We're re-sending last night's E-Journal because a technical snafu stripped out the photos. We apologize for any inconvenience.

World Go News from the American Go Association
June 18, 2007; Volume 8, #47

TOP STORIES: Mozheng Guan Wins NorCal Open; Eric Lui Tops Feng Yun Open; U.S. Leads In Iwamoto
US GO NEWS: Online Ing Qualifier Update; Still Time To Throw Hat In For World Chinese Youth Tourney; Early Registration For NY Youth Tourney
CONGRESS WATCH: U.S. Congress Tops 400; AI Featured At Euro Congress
UPCOMING EVENTS
WORLD GO NEWS: Lee Changho Makes It 1-1 In Wangwi; Lee Sedol Wins Asian TV Cup; Cho Hunhyun Holding The Line For Men In GG Auction Cup; Japanese Teen Taking Down Elders; Chen Yaoye Becomes World's Youngest 9 Dan Pro
MEMBER'S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: Cho Chikun, Haruyama & Yang Endgame
GO QUIZ: Maryland, My Maryland PLUS How to Promote Go
YOUTH GO: Eckelkamp Named AGF Teacher of the Year
GO CLASSIFIED

MOZHENG GUAN WINS NORCAL OPEN: Mozheng Guan 8d won the Northern California Open Tournament held June 16-17 in San Francisco. In the open, a dozen players competed for a chance to win points in the North American Ing Cup (NAIC) Qualifier, while 26 players tested their skills in the handicap section. While most of the players were local regulars, Steve Stringfellow came all the way from Seattle, and Mozheng Guan came to play on his summer break. Although Guan lost an exciting 4th round match against Matthew Burrall where both players were down to their last byo-yomi period - giving hope to those hoping for a local champion -- Burrall lost his last game and Guan's higher SOS claimed the title for him. Reid Augustin and Ernest Brown directed.
WINNERS REPORT: Open: 1st: GUAN Mozheng 8d; 2nd: BURRALL Matthew 6d; 3rd: XIE Chao 6d. 4D-2K: 1st: LIU Willis 2k; 2nd: RUSSEL, Solomon 2k; 3rd: CHONG Jacky 4d. 3K-6K: 1st: PFAFF Jason 5k; 2nd: BURRALL Julie 4k; 3rd: SUN Michael 6k. 7K-25K: 1st: LIU Kevin 9k; 2nd: LIU Daniel 18k; 3rd: HUANG Corey 7k.
- reported by Lawrence Ku, EJ West Coast correspondent
Photos by Lawrence Ku: left: a crowd gathers around the last open game, Matthew Burrall (l) vs. Chao Xie; top right: players busy concentrating on their games during the 4th round. At front, Hugh Zhang (left) vs. Steve Stringfellow (right)

ERIC LUI TOPS FENG YUN OPEN: Eric Lui 8d took top honors - and the NAIC Qualifier points - at the June 16 Feng Yun Open and North American Ing Cup (NAIC) Qualifier in Piscataway, NJ. Robert Zimmerman 13k topped the 49-player Booster section in which competitors played different numbers of games, with standings based on wins minus losses. The event was organized by the Feng Yun Go School, with Paul Matthews as TD.
WINNER'S REPORT: Open Section (20 players): Group A (NAIC Qualifier): 1st: Eric Lui 8d; 2nd-5th (tie) I-Han Lui 7d, Yong Chen 6d, Xun Zhou 5d, Zhongxia (Ricky) Zhao 6d; 6th-8th (tie) Lionel Zhang 5d, Kevin Huang 8d, Peng Liu 6d. Group B: 1st: Jack Yang 5d; 2nd-3rd (tie) Eric Lin 4d, Maverick Lin 2d. Booster Section (49 players) +8 Robert Zimmerman 13k; +6 Andrew Huang 3k; Aleck Zhao 6k; +5 Jiangtao Gu 1k; +4 Jonathan Liang 9k, Michael Wu 10k, Melissa Danitz 14k; +3 Jeffrey Cheng 22k, Howard Fang 4k, Joyce Hong 16k; +2 Curtis Li 21k, Simon Yang 22k, Emily Fu 21k. June 16 Feng Yun Tournament photo by Lang Wu

US LEADS IN IWAMOTO: (6/15) After 4 rounds, the US has a razor thin lead over Turkey and Colombia in the 2007 Iwamoto Tournament, reports Rob Muldowney. In the overall country cup portion of the tournament -- being played on KGS in Sala Andina under the national room list -- the US leads with a 2 and 3 point SOS, with four rounds to go. The current top US scorers are: David Matso, Edward Lee, Hal Carleton, Eric Swan, and Kevin Chang who are all undefeated. Click here for details on the tournament.

