Cast your vote today, and check back on December 22 to see how your choice stacks up against ours.”
Samsung Cup Finals on AGA’s YouTube This Week
Monday December 5, 2016
The AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels will cover the Samsung Cup finals this week. Coverage of the match between world
#1 Ke Jie 9p and Tuo Jiaxi 9p will start at 8p PST, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Dec. 5-7th). This week a new professional will join the AGA team: Stephanie Yin 1p. Yin will comment on the first game on Monday and the final game on Wednesday (if the match goes all three games). Myungwan Kim 9p will be providing commentary on the second game on Tuesday.
Kim Sooyoung and Park Jongwook of Korea Win Amateur Pair Go Championship
Sunday December 4, 2016
A Korean pair won this year’s 27th International Amateur Pair Go Championship in Tokyo, besting a Taiwanese team in the 
finals. Kim Sooyoung and Park Jongwook of Korea beat Pai Shin-Hui and Huang Wei of Taiwan. Pai and Huang had paved the way, however, by beating a strong Chinese pair in round one of the 32-pair five round event. The US team of Jeremy Chiu and Gabriella Su (right) ended with a solid 3-2 record, losing in rounds one and three to a Japanese pair and the team from China, but beating Germany and Austria before facing a strong Russian pair, Grigorii Fionin and Elvina Kalsberg, also 2-2, in the final round. In the 3rd edition of the World Students Pair Go Championship, North American pair Amira Song of Canada and Andrew Zalesak of North Carolina went 1-3, beating the Mexican pair but failing to beat the percentages in their other games against a Japanese pair and not one, but two, Korean university pairs. A Japanese pair took first.
– report by Andy Okun (standing in photo); photo by Thomas Hsiang
AlphaGo a Top Contender for “Breakthrough of the Year”
Saturday December 3, 2016
AlphaGo is a top contender for the 2016 “Breakthrough of the Year” in Science’s annual survey of momentous scientific 
discoveries, developments, or trends. Voting continues through Sunday, December 4; click here to vote. At 14%, “AI Ups its Game” is second only to “Human embryos in a dish,” with 20% response, narrowly leading “Ripples in spacetime” with 13%. After voting closes on Sunday, a second round of voting will be conducted with the 5 finalists to pick the official winner, and the People’s Choice selection, along with Science editors’ pick, will be announced on December 22.
Maui Go Club Hosts First Rating Tourney
Saturday December 3, 2016
The Maui Go Club held its first rating tournament on November 19 in Wailuku HI. Five members participated in five rounds
of play where the ranks of many of the players was formally set for the first time. Play strengths ranged from 13k to 5k. “Not too bad for a club that was only formed in 2015,” reports Danny Topp. The number of AGA members also increased from one to five as a result of holding the tournament.
photo (sitting l-r) Danny Topp and Jason Coughlin; (standing l-r): Ruby Truly, Ty Nakama, Andrew Walker and Konoa Stevens