World
Go News from the American Go Association
August 20, 2007; Volume 8, #62
COAST TO COAST WITH YUNSHEN RUAN 7P
PHILLY TOURNEY OFFERS $1,000 TOP PRIZE
NY GO CENTER PLANS ACTIVE FALL SCHEDULE
WOODLANDS TO HOST YU PING 6P LABOR
DAY WORKSHOP
GO ONLINE: Go Videos
& Latest Pandanet Cup
WORLD GO NEWS: Cho U To Challenge For
Meijin; Lee Changho Wins
Zhonghuan Cup
GO PHOTOS: Go Camp East
GO QUIZ: He Should Know
GO CLASSIFIED
MEMBER’S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: The
always-popular Kaz Furuyama is back this week with a teaching game in
which he shows how to take advantage of mistakes. And the inimitable
Yilun Yang returns with Part 2 of this month’s endgame
problems, this time the hard one. Non-members: all this great content
is just
a click away!
COAST
TO COAST WITH YUNSHEN RUAN 7P: “One of the
nicest by-products of having a well organized, exciting and large U.S.
Go Congress is that many of the foreign visitors sta
y and
enjoy our country,” reports American Go Association President
Mike Lash. “This year is no exception. Mr. Yunsheng Ruan, the
7 Dan professional sent by the Chinese Weichi Association, began a
national tour immediately after this year’s
Congress.” After a visit to the New York Go Center organized
by AGA Board Chairman Roy Laird (East Coast Clubs Host Pros, 8/13 EJ),
Mr. Ruan traveled by train to Rochester, NY, at the invitation of
Thomas Hsiang and the Empty Sky Go Club, where club members like David
Boyer found “something beautiful in the purity of Ruan
Yunsheng's teaching… the Chinese truly love, know and care
about this ancient board game.” Next, Mr Ruan flew to Chicago
where the Evanston Chapter took him in, and, Lash reports,
“he was shown the Windy City’s best spots by a team
including Tania Kadakia, John Harriman, Jason Allen and others for
several days. No storms or winds limited this stop and he thoroughly
enjoyed the Miracle Mile and a great Chinese banquet organized by his
hosts.” After the East and the Midwest, the next stop was the
West Coast, where the Seattle Go Center’s Jon Boley and crew
hosted Mr. Ruan for a few more days as “he experienced one of
the strongest American go communities plus a city environment very
different from any other he had seen in the U.S.,” Lash
reports. “All in all, the AGA chapters and members who
supported Mr. Ruan’s excellent adventure deserve a national
round of applause for being outstanding Go Ambassadors for the AGA and
for American go. This should make the selection process for next
year’s China representative a lot more interesting for them.
Thanks to all of you for a job well done!” Photos:
top right: Yunsheng Ruan in Rochester, NY (photo by David Boyer); left:
Ruan in Chicago (photo by John Harriman) Click
here for more photos of the Empty Sky visit.
PHILLY
TOURNEY OFFERS $1,000 TOP PRIZE: First prize in next
month’s tournament in Philadelphia will be $1,000, reports
organizer Peter Nassar. Organizers are hoping to attract a strong
field, Nassar tells the EJ, and “Beginners are especially
welcome, as we will also have a Handicap Division and lots of beginner
prize
s!”
The 3rd Annual Philadelphia Fall Open is set for September 22-23, at
the University of Pennsylvania, and is organized by the Penn Go
Society. Click
here for more information.
NY
GO CENTER PLANS ACTIVE FALL SCHEDULE: The New York Go
Center is planning a busy fall calendar of events, reports Center
President Roy Laird. “The Master Player lecture series is
shaping up as an especially valuable resource for players who want to
get stronger,” says Laird. Highlights of the schedule include
the New York Go Center September Rating Tournament on September 9,
Master Class with Dae-yol Kim 7D on September 23, and Young Kwon
7D’s Master Class on October 14. Effective September 1, there
are also daily specials, including Tuesday’s Discount Night (
everyone pays $5/$3 student), Wednesday’s Dan night (dan
players pay $5/$3 student), Thursday’s Kyu night (kyu players
pay 5/$3 student), Friday’s Ladies' Night (Women play for
free), Saturday’s Beginners' Day (double-di
git kyu
players pay 5/$3 student) and Sunday’s Ratings Day (AGA
members who play at least one rated pay game 5/$3 student). Check the
Center’s website
for latest news. photo of NYGC
patio playing area courtesy Roy Laird
WOODLANDS
TO HOST YU PING 6P LABOR DAY WORKSHOP: The Brooklyn Go
Club will mark its 19th annual Labor Day go weekend with a visit by Yu
Ping 6P of China. Guo Juan returns for another workshop at the
Woodlands on Columbus Day. Labor Day activities begin on Friday, August
31 and run through Wednesday, September 5. Click
here for details. Photo
of playing go in the pool at The Woodlands by Marilyn Stern
GO
ONLINE: Go Videos & Latest Pandanet Cup
This just in: there's a new introductory video on blip.tv, which bills
itself as "the world's leading videoblogging and podcasting service."
Two videos actually, a two-part series by "Goshawk
Heron," a founder of the "Go Center for Second Life" a go club in the Second
Life virtual world. Click
here to view Part I; click
here to view Part II. Let us know what you think! PLUS: the
12th edition of the Worldwide Internet Amateur Go Tournament, the
"PANDANET Cup" is now open. This year you can participate in either the
Main Championship or in smaller groups open to players within a
specific rank range (eg. 10 kyu - 5 kyu). Free; click
here for details.
