As anyone who’s either a renewing or new AGA member knows, our online enrollment system has had a technical problem in recent months. Folks renewing their memberships or joining the AGA have encountered off-putting messages during the online process. Rest assured that everyone’s memberships are being carefully taken care of, albeit by a time-consuming manual input by our redoubtable membership team, which adds “you may disregard any error messages you receive in the process.” Our technical staff is developing a new, automated system via PayPal that they hope will be operational in the near future. “We have a new system, working software, and a plan,” our teams say. Our apologies for the glitches, our thanks for your patience, and stay tuned for updates!
American Go E-Journal
Yinli Wang up 1-0 in best-of-3 Wu Qingyuan Cup Qualifier against Gabby Su
Tuesday March 12, 2019
In Game 1 of the best-of-three Wu Qingyuan Cup Qualifier between Gabby Su (w) and Yinli Wang (b) on Tuesday night, Yinli won by resignation. The second game will be Wednesday, March 13, at 6 PM EDT in the AGA Tournament Room on KGS, with the third game, if necessary to be played Thursday. The two are competing for the final slot on the North American delegation that includes Feng Yun, Stephanie Yin, and Cathy Li. The second Wu Qingyuan Cup will be played April 26-30 in Fuzhou, China.
– Jeff Shaevel, Tournament Director
This post has been updated with the correct spelling of the Wu Qingyuan Cup.
Registration for 2019 AGHS School Team Tournament
Tuesday March 12, 2019
“Registration for the 2019 American Go Honor Society (AGHS) School Team Tournament is now open until March 31st,” says Promotion Head Melissa Cao, “This year, the K-12 tournament will be held on Sunday, April 7th and Sunday, April 14th, with two rounds per day (10 AM and 1 PM PST). In order to be eligible, teams must be an educational institution, excluding online schools. Three players are needed per team to participate and an institution is allowed to have at most five teams. Players must be under the age of 20 and cannot have graduated from high school. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams from each division.”
-Story by Lionel Zhang, EJ Youth Correspondent. Artwork by Melissa Cao, AGHS Promotion Head
2nd AGA Girls Cup Registration Now Open
Tuesday March 12, 2019
Registration for the 2nd AGA Girls Cup is now open. Modeled after the Redmond Cup, the AGA Girls Cup strives to promote go among girls and recognize the top young female players in North America. Competitors must be female, 15 or under, have an accredited rank of 10 kyu or higher, reside in the US, Canada, or Mexico, and be members of their respective national go association. The top two finishers of the online preliminary tournament will win a free trip to the 35th US Go Congress in Madison, Wisconsin to play in a best-of-three finals, courtesy of the American Go Foundation. All other competitors who complete the preliminary tournament will be eligible for a $200 scholarship to the 35th US Go Congress.
Registration is open until March 30th and the tournament will begin on April 1st. For more information about the tournament and other rules, please read the Rules and Regulations. -Story and photo by Justing Teng, AGA Youth Coordinator. Photo: Tianyi Tina Li (l) plays Melissa Cao (r) at the Girls Cup Finals in Williamsburg VA last year.
Pair Go and paella return to NGC, plus first-ever 2-day tourney
Tuesday March 12, 2019
“Our first Pair Go and Paella night was a big hit with 30 attendees,” reports Gurujeet Khalsa at the National Go Center. “We are 
doing it again on Friday March 22 at 6:30 PM (earlier start time so we can finish before last Metro).” RSVP and pre-register here. “You can register just yourself or a partner’s name as well if you already have a Pair Go partner. We’ll pair you when you come if you don’t have a partner. Mixed pairs as well as traditional M-F pairs are welcome.”
“Chris Garlock will again be making his delicious paella,” Khalsa adds. There is a $5 donation at the door to cover the food costs. “Don’t miss this fun social night!”
Registration is also open for the NGC’s first ever 2-day tournament, the Cherry Blossom on March 30-31.
photo: at last month’s first Pair Go/Paella Night; photo by Chris Garlock
Zhau Zhixun named 2019 Texas State Champion
Saturday March 9, 2019
Zhau (Troy) Zhixun 7d was named 2019 Texas State Champion after his victory in the South Central Go Tournament in Dallas on
February 15th and 16th.
Among other prizes for winning the tournament, Troy received the 2019 Texas State Championship trophy and his name will be engraved on a perpetual plaque that will include the names of Texas State Champions for each year.
Troy lives in Austin, where he’s helped develop interest in the game of go, including the founding of the Austin Go Center for teaching go to area children.
Soren Jaffe tops 5th annual Lake Erie Go Tournament
Saturday March 9, 2019
Soren Jaffe topped the March 2 Lake Erie Go Tournament. Nineteen players gathered on the Lake Erie College campus to play in
the four-round tournament. Players’ skills ranged from 5 dan to 25 kyu. The tournament was co-directed by Soren Jaffe and Catherine Swank.
Dan Division: 1st: Soren Jaffe; 2nd: Michael Stevenson; 3rd: Devin Fraze
Kyu Division: 1st: Manny Jauregui; 2nd: David Rohlfing; 3rd: John Bacon
Stephanie and Ryan’s YouTube channel marks milestone, offers challenge
Saturday March 9, 2019
Launched almost a year ago, Stephanie Yin 1P and Ryan Li’s YouTube channel, NYIG_Go, has now passed the 2,000 subscriber
mark. To celebrate that milestone, as well as the approach of the channel’s launch anniversary, they’ll be offering free teaching games on as soon as 
they reach their goal of 5,000 subscribers. The popular duo, who run the New York Institute of Go, recently doubled their output to two videos each week. The videos cover a wide range of topics, from 30k-7d “Common Joseki” to “Best Moves and Monthly Mistakes” to “Go Fighting Strategies #1”. “We’d like to thank everyone for being so supportive,” said Yin. “To celebrate, we decided to offer ten free teaching games to our viewers if we reach our goal. Leave us a comment or question to any video to enter the draw!”
Team of four North American women players needed for Wu Qingyuan Cup
Monday March 4, 2019
American and Canadian women players 5D and stronger are invited to submit their names by March 5 for a chance to represent North America in the second Wu Qingyuan Cup, to be played April 26-30 in Fuzhou, China. North America and Europe have each been invited to send a team of four players, pro or amateur, to the event. The standard AGA and CGA eligibility rules will apply. The tournament will continue with semifinals in November for the top finishers. Please submit to tournaments@usgo.org with questions or your entry.
Registration open for World Youth Goe Tourney
Monday March 4, 2019
The Ing Foundations annual World Youth Goe Championship will be held in Xian, China, July 22-27, and registration for the preliminaries is now open, reports Mingjiu Jiang 7P. “The tournament is open to US citizens, resident in the US for at least 6 of the past 12 months; Senior Group (Age 12—15) Junior Group (Age under 12). Players cannot attend in the same group more than twice in 3 years, for instance, if you obtain the seat this year, you cannot join the US team again for 3 years,” says Jiang.The qualifier games will be played on KGS, with Ing rules, 1 hour 3/30 each. Skype video call will be required for all games. “We will pick the top four players of each group,” said Jiang. The final winner of each group will be invited to play this year’s Ing’s World Youth Cup in China. The qualifier will be Mar. 23 and 24. At 9:00am PST and 1:00pm PST. To register email mingjiu7p@hotmail.com or call (650-796-1602) by Mar.17, 2019. Please include your name, date of birth, rank, KGS ID, phone number and address. – Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor. Photo: Last year’s team, Elwin Li, Mingjiu Jiang, and Melissa Cao. Photo by Mingjiu Jiang.