OZA FEATURES $25K IN PRIZES FOR ALL: When North American Oza organizers Keith Arnold (Baltimore) and Andy Okun (Los Angeles) say their tournament has "something for everyone," they're not kidding. Everyone who finishes all six rounds -- except for prizewinners -- will win a "Fighting Spirit" prize, their choice from among more than 30 popular titles from Kiseido, Samarkand, Slate and Shell , and Yutopian, as well as 100 back issues of Go World, a small number of Japanese prints, and other prizes worth more than $5,000. “Even if you lose all six games, you can take something home that will help you to improve!” says Arnold. Another $20,000 in cash and Congress credits will also be awarded at the event, with the top winners receiving $3,000 each, and significant cash prizes in all sections. A large field of casual and intermediate players is expected. REGIONAL UPDATES: BALTIMORE: Act now to take advantage of the hotel's special $99 offer, which expires Tuesday. LOS ANGELES: Nihon Kiin 8P Tadashi Sasaki will be on hand through the event, offering commentary on top boards, game review and the like; stay tuned for more details.
FENG YUN TO HOST USYGC FINALS: The United States Youth Go Championship (USYGC) finals will be hosted by the Feng Yun Go School in New Jersey, announced AGA President Michael Lash. All eight USYGC qualifier locations have now been selected and will be held in Honolulu, HI, Tacoma, WA, San Francisco, CA, Boulder, CO, Phoenix, AZ, Chicago, IL, New Jersey, and Newton, MA. Last year Feng Yun pulled in 51 young players at her qualifier, and with 99 AGA youth members registered at her school, a strong showing is expected in New Jersey. The USYGC will once again be run using Ing rules, with an 8 point komi. The Senior division is for youth 12 through 17 years old, and the Junior division for kids 11 and under. In a change from last year's policy, kids and teens can register for any qualifier up to just before it begins. However, only youth who have joined the AGA by January 1, 2008 will be eligible to move on to the finals. Youth memberships (link) are just $10 and in addition to the Member’s Edition of the E-Journal – which includes commented game records – young members could win a trip to the finals and from there to the World Youth Championships. “The USYGC isn't just for strong kids,” Lash notes, “players of any strength are encouraged to compete." New players can gain tournament experience by competing directly in local events. The American Go Foundation will again provide sixteen $400 scholarships to either the East or West US go camp. First-place winners in each qualifier and age group will get first choice; if they decline, the scholarships will be distributed to other eligible kids at a qualifier. If no youth at a given qualifier are able to attend a camp, the scholarships can be used by kids from another qualifier, providing those who play in the USYGC with a good shot at one of the 16 camp scholarships even if they don't win. Feng Yun will also be offering $400 scholarships to the 2008 Feng Yun Summer Go
Camp, and
any USYGC finalist may elect to go to her camp instead.- reported by Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor
DANIEL SMITH WINS SEATTLE YOUTH TOURNEY: Daniel Smith, an eighth grader, won the Third Annual Iwamoto Youth 13x13 Tournament at the Seattle Go Center on December 15. Thirteen players played four rounds for variety of prizes, from go sets to Chinese water whistles. Winners got to choose first, and everybody got a prize. Robbie Foreman won the high school category. In the middle school section, Sam Zeng placed 2nd behind Smith, and Jim Do placed third. In the grade 3-5 section, Ushio Tokura won, Darius Olson placed 2nd, and Alexander Mackenzie placed third. Many of these players will meet again at Iwamoto School Team Tournament, scheduled for Sunday, February 10 at the Seattle Go Center.
- report/photo by Brian Allen
ROCKVILLE FALLS TO DC, ONCE AGAIN: DC once again “whomped” Rockville in the monthly inter-club rivalry between the two metro Washington-area go clubs, reports DC club organizer Hal Small. “The score was 7-2, despite the maximum handicap of 9 stones in a number of games,” Small tells the EJ. “We’re intending to combine the next club match with our annual dues dinner, to be held on January 25th,” adds Small.
LAST CALL FOR WORLD STUDENT TOURNEY: Wednesday is the final deadline for students interested in playing in the 6th World Student Go Championship. “To be eligible you must be under 30 and a registered student right now,” says AGA President Mike Lash. “Applicants must also meet all AGA eligibility requirements if you are an American citizen or permanent resident.” The event runs from February 29th to March 4th and will be held in the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo, Japan. Sponsored by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and organized by the All Japan Students Go Association, this event promises to be one of the best opportunities for amateurs to compete with young players all over the world. Deadline is midnight, EST, Wednesday, December 19; email president@usgo.org
GOGOD HITS 50K GAMES: Go Games on Disk (GoGoD) has “now reached the first 50,000
games in our sgf pro
database,” reports T. Mark Hall. Since taking early
retirement in 2005, Hall has been able to devote himself fully to
recording games from original sources, “boosted by recent
trips abroad to the Far East (so that) we can include many thousands of
games not available on the internet.” The database is backed
by the GoGoD Encyclopaedia, which includes go history, the Kombilo
database program, the latest version of Drago and biographical data on
just about every player, as well as tournament data and pro
commentaries. Click
here for details.