CHO
U TO CHALLENGE FOR MEIJIN: With a decisive 7-1 record in
the Meijin League, 
Cho U 9P (l),
current Gosei, has won the right to challenge Takao Shinji 9P for his
Meijin title. Yamada Kimio 9P came in second with a score of 5-3. Sakai
Hideyuki 7P, the popular former WAGC winner and member of the Kansai
Kiin, had a good start with a 4-1 record, but lost his last three games
to end up 4-4, as did Yoda Norimoto 9P. The most surprising performance
was by Yamashita Keigo 9P and current Kisei. He only won one game,
ending with a 1-7 record, which means he has failed to earn a place in
next year's League. The three players with the worst records are
dropped each year from the League to be replaced by the winners of a
complicated series of tournaments the next year. The other two demoted
this year are Hikosaka Naoto 9P and Mimura Tomoyasu 9P, with 3-5 and
4-4 records respectively. Sakai and Yoda, with 4-4 records, got to stay
because they were ranked higher in the League on the basis of prior
performances. Ko Iso 7P, who also was 4-4, was ranked lower than
Mimura, but won a playoff game against the latter to decide who would
be the third man out. Takao took the Meijin title from Cho last year,
spoiling Cho's effort to threepeat.
LEE
CHANGHO WINS ZHONGHUAN CUP: Lee Changho 9P (r) defeated
Park Jungsang 9P
on Friday,
August 17th, to win the international Zhonghuan Cup for Korea,
maintaining Korea's exclusive hold on this relatively new tournament in
its third edition. Lee won all four of his games in this tournament by
resignation. In fact the only game in the entire tournament that was
not decided by resignation was the semifinal game between Park Jungsang
and fellow Korean Park Yeonghun 9P, which was decided by a half point.
The tournament includes players from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea and is
played
in
Taipei, Taiwan. China refuses to participate in this event.
GoGameWorld.com reports that the players have two and a half hours of
basic time with 5 periods of one minute for byoyomi. All four rounds
are played over a six day period.
GO
PHOTOS: The Go Relay (l), in which whichever team is
faster plays more stones, at this year’s Youth Go Camp East. Photo courtesy Karen Jordan
GO
QUIZ: He Should Know
Terry Benson leads those of you who answered this week's quiz correctly
- 15 states have hosted US Go Congresses so far – and Terry
must be right – he’s been to them all! 14 was an
equally popular choice (5/14) with many thinking the trick was that the
Washington D.C. Congress did not count, since the District of Columbia
is not a state. Sagely, quiz leader Phillip Waldron's only comment,
along with his correct answer, anticipated the error -"The 10th
(Washington D.C.) Congress was held at Marymount University, in
Virginia" Sadly, Kim Salamony was amongst the victims, and Ramon
Mercado's perfect record was marred. Congrats to Richard Hayes, this
week's winner!
THIS WEEK’S QUIZ: The
great Kitani Minoru (r) was one of the great players of the last
century - but the legacy of his excellent play was surpassed by his
legacy as a teacher. The famous Kitani Dojo produced many, many famous
pros who dominated Japanese go. According to the Go Player's almanac,
Kitani disciples won 80% of Japan's open titles from 1970 to spring
1992. Our question this week: which 9 dan - Kato Masao, Miyazawa Goro,
Cho Chikun or Kobayashi Koichi -- was the last to become a live-in
disciple at the Kitani Dojo? Click
here to submit your answer.
- Quizmaster Keith Arnold, HKA; photo courtesy of the
Argentina Go Association website.
GO
CLASSIFIED
PLAYERS WANTED: Birmingham, AL: The Birmingham Go Association is
looking for players of all ages and ranks. We meet 2 nights a week on
Sundays 3pm to 6pm at the Riverchase Galleria in the food court in
front of Nord's games and on Thursdays 7pm to 11pm at the
Books-A-Million on Lakeshore Pkwy in the cafe area. Be sure to check
out http://www.bhamgo.org for the meeting times and directions and
register on the site to receive the weekly meeting Announcement. For
more info please contact Louis at 12059030688 or lcslouis@gmail.com
(8/20)
PLAYERS WANTED: Hunter College: Members wanted to start go club in
Hunter College NY; please contact Boris Bernadsky;
wessanenoctupus@aol.com 646-821-5588 (8/13)
NEW CLUB FORMING: Barnesville, Georgia: Go club starting in the Fall
'07 semester at Gordon College. If interested, please contact the club
main advisor at go_gordonga@yahoo.com. The club will teach new and old
players, and will have tournaments with other clubs either online or in
person. Also, Gordon College Club will be appearing at Anime Weekend
Atlanta for free go lessons on September 21-23 at the Renaissance
Waverly Hotel & Cobb Calleria Centre, Atlanta, Georgia. (8/2)
PLAYERS WANTED: Syracuse, NY: The Syracuse Go Club has set up a second
weekly go group on Thursday nights in a new location - the Recess
Coffee House at 110 Harvard Place in the Syracuse University
neighborhood. 7-10pm. This new alternate location is more convenient
for SU students and city residents. The Monday night meetings at Dewitt
Wegmans will continue as our home base. (8/2)
PLAYERS WANTED: New Port Richey, Florida: Looking for someone to play
with or maybe a go club I'm not aware of. I'm AGA 5k. Email
Queselk@gmail.com (8/1)
NEW GO WEBSITE: Relatively new website Ichi Ni San Go! is up, please
post feedback or suggestions on forums or e-mail Nik.s@Telus.net (8/1)
PLAYERS WANTED: Detroit, MI: Players of all strengths & ages
and/or willing to do teaching games and teach others how to play.
Justinman949@yahoo.com (8/1)
Published by the American Go Association
Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb
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American Go Association.
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Go Association
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