US GO NEWS

ONLINE ING QUALIFIER UPDATE: Registration for the June 30 IGS Ing Qualifier is now closed, reports Dennis Wheeler. "We have eleven players signed up," says Wheeler. "Pairings and schedules will be posted soon for this two-day, 4-round Swiss event on IGS. Assisting me as TD will be Christopher Vu." Registration is still open for the KGS Ing qualifier scheduled for 14th July, with six players already signed up; email denniswheeler@yahoo.com to register.

STILL TIME TO THROW HAT IN FOR WORLD CHINESE YOUTH TOURNEY: Three young players -- Calvin Lee, Lionel Zhang and Hugh Zhang -- have thus far expressed firm interest in representing the U.S. at the 2nd World Chinese Youth Go Championship later this year in Hong Kong. There are four slots available and "we will use current AGA ratings to select the top four players if more than four apply," reports AGA President Mike Lash, who adds that the team must be selected by June 30. Email him at president@usgo.org for details.

EARLY REGISTRATION FOR NY YOUTH TOURNEY: The Feng Yun Go School is co-sponsoring the "Gold Kili Cup" Youth tournament with the World Jounal, a popular Chinese newpaper. The August 11 5 round Swiss-style tournament event will be held at the World Journal, 5th floor, 62 Mott St in New York and will have two age groups, one for 12 and under, and one for 17 and under. Prize for each group are $150 for 1st, $100 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd. Pre-registration by July 30 is required: contact the World Journal at 718-746-8889 Ext.6361 or email jehchang@wjnews.com for detailed information and registration info.

CONGRESS WATCH

US CONGRESS TOPS 400: Registration at this year's US Go Congress, July 28-August 4 in Lancaster, PA is now 420, reports Co-Director Peter Nassar. "Two more pros have been added to our roster," adds Nassar. "Yunsheng Ruan 7P, from the Beijing Wei Qi Association, and Yasuhiro Nakano 9P from the Kansai Ki-in in Osaka, Japan. We are expecting the name of the visiting pro representing the Nihon Ki-in any day now." In the latest deal from Congress organizers, any current AGA member who registers for the US Go Congress between Monday, June 18 and Monday, June 24 will have their AGA membership automatically renewed for free for one year. All those who register by June 30 will also still save $50 off the Congress registration fee.

AI FEATURED AT EURO CONGRESS: Martin Müller, Peter Woitke and Chrilly Donninger will lecture on go and artificial intelligence at this year's European Go Congress, July 14-28 in Villach, Austria. Woitke, well-known in the go community as the programmer of GoAhead, Donninger, who created Hydra, currently the strongest chess program on the market, and Muller, a professor at the University of Alberta, will explain the possibilities and limitations of today's artificial intelligence, using go as an example. Registration for the Congress is nearing 700.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 23, 2007: Middlebury, VT: Hanami-ko in Vermont
Peter Schumer schumer@middlebury.edu 802.388.3934

June 23, 2007: Seattle, WA: Seattle Ing Championship Qualifier
Eligible players may win an invitation to the North American Ing Championship at the US Go Congress. Click here for the Ing Championship rules
Chris Kirschner tournaments@usgo.org 206.579.8071
Jon Boley jon@seattlegocenter.org 206.545.1424

June 24, 2007: New York, NY
NYGC Master Player Series presents Andy Liu, the US Champion who placed #8 in World Amateur Go Championships this year
Roy Laird nygc@usgo.org 212.223.0342
Paul Anderson 914.238.1638
June 16 Feng Yun Tournament photo by Lang Wu

WORLD GO NEWS

LEE CHANGHO MAKES IT 1-1 IN WANGWI: (6/15) Lee Changho 9P won the second game in the best-of-five-game defense of his Wangwi title against challenger Yun Junsang 6P by a half point to even up the score at one game each. Yun, who is not yet twenty, defeated Lee Changho 3-1 earlier this year to take the Korean Kuksu title. Lee has held the Wangwi title for eleven years in a row, but seems to be a bit off his game these days. He holds no international titles at the moment, although he does have two other national Korean titles: the Myeongin and the Electron-Land Cup. Halfway through the year he is not among the top twenty Korean pros in terms of games won this year, though he's still the world leader by far in terms of number of international titles won with seventeen. No one else has reached double figures in that category.

LEE SEDOL WINS ASIAN TV CUP: (6/15) Lee Sedol 9P of Korea defeated teenage 9P Chen Yaoye of China to take the Asian TV Cup on Thursday, June 14th. GoGameWorld.com reports that Lee has now won nineteen games in a row in national and international competition. His overall winning percentage so far in 2007 is 86%, with 36 wins to only 6 losses. Lee currently holds four Korean titles and has now added a second current international title to the Toyota Denso World Oza he won in January. The Asian TV Cup brings together the winner and runner up from the fast-play national TV tournaments in China (CCTV Cup), Japan (NHK Cup), and Korea (KBS Cup), along with the previous year's winner of this event, in a single-elimination contest.

