American Go E-Journal

Nihon Ki-in Summer Go Camp Features Ryokan Stay This Year

Monday March 2, 2015

The Nihon Ki-in Summer Go Camp will run August 21 through September 3 at the The Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. The camp features pro lectures and workshops, pro teaching games and reviews, and, this year, a special 2-day training program. “You will stay overnight at a Ryokan, ‘Sugino Yado’ (left) on August 27-28 and will be trained for a full day from morning to night: pro teaching games, lectures, in-depth commentaries, quiz and problems” says the Nihon Ki-in’s Tom Urasoe. The legendary Fujisawa hosted a go camp at Sugino Yado every year attended by promising young pros.“We want many American players to participate in our go camp this year!” Urasoe adds. Participants can choose a full term camp, semi-full or a one week course. Register before April 1 and get a 10% discount. photo: (right) Michael Redmond 9P lectures

Categories: Japan

Second International Collegiate Go Tournament Set for Summer 2015

Monday March 2, 2015

The Ing Foundation will be hosting the second annual International Collegiate Go Tournament this summer in Taiwan, according to the American Collegiate Go Association. The event will begin on July 7th and will conclude on the 13th. “I was lucky enough to attend last year’s event in Hong Kong as a guest and saw that the kids who were there playing had an amazing time,” said AGA president Andy Okun. The event is open to any current, future, or recently graduated college student, either undergraduate or graduate, who will attend or has attended school in the year 2015. All costs related to room, board, tours, and travel during the event will be covered by the Ing Foundation. “Players of all skills levels are welcome to participate and there will be separate divisions this year for high dan, low dan, single digit kyu and double digit kyu,” said ACGA’s Mike Fodera. You can find out more information on the ACGA’s website. If you have any questions about the event, or would like to find out more about previous events hosted by the Ing Foundation, email Mike Fodera.
photos: (left) courtesy ACGA; (right): courtesy Mike Fodera

Categories: Youth

Go Spotting: Popular Science

Monday March 2, 2015

A photo of the robot dog Aibo playing go illustrates In Japan, A Funeral For Robot Dogs, a February 28 Popular Science report. “Robot companions are big in Japan, where they can return hugs, gently smack snorers in the face, perform in plays, and greet Presidents.” And, apparently, play go as well.
– thanks to Jon Stewart-Taylor for passing this along.
The EJ has several volunteer editor positions open for go players who want to be part of the team producing the largest English-language publication in the world; email journal@usgo.org if interested.

Categories: Japan

Pandanet City League Round 3 Results

Sunday March 1, 2015

A League: Boston def San Francisco (2-1), Seattle 1 def Canwa Vancouver (2-1), Los Angeles def Greater Washington (2-1). LA currently leading with 6 points. Greater Washington and Boston just behind them with 4 points each.

B League: Princeton def Bay Area (2-1). Still ongoing: NC Raleigh vs Canwa Vancouver 2, Katy TX 1 vs Washington DC 2

Princeton leading with 6 points, Bay Area trailing with 4 points. Games still ongoing.

C League: Boston 2 def Atlanta (2-1), DC Team 3 def New Orleans (2-1), SF Bay Area/Berkeley def Atlanta 1 (2-1). Berkeley leads with 6 points. DC Team 3 in second place with 4 points.
– Steve Colburn

Categories: Pandanet-AGA City League,U.S./North America

EuroGo TV Update: Smyrna Go Tournament; Kido Cup; Dutch Championship Playoffs

Sunday March 1, 2015

Smyrna Go Tournament: Hataycan Ozgur 1d won the 3rd Smyrna Go Tournament, held Feb 21-22 in Izmir, Turkey. In second was Tugkan Eren 2d and third was Deniz Ekim Aydin 1d. (photo at right: Gozde Taskin 5k, 17th place)

Kido Cup: The Kido Cup, held 2/21-22 in Moscow, Russia, was won by Andrej Cheburakhov 5d, second was Andrej Kashaev 5d and third was Yoshiteru Matsumura 5d.

Kuin Defends Dutch Championship: Merlijn Kuin 6d won the decisive third game in the playoffs of the Dutch Championship, a best of 3 match was held between defending champion Kuin (at right in photo at left) and Peter Brouwer 6d. The first two rounds were held on Feb 21. Kuin won the first and Brouwer won the second; the deciding game was played Saturday, February 28.
– edited from reports on EuroGoTV. The EJ is seeking a volunteer EuroGo news editor; if interested email journal@usgo.org.

Categories: Europe

NJ Open Turnout Blasts Into Record Territory

Sunday March 1, 2015

With a registered total of 177 players, turnout at this year’s New Jersey Open “exceeded the previous record by 50!” reports Rick Mott. Here are a couple photos from the first day of the event, held this weekend at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ.
photos by Matthew Herschberger

Categories: U.S./North America

Two New Books from Kiseido and Bozuliuch Launches Online Series

Sunday March 1, 2015

Kiseido has just released two new books and launched an online series of essays by Richard Bozulich. In The 2014 Ten-Game Match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol Part Two, Michael Redmond 9P and Rob van Zeijst is the second volume of the historic match between two rivals who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. The contrast in style and strategies “are what make the games in this book especially fascinating and give birth to innovative moves and spectacular fights,” says Kiseido.

