Although Go Game Guru is closing its go shop and Baduk TV, it plans to keep going, most likely with a focus on writing about
go. “We can’t keep up with everything we’ve been trying to do anymore,” reports founder David Ormerud. “The Go Game Guru team has made lasting contributions to the world go community,” said American Go E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “Kudos to David, Jing and Younggil for their impressive work over the last six years; we look forward to continuing to work with them after a well-deserved break.”
American Go E-Journal
Go Game Guru Hits the Reset Button
Saturday December 17, 2016
Stephanie Yin Reports from the BingSheng Cup World Women’s Go Championship
Saturday December 17, 2016
Stephanie Yin 1p (right) represented North America in the recent BingSheng Cup World Women’s Go Championship. Oh Yujin 3p 
from Korea took first place. The 7th (QiongLong Mountain) BingSheng Cup World Women’s Go Championship was held in Suzhou, JiangSu province in China from November 11-17.
The BingSheng Cup is a single elimination tournament of 16 players. After the first tournament in 2009, it has become one of the most prestigious women’s tournaments. In the opening ceremony, draws were made between the 16 participants, followed by special performances and a luxurious dinner. A very strong field this year attracted passionate local players to spectate throughout the tournament. At the closing ceremony (left), players celebrated the birthdays for Hua, Xueming (female 7dan pro, the leader of Chinese national team) and Hsieh, Yimin 6dan Japanese pro.
“It was my first time to compete in an individual world women’s championship,” Yin told the E-Journal. “I was quite nervous but also excited. After the draws took on the first day, I got to play Song, RongHui Chinese 5 Dan professional player. We are from the same generation of the go world. Our records were pretty close when I was actively competing in China before I came to the States.” The game commentary is below. “The game actually is very exciting. I was so close! I was ahead all the time but I made a silly mistake at the end game and I lost 2.5 points. I reviewed the game with a lot of Chinese pros.”
(More) Catching Up: BGA Go Crossword; Top European players on AlphaGo and the future of go; Go in New Master of Orion
Saturday December 17, 2016
Top European players on AlphaGo and the future of go: “I was in shock,” says Thomas Debarre 
6d of France. “I felt a bit disappointed with the quality in the sense that not one game was countable at the end,” said Merlijn Kuin 6d of The Netherlands. “The 21st century is and will be ‘the age of go,” says Mateusz Surma 1p of Poland. “The future of go isn’t easy, but not because of AlphaGo,” says Diána Kőszegi 1p of Hungary (photo). Kim Ouweleen interviews with top European players on AlphaGo and the future of go are available on the European Go Federation’s website.
BGA Go Crossword: “I see from your recent item, Catching Up: Obama on go, AlphaGo helps predict the future, and more, that Roy Laird is a crossword fan,” writes British Go Journal Editor Bob Scantlebury. “Others with a love of crosswords as well as go may like to check if their British Go Association (BGA) membership is up to date if they have one (or sign up , if not), as the upcoming Winter edition of the quarterly British Go Journal (BGJ) will feature a bumper, go-themed
19×19 competition cryptic crossword.” But be warned, Scantlebury says, “this is a British-style cryptic crossword, as featured in UK broadsheet dailies — and with a difference.” The BGJ is free to BGA members; the Winter edition will be out in early January and sent out in hard copy, as well as being available in pdf online to those who are members.
Go in New Master of Orion: “I was recently playing the new Master of Orion video game, a remake of the renowned turn based strategy classic video game,” writes Guillermo Molano. “This game takes place in a fictional galaxy where many races compete while expanding by colonizing solar systems. While playing I found a solar system named Go, another one named Fuseki, and a last one named Tesuji. I don’t know if there are more systems with more Go references. Perhaps its not that surprising since Master of Orion is a strategy game and it was developed by a studio in Argentina. That country has the strongest players in all Latin America.”
Josh Lee wins NOVA Slate & Shell
Saturday December 17, 2016
Sixteen players took part in the annual NOVA Slate&Shell Open last Saturday, December 10. Josh Lee 6d was the overall 
winner with a 3-1 score. Other first place winners in their divisions were: Joel Cahalan 1d, Patrick Sun 5k, Anderson Barreal 8k, Robert Cole 12k, and David Palmer 16k. Second place finishers were Gary Smith 9k, Tony Blagrove 11k, Betsy Small
13k and Tonya Perez-Lopez 20k. Prize winners are shown here with books donated by Slate & Shell.
– report/photo by Gurujeet Khalsa, tournament director.
Go Spotting: League of Legends Azir champion
Saturday December 17, 2016
Go is featured in the League of Legends Azir champion skin preview, reports Daniel Chou. “In a pre-release video teaser, we
see Azir sitting in front of a Goban as he recalls back to the Fountain. League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) where two teams battle each other to capture important objectives on the map in order to reach and destroy the enemy team Nexus. Each player selects a champion to play for the duration of a game. Occasionally the player would recall his champion back to the fountain to regenerate in-game champion stats and to spend earned gold on upgraded items.”