CHO HUNHYUN HOLDING THE LINE FOR MEN IN GG AUCTION CUP: Cho Hunhyun 9P has defeated five straight female opponents in the GG Auction Cup, with just three left standing between him and the title. The GG Auction Cup is a new Korean event that pits twelve women pros against twelve male pros over 50 in a "win and continue contest." As reported previously in the EJ, the women initially made quick work of the seniors, until they reached the last one, Cho Hunhyun 9P. Cho stopped teenager Kim Eunsun 3P, who had polished off four seniors before meeting Cho. However, there were still seven more players on the women's team. Cho then defeated Lee Minjin 5P, who won five games in a row earlier this year in the international women's team tournament, the Jeongganjang Cup. Next up for the women was Yun Youngmin 2P, whom Cho also defeated. Cho then faced Cho Hyeyeon 7P, who has twice won Korean women's titles by defeating Rui Naiwei 9P by scores of 2-0. Apparently a more challenging rival for Cho, this was the only game so far he has not won by resignation, but he did prevail by 5.5 points. That brought up Lee Youngsin 4P, whom Cho again defeated by resignation. This left only three women: Kim Heyoimin 4P, Cho's opponent this Wednesday, June 20th, Park Jieun 7P and Rui Naiwei 9P, both of whom have outstanding records.

JAPANESE TEEN TAKING DOWN ELDERS: Japanese teen phenom Xie Yimin 3d has been running the tables on top pros recently. The youngest woman ever to make pro in Japan at the age of 14 years and four months, Xie was also the youngest woman pro ever to win a title, taking the Strongest Woman title last year at age 17 and one month. So far this year, still five months shy of her 18th birthday, she is continuing to show remarkable ability: In the current Strongest Woman tournament she defeated Kobayashi Izumi 6P by 5.5 points on June 11th to reach the third round. On June 7th, Xie defeated Yoshida Mika 8P by resignation to reach the semifinals of this year's Women's Honinbo. In May, she defeated Aoki Kikuyo 8P to gain the second round of the Women's Meijin. Xie made it to the semifinals of the last Women's Kisei, where she lost to the eventual winner, Umezawa Yukari 5P. She also posted the first win in the current NHK Cup, defeating Rin Shien 7P by 10.5 points back in April to enter the second round. And she is tied for 7th place with Yamashita Keigo 9P on the list of Japanese pros with the most wins so far this year, having won 16 games. Xie's 80% winning percentage is much better than Yamashita's 59%; only three other players in the top 20 have that good a winning percentage. One of the three is another remarkable teenage pro: Iyama Yuta 7P, whom we reported on recently. He's tied for third with 18 wins and an 82% percentage. Xie's name is also written as Shei Imin.

CHEN YAOYE BECOMES WORLD'S YOUNGEST 9 DAN PRO: (6/13) At the tender age of 17, Chinese pro Chen Yaoye has earned promotion to the rank of 9P by defeating Choi Cheolhan 9P of Korea on Wednesday, June 13th, to reach the finals of the Asian TV Cup, which he lost to Lee Sedol (see story above) . After defeating Lee Changho 9P of Korea in the second round of the international LG Cup last year, Chen made it to the finals of that tournament, losing to Gu Li 9P of China. Under Chinese rules, any pro who takes second place in two international tournaments is promoted to 9P, so the remarkable Chen qualifies.

MEMBER'S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: Cho Chikun, Haruyama & Yang Endgame
Today's game commentary is a prelim qualification game for the Futjitsu Cup, played in February 2006. "It shows Cho Chikun 9P's style of play," notes commenter Fan Hui 2P. "Cho likes a lot territory and one of his strong points is invading." Regular EJ contributor Fan Hui is a 2 dan professional from China who now lives in France. He is rated as the strongest player in Europe. The commentary has been translated into English by Benoit Roturier, who is a 3d in Toulouse, France.
In today's installment of Haruyama Isamu 9P's Questions from Actual Play # 31, Haruyama looks at a popular extension, and today's final bonus content is the second installment of Yilun Yang 7P's latest series of endgame puzzles, this one the hard puzzle.
If you're not already getting these game commentaries, don't miss another week of Member's Edition content! Sign up now and get game commentaries, reviews and more.