Richard Bozulich’s The Road Map to Shodan, Volume Four; A Survey of the Basic Tesujis aims at helping readers develop their intuition, which “plays a role in your ability to instantly find the key move that turns the position in your favor” though of course “Of course the player must confirm that it is indeed the required tesuji by the brute-force reading out of the continuation after the tesuji is played.”

Appropriately, The Interplay of Intuition and Brute-Force Analysis in the Game of Go is the first in a series of essays Richard Bozulich is writing on various go topics. If you are interested in receiving them as they appear, send your email address to kiseido@yk.rim.or.jp.

Categories: Tools: books, software & hardware

Your Move/Readers Write: Where to Watch Go? More on That Old Go Photo

Sunday March 1, 2015

Where to Watch Go? “I have been playing go since ~2003, when I started playing in college for fun,” writes Ben Scheyer. “As I’ve gotten older, I have less time to play on places like KGS, but I would still like to do things like watch games while eating or on my phone. Unfortunately, I can’t find anywhere with a collection of games to watch online! Your YouTube channel has only a few computer games from a year ago, and it’s very difficult to search for. There must be dozens of go games going on in the world, and I can find hundreds of hours of games like Starcraft II and League of Legends online. If you have any advice for where I can find games that would allow me to watch online on a consistent basis, I would appreciate it.”
Email your suggestions to us at journal@usgo.org

More on That Old Go Photo: “It is ironic that the E-Journal would publish this photo (Go Filmmakers Looking for US Go Congress Photos, Videos 2/16) with the wrong info, since it is originally from the Journal,” writes Keith Arnold. “The August 1985 issue to be precise. It is a photo of the 1985 Westerns which took place on Labor Day weekend 1985 in San Francisco. Sharp eyes will recognize pros Jimmy Cha and Chun Sam Jho in the center of the picture, while future pro Janice Kim sits in the front, second from the left. I believe I see Richard Dolen, Hal Small, Ron Snyder, Ned Phipps, Joanne Phipps, Chris Kirschner, Stu Horowitz and Herb Doughty. There is no photo credit, but the ‘St. Clair’ mentioned by Mike Bull (1st US Go Congress, Not 2/19) is referenced as the event’s t-shirt designer.”

Categories: Your Move: Readers Write

Tigersmouth Tourneys for Youth

Saturday February 28, 2015

Monthly tournaments are being held in the Tiger’s Mouth room on KGS, with prizes awarded in three categories. The next tourney will be Saturday, March 14th, at 10 am Pacific (1pm East Coast). Sections will vary depending on registration, but they are roughly 9 kyu + (SDK+Dan), 10-19 kyu (DDK), 20-30k (beginner). The latest tournament thread is here You must be a registered Tiger’s Mouth member to play. Post in the current thread to register. All ages may play, but prizes will only be awarded to those who are under 18 (or 18, but still in high school). Prizes include a complete 23 volume set of the Hikaru no Go manga, Your choice of any book in the Heart of Go series, or the Anime Prize pack. Players must complete all rounds to be eligible for prizes. – Paul Barchilon E-J Youth Editor

Categories: U.S./North America,Youth

World Journal, AACEA Supporting Southern California Tournament This Weekend, $3k Prize Pool

Friday February 27, 2015

This weekend’s 2015 Southern California Go Championship will boast support from the largest Chinese language newspaper in the US as well as a cultural non-profit, it was announced at a press conference Tuesday. “The promotion of go is in line with goals of the World Journal,” said World Journal President James J. L. Guo. “We want to support Chinese culture, and also promote a game that stimulates the potential of children and sustains the character of adults. As Chinese media in North America, we are happy to see the growth of the go community here.” The tournament is being held in a spacious room in the World Journal’s Monterey Park offices, according to tournament organizer Kevin Chao of the host chapter, Orange County Go Club. The tri-lingual press conference held by Guo, Chao, AGA President Andy Okun and Los Angeles resident pro Kim Myungwan 9p was reported in, among other media outlets, the World Journal itself and a local Korean TV news show. “Shirley Lin 1p and strong player/teacher Evan Cho were also in attendance,” Okun told the EJ. “The history of newspaper support for go tournaments is a long and wonderful one, so we are delighted and heartened by the World Journal’s participation.” The two-day, five-round tournament is also receiving significant support from the American Asia Culture Exchange Association and its president, Jay Zheng, a long-time go player and businessman and recently an AGA volunteer. The prize pool is $3,000 with a prize of $700 for first place in the open section, and NAMT qualifying points for top finishers. Click here for more information. photos courtesy the World Journal.

Categories: U.S./North America