LA’s BEST, an award-winning after-school program serving 194 high-needs elementary schools in the Los Angeles 
Unified School District, is establishing go programs in 12 schools, according to AGA President Andy Okun and LA’s BEST Director of Education Stela Oliveira. “For those of us who have seen how captivating, fun, and beneficial go is for little kids, this is an incredible chance to spread the benefits of the game and bring something new and exciting to a bunch of students,” said Okun. The program started over the summer with a trial run at two elementary schools, Latona and Lareto. Aside from providing equipment and sets of Hikaru no Go, the AGA and the AGF also provided teacher training, led by former AGF teacher of the year Vincent Eisman, who held a small training in June and a larger one in late September. The AGF is providing continuing support through the school year as well. To donate money to help cover training costs and equipment expenses click here.
American Go E-Journal
LA After-School Program to Roll Out Go to a Dozen Schools
Sunday September 29, 2013
Still Time to Sign Up for Pandanet-AGA City League
Saturday September 28, 2013
Chapter News: Gotham’s Efficient Play
Saturday September 28, 2013
Gotham Go Group organizer Peter Armenia’s recent email to New York City go players was a model of efficient play, 
celebrating a club success, promoting an upcoming tournament and urging membership in the AGA.
“Well it’s that time of year again,” Armenia reported in an email with the subject line “The Benefits of Membership.” “It was early October, 2011 that I put out the word that regular weekly Go would be returning to New York City. We have been going strong at the Hungarian Pastry Shop ever since, regularly getting between 12 and 20 players every week. On top of that: We had a very successful first Gotham Go Tournament last January with nearly 60 players; And another coming up in October! Click here to register; And the US Go Congress is coming to NYC next year!
“One thing I did that October is register with the American Go Association as an AGA affiliated club,” Armenia continued. “Not only does this help our club get noticed, it also supports Go in the United States. It only costs $35/year for our club, which I pay out of pocket (small donations from members are certainly welcome but not required). If you are a lapsed member of the AGA I urge you to renew today. If you have never have been a member of the AGA I urge you to take advantage of a special half price offer they have through our chapter. This is a special discount offered through our chapter club (the 
Gotham Go Group). Note:If you want to get this discount, send me an email and I will email you the discount voucher to use on the AGA website. And remember, to play in the upcoming tournament you need to be a member of the AGA, so join today.”
Other chapters are welcome to adapt this model to help build their own local clubs and the AGA, Armenia tells the E-Journal. “The more each chapter succeeds the more we all succeed,” he says. “It’s important to keep things simple, consistent, and to make coming out to play go easy and enjoyable. Do what you can to make a community around your go club.”
photo: Armenia (right) at the January 2013 Gotham Tournament; photo by John Pinkerton
Go Spotting: “So simple, yet so deep”
Saturday September 28, 2013
“This is the pinnacle of game design. So simple, yet so deep.” “This was on the front page of (Reddit’s) r/gaming today,” 
reported djedi25 on September 28. “Expect a spike in go searches! There’s also a discussion going on here”
Liqun Liu 7D Prevails at Triangle Memorial Tournament
Friday September 27, 2013
The Triangle Go Group hosted its 2013 tournament in an autumn outdoor setting at the Umstead State Park in Cary, 
North Carolina on Sept 21. Following tradition, the 30 participants were treated to a picnic lunch and all the entry fees were returned to the players as prize money. As dusk settled on the final game to be completed, Liqun Liu 7D topped perennial champion Changlong Wu 7D in a showdown for the Open Section championship. The A section (1D-2k) was swept by Seth Cardew, also with a perfect 4-0 record, with Brian Wu 3-1 placing second. In the B section (6-11k) Kerianne Squitire, Andrew Zhang, and Alvin Chen tied with scores of 3-1. Finally section C (14k+) was swept by Justin Zhang 4-0, with Colin Zhang, playing in his first tournament, finishing second with 3-1.
– report/ photo by Charles Alden; photo: photo, tournament winner Liqun Liu (seated, right) faces Jeff Kuang in the third round as Eric Zhang and Frank Salantrie observe.
4th Euro Online Team Championship Under Way
Friday September 27, 2013
C, followed by the first A-League round on September 24. This year 32 national teams — a record number — will compete, with Greece and Iceland entering for the first time in League C, which now comprises 12 teams.– Report by Tony Collman, British correspondent for the EJ. Graphic courtesy Pandanet home page.
Why Doesn’t the West Play Go?
Friday September 27, 2013
Why isn’t go more popular in the West? That question has preoccupied go author and scholar Peter Shotwell for decades.
Shotwell’s recently published “appendix” on the subject — appended to his ongoing “Origins of Go” study — is entitled Why the West Plays Chess and the East Plays Go: How Classical Chinese and Ancient Western Grammars Shaped Different Strategies of War, Weiqi and Chess. Shotwell examines his idea that the presence or absence of abstract nouns, the verb “to be” and other linguistic features developed and shaped the philosophies and resulting different strategic thinking of early Greece and Classical China. He provides the historical background of how and why this happened and concludes with an examination of the Thirty-six Strategies that encapsulate the strategic yin thinking of Chinese generals like Sunzi (right) and weiqi players of the Han dynasty, along with a short discussion of the reasons for the fall of the Qin dynasty. The full article is 274 pages, or you can download a 16-page summarizes of the most significant findings here.
Your Move/Readers Write: Status of the AGA Rating System?
Thursday September 26, 2013
“What’s the status of the AGA rating system?” wonders EJ reader — and AGA member — Brady Daniels. “ It seems updates have become scarce recently, and I’m sure your readers would love to know why, and what solution is planned. Shouldn’t ratings be updated after every weekend tournament, or at least, say, twice a month?”
Provided that tournaments report complete and accurate results, the ratings are currently updated at least twice a month. Email ratings@usgo.org if you have other ratings-related questions or comments.
Ancient City of the Phoenix Cup: Chen Yaoye vs. Park Junghwan
Thursday September 26, 2013
Every other year since 2003, a top Chinese and top Korean player play an exhibition match in Fenghuang City, China. The grand prize is 400,000 RMB (approximately $65,000 USD) and the runner up receives 280,000 RMB. What makes the Ancient City of the Phoenix Cup unique are the 361 human go stones (left) that mimic the game on a 31.7 x 31.7 meter board.
This year, Chinese player Chen Yaoye 9p defeated Korean player Park Junghwan 9p by 14.5 points in a 50 minute sudden-death match. White (Chen), favored in the opening, took a lead after two major ko fights, and stayed ahead until the end after 298 moves. For more information on this year’s Ancient City of the Phoenix Cup including game record and photos, please visit Go Game Guru.
— Annalia Linnan, based on a longer article by Go Game Guru
Gotham Tourney Filling Up
Wednesday September 25, 2013
“If you haven’t yet registered for the upcoming Gotham Go Tournament on October 12th, you may want to do it soon as space is
limited,” reminds organizer Peter Armenia. Register online. “There will be generous cash prizes in all sections, and goodies for all!” Armenia promises. “We will have breakfast bagels and coffee as well as great snacks all through the day. Come celebrate go in the Wonder City!”