The American Go Foundation (AGF) has created a new “umbrella grant” program that allows any qualifying US go organization or individual to use the AGF’s tax status for their go projects. The program was created at the instigation of Bay Area organizer Roger Schrag, who had helped form the Bay Area Go Players’ Association (BAGPA) and wanted to incorporate as a 501c3, allowing them to give donors a tax break, and to apply for grants to support teaching programs and other go-related events in their community. Many foundations will only fund groups with 501c3 status, and getting this status can take months, often requires a lawyer, and then needs significant maintenance. With the umbrella grant program, the AGF acts as the fiscal agent for the program, and routes the donations or grants to the local program. AGF VP Paul Barchilon has raised almost $10,000 for his go clubs through similar programs in Colorado, and the AGF modeled their new program on a local umbrella grant Barchilon had used. Click here to learn more — raising funds to teach go in your community might be easier than you think!
– Roy Laird
American Go E-Journal
Write Your Own Go Grant
Monday December 14, 2009
EUROPEAN GO NEWS: Xebo Wins St Nick Tourney In Braunschweig; Hungarian League
Monday December 14, 2009
XEBO WINS ST NICK TOURNEY IN BRAUNSCHWEIG: A 4-dan from Göttingen who just goes by the name Xebo won the 27th St. Nicolas tourney December 5-6 in Braunschweig, Germany, ahead of locals Alexander Kirchner 2d (2nd) and Kai Tomerius , who shared 3d with Mathias Maurer 4d from Langen. Click here for results. – Peter Dijkema, European Correspondent, from a report at dgob.de
HUNGARIAN LEAGUE: Pagoda leads the Hungarian league with maximum match-points from 3 rounds, ahead of MGE and Origó, which drew one each. Sanrensei is 4th at 2 wins and a loss. Next round, two top-pairings are up: MGE-Pagoda and Sanrensei-Origó. In Hungary they play a round every fortnight. The league has eight teams of 9 players. – Peter Dijkema, , European Correspondent, after http://goszovetseg.hu/
WORLD GO NEWS: China Wins 7th Japan-China Agon Cup; Cho Hanseung Wins GS Caltex Cup; Lee Changho Wins Myeongin; Cho U Evens Match In Tengen Defense; Davis Wins 2nd Irish Championship; Xebo Wins St Nick Tourney In Braunschweig; Hungarian League
Monday December 14, 2009
CHINA WINS 7TH JAPAN-CHINA AGON CUP: Sun Tengyu 4P of China defeated Japan’s Hane Haoki 9P by 3.5 points on December 9th to win this year’s Japan-China Agon Cup. The match between the winners of the Japanese and the Chinese Agon Cup tournaments has been a painful experience for the Japanese lately, as the Chinese Cup holders have now won seven straight matches. Sun is a teen whose only title before winning the Chinese version of the Agon Cup (Ahan Tongshan Cup) this year was the National Individual championship in 2008. Hane is in his thirties and has been a major player on the Japanese pro scene. He is the current Honinbo and held the number one Japanese title, the Kisei, in both 2004 and 2005. In the Chinese event, Sun defeated both Gu Li, China’s current top title holder, and Piao Wenyao 5P, another of the strong young Chinese pros. – Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld
CHO HANSEUNG WINS GS CALTEX CUP: Cho Hanseung 9P took the fourth game of the Korean GS Caltex Cup to take the title away from Park Yeonghun 9P by a score of 3-1. Park only won the third game. The GS Caltex Cup is one of the richest among Korean events. In his twenties, Cho’s most recent previous title was the Chunwon, which he won by defeating Lee Sedol 9P in 2006. Park, also in his twenties, has had a more illustrious career, toped off by winning the international Fujitsu twice, in 2004 and 2007. – Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld
LEE CHANGHO WINS MYEONGIN: Lee Changho 9P defeated Won Sungjin 9P 3-1 to capture the Korean Myeongin (J: Meijin) title for the thirteenth time. Lee won the decisive fourth game of the match on December 10th by a mere half point. Lee, now in his thirties, has not been so dominant lately, but still wins important titles. His last international title was the LG Cup in 2004. Won is ten years younger and has won only two titles so far, both in 2007: the BC Card Cup and the Chunwon. – Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld
CHO U EVENS MATCH IN TENGEN DEFENSE: The Tengen now goes to a decisive fifth game as Cho U 9P leveled the match in defense of his title against challenger Yamashita Keigo 9P. Yamashita went ahead 2-1 by winning the third game on December 3rd, but Cho came back on December 10th to take the fourth of the best-of-five-games match. So far Black has won every game by resignation. The final is scheduled for December 22nd. – Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld, Sensei’s Library
DAVIS WINS 2ND IRISH CHAMPIONSHIP: Ian Davis beat Claas Roever 2-1 (date) to take the 2009 Irish Championship title. The championship came down to a final, tense game, “As usual between these two it was a game that could have gone either way,” reported Stephen (last name) on the Irish Go Association website. “After repeating the opening of the second game, Claas took an early lead by switching to a Gibson style strategy using some risky opening plays. However somewhere in the middlegame he lost his way, and Ian forced resignation after a devious invasion.” This was Davis’ second Irish title; he has another 14 wins to pass all time Irish title record holder Noel Mitchell. Davis, President of the Irish Go Association and Irish Correspondent for the E-Journal, credited altitude training in County Donegal for his win. Click here for the record of the final game.
