World Go News from the American Go Association
September 17, 2007; Volume 8, #66

U.S. GO: Yuan Zhou Wins Mid-Atlantic; Baum Wins NY Tourney; Rockville Edges DC; Guo Inspires In N.C.
GO CALENDAR: Philadelphia, Menlo Park & New York
WORLD GO: Imamura To Challenge For Oza Title; Nongshim Cup Begins; Janssen Wins Korean Cup In Delft; Israeli Go Camp Returns
YOUTH GO: Redmond Cup Still The One To Win
GO PHOTO: Goin’ Hawaiin
GO QUIZ: Poll Results & Who’s The Greatest Go Player?
GO CLASSIFIED
MEMBER’S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: “Your opponent has entered your sphere of influence and it is understandable to want to attack,” writes Haruyama Isamu 9P in today’s installment of his Questions from Actual Play. “But before you rashly block your opponent’s stones in, first think about robbing them of their base.” Our bonus file today is the latest look at “Common Amateur Mistakes” from Kazunari Furuyama (see diagram at right). Non-members: all this great content is just a click away!

YUAN ZHOU WINS MID-ATLANTIC: Yuan Zhou 7d (l) topped a 35-player field at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Go Championship in College Park Maryland on September 15-16. The 19th annual event was jointly sponsored by the University of Maryland and Greater Washington Go Clubs. Yuan Zhou’s only loss was to Andrew Jackson 4d in a four stone handicap game. Stephen Tung 3k went undefeated in the kyu section. Winner's Report: Mid-Atlantic Championship 1st (Mid-Atlantic Champion, with 4 points): Yuan Zhou 7d; 2nd (4 points): Bo Qian 5d; Top kyu player (undefeated at 5 points): Stephen Tung 3k; Section winners (3 points each): Patrick Allen 3k, Quynh Vo 6k, John Lancaster 5k, Richard Rose 10k; section winner (4 points): Andrew Chen 13k.

BAUM WINS NY TOURNEY: Veteran Leonard Baum 5k was the top scorer at the September 9 NY Go Center Spring into Fall tournament on September 9. Baum’s four wins earned him $50, while newcomer Hong Hong Lin 7k took 2nd place with three wins and Ed Gaillard 2k was 3rd on tiebreaks with a pair of wins. All other players received a go scoring pen brought from Japan by NYGC sensei-in-residence Yoshinobu Sakamoto. The event was organized by Roy Laird and directed by Steve Bretherick.

ROCKVILLE EDGES DC: Rockville scored a 4-3 win over the Greater Washington Go Club at last Friday’s monthly club tournament, reports Haskell Small. Trevor Morris 6d (GWGC) defeated Juan Pablo Quizon 5d; Theodore 2d (RGCG) d. Mark Penner 1d; Alfred Song 3d (RGCG) d. Hal Small 3d; Kaname Yunokawa 3d (RGCG) d. Ben Bernstein 1d; Ben Bernstein 1d (GWGC) d. Juan Pablo Quizon 5d; Max Peterson 2k (GWGC) d. Gene Fellner 5k; Richard Rose 10k (RGCG) d. Betsy Small 10k.

GUO INSPIRES IN N.C.: “The first North Carolina Guo Juan Workshop was a great success, delighting and inspiring the 16 fortunate participants,” reports Bob Bacon. The event was held on August 25 and 26 in Hillsborough, NC. “Guo Juan (r) gave valuable lectures, reviewed everyone's games in great detail, and introduced our group to Survivor Go, which was a nice change of pace from the intensity of the rest of the weekend,” says Bacon. “She shared proven formulas for personal improvement in our game, and suggested practical actions to improve our club and the quality of go in our area and our hemisphere. At weekend's end, each participant felt stronger, more knowledgeable and more deeply interested in this wonderful game.” Guo Juan presents her annual Columbus Day workshop at The Woodlands, October 5-8. For more information, click here and click on Events. photo courtesy Bob Bacon.