SMARTGO 2.8 INCLUDES 2007 GAMES: SmartGo 2.8 now contains 43,170 professional games, including 2,190 games played in 2007, “so you can study the most recent joseki and fuseki innovations,” says Anders Kierulf. This is a free upgrade for existing customers. Newcomers to SmartGo can download the free 15-day trial “and give your go study a boost over the holidays.” Kierulf notes that “SmartGo can load the GoGoD games and filter out duplicates, so if you have both, you get a bigger collection of games -- probably about 60,000 games -- and the best joseki/fuseki search capabilities.”
GTL & GOAMA HOST GAME REVIEW CONTEST: The Go Teaching Ladder (GTL) – in association with the go newsletter Goama -- is holding a contest to rate GTL game reviews. The contest features prizes including Go4Go memberships and online go lessons. To vote, click here and choose either the green “thumbs up” or red “thumbs down.” More details available at the GoAma site.
ILLUMINATING THE PRO GO SCENE: The world of professional go can often seem a c
onfusing
welter of players and events. Unfamiliar names like Mukai Kaori and
Yashiro Komiko mix with well-known players like Lee Changho and
Kobayashi Koichi. But behind the tangled web of names – many
of which have several spellings -- is a fascinating story of
established top players and challenging young up-and-comers constantly
battling for supremacy. Here's an example of a few of the interesting
struggles now being waged across the international boards. In the
current Women's
Meijin in Japan, established pro Kobayashi
Izumi 6P, winner of numerous titles and daughter of Kobayashi
Koichi 9P and
wife of Cho
U 9P -- players everyone knows -- defeated the teenage Xie
Yimin 3P, current Women's Honinbo, by resignation in the
third round. Since this is a tournament with a loser's bracket, while
Kobayashi went on to reach the finals with a single additional
victory, Xie had to first beat Yashiro
Komiko 5P (left), who had made it to the fourth round, then Koyama
Terumi 5P (r), who lost in the second round but had two
victories in the loser's bracket, and finally Mukai
Kaori 1P, who made it to the semi-finals in the winner's
bracket but lost to Kobayashi. The teen phenom Xie will face Kobayashi
in a thrilling finals showdown for the right to challenge Kato
Keiko 5P, who won her first title by defeating Women's Meijin
Aoki
Kikuyo 8P last year. Stay tuned to the E-Journal in 2008 as
we continue to bring you the very latest in go news from across the
country and around the world!GO CLASSIFIED
SELL IT, BUY IT OR TRADE IT HERE with nearly 12,000 go-players worldwide! Classified ads are FREE and run for 4 weeks; email your ad to us now at journal@usgo.org
GO PLAYERS WANTED: New Brunswick, NJ: Starting up a club in Rutgers University. I've gotten a few people already, and am still looking for those who are interested with any level experience. Please contact Andrew at tenorfella@gmail.com (12/17)
GO PLAYERS WANTED: Anyone interested in starting a Go club in Lexington, KY. Days to meet and times not yet decided, planning to seek input and discuss among all interested. Email dickens.ja@gmail.com (12/17)
GO PLAYERS WANTED: Washington, PA; I am going to start a go workshop every weekend at any coffee shop in Washington PA. Anybody is welcome. please drop a message to Qi Guan at guangame@gmail.com if interested. (12/17)
GO BOARDS WANTED: Looking for a decent go board; not homemade, warped or abused (dinged or scratches OK). Need bowls too. Also seeking one 13x13/19x19 reversible board. Contact gkoewing@ gmail.com (12/3/07)
GO PLAYERS WANTED: Mooresville, NC area. New club trying to start up. Playing on Sundays at Gamers University in Mooresville. Email Angela: a_e_blackwell@hotmail.com (11/26)
GO PROFESSOR WANTED: The Department of Baduk Studies at the Myongji University of Korea is looking for a Contract Professor. Must be a M.D. holder in the fields related to Baduk; responsibilities include lectures in English and lectures related to Baduk. For more info email Kim Se Young at gnuoyes@hotmail.com (11/26)
Published by the American Go Association
Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb
Text material published in the AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that commented game record files MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the E-Journal. Please direct inquiries to journal@usgo.org
Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the
American Go Association.