News from the American Go Association
June 19, 2006
Volume 7, #51
7 ADVANCE TO NAMT SECOND ROUND
CURTIS TANG TO FACE ANDY LIU IN REDMOND CUP SENIOR FINALS
CALVIN SUN & PATRICK LUNG QUALIFY FOR REDMOND CUP JUNIOR FINALS
HESTNES & MCCALL TOP VA OPEN
CHOE WINS TACOMA TOURNEY
CONGRESS ATTENDANCE NEARS 300 AS DEADLINE LOOMS
TAKAO TAKES COMFORTABLE LEAD IN HONINBO
TEAMS FROM CHONGQING AND SHANDONG LEAD CHINESE A LEAGUE
MACFADYEN EXTENDS WELSH OPEN STREAK TO 68
MEIJIN CHALLENGER LEAGUE WRAPPING UP IN JAPAN
A CHANCE TO HANG OUT WITH MICHAEL REDMOND
CALENDAR
7 ADVANCE TO NAMT SECOND ROUND: Zhaonian Chen, Seung Hyun Hong, Wei Chen, Jung Hoon Lee, Eric Lui, and Yuan Zhou advanced in the 2006 North American Masters Tournament (NAMT) last Saturday, when the first round of the NAMT B League was held on KGS. The winners join Soren Gherman, who had a bye, to the second round. The next round is this Saturday at 4P EST on KGS. Winner's Report: Zhaonian Chen (Hosuk Yi forfeited); Seung Hyun Hong (d. Jie Lang); Wei Chen (d. Landon Brownell); Jung Hoon Lee (d. I-han Lui); Eric Lui (d. Martin Mueller); Yuan Zhou (Jim Huang forfeited). The game records are available on KGS.
CURTIS TANG TO FACE ANDY LIU IN REDMOND CUP SENIOR FINALS: Curtis Tang 7d defeated three other young top players to take the first finalist position in the senior division of the 2006 Redmond Cup, in which 13 dan-level players under the age of 18 competed. Tang, who now lives in China, has also represented the United States in the World Youth Go Championship Junior Division several times. Andy Liu 7d is the second finalist, and was one of the 2006 US Fujitsu Qualifiers. This year, half of the players were from California, and there were also two female players. Michael Bull directed. The two finalists will be playing three games at the U.S. Go Congress this summer. Winner's Report: 1st: Curtis Tang 7d; 2nd: Andy Liu 7d; 3rd: Lawrence Ku 4d; 4th: Zipei Feng 8d. See the attached sgf file for the game between Andy Liu and Zipei Feng.
- reported by Lawrence Ku
CALVIN SUN & PATRICK LUNG QUALIFY FOR REDMOND CUP JUNIOR FINALS: Calvin Sun 4d and Patrick Lung 1k are the finalists in this year's Junior Division of the Redmond Cup, topping a field of seven players under the age of 12. Sun, who lives in Southern California, went undefeated to become a finalist for the second time in a row; Lung lives in Canada. Michael Bull directed. Winner's Report: 1st: Calvin Sun 4d; 2nd: Patrick Lung 1k; 3rd: Lionel Zhang 3d.
- reported by Lawrence Ku
HESTNES & MCCALL TOP VA OPEN: Odie Hestnes 3k and Greg McCall 10k won all four of their games to top the Virginia Open on June 17. Winning three games were Xinmu Tan 4d, Philip London 5k, and William Larkin 12k. "Twenty-one players met in the pleasant surroundings of the Celebration Room at the John Rolf Ukrop's in Richmond, VA," reports organizer Bill Cobb. Chuck Robbins 4d directed; prizes were provided by Slate & Shell.
CHOE WINS TACOMA TOURNEY: Solomon Choe took first place in the Tacoma Go Club's "Late Spring" tournament on June 17 in Tacoma, WA. "With only 10 players, attendance was the lowest in recent years, probably because of schedule conflicts such as the North American Masters, and the fact that some of our regulars had to be out of town," reports organizer Mike Malveaux. "Those who did make it, enjoyed four rounds of fellowship in go, including high handicaps, astounding mid-game territory swaps, at least one epic ko fight, and at least one half-point margin of victory." Winner's Report: 1st: Solomon Choe (3-1); 2nd: Gordon Castanza (3-1); 3rd: Chunlei Dong. Dong Ma, Mike Malveaux, and Tim Woodcock all won 2 of 4 games, Dennis Wheeler and Gary Metcalf each scored 1 win and Chergai Castanza and Monica Malveaux also scored 1 win apiece, to tie for the Youth Prize. Full results and a few photos will be posted at www.hilltopgo.com by next weekend. "Tacoma tournament organizers would like to know if it makes sense to hold a tournament in Chehalis next winter or spring, so a bunch of Oregon and Washington players could meet face-to-face," says Malveaux. "There are relatively large populations of go players near Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. The town of Chehalis, WA, is about 90 miles north of Portland, and 90 miles south of Seattle. Chehalis is right on Interstate 5, and is served by Amtrak and Greyhound." Send feedback to chehalis@hilltopgo.com
CONGRESS ATTENDANCE NEARS 300 AS DEADLINE LOOMS: Over 70 more players have registered for the 2006 US Go Congress in the last week, bringing the total to 275 as the June 22 deadline for early registration - and a $50 savings - looms. Register online - or get more info - at http://www.gocongress06.org/ "We are pleased to announce that Ming-jiu Jiang 7P, author of Punishing and Correcting Joseki Mistakes, will be attending the Go Congress in Black Mountain this year," reports organizer Paul Celmer.