GO CALENDAR: Philadelphia, Menlo Park & New York
September 22-23: Philadelphia, PA: 2007 Philadelphia Fall Open
$1,000 1st Prize! Register by Sept. 15, and save $5 on the tournament fee!
Peter Nassar pnassar@vet.upenn.edu 215.898.6271
September 22-23: Menlo Park, CA: Bay Area Go Players Fall Tournament
Steve Burrall sburrall@comcast.net 916.688.2858
September 23: New York, NY: Master Player Lecture featuring Dae-yol Kim 7d
One of the strongest players on the East Coast teaches
Roy Laird nygc@usgo.org 212.223.0342

IMAMURA TO CHALLENGE FOR OZA TITLE: Imamura Toshiya 9P (l) defeated Cho U 9P by 1.5 points on September 13th to win the right to challenge Yamashita Keigo 9P for the Japanese Oza title. Imamura is in his forties. He won a couple of minor titles in 1984 and is a regular participant in the top seven tournaments in Japan. Imamura did challenge for the Gosei title in 1989, but lost to Kobayashi Koichi 9P, who was one of the dominant players at that time. Yamashita Keigo, who just turned thirty, is a top title winner in Japan these days and currently holds the number one title, the Kisei, as well as the Oza, which he took from Cho U this year, after challenging unsuccessfully the previous two years. Imamura, who is a member of the Kansai Kiin, is obviously the underdog in this contest, but beating Cho U to gain the opportunity is impressive.

NONGSHIM CUP BEGINS: The international team tournament sponsored by the Spicy Noodle (Nongshim) Co. in Korea started Sunday, September 16th. The Nongshim Cup involves five member teams from China, Japan, and Korea. The teams play each other one game at a time with the winner continuing until there is only one player left, whose team is the winner. Korea won every year until the 7th Cup in 2006 because until then no one had been able to defeat Lee Changho 9P (r) of Korea in this event. Lee was the stone wall that no one could get past until Yoda Norimoto 9P of Japan defeated him in the final game of the match in 2006 to bring Japan what has become a rarity, a victory in the international arena. Last year Lee returned to his old form, defeating Gu Li 9P of China by 2.5 points in the final game to win it for Korea again. The teams this year promise an exciting battle. For Japan there are Yoda Norimoto 9P, Yamada Kimio 9P, Hane Naoki 9P, Takao Shinji 9P, and Kono Rin 9P. Korea is sending Lee Changho 9P, Park Yeonghun 9P, Mok Jinseok 9P, Cho Hanseung 9P, and Hong Minpyo 6P. China's representatives are Chang Hao 9P, Gu Li 9P, Wang Xi 9P, Hu Yaoyu 8P, and Peng Quan 7P. This group includes many winners of multiple titles and players who have had a lot of success at the international level, ensuring an exciting match.

JANSSEN WINS KOREAN CUP IN DELFT: Four-time Dutch Champion Frank Janssen won the Dutch Korean Ambassador’s Cup, held in Delft earlier this month. The annual Delft tourney was the venue for Dutch qualification for the Prime Minister Cup in Seoul, Korea next month. Sixteen top Dutch players participated in a four-round knock-out; losers dropped back into the 5-round Delft tourney, where 82 players took part. Choi Jong-moo, Korean ambassador to the Netherlands who’s an amateur 3 dan, welcomed the players and admitted to having “spent sleepless nights over baduk” before having to give up serious study of the game when he entered his diplomatic career. Professor Hahn Sang-Dae 6d led a strong Korean delegation to the event; Hahn is co-founder of the Korean Amateur Baduk Association (KABA) and developed the idea to use some existing Ambassador’s Cup tournaments in Europe – originally invented as Friendship tourneys -- as qualification venues for the Prime Minister Cup. Hahn teaches at the Faculty of Culture and Arts of Myongji University, is on the faculty of Baduk Science and has visited Europe many times. He and his group toured the historic city of Delft – which includes important monuments, museums and the nearby Hague – while the Dutch battled on the boards. Among the group was An Young-gil 6P and Hong Seul-ki 7d, both of whom gave public commentaries on top-board games, which were broadcast on KGS and recorded for EuroGoTV. The only upset in the first round was previous KAC winner Geert Groenen 6d’s loss on time. There were no upsets in the second round and in the semi-finals on Sunday morning Dutch Champion Merlijn Kuin 6d defeated Amsterdam Open winner Robert Rehm 5d while Frank Janssen had a walk-over when his opponent didn’t show up due to illness. In the final, Janssen won over Kuin and enjoyed a double celebration as it was the 10th anniversary of his wedding to a fellow go player. Janssen is a manager at the European Go and Cultural Centre in Amsterdam and has played in Korea once before, finishing as “best of the West” with Rob van Zeijst 6d and Geert Groenen.
- reported by Peter Dijkema, Dutch Correspondent for the American Go E-Journal; photo of Janssen (in red shirt, at left) playing Merlijn Kuin by Harry van der Krogt.

