American Go E-Journal

With the 2015 US Go Congress less than a month away, it is on track to be a great event with over 350 attendees, says Congress Director Josh Larson. For players of all levels a major draw to attend the Congress is the chance to meet, play and learn from professional players from all over the world. So far, 21 pros are expected at this year’s Congress!

The pros are involved in many activities through the week. You can attend professional lectures during the afternoon and evening, play against a professional during one of the many simultaneous games in the afternoon after the US Open rounds, have your game reviewed in a small group session or hang around and chat with pros at mealtime. A few have been known to turn up at late night card games. Pros will also be involved in special events, like commenting on a key final game or, new this year, playing a demonstration game against an amateur.

A highlight for players of all levels is the review of your tournament games by a professional. These reviews are divided up by rank, so if you are a dan player, the professionals will focus on advanced topics while for kyu players, they will target the basics. You can watch and learn from another reviewee’s pride or pain before going up to the demo board yourself and finding out what actually happened to your stones during your own game. Larson encourages attendees to not be shy about approaching pros. “If you have a question, and see a professional player, ask! They often will just grab a board and give you an answer.” While some attendees will pay for group or individual lessons, all of the above activities are included in the cost of your registration. The US Go Congress is one of a very few events in the go world with so much pro training opportunity.

Below is a list of the professionals who have currently confirmed to attend the 2015 Us Go Congress.

Among pros currently based in the US we have:

Former women’s world champion and leading teacher, Feng Yun 9P.

The Korea Baduk Association’s Go Ambassador to the US, Myungwan Kim 9P.

Mingjiu Jiang 7P, who has been the North American representative in multiple international tournaments and teacher in the Bay Area for more than 25 years.

Yilun Yang 7P, author of many books, including “Fundamental Principles of Go,” and a revered teacher who does annual workshops across the country.

Jennie Shen 2P from Santa Barbara, gives individual lectures, group lessons, and audio lectures on KGS.

Stephanie Yin 1P studied under Nie Weiping 9P and Yu Bing 9P and has placed first in multiple tournaments.

Andy Liu 1P is one of the first AGA professionals.

Shirley Lin 1P taught Go at Nanjing University and is a previous US Open Champion.

Cathy Li 1P coached the Canadian team in the 1^st World Mind Sports Games.

Professional delegates from foreign go organizations include:

Wang Qun 8P (China)

Wang Yuanjyun 7P (Taiwan)

Na Jonghoon 7P (Korea)

Maeda Ryo 6P (Japan)has been a popular lecturer at previous US Go Congresses.

Hajin Lee 3P (Korea) well-known for her go videos on YouTube and currently secretary general of the International Go Federation.

Murakami Akihide 3P (Japan)

Koyo Hoshikawa 3P (Japan)

Cao Youyin 3P (China) 

A handful of professionals with also be participating in the 2015 US Open and other tournaments, including: Calvin Sun 1P, Ryan Li 1P, YuLin Tong 4P, and Zirui Song 1P.

Feng Yun 9p teaching at the 2014 Go Congress

Update: Wang Qun 8P ‘s name has been corrected (our original post had it as Wan Qun 8P).

Top pro Yuan-Jun Wang 7p will visit and teach at the US Go Congress as part of the first delegation in many years from the Taiwan Chiyuan, the organization of Taiwanese professional players, AGA president Andy Okun told the E-Journal.  The 19-year-old star has been a pro since 2007, winning a number of titles over the years including the Haifeng Cup Professional Championship , the East Steel Cup and the Guests Cup.  He has also been runner-up in the Acer Cup and Siyuan Cup and represented Taiwan in the SportAccord World Mind Games three times. Also visiting will be Taiwan Chiyuan Secretary General, Yi-Ching Lu.  Ms. Lu is, coincidentally, Mr. Wang’s mother. “Taiwanese players have been growing in stature and the Taiwan go scene, amateur and pro, is active and vibrant,” Okun said. “This will be a good chance for our go enthusiasts to establish links with another important part of the go world.”