NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: The letters below have been edited from correspondence sent to the E-Journal in response to the recently-published “Statement on Injustice from the AGA Code of Conduct Committee.” This note is in response to concerns raised by membership and leadership regarding publication of the letters. As editor of the E-Journal, I believe strongly that we should not ignore controversy in our community and that it’s important to have these conversations. Therefore, we publish most letters to the editor in excerpted or edited form, except where nongermane or duplicative. The E-Journal has long been a staple of the American Go community and AGA leadership often works closely with EJ staff; however, the stories within do not explicitly express the views of AGA leadership,unless otherwise noted. On this selection of letters to the editor, this distinction has been noted, and this will be made clear in all future publications of letters to the editor. – Chris Garlock, Managing Editor
“This statement and its pandering to political correctness and its virtue signaling is contemptible,” wrote Anthony Lizotte. “Go players are welcoming and decent people for the most part. Good conduct, sportsmanship and polite interactions are expected at all AGA events regardless of skin pigmentation. The AGA has limited funds and resources, please do not waste time discussing a non-existent issue. If people really feel strongly about getting more people of color to play go, it is as simple as going to a black neighborhood and starting up a go club at a school, church, or library. And this I would strongly encourage and applaud.”
“Is white not a color?” wonders Trevor Snyder. “Just say minorities if you’re going to reference a specific ethnic group. Race and ethnicity are not synonymous. Until we educate ourselves, there will always be a divide and until you can communicate appropriately there will always be ignorance. Thank you for your attempt to be mindful but please choose your language adequately.”
NOTE: The opinions expressed in letters to the editor are not necessarily those of the American Go Association.
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal
Korea dominates opening rounds of 25th LG Cup
After a gap of two months caused by the shutdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19, professional go activity resumed in Japan in June with the holding of two major events. On June 1, the 25th LG Cup King of Go, a Korean-sponsored international tournament, started its opening round. With international travel restrictions still in effect throughout north Asia, the games were played on the Net. Moreover, the 16 games were spread over three days, presumably to ensure there was no overcrowding in the local venues. This year Korean players did well in the international qualifying tournament, also held on the Net, so half of the 32 players in the first round were Korean. They were joined by nine players from China, five from Japan, and two from Chinese Taipei. Each game featured a Korean player. With 18 players last year, China scored ten wins in the first round; with two fewer players, Korea did almost as well this year, winning nine games. Japan had two more players than last year, thanks to Son Makoto and Onishi Ryuhei winning seats in the qualifying tournament, but, like Chinese Taipei, were unable to pick up a win. Onishi came closest, losing by just half a point. As an elementary-school pupil, Onishi spent some time studying in a Korean dojo, and he remembered that his opponent, Lee Taehyun, often reviewed his games for him.
In the second round, Korea won six games to China’s two, but one of the Chinese wins went to Ke Jie, so Korea won’t be counting its chickens just yet. The next round will be played in November.
Games were played at the headquarters of the respective go associations. Players were spread out to maintain social distancing and there were extra cameras, so that the opposing countries could monitor the playing room. With no opponent on the other side of the go board, players were able to dispense with their masks. The time allowance is three hours each, followed by byo-yomi of 45 seconds x five times. Komi is 6.5. There is no break for lunch.
Round 1
(June 1) Byun Sangil 9P (Korea) (W) beat Murakawa Daisuke 9P (Japan) by resig.; Kang Dongyun 9P (Korea) (W) beat Kyo Kagen 8P (Japan) by resig.; Park Junghwan 9P (Korea) (W) beat Ichiriki Ryo 8P (Japan) by resig.; Lee Donghoon 9P (Korea) (B) beat Son Makoto 7P (Japan) by resig.; Lee Taehyun 7P (Korea) (B) beat Onishi Ryuhei 5P (Japan) by half a point; Shin Minjoon 9P (Korea) (B) beat Wang Yuanjun 9P (Chinese Taipei) by resig.
(June 2) Tang Weixing 9P (China) (B) beat Kim Jiseok 9P (Korea) by resig.; Lian Xiao 9P (China) (B) beat Lee Younggu 9P (Korea) by resig.; Yang Dingxin 9P (China) (B) beat Seol Hyunjoon 5P (Korea) by resig.; Ke Jie 9P (China) (B) beat Park Kunho 4P (Korea) by resig.; Hong Kipyo 8P (Korea) (B) beat Li Xuanhao 5P by resig.
(June 3) Zhao Chenyu 8P (B) beat Choi Jeong 9P (Korea) by resig.; Ding Hao 5P (China) (W) beat Park Seunghwa 8P (Korea) by resig.; Shin Jinseo 9P (Korea) (W) beat Fan Yunro 8P (China) by resig.; Gu Jihao 9P (China) (W) beat Kim Sanghyun 2P (Korea) by 4.5 points.