WORLD GO NEWS: Yamashita Takes Lead In Tengen
Monday December 7, 2009
Cho U 9P’s efforts to avoid losing another of his titles has become an uphill fight in the Tengen. On December 3rd Challenger Yamashita Keigo 9P won the third game of the best-of-five-games title match to take a 2-1 lead. Cho won this title last year for the first time. Yamashita has also held the title for one year, 2004. He lost it the next year to Kono Rin 9P and failed to retake it as challenger the next two years. Cho held five of the top seven Japanese titles at the beginning of this year, but lost the Meijin to Iyama Yuta 9P in November. The fourth game in the Tengen match is scheduled for December 10th.
– Bill Cobb, from Go News & GoGameWorld
WORLD GO NEWS: Korean Myeongin Title Match Tied At 1-1
Monday December 7, 2009
The best-of-five-games match between Lee Changho 9P and Won Sungjin 9P (right) for the Meyongin (Japanese: Meijin) title in 
Korea was tied at 1-1 when Won won the second game on December 3rd by 1.5 points. The last winner of this title was Lee Sedol 9P, but since he has taken a temporary leave of absence from the pro scene, the title holder will be decided by this match. Lee Changho has won this title twelve times since first taking it from Cho Hunhyun 9P in 1991. Won’s latest title victories were the BC Card Cup and the Chunwon in 2007. He is ten years younger than Lee Changho.
– Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld & Sensei’s Library
WORLD GO NEWS: Park Yeonghun Fights Back In GS Caltex Cup
Monday December 7, 2009
On December 2nd, Park Yeonghun 9P avoided a shut-out in the the GS Caltex Cup when he defeated challenger Cho Hanseung 9P in Game 3 of their best-of-five-games title match. Park must win both remaining games to retain the title he has held for the last two years. The GS Caltex Cup is one of the most lucrative in Korea. Park has a more outstanding record of title wins than Cho by a significant margin. Both are in their twenties. Game four in the match is set for December 9th.
– Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld & Sensei’s Library
11/24/2009 World Go News: Cho U Evens Up Tengen Title Match; Cho U To Challenge For Kisei; Cho Hanseung Closing In On GS Caltex Cup; Korea Wins Pair Go Championships; U.S. Places 14th
Tuesday November 24, 2009
in the best-of-five-games defense of his Tengen title on November 19th to make the score 1-1. Cho, who holds “only” four titles now, after losing the Meijin to Iyama Yuta 9P, won this title last year for the first time, taking it from Kono Rin 9P who held it for three years. Kono took it from Yamashita in 2005, and Yamashita was unable to regain it despite being the challenger the next two years. Yamashita had held the title for only one year. The third game in the title match is scheduled for December 3rd. Cho is also currently engaged in defending his Oza title against challenger Yamada Kimio 9P. Cho won the first game of that match and the second of the best-of-five-games event will be on November 24th.CHO U TO CHALLENGE FOR KISEI: Cho U 9P defeated O Rissei 9P in the playoff game November 16th between the winners of the two leagues to decide who would get to challenge Yamashita Keigo 9P for the Kisei title. At the age of fifty, O is a member of the older generation now, but has had a remarkable career, doing well in international events and winning his most recent title in 2004, which involved defeating Cho U to retain the Judan title for the fourth consecutive year. The Kisei is the number one title in Japan with a winner’s prize of about $400,000 US. Yamashita has held this title five times, including the last four years. Yamashita first won it in 2003, when he defeated O who had held it for three years, having taken it from Cho Chikun 9P in 2000. This is Cho U’s first challenge for the Kisei. Cho U and Yamashita are currently engaged in the title match for Cho’s Tengen title; Yamashita has won the first game of that contest. The best-of-seven-games finals will begin next January 14th.
