Ke Jie 9P defeated Tuo Jiaxi 9P in a dramatic Game 3 Wednesday night to capture the 2016 Samsung Cup. The game featured fighting from the very beginning; you can watch Stephanie Yin 1P’s commentary on the AGA’s YouTube stream here. 
Myungwan Kim 9Ps Game 2 commentary and Yin’s Game 1 commentary are also posted.
American Go E-Journal
Ke Jie Wins Samsung Cup
Thursday December 8, 2016
Perez Wins Latin American Youth Tourney
Wednesday December 7, 2016
Abel Perez, of Venezuela, took top honors in the Liga youth tourney, held on OGS. The event is an annual tournament league for players under the age of 18 from all over Latin America. Liga started this year in April and concluded in November; 7 rounds were played each month. There were 24 players from Venezuela, México, Chile and Ecuador. Some games were reviewed by Ignacio Iglesis, a 2 dan go streamer for the Spanish speaking community, on his youtube channel Estudiando Go con Ini. The final matches in round 7 were very competitive as 4 countries had at least one player at the top boards, the winners were: 1st place- Abel Pérez, Venezuela; 2nd place: Leonardo Valdovinos, México; 3rd place: Benjamín Mimiza, Chile; 4th place: Joaquín Proaño, Ecuador; 5th place: Lilian Zavala, México. See full results here.
“The dedication and motivation of the 3 chilean players that took part at the league inspired other kids to become more engaged with go, and it’s very likely that we will have 10 players for next years’ league,” says Sebastián Montiel, Chilean go teacher at Club de Go Aonken. “This was the first time that we organized a tournament as a league system for Latin American youth, and it was quite a great success.” Co- organizer Diego Albuja, Ecuadorian go teacher at Academia de Go, told the Journal: ” I’m delighted that the league tournament concluded so satisfyingly, it depended not only on the guidance of the go instructors, but also on the commitment and will to participate of the young players, this indicates to us as organizers that there is great potential for the youth go scene in Latin America. With this league tournament a very active player in Ecuador, Joaquín Proaño leaves the youth division as he turned 18, and we are glad to see he will continue his path at go as an amateur player.”
“All our players had a rich and fun experience making connections with opponents from the Latin American region,” says Siddhartha Avila, Mexican Go teacher at Dojo de Go. “Leonardo Valdovinos played the game for the top place, even though it was intense and he came in 2nd, he learned a lot from it. Another highlight was Lilian Zavala, as there are few female players we are proud to see that she continues getting to the top places in local and regional tournaments. These kinds of online tournaments for youth are relatively new for the countries in our region, but play a key role for the development of go. Our event joins the efforts of other Latin American tournaments, like the recent 1st Pandanet Go Latin American Team Championship which kicked off with 10 teams on November 20th, or the annual online tournament “Torneo Iberoamericano de Go por Internet” which was held for the 18th time this year, with a total of 92 registered players between almost all the countries affiliated with the Iberoamerican Go Federation . -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor, with Siddhartha Avila. Photo: Club members of Chile’s Club de Go Aonken, in the computer lab at Escuela Juan Williams.
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Go Classified: Go World collections; plus books, board, stones & bowls
Wednesday December 7, 2016
Complete set of Go World Mags For Sale: Unique Xmas opportunity to get all Go World Magazines (#1 – #129) including the rare early Ishi Press issues in fine condition for $850 (as a set only, excl. shipping). Email: niwrexy@yahoo.de
Go Books, Board, Stones & Bowls For Sale: “I am interested in selling a boxful of go books (including first editions signed by Naiwei Rui and Michael Redmond), a footed 4-1/2” thick wooden board, and shell and slate stones in hand-carved Japanese wooden bowls. Interested buyers can contact: jean@dougandjean.com
“Play Games. Heal Kids.”
Wednesday December 7, 2016
Every Friday night at around 7pm EST, Skatmaker invites some friends from the local go community to his apartment to 
stream on a real board to Twitch.tv. The recurring cast on stream includes Skatmaker (40k), Devin Fraze (1D), and Thomas Cummings (~15k).
As of November, Skatmaker has been a participant in a charity event known as Extra-Life, which aims to bring together people and their love of games in order to raise money to help children facing life-threatening illnesses. “With the proceeds benefiting Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, these kids can get the medical care and attention they need at little to no cost to their families,” says Skatmaker.
Skatmaker and company have raised nearly $300 so far. The charity streams will continue throughout December, until Extra-Life 2016 ends.
Skatmaker’s Twitch channel ; Skatmaker’s Extra-Life page
photo from the Extra Life “Play Games. Heal Kids.” video
Ke Jie 9P Evens Score Against Tuo Jiaxi 9P in Samsung Final; Game 3 Decider Wednesday at 8p PST
Wednesday December 7, 2016
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.
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.”