A July 9 BBC report illustrates a report on “What’s really going on with the 
yuan?” with scenes of Chinese go players in a park playing with discs emblazoned with US and Chinese flags as the report explores charges that China is manipulating its currency to boost exports. Thanks to spotters Martin and Helen Harvey for passing this along.
American Go E-Journal
Go Spotting: Go in BBC Currency Report
Sunday July 28, 2013
EuroGoTV Updates: Sweden, Ukraine, Romania
Sunday July 28, 2013
Sweden: The EGF qualification tournament for Beijing 2013 finished July 22 in Leksand with Hui Fan 7d in first, Pavol Lisy 6d in second, and Alexander Dinerchtein 7d in third. Ukraine: Victory went to Artem Kachanovskyi 6d (left) at the Samsung Cup in Kyiv on July 14. Dmytro Bohatskyi 5d came in second and Andril Kravets 6d placed third. Romania: At the 4th Radu Baciu Grand Prix in Barsov (also July 14), Lucretiu Calota 5d took the lead, followed by Sergiu Dan Iugulescu 2d in second and Sora Sorin 4d in third.
— Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news
Your Move/Readers Write: More Go Music
Sunday July 28, 2013
“As another fan of Pentangle, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, let me add my thanks to that of Steve Burrall for bringing
their love of go to light,” (Go Spotting: Brit Folkies Bert and John 7/14 EJ) writes Michael Goerss. “I’ve got their CD on order (already have all the old Pentangle 33’s on CD) and the Yamashita now, too. But in terms of music, don’t forget the Japanese jazz group Hiroshima. They had a CD titled Go, with a cover featuring an empty go board. I can’t speak to how it relates to the game, but I like the music. Jazz koto, what could be better?”
US Pair Go Development Update
Saturday July 27, 2013
The Pair Go teaching workshop will not be held at the 2013 US Go Congress, as previously reported (Japan Pair Go Association Grants $3600 for US Pair Go Development 7/25 EJ) but will instead occur sometime before August 2014. “It will be the first US professional workshop to focus specifically on learning how to play go strategically and harmoniously in a partnership, and will be funded by the new JPGA grant,” reports AGA Pair Go Coordinator Rachel Small. Small is seeking a Director/Organizer to collaborate on this developing project; email her at pairgo@usgo.org. She also notes that the funds granted by the JPGA support US Pair Go activity from August 2013 through the August 2014 US Go Congress.
Small also reports that the winning pair from the North American Pair Go Championship at this year’s Congress will be offered a professional game review with Shirley Lin, scheduled for Friday, August 9th at 1:30p. “Lin’s comments will help the pair to compete at their best at the International Amateur Pair Go Championship in Tokyo this November,” says Small.
Walther Brothers Release First Go Video
Saturday July 27, 2013
The Walther brothers (German Brothers Team Up to Produce “Fascinating” Go Video 2/4/2013 EJ) have just released their first go video, a visually striking 
60-second professionally produced “teaser” that focuses on the appeal of go rather than on teaching the game’s rules. The first of several planned videos from Play More Go, “More than a Game” delivers on the duo’s intention “to make a short video clip, like a movie trailer, to promote the game of go” and ends by calling go “The ultimate challenge: are you up for it?” Click here for their amusing 49-second contrast in how to describe go. Find out more about the project at playmorego.com.
Japan Pair Go Association Grants $3600 for US Pair Go Development
Thursday July 25, 2013
The Japan Pair Go Association has just granted $3,600 to promote Pair Go in the United States next year, reports AGA Pair Go Coordinator Rachel Small. The grant is based on Small’s proposed annual Pair Go plan, which she hopes “will generate enthusiasm, increase the number of Pair Go events held annually, and help Pair Go players form strong partnerships, with the ultimate goal of advancing the culture of Pair Go in the US.” Included in the budget is prize money for the North American Pair Go Championship and the Youth-Adult Pair Go Tournament at the US Go Congress, the second annual Pair Go Tournament at the North American Go Convention, and two additional Pair Go tournaments over the next year. “These are very exciting plans but we need help to make them happen,” Small says. Financial incentives will be provided for an organizer/director for the Pair Go pro teaching workshop at this year’s Congress, a game-recorder for the top table Pair Go game, a volunteer to record video of Congress Pair Go events, and a video-editor to piece together the footage into a short promotional piece, as well as directors of two new Pair Go Tournaments. Those interested should contact Small at pairgo@usgo.org. -Photo by Steve Colburn: Pair Go contestants at the 2010 Go Congress in Colorado Springs.The Traveling Board: London, UK
Thursday July 25, 2013
The Central London Go Club took advantage of the current UK heatwave to call a go picnic on Sunday, July 21. It was held in Royal St James’s Park in the heart of the capital, adjourning later to the Captain’s Cabin pub in Piccadilly.