Round 2 (June 5, 8)
(June 5) Kang (W) beat Tang by resig.; Lee (B) beat Lian by resig.; Shin Minjoon (B) beat Ding by resig.; Yang (W) beat Lee by resig.
(June 8) Ke (W) beat Shin Jinseo by resig.; Park (W) beat Hong by resig.; Byun (W) beat Zhao by resig.; Weon (W) beat Gu by 1.5 points.
Taking Shibano’s temperature
If official go activity as such in Japan resumed on June 1 with the LG Cup Net games, the first pre-virus old-style face-to-face game was played on June 2 and 3. This was the first game of the 75th Honinbo title match and, despite fears about too many unplayed title games piling up, it was only a couple of weeks behind schedule. It was held, as originally planned, at the Tokiwa Hotel in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, but minus all the “trimmings.” Usually securing a title-match game is a coup for a provincial city or town, and the local dignitaries and notable go players do their best to make a big occasion of it. They stage an elaborate welcome party for the players and their large “entourage” of go officials and reporters and also hold side events, such as tournaments for children, public commentaries on the title game, and sightseeing for the players. None of that took place this time, but at least the face-to-face game got played, though everyone wore masks and had their temperatures checked.
Iyama makes good start Honinbo defence
Shibano drew black in the nigiri, but the game was dominated by Iyama. He showed excellent judgment in deciding that he could afford to sacrifice a large group. Shibano resigned after 182 moves.
The second game was originally scheduled to be held in the Kokura Castle Garden in Kita-Kyushu City, but it was switched to the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo (I haven’t seen an explanation of the reason). It was played on June 13 and 14; taking black, Iyama won by resignation after 143 moves.
The third game will be played at the Takarazuka Hotel in Takarazuka City on June 22 and 23.
Iyama leads Meijin League
Iyama Yuta and Shibano Toramaru have just started their first best-of-seven title match, but the chances look good there will a second one in the autumn, as Iyama, on 5-0, has kept his sole lead in the 45th Meijin League. At present, the main threat to him would seem to be Ichiriki Ryo 8P, the only player with only one loss. However, he still has four games to go and his loss was to Iyama, so he will need outside help to catch up. Incidentally, after losing every game in the Honinbo League, Yamashita finally picked up his first win in the Meijin League. Results since my last report follow.
(June 4) Hane Naoki Gosei (W) beat Rin Kanketsu 8P by 5.5 points.
(June 8) Yamashita Keigo 9P (W) beat Cho U 9P by 11.5 points; Iyama Yuta Kisei (W) beat Hane by resig.
(June 11) Kono Rin 9P (W) beat Kyo Kagen 8P by half a point.
Kisei S League starts
The first game in the 45th Kisei S League was played on June 11. It was between the players promoted from the 44th A League. Ichiriki Ryo (W) beat Cho U by resig.
Retirement
Sanno Hirotaka 9P retired as of May 29. He was born on May 29, 1940 in Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1952, he became a disciple of Segoe Kensaku, Hon. 9P. He made 1-dan in 1957 and reached 9-dan in 1979. He reached the landmark of 500 wins in 2006. He made instruction tours of Europe and the US in 1964. He is a fan of Shusaku and contributed a number of game commentaries to “Invincible.”
“It’s not so helpful to suggest folks tune into a Twitch broadcast ‘tonight’ when the E-Journal comes out many hours after said broadcast has finished,” writes Rick Rubenstein. “Perhaps you should get into the habit of announcing these in the prior day’s journal instead.” Our apologies; that commentary — Golden Panda Cup, Iyama Yuta 9p (W) vs Mutsuura Yuta 7p (B), with Michael Redmond 9p – is available here. Tomorrow night (Sunday, June 21) at 8p EDT, Redmond will do another live commentary on the AGA’s Twitch channel, this one on a 1939 game between Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru.
Contact the Go and Math Academy at goandmath@gmail.com with any questions. This online program will be lead by Xinming Guo, AGF Teacher of the Year 2015.
Xinming Guo, AGF Teacher of the Year in 2015, will be teaching an online workshop on Go and math learning on Wednesday June 24th from 3:30 to 5:30 PM central time. The workshop is sponsored by National Louis University and Guo’s Go and Math Academy.
Candidates in the Eastern region are Justin Teng and Stephanie Yin. The contest for the At-Large seat is between Darrell Ashworth, Ted Terpstra, and Varma Ashish. Sole candidates for the central and western regions are Lisa Scott and Christian Saenz respectively. Look for your email ballots with instructions for online voting in early July.