TAKAO TAKES COMFORTABLE LEAD IN HONINBO: Takao Shinji 9P now leads 3-1 in his defense of his Japanese Honinbo title against Yamada Kimio 9P. After Yamada tied it up by winning the second game of the best-of-seven match, Takao took the next two games, both by resignation. Takao now needs just one more win to hold onto the title for a second year. Takao has had a number of successes, but the Honinbo is the only one of the big seven titles in Japan that he has held, taking it from Cho U 9P last year.
TEAMS FROM CHONGQING AND SHANDONG LEAD CHINESE A LEAGUE: After six rounds of the Chinese A League competition between four-player teams representing various cities, the teams from Chongqing and Shandong lead with four wins each. This highly popular team competition in China was discussed recently in an article in the E-Journal. City teams are usually sponsored by corporations and may include non-Chinese players. Team Shanghai, which won the league last year and includes Chang Hao 9P, has gotten off to a slow start, losing four of its first six matches. Off to a good start with four wins are Team Chongqing, which includes China's number one player Gu Li 9P along with Yu Bin 9P, Wang Xi 5P, and Wang Lei 5P, and Team Shandong, which includes Xie He 5P, Zhou Heyang 9P, Shao Weigang 9P, and Hong Minpyo 5P. Lee Sedol 9P of Korea played for Team Kueichou when they were matched against Team Chongqing, but lost to Gu Li.
MACFADYEN EXTENDS WELSH OPEN STREAK TO 68: Matthew Macfadyen 6d of Leamington now has won 68 straight games in the Welsh Open. Macfadyen was the winner of the 14th edition of this event in Barmouth on June 10-11, which drew 30 players. David Ward 4d of Cambridge came in second with a 4-1 record, losing only to Macfadyen. Francis Roads 4d of Wanstead was third, losing to Ward and Macfadyen. Fourth was Toby Manning 2d of Leicester, fifth was BGA president Simon Goss 2d of Brackness.
MEIJIN CHALLENGER LEAGUE WRAPPING UP IN JAPAN: The league to determine the challenger for Meijin Cho U 9P has only two more rounds to go. The teenager who got in -- Ko Iso 7P -- is probably out of the running with a 2-4 record, but the other newcomer to the league, Han Zenki 7P, is tied for the lead with Yoda Norimoto 9P at four wins each. Han faces two serious final games. His opponents will be current Honinbo Takao Shinji 9P and current Honinbo challenger Yamada Kimio 9P. Han earlier defeated current Kisei Yamashita Keigo 9P as well as current Gosei Yoda Norimoto, so he should not be counted out yet. The former World Amateur Go Champion Sakai Hideyuki 7P is at 3-3.
A CHANCE TO HANG OUT WITH MICHAEL REDMOND: Kids: want something different to tell your friends about when you get back to school? How about "I went to the East Coast Go Camp!" Sign up soon to end your summer with a bang and you too will be able to say, "I know him!" when Michael Redmond appears in Shonen Jump or wins a title. Visit www.usgo.org/gocamp/ for the application.
CALENDAR
June 24: Hanover, New Hampshire
Upper Valley Go Club Handicap Tournament 2006
Karen Plomp goclub@plomp.com 603-448-0791
July 2: Seattle, WA
Ratings Tournament
Jon Boley jon@airsltd.com 206-545-1424
July 8: Chicago, IL
'Baduk on the Beach' Handicap Tourney
Jason Allen scotch.rolaid@gmail.com 773-227-1629
July 8-9: Manitoba
Manitoba Open Go Tournament - 2006
Arax Orantz allfather@mts.net 204-222-1310
July 15: Kalamazoo, MI
Kalamazoo's 5th tournament
Benjamin Schooley benjaminschooley@hotmail.com 269-672-7466
July 16: Somerville, MA
MGA Summer Handicap Tournament
Zack Grossbart zack@grossbart.com 617-497-1232
August 12-20: Black Mountain, NC
The 22nd US Go Congress
Paul Celmer congress@usgo.org 919-779-7925
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Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb
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