ISRAELI GO CAMP RETURNS: The second Israeli Go Tabernacles Camp will be held September 30 – October 3 in Ashkelon, Israel. Organized by Shavit Fragman, president of the Mind Go Club (an AGA chapter), the camp features teachers from Europe, the United States and Japan and has received support from the Japanese embassy in Israel, the Ashkelon municipality and the International Convention Center of Ashkelon. The program includes lectures and workshops, game review, simultaneous games, a tournament and prizes.

YOUTH GO: Redmond Cup Still The One To Win
    With the new US Youth Go Championship and tournaments for youth popping up all around the country, the competitive scene for youth go is looking better every day. But the Redmond Cup is still the most prestigious, not only because it’s named after the only Westerner ever to attain the rank of 9P, but because of its status as the first serious tournament for strong young players in the United States. Begun at a time when hardly any kids were playing, the Redmond has significant prizes, including free attendance at the US Congress for the top two kids in both the senior (12-18) and junior (under 12) divisions, and cash prizes for top winners; $300 for first and $200 for second. With kids across the country vying for the title, the competition is quite stiff. In the Junior division, registration is open to anyone with a rank of 5 kyu or higher, the senior division is open to dan players. Many youth start out at the entry level of 5k, and a few years later are playing for the big stakes. Entering as soon as one is eligible is one of the best ways to improve, and lifelong go friends are made early on in this event.
    Tourney namesake Michael Redmond's mother, None, started and developed the tournament, and she still registers all the contestants. "Recently a young man asked me whether it was worthwhile to participate in the Redmond Cup," Redmond told the E-J. "Let me share with you a little about why the Redmond Cup was started in the first place, nearly 15 years ago. At that time we knew of hardly any young people who were playing go with any strength. I remember a group of young people from Japanese immigrant families coming to our house and labeling go as a game for old Japanese gentlemen. 'No one wants to bother with that!' When I spoke about starting the tournament I was asked, 'Why do you want to do that? There aren't any children playing go!' But two people gave me a lot of encouragement and one of them was Michael Bull, who became the tournament director. At that time it seemed quite certain to me that there would be children playing, and also that the future of go in America depended upon young people not just playing but also playing well. My dreams went further than that even - that the States would have a bank of go professionals and eventually a series of go tournaments which would prepare and hone the skills of future professionals like my son. I didn't know then that this unlikely belief would be realized in my lifetime, but it has been. Young people are not just playing go well, playing for pleasure, playing for life, they are also playing marvelously well. Young people are winning adult tournaments and are now invited to play in the prestigious Ing Invitational because their strength matches those of some of the best players. Young American players are now invited to international go tournaments and one day Americans will win some of those titles. So how do you get strong? Surely it is by playing, and in playing against the strongest players you learn how to become stronger. It's like climbing Everest. You play in the tournaments because they are there. Enjoy your games!"
    Kids, what are you waiting for? If you’re eligible to play in the Redmond, register now by e-mailing None at chinski@inreach.com
by Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor; Photo: Hugh Zhang 5d competes against Calvin Sun 6d, in the finals of the Redmond Cup at the Go Congress this year. Mingjiu Jiang 7P is observing the game, which was won by Sun. Photo by Jian Zhang

GO PHOTO: Goin’ Hawaiin
Yasuko Imamura of Japan (in dress) with a member of the Kalani High School Go Club in Hawaii, while Yuko Morino plays a simul in the background. Photo courtesy Xiao Feng Ha.