With no US Open tournament on which to base eligibility, the AGA will hold an online qualifier to select one representative to the 15th Korea Prime Minister’s Cup, which will be held online this year (Tygem) throughout August. Any AGA amateur member who is a US Citizen and rated 6d+ may participate. Please respond to tournaments@usgo.org no later than Wednesday, June 24 to participate in the event.
The San Diego Go Club has been barred from its coffee house where it has met once a week on Tuesdays, from 7-11 p.m., for more than 25-years due to the Coronavirus, but the go players still compete. Local and more afield go players play on KGS on Tuesdays and simultaneously talk and see each other on the Discord app. The average online attendance is actually more than was showing up at the coffee house.
The Ninth Annual San Diego Go Championship was supposed to occur earlier this year, but when face-to-face competition was impossible, the club decided to have a free 5-round tournament online on KGS, in the San Diego Go Club room. Competition started three-weeks ago by 24-players (7-dan to 22-kyu) – more than half of whom are youth.. They will play one game a week for four weeks. The last round will be face-to-face whenever that is possible. There are no cash prizes, but the winner of the Open will have his name engraved on the club’s permanent plaque and win a trophy. Previous winners include Mark Lee (10-dan), Ari Saito (7-dan), Leran Zou (7-dan) and Yi Wang (6-dan).
After 3-rounds, Yixian Zhou 6d is the only undefeated player. In the Handicap section, four players remain undefeated: Anna Zhou 16k, Angelina Zhao 8k, Michael Sanders 7k, and Arunas Rudvalis 6k.
The San Diego Go Club has petitioned the AGA Board to allow this online competition to have its games AGA rated.The AGA Board is still deciding, but players are happy to have some meaningful competition none-the-less.
The 3rd annual California State Go Championship is still on the SDGC’s schedule, for the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving. If face-to-face playing is not possible by then, the tournament will be held online, so that there will be a 2020 California Go Champion as well as an U16 girl and an U16 boy Champion. Everyone can compete, but only California residents can win the titles.
The American Go Association shares the communal outrage at the inequality and injustice suffered by so many minority groups, and particularly by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Racism and racial inequality are anathema to the inclusive mission of our organization. The American Go Association stands behind its mission to foster inter-cultural and international goodwill through Go-related activities. Current events have prompted us to consider how we can be more conscious of the different experiences that shape our members’ lives, and reminded us of our priority to listen and learn from each other, and to welcome all into our community.
While we are a diverse community in many ways, we recognize that we have far more work to do to make our community equally welcoming to everyone. The experiences of people of color matter deeply to us, and we welcome any feedback so that we can learn how we can do better. The creation of the AGA Code of Conduct between 2015 and 2018 was catalyzed by the experiences that members shared with us, and we want the structure that it created to be a forum where experiences can continue to be shared in a way that helps us grow and become better as an organization. However, we realize we cannot place this burden on people of color alone. We ask every member of our community for help in becoming more aware of and addressing inequalities and injustices that exist in our community. You can contact the Code of Conduct Committee at any time at CodeofConduct@usgo.org or 240-513-7825.
We understand that words are not enough. The AGA board will take up issues of diversity and inclusion at it’s upcoming June 28 meeting, where concrete actions can be initiated to improve our organization in this regard. I am happy to present your ideas to the board as Coordinator for Diversity and Inclusion (email lisa.scott@usgo.org), or you can submit suggestions through the Code of Conduct Committee as described above. As a member you can listen into the meeting and observe the development of these initiatives in real time. You can also see a summary of the meeting in the posted minutes, available at https://www.usgo.org/board-minutes, and in the EJournal. To join the June 28 board meeting, please email lisa.scott@usgo.org for call-in information.
In the regularly scheduled May 2020 meeting of the AGA Board of Directors, the board discussed the continued impact of COVID-19 on the go community, including forthcoming recommendations to continue to minimize or adjust in person go play given COVID-19 related health concerns and re-evaluation of the possibility of rating certain online games. They also approved the 2021FY budget, discussed virtual activities that could be offered as a “mini-congress,” and reviewed a proposal for a go map application. You can find the minutes of that meeting here. You can find the minutes of the April special meeting (convened to decide whether or not to cancel the 2020 US Go congress) here. The summary of that meeting was previously published and can be found here.
The AGA Board has added an additional meeting on June 28, 2020. The topics of discussion include the annual report, online events for early August, rank certificate program, ratings, AGA privacy policy, conflict of interest policy, and long-term goals and priorities. For more information, you can find the detailed agenda here.
Are you an AGA member interested in listening in to the meeting? Please contact the Chairperson at lisa.scott@usgo.org for call-in information.
Are you interested in commenting on past board meeting minutes? You can submit your comments here, and they’ll be available to the entire board and relevant officers. Past minutes are available here.