GO QUIZ: Maryland, My Maryland
The Mason Dixon line could not stop General Lee, and it is not stopping Marylanders from heading north, as totaled by Gareth Williams "Maryland 33, New Jersey 32, New York 25 and Philadelphia 21" (don't worry Gareth, no points deducted even though Philadelphia's not a state). 8/14 answered correctly and, surprisingly, no one chose Congress host state Pennsylvania. This will be my third Pennsylvania Congress, and my third time doing a day off tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Congrats to Kim Salamony, this week's winner, chosen at random from those answering correctly.
BREAKOUT TO SHODAN: We'll take a break from the quiz this week to poll the readership on what you think would give American go the most publicity and biggest boost. Would it be Michael Redmond winning the Honinbo, broadcasting Hikaru no Go on the Cartoon Network, Go as an Olympic sport or Paris Hilton taking up the game? The poll is prompted by a discussion on www.godiscussions.com which inspired Solomon Choe 3d of Tacoma to come up with our illustration. Click here to post your vote, any comment, or groan.
- Go Quiz Editor: Keith L. Arnold, hka

YOUTH GO: Eckelkamp Named AGF Teacher of the Year
    Houston school teacher John Eckelkamp (below, with students) has been chosen as the American Go Foundation's Teacher of the Year. Eckelkamp has been running go programs for children at St. Catherine's Montessori School for the past eight years. "There is some deep connection with a fundamental wonder at the nature of the universe that suffuses my daily life," says Eckelkamp. "Go touches on that part of me that is fascinated by the beauty and mystery of the natural world, the part that led me to teaching so that I could share my joy and excitement. I have always taken as much joy from sharing the wonders of the world around us as in exploring it myself. "
    Although he had heard of go as a high school student, Eckelkamp didn't learn to play until he encountered the game again at a Houston Go Club booth at a local Japan Festival in 1999. "My first game was at a five-stone handicap on a 9x9 board," Eckelkamp tells the E-Journal. "My opponent was a four and a half year old boy named Stanley. I didn't have a single stone left at the end of the game. Stanley taught me many things, and while I have passed him in the years since, I'm not even close to catching up with his older brother who is now a dan level player. My students get a kick out of the fact that an adult can be beaten by such a young person, that experience -- not age -- is the important thing."
    The go bug took hold and Eckelkamp soon found himself obsessed with the game. "As a new devotee, I quickly folded the game into my curriculum offering lessons in go as just another subject," Eckelkamp continues. "I found deep parallels between how a student processed certain skill sets and how she played the game. I could observe one behavior and gain insight into the other. The most interesting thing I learned from watching students over time was that development and practice in either academics or go led to parallel growth in the other. If a child played a lot of go but did less math, her math skills continued to progress. If she did a lot of math but played little go, her go skills still advanced. Not only could go act as an analytical tool to see where a child was developmentally, in an academic sense, but playing go helped to improve those same skills."
    "I cannot remember a time when I wasn't teaching others," says Eckelkamp. "There is just so much neat stuff in the world and I love to share it with others. I often tell people I get paid in far more than money for being a teacher, but one moment brought that fact home to me in a more striking way than any other. We were learning about the rarest form of pearls in my after-school science class. The kids were fascinated by the idea that an orange snail could make things so valuable. One child asked how much a big one would be worth. I answered that if I ever found one I could retire and never have to work again. He turned to his friend and said, 'We'd better hope Mr. Eckelkamp never finds one then.' To know that you have such an impact on young lives is humbling. I remember clearly all the adults that made impacts on me as I grew up. They still teach me even though many are long gone. I only hope to return the gift that was shared with me."
    As Teacher of the Year, Eckelkamp will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Go Congress this year, courtesy of the American Go Foundation. At the Congress, Eckelkamp will give a presentation on his program and share his ideas with other teachers from across the country.
- reported by Paul Barchilon, E-Journal Youth Editor

GO CLASSIFIED

GA CLUB FORMING: Go club starting in the Fall '07 semester at Gordon College (Barnesville, Georgia). If interested, please contact the club main advisor at go_gordonga@yahoo.com. If wanting to come and visit to teach a class, please tell me which would be a good time for you, so I can plan the schedule in advance. The club will teach new players, and will have tournaments with other clubs. (6/11)

PLAYERS WANTED: Branford, CT. Looking for players in the area of all
skill and age levels. Contact gregory.santone@gmail.com (6/4)

FOR SALE: 30-year collection of go material, including Go World #1 to #180 except for missing numbers Ishi #38 #48 #52 #53 #54 #55, also Kiseido #76. Issues #1 -#32 ,plus #39-#42 are in cardboard binders. Issues #16 and #51 are missing covers, all others are good or better condition; best offer for all issues. Also available are 35 various books from Ishi press, Yutopian publications, and other miscellaneous material. For further information, call 845-246-9621 or wjones1@hvc.rr.com (5/21)

PLAYERS WANTED: PA: Looking for any players in Clifton heights,Aldan, Drexel Hill, Or Upper Darby Pennsylvania Contact Jehuty43@yahoo.com (5/21)

PLAYERS WANTED: GA: Seeking go players or those interested in learning how to play in the Savannah, Georgia area. Contact dan_carata@yahoo.com (5/21)

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