14 answered the call and in addition, as organizer Julia Woewodskaya told the E-Journal, “There were quite a few spectators; some were asking questions about the game; one person was explained the rules and played at least one game.”
Click here for more photos.
– Tony Collman, British Correspondent for the E-Journal. All photos by Kiyohiko Tanaka, Central London Go Club/Nippon Club Igokai, City of London Go Club
SmartGo Kifu Adds GoGoD Game Collection, Streamlines Look
Wednesday July 24, 2013
The latest version of SmartGo Kifu includes the GoGoD game collection of more than 73,000 professional games. It also sports a “clean new look and icons,” 
reports SmartGo author Anders Kierulf. An immediate benefit of adding John Fairbairn and T Mark Hall’s GoGoD collection “is better player name translations,” says Kierulf, who promises that “there’s more to come.” Scott Jensen’s new modern look streamlines the user interface, “and there’s more to do for iOS 7,” Kierulf says, “but this takes a big step towards the future.” Kierulf plans to offer the GoGoD collection with the Windows version of SmartGo, but says that SmartGo for Windows will be temporarily unavailable until that work is complete. “The recent additions of joseki analysis and tree view have pushed SmartGo Kifu way beyond what I imagined five years ago,” Kierulf says. In other SmartGo news, Kierulf tells the E-Journal that SmartGo Books will be releasing “some very interesting books soon.” One is a book on a single 300-year old problem, “The most difficult problem ever: Igo Hatsuyôron 120” as well as John Fairbairn’s book on 466 problems from 1347, “Gateway to All Marvels: The Xuanxuan Qijing of 1347.” Kierulf expects that both books should be released before the upcoming US Go Congress.
Your Move/Readers Write: Go Congress T-shirt Update
Wednesday July 24, 2013
The U.S. Go Congress t-shirt modeled by Congress Director Chris Kirschner in 
our recent report (7/20 EJ) is actually the “Early Bird T-shirt” reports Congress Handbook Editor and t-shirt/logo designer Lee Anne Bowie. “The actual T-shirt for the Congress will have the design that appears on the website,” Bowie tells the EJ. “Attendee’s t-shirts will look more like the photo at right if they selected the dark shirt.” The 2013 U.S. Go Congress is set for August 3-11 in Tacoma, WA.
Online Tourney Planned to Select U.S. SportAccord World Mind Games Team
Tuesday July 23, 2013
The United States has been invited to send five players – three men and one woman – to the 2013 SportAccord World Mind Games (SAWMG) in Beijing, China. The team will be selected in an online tournament in August, except for the winner of the North American Master’s Tournament (NAMT), who will be automatically selected if eligible and able to participate. All eligible male players who have two or more wins in the NAMT will be seeded into the online men’s selection tournament, a 16-player, 5-round double elimination tournament taking place on KGS over two weekends in August. The remaining slots in the tournament are open to professionals and amateurs who did not participate in SAWMG, prioritized by rating. The men’s online selection will take place on the evenings of August 16, 17, 18, 24, and 25. The women’s online selection will be an 8-player 3-round single elimination. Eligibility is based on the AGA’s policy for international representatives: full or youth AGA membership for at least one year from selection, residency in the US for 6 of the last 12 months, and for this event, US citizenship is required. If you are eligible and interested in participating in this year’s SportAccord World Mind Game selection, whether you are attending NAMT or not, email karoline.burrall@usgo.org. The deadline for registrants who are not participating in NAMT is Wednesday August 14.
– Karoline Burrall, AGA Tournament Coordinator
UPDATE: this post has been updated to reflect that there will be three men and one woman selected for the team, not two women, as originally reported. The second place female finisher would be an alternate in case the selected rep has to be replaced.