– Bill Cobb, from reports in Go News, GoGameWorld, & Haengma
CHO HANSEUNG CLOSING IN ON GS CALTEX CUP: Cho Hanseung 9P (right) won the second game of the GS Caltex 
Cup title match on November 17th against title holder Park Yeonghun 9P to make the score 2-0 in the best-of-five-games match. Cho, who is not as accomplished as Park, won his most recent title, the Chunwon, in 2006. Park won the international Fujitsu in both 2004 and 2007. The next game in the title match will occur on December 2nd. The GS Caltex Cup has the highest winner’s prize among Korean tournaments.
– Bill Cobb, from reports in Go News & GoGameWorld
US Go News: Zhang 3-Peats at ING Youth Cup
Tuesday November 24, 2009
Hugh Zhang 6D (right) captured the ING Cup Youth Goe Tournament for the third consecutive year, winning all four of his games 
November 8. The 12th annual ING Youth attracted over 100 youth players, with more than 70 in the 19×19 section and over 30 in the 13×13 section at the Chinese Cultural Center in Sunnyvale, CA. Mingjiu Jiang and Reid Augustin directed the tournament.
Winner’s report: Open division (3D+) 1st: Hugh Zhang; 2nd: Justin Shieh; 3rd: Eric Su.
– Lawrence Ku
European Go News: Dai Junfu Meijin in Paris; Britain: Healey-Macfadyen Best-Dressed at Pair Go Champs; League Standings; Laitikainen Retakes Finnish Title; Roever to Play Davis in Irish Final; Regginos Wins Cyprus; Hwang and Dickhut Win in Germany; Poland: Torun Players Sweep in Szczecin & Bydgoszcz; Borkum Islanders Reach Out; Young Players Invited to Goodwill Tourney in Thailand; Western Korean-Style Insei Leagues on KGS
Friday November 20, 2009
DAI JUNFU MEIJIN IN PARIS: Dai Junfu 7d (left) took top honors at the 27th Paris Meijin on November 21-22. 
French Champion Zhang Yanqi won silver. Youth champ Thomas Debarre scored a remarkable win in Round 2, knocking out defending champion and top seed Fan Hui 2P. Guillaume Attia 3k of Alègre club swept the B section. A week earlier, Robin Chauvin 7k won the C-group. Both weekends up to 64 took part. Click here for the tourney page with winners pictures, links to tables and a gallery of more photos.
– Peter Dijkema, after a report by TD Jerome Hubert
BRITAIN: Healey-Macfadyen Best-Dressed at Pair Go Champs; League Standings: Kirsty Healey 1d and Matthew Macfadyen 6d (right) were the best-dressed winners at the recent amateur Pair Go championships in Japan. In the British League, Cambridge leads Division 1 and haven’t dropped a single game in two matches so far. Cornish Rogues share the lead in Division 2 with Newcastle. Both won 2-1 twice. Durham Blue leads in 3, while in 4 no games have been played yet. Click here for the current tables.
– Peter Dijkema
LAITIKAINEN RETAKES FINNISH TITLE: Vesa Laitikainen 5d retook the Finnish title from Antti Törmänen 5d, who lost the final match 2-1 on November 13-14. The 2009 Championship is Laitikainen ‘s 19th Finnish national title. Click here for details of the play-off and finals, with links to the games.
– Peter Dijkema, after a report on EuroGoTV.com
ROEVER TO PLAY DAVIS IN IRISH FINAL: Defending Irish Champion Claas Roever beat Noel Mitchell in a playoff game on KGS to see who would join Ian Davis for the 2009 Irish Championship Final.
