Monday February 20, 2023
February 25: San Francisco, CA
Guy Moreau Memorial Tournament
Matthew Barcus matt@sfgo.club 415-316-2953
February 26: Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Go Club Ratings Tournament
Soren Jaffe ohiogoschool@gmail.com 440-231-7057
Steve Zilber zilber.steve.a@gmail.com 216-632-1929
Get the latest go events information.
Monday February 20, 2023
This year’s San Diego Winter Tournament, held on February 5, began with clear skies and brisk 60 degree weather. Roughly 40 tournament attendees arrived from as far away as England to test their strength. Local club president Enrique Garcia tried to keep the atmosphere light with a plethora of breakfast snacks, but the announcement of the first round was followed by tense silence as dark clouds began to brew over the many gobans.
Competition in the open section was small but fierce: of the eight players, one was a 7-dan, and three were 6-dans. In the end, however, 7-dan Shang Zhou, who recently moved to San Diego from China to study at UCSD, took the number 1 spot, with three wins.
Meanwhile, in the handicap section, Elias Klingbeil 3D, Aaron Jones 4k and Nicholas Liddington all walked away with a perfect 3-0 record.
Other notable attendees were Eric Green Yang 2D and Jake Kim 3D. Green, who’s been playing go for about four years, won the raffle for a copy of “Invincible: the Games of Shusaku.” His favorite go server is Fox “because you can find a match so quickly.” He plays at least one game a day and would like to thank his mentor Han Han for helping him on his journey.
Jake Kim is on a mission to make a difference in the world and says he wants to use go to do it. He started the “Go for a Better World” project to help seniors fight dementia and Alzheimer’s by sharpening their minds. He’s has been playing go for five years and went 1-2 in the tournament’s open section. Contact Jake Kim at jake.kim.26@bishops.com with any questions or if you’d like to help him meet his goal.
Monday February 20, 2023
The North American Go Federation (NAGF) will hold the 2023 Pro Qualification Tournament at the San Francisco Go Club at 22 Peace Plaza #501, San Francisco, California from August 6 to 11, 2023.
The NAGF will certify one player from this tournament as a new professional player. For more information on the tournament, including eligibility requirements, please click here. Details of the competition rules and the selected contestants will be announced in May.
Any player who is eligible and interested in participating in the tournament must submit the application form by the end of April 16, 2023 to be considered for entrance.
For questions regarding this tournament, please contact the NAGF at contact@nagofed.org.
Sunday February 19, 2023
A human player has comprehensively defeated a top-ranked AI system at the board game Go, in a surprise reversal of the 2016 computer victory that was seen as a milestone in the rise of artificial intelligence.
Kellin Pelrine, an American player who is one level below the top amateur ranking, beat the machine by taking advantage of a previously unknown flaw that had been identified by another computer.
The triumph, which has not previously been reported, highlighted a weakness in the best Go computer programs that is shared by most of today’s widely used AI systems, including the ChatGPT chatbot created by San Francisco-based OpenAI.
Financial Times; click here to read more.
Sunday February 19, 2023
In a two-day, double-elimination tournament, Samuel Lee 7D defeated Edward Zhang 6D at the Seoul Kiwon Baduk club in Annandale, Virginia to become the 2022 Virginia State Champion. “Lee is a longtime player with over 50 years of experience,” Zhang said. “His sharp reading and amiable personality speak to the positive health benefits of go as a mind-sport hobby.” James Park 6D was third place and Yaming Wang 5D took fourth place. Other 2022 Virginian champions include Richard Duan, who claimed the 2022 Virginia Youth Champion title, and Mei Cai, who improved from a slow start in the 2022 Virginia Open to a 5W-4L record in in-person tournaments to become the 2022 Virginia Women’s Champion.
Since 2019, the Virginia Open has served as the preliminary round for the Virginia State Championships. In the 11th Virginia Open held in 2022, Hongkui Zheng 7D took first place while Thailand champion Karuehawanit Wichrich 8D came in second, and Xiaodi Huang 8D took third. The winners’ prize pool, partially sponsored by Virginia-based company CAFA-DC, totaled $660 and was awarded to winners across different divisions. The tournament also featured talented international players, such as Wichrich and Thailand youth star Pongsakarn Somarra, who finished sixth place with a 3W-3L record despite a twelve-hour time zone difference. The full winners’ list is available here. Shortly after the Virginia Open, Yoonyoung Kim 8P reviewed games per players’ request. The class was free for all players thanks to the AGA’s Chapter Reward program.
The Virginia Open and the Virginia State Champions were directed by by Devin Fraze and Edward Zhang with the help of Jeff Zhang and Jeremiah Donley from Ohio’s BadukHouse, and Garret Smith from the NOVA Go Club.
Listed below are a few featured games from the Virginia Open:
Round 2: Zheng def. Wichrich
Round 5: Zheng def. Zixuan Guo
Round 4: Wichrich def. Huang
photos by Mr. Chang from the Seoul Kiwon, and Edward Zhang
Report by Capital Go Club, with editing by Patrick Zhao
Sunday February 19, 2023
By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister
The main event of February was the veteran Sakata Eio’s defense of the Jūdan title against young challenger Takagi Shōichi 7d. It should be noted, in those pre-Kisei days, the Jūdan was the number three title, behind the Meijin and Hon’inbo (the Jūdan has since fallen to 7th). We see the two players engaged in the first game on February 14-15, which was won by Sakata. The veteran also won the second on the 21st and 22nd. Finally we see a triumphant Sakata after winning three straight on the 28th. (Game records: Game One, Game Two, Game Three)
On February 16-18, the 3rd Prague Handicap tournament welcomed 48 players. The handicap nature of the event is clearly established by the two players who shared the laurels – V Muller 10k and J. Lesak 20k.
Photos from Go Review, game records from SmartGoOne
Friday February 17, 2023
February 19th is the last day for early registration to the 1st New York State Championship. The two-day tournament featuring a $1,200 top cash prize will take place on Feb. 25-26, 2023 in Midtown Manhattan, New York.
Reunite with your Go friends in the six-round tournament and in evening events such as pair Go, crazy Go, and 13×13 tournaments. For more information, please visit the tournament page or contact tournaments@ny-go.org.
– Stephanie Yin, NYIG President
Monday February 13, 2023
February 18: Plano, TX
2023 South Central Go Tournament
Bob Gilman bobgilman.aga@gmail.com
February 25: San Francisco, CA
Guy Moreau Memorial Tournament
Matthew Barcus matt@sfgo.club 415-316-2953
February 26: Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Go Club Ratings Tournament
Soren Jaffe ohiogoschool@gmail.com 440-231-7057
Steve Zilber zilber.steve.a@gmail.com 216-632-1929
Get the latest go events information.
Tuesday February 7, 2023
This year’s U.S. Go Congress will take place Saturday July 8 through Sunday July 16 at Kent State University, in Kent, Ohio, near Cleveland. Almost all activities will be in the Kent Student Center. Details will be announced soon on the Congress registration website. “Volunteers are needed!” says Steve Zilber, the Cleveland Go Club president, who’s co-directing this year’s Congress with Jerry Jaffe. Email steve.zilber@gocongress.org
2023 logo created by Michael Samuel, who has designed most of the Congress logos.
Monday February 6, 2023
February 18: Plano, TX
2023 South Central Go Tournament
Bob Gilman bobgilman.aga@gmail.com
Get the latest go events information.