“The champion Azir appropriately pays homage to go; according to League of Legends lore, Azir was the Emperor reawakened after millennia lying dormant beneath the desert that overtook the once-powerful Shurima Empire.” Click here for more info on Azir.
Chen Yaoye 9p Wins 2016 Bailing Cup
Saturday December 17, 2016
Chen Yaoye 9p has bested Ke Jie 9p to win the 2016 Bailing Cup 3-1, locking up the title in a hard-fought Game 4 on 
December 15. Click here for Stephanie Yin 1p’s game commentary on the AGA’s YouTube channel.
Bailing Cup Game 4 Live Commentary Thursday Night
Wednesday December 14, 2016
Stephanie Yin 1p will join the AGA broadcast team Thursday night for Game 4 of the Bailing Cup. Chen Yaoye 9p is up 2-1 against Ke Jie 9p. Commentary on the AGA’s YouTube Channel begins at 9:30PM PST; if Ke Jie 9p wins, we’ll broadcast the fifth and final game on Friday, December 16th, also at 9:30PM PST. Click here for the Game 4 commentary, with Mingjiu Jiang 9P. The Bailing Cup is a biennial international go tournament, which started in 2012 and is sponsored by the Guizhou Bailing Pharmaceutical Group.
How to Clean Go Stones
Wednesday December 14, 2016
David G Doshay
I always wondered what the best way is to clean clamshell go stones. So when I saw these used stones for sale (right), I decided it was time to find out. Searching the internet I saw many ideas, and the one I decided to try 
suggested soaking in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). I used the 3% solution that is available in drug stores (It’s possible to get 10%, but that will do painful damage if it gets on your skin). After a month of soaking the solution was very cloudy so I poured it off, rinsed the stones in tap water and dried them. About half the stones were clean so I put the remaining dirty stones in fresh H2O2 and after two more months they were all clean (left), with no damage from the extended soaking. As a side note, rubbing the clamshell stones did not do much to remove what I assume were tobacco stains. I soaked the slate stones in diluted liquid dish-soap and they were clean in just two weeks; dish soap did not work on the clamshell stones.
Shanghai to Host Yike New Year Go Congress
Tuesday December 13, 2016
The first-ever Go Congress in China will be held in Shanghai December 31 – January 3 at the Jianguo Hotel. The Yike New 
Year Go Congress offers go players a chance to enjoy go in the country where the ancient game originated. “Meet with the people, feel the real Chinese culture and philosophy that the game of go reflects,” organizers say. The Congress schedule includes a 7-round tournament and evening events including pro simuls, Lightning and Pair Go and a 13×13 tournament. Yike is a major mobile social network application providing non-real time mobile play services with more than 30,000 daily active users. Yike does not yet have an English version.
Contacts: (English): Shen Yao, Mobile&Wechat: (+86) 18018602100; yao.shen@golinksworld.com
Chinese: Zhao Ruiliang, WeChat; Mobile: 18918521273
San Diego Prepares to Host 2017 US Go Congress
Tuesday December 13, 2016
On December 4, the San Diego Go Club kicked off its organizational campaign to host the 2017 U.S. Go Congress next August
5-12, by sponsoring a go-pizza party for local Congress volunteers at the club president’s home. Some two dozen people showed up to play go, eat pizza and hear about jobs that need to be done over the next eight months. From moving more than 2,000 pounds of Congress equipment — including boards, stones, easels, etc — to the Congress site at the Town and Country Resort, to scheduling the lectures, game analyses and simultaneous exhibitions for the professional go players coming from Japan, China and Korea, many tasks have to be coordinated. Co-Directors for the Congress, Les Lanphear III and Ted Terpstra say they’re confident that the team of workers will be up to the challenges as many past Congress volunteers have already stepped up for 2017. “New volunteers are always welcome, especially for Check-in Day on Saturday, August 5,” says Terpstra. Anyone interested in helping at the 2017 Congress should email him at ted.terpstr
a@gmail.com.
The 2017 Congress web site is not quite ready, but should be shortly. “People will be able to register for the Congress, choose a dining package and book a room with a special negotiated price,” says Terpstra. The Town and Country Resort is a 46-acre enclave in the heart of the San Diego tourist area. The zoo, museums in Balboa Park, the airport, Seaworld, the beaches and downtown are all within a 10-minute drive. All Congress events and meals are a short walk from the rooms. “No streets need to be crossed in going from the rooms to the playing area,” Terpstra promises.
– photos by Ted Terpstra; Congress logo by Emily Shedlock