GO QUIZ: Poll Results & Who’s The Greatest Go Player?
Western go trivia edged out Asian go trivia in last week’s Go Quiz poll, 62% to 53% among those with a strong preference. That 9-point margin shrinks to just 6% when we add in those who are “somewhat interested”, with 97% of respondents very or somewhat interested in western trivia and 91% favoring asian trivia. Clever wordplay, alack and alas, comes in a distant third among those of you with a strong preference (38%). And although it does jump to first place among the “somewhat interested” crowd (41%), a whopping 21% of you are definitely “not interested” in clever wordplay. As far as the type of quiz questions, the vast majority of you (59%) prefer straightforward questions, while there’s something of a split between easier questions, preferred by 24% and tricky questions, favored by 21%, and there’s definitely a core of support for harder questions (15%). “Even though I checked that I prefer easier questions over harder ones, I'd actually prefer a bit of a mix,” wrote one respondent, reflecting the general sentiment. I am pleased and somewhat relieved to report that an overwhelming majority of you (88%) want me to “keep up the good work,” and I’d be worried about the 3% who want the Quizmaster fired if that didn’t represent just one vote. “The quiz is the first (and sometimes only) thing I read in the E-Journals lately.” wrote another respondent. Added another, “Even if I don't participate in quizzes, I enjoy reading them.” Which explains why although over 200 of you have responded to quiz questions, about half of those who responded to the poll have never guessed, indicating that the quiz is popular beyond those that participate. Finally, old friend Trevor Morris wrote that "I enjoy the answers more than the questions, so I recommend choosing questions that lead to a good story." Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in the poll: you’re all winners in my book! Your responses and suggestions will be very helpful as I formulate future Quiz questions.
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ: WHO’S THE GREATEST? Let’s try to break the records for Go Quiz participation this week. Who is the greatest go player ever? One vote per person, please, but I have no problem with campaigning: pick your nominee and encourage your go friends to vote for him – or her – as well! My own criteria – which does not have to be yours - would be a combination of strength, dominance, innovation and contribution. Click here to vote!
- HKA Keith Arnold, EJ Quizmaster

GO CLASSIFIED
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NEW! FOR SALE: Complete set of Computer Go magazines for sale. From the first issue (number 1 Winter 1986 - 1987) to the last (number 16 Spring/Winter 1991), this 24 page publication featured contributions from K. H. Chen, David Fotland, Anders Kierulf, Rob Pike, Martin Muller, and Bruce Wilcox and many others on various Computer Go topics. Every issue is in excellent condition, and is for sale only as a complete set. Best offer before September 29 will take them all. Contact robert.felice@comcast.net (9/17)

NEW! GO PLAYERS WANTED: Franklin/Oil City, PA area. Meadville? Clarion? If the Erie club is still meeting, could someone contact me since your official contact seems to be gone. Ron: whiterg@acm.org (9/17)

NEW! GO PLAYERS WANTED: Oldenburg, Batesville Indiana area. Contact: dkobakofm@gmail.com Any level. Would like to begin a Go Club, or join one. (9/17)

NEW! GO PLAYERS WANTED: Holland, MI: Looking for players in Holland Michigan area. We have 2 members and are thinking of starting a permanent club, its tough getting a good club down, but I believe that with more members we could get a more solid club formed. Contact Alex McNeal, Email: TheClamxD@gmail.com or call 616-405-8562. (9/17)

FOR SALE: Complete collection of Go World issues #1 through latest (#111).
Issues #1-10 are protected by hard binding. All issues are in perfect condition.
Asking price: $900 plus shipping & insurance. Please contact bwbgo@yahoo.com (9/10)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Urbana-Champaign, IL: Go is played at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign! If you want to play, or better still, help form an official AGA chapter, please contact Phil Wall (phil.wall@pobox.com). We've got a few players, but we're always looking for more. (9/10)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Hartford, CT: Looking for players in Hartford, CT, contact Benjamin Harter (benjamin.harter@pw.utc.com). We have only about 3-4 people trying to get a regular meeting going over here, almost enough to start a permanent club. It's rough going getting one started... I'm sure there are other players in the area! (9/10)

PLAYERS WANTED: Players near Orlando, FL, all strengths welcome, for more information please contact Masterman535@gmail.com; I'm AGA 1d. (8/27)

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)

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