– Ian Davis, Ireland Correspondent
REGGINOS WINS CYPRUS: Dimitris Regginos 1d was the top winner in the Cyprus Go Championship (right) last weekend. 
Lilia Regginou 25k won the Cyprus Youth Go Championship, which was held simultaneously. Thomas Gaebler, visiting from Finland, was a special guest at the tournament was. Gaebler has appeared in several tournaments on the European scene, with his last appearance in Munich in April. Winner’s Report: Main tournament: 1st: Dimitris Regginos 1d; 2nd: Giannis Kassinopoulos 4k; 3rd: Thomas Gaebler 4k. Youth tournament: 1st: Lilia Regginou 25k; 2nd: Charalambos Mavrommatis 25k; 3rd: Nika Regginou 25k.
– Nicholas Roussos, Cyprus Correspondent
HWANG AND DICKHUT WIN IN GERMANY: Hwang In-Seong 7d of Berlin won the 10th “Go to Innovation” in 
Berlin November 20-22 8-0, ahead of Llouis Oh 6d of Barcelona, who was 7-1. EuroGo TV broadcast the top board, and 102 participated in the tournament. Vladimir Danek 3rd (Prague) and Viktor Lin (Vienna) 4th – both 5d won 5-3 under the tough Hahn-scoring system: as you win more, you give a higher handicap next game. Thus, in the final round Hwang faced Alexander Kurz 3d at 6 stones. Kurz opted for 77.5 komi, but Hwang still won by 117 points. Among 41 players, only Florian Mömmikes 2k also won 7-1. Click here for results In Düsseldorf, Franz-Josef Dickhut 6d (Mönchengladbach) (right) repeated his 2008 victory, sweeping the third Japanese General Consul’s Cup five straight. Michelle Geilenberg 8k won the ladies award, also 5-0, while the youth prize was for Niilo Syvänen 9k 4-1. Because he was a repeat winner, Dickhut was not eligible for the free ticket to Japan, and Matthias Terwey 4d (Münster) was the lucky winner of the ticket, winning a nigiri with Bernd Radmacher 5d (Meerbusch) to decide the matter.
– Peter Dijkema, based on reports at EuroGoTV and dgob.de
POLAND: TORUN PLAYERS SWEEP IN SZCZECIN & BYDGOSZCZ: Two players from Torun have swept 
tournaments in Szczecin and Bygoszcz. Lukasz Pater 2k of Torun swept the 1st anniversary tourney of Porfirion in Szczecin 5-0, ahead of Artur Chmielowski 4k from Starogard. In the Polish harbor-town 18 took part November 14-15. Click here for results and a gallery of pictures. Meanwhile, Robert Oczkowski 4k, also of Torun – Copernicus’ hometown — swept the 14th Bygoszcz tourney 4-0 on November 14th, where 11 took part. Before that, Tomasz Slazok 2d offered a simul on November 12 in the “Pokój Polski” (‘polish room’) of KGS, to publicize his proposed Wintergo school in the North-West of Poland.
– Peter Dijkema, after go.art.pl
BORKUM ISLANDERS REACH OUT: Local players organized “Let’s Go Borkum” (right) on the German island of Borkum on 
November 13-15. Borkum is the largest and westernmost of the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea, due north of the Dutch province of Groningen. The Emder Go-Gruppe organized the event to foster good contacts between players in Germany and The Netherlands and the 21 participants had such a good time they’ve already decided to return next year on November 12-14, 2010. Click here for more photos and a report in German.
– Peter Dijkema, European Correspondent
YOUNG PLAYERS INVITED TO GOODWILL TOURNEY IN THAILAND: Young players are once again being invited to attend the Go Goodwill Tournament. The second annual tournament – organized by the World Chinese Weiqi Federation in cooperation with the Go Association of Thailand — is set for January 30 – February 3 in Bangkok. Children from 11 countries — China, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States and Thailand — are being invited. “We can send up to three players as a team in any of four divisions,” reports AGA President Allab Abramson. The divisions are High Dan (3-4 Dan); Low Dan (1-2 Dan); High Kyu (1-4 Kyu); and Low Kyu (5-8 Kyu). “Young players who wish to attend this fun tournament should have their parents contact me before December 2.” Email Abramson at President@usgo.org.
WESTERN KOREAN-STYLE INSEI LEAGUES ON KGS: Teachers and top European players Aleksander 
Dinerchtein 3P and Ilya Shiksin 7d (right) hope to launch Korean-style insei leagues on KGS early next year. Leagues would consist of ten players who would play a maximum of 44 games, including four with each teacher, for a monthly fee of $95 US. Group winners would collect $200 and participants would receive reduced rates for game reviews. The project will proceed if at least 3 leagues can be fully filled. The minimum level to enter is 9k KGS.
– Peter Dijkema
EUROPEAN GO NEWS: Trippel Takes Winterthur; Marigo Masters Italian Open; Krämer German Youth Champ; Ulster Sweeps Munster To Reach Irish Interprovincial Finals; Metta Sweeps Lucca; French Youth Congress And Hikaru Cup
Monday November 16, 2009
TRIPPEL TAKES WINTERTHUR: Lorenz Trippel of Zurich was undefeated in the one-day fast-play Swiss Winterthur tourney on November 14, ahead of Mark Wirdnam and Lisa Tao. Click here for results and photos.
– Peter Dijkema, after a report on swissgo.org
MARIGO MASTERS ITALIAN OPEN: Francesco Marigo 4d of Milan swept the 30th Italian Open (photo) field of 52 in Bologna, November 7-8. Only Massimiliano Spallanzi 12k from Modenaalso won all five rounds. Click here for results and photos.
– Peter Dijkema
KRÄMER GERMAN YOUTH CHAMP: Bonn’s Lukas Krämer 4d won the German Youth — Deutsche Jugendmeister — title in Hamburg on November 7-8. The event was hosted at the 27th “Rahlstedter Tengen,” which attracted over a hundred players to three different tourneys. In the traditional ‘Tengen’ events, Lutz Franke won Group One of 44 players on SOS ahead of Lu Ji and Stefan Kaitschick (also of Hamburg), while Björn Hölscher swept Group Two 7-0, topping a field of 50.
– Peter Dijkema
ULSTER SWEEPS MUNSTER TO REACH IRISH INTERPROVINCIAL FINALS: Ulster beat Munster on all three boards on November 13 in the Irish Go Association‘s new online interprovincial competition . This puts them through to the final, where they will play the winner of the Leinster – Connacht match. “The better team won” said Munster Team Captain Rory Wales. “It was a good hard match, and we’re just pleased to have got through it” responded Ulster Team Captain James Hutchinson. Munster clearly missed Cao Tong Yu 4d and Wei Wang 7d. Meanwhile, Colin MacSweeny and Michael Thai join Ian Davis and Noel Mitchell in the Top-8 tourney, which kicks off in January. The other four places will be filled from the ladder. “Intense competition can be expected for the rest of November”, according to the Irish Go Association.
– Ian Davis, Irish Correspondent, with additional reporting by Peter Dijkema
METTA SWEEPS LUCCA: Carlo Metta 1k of Pisa swept the Tai Kai Japan Palace tourney 5-0 in Lucca, Italy on October 31 and November 1. He finished ahead of Fausto Predieri (2nd) and Pasquale De Lucia (3rd). A week later, Metta surprised with silver at the 30th Italian Championship, as reported last week. Click here for results.
– Peter Dijkema, after a link on agi.go.it
FRENCH YOUTH CONGRESS AND HIKARU CUP: The French “Congres National des Jeunes” (right) – or Youth Congress — 
took place in a castle near Lens en Vercours in the Isereregion of the French Alps October 24-31. After four days of study with the team of teachers led by Fan Hui, students vied for the Hikaru Cups. French-American Thomas Debarre 5d once again won the top category “Lycée” while Florian Melcer won the “College” title and Mélissa Héaulme successfully defended her “Primaire” title, proving one can become a “Championne” starting simply by learning ‘atari-go.’ Héaulme’s father Alain is an active promotor of this teaching style in France. The report on the French site contains links to 5 YouTube videos.
– Peter Dijkema, after a report by Motoki Noguchi