AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL
World Go News from The American Go Association

 

 

MEMBER’S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: In today’s game commentary, Alexandre Dinerchtein 1P – who will be providing live online commentary on selected N.A. Oza top boards broadcast on KGS – takes a look at an October Honinbo League Game between Yoda Norimoto 9P and O Meien 9P. Our bonus material is “Using Thickness” by Matt Luce, an EJ Special Correspondent currently living and teaching in China. Non-members: join the American Go Association and get all this great content with every EJ! It’s all just a click away!

 

 

January 7, 2008; Volume 9, #1

JOEY HUNG TOPS JIANG & WANG TO WIN JUJO CUP: Joey Hung 8d won the 2008 Jujo Jiang Tournament last weekend in San Francisco, taking the trophy back home to Los Angeles. Hung captured the title by eking out a 1-point fourth-round win against Jeffrey Wang 8d, who had defeated a jet-lagged Mingjiu Jiang 7P, just back from China. In round five, Jiang beat Hung, completing a circle of wins and losses among the three finalists who topped a crowded Open division with 18 players. Over 70 turned out for the January 5-6 event, the first World Mind Sports Games Qualifier, held at the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, attracting go enthusiasts from as far away as Arizona and Los Angeles. Reid Augustin and Ernest Brown directed.
Winner’s Report: Open: 1st: Joey Hung 8D; 2nd: Jeffrey Wang 8D; 3rd: Mingjiu Jiang 7P; 4th: Matthew Burrall 7D; 5th: Do hyeong Kim 7D; 6th: Yixian Zhou 6D. 2D-5D 1st: Brian Leahy 3D; 2nd: Jing Lu 4D; 3rd: James Senesac 2D. 3K-1D: 1st: Andrew Lu 1D; 2nd: Honning Shieh 1D; 3rd: Chris Burg 2K. 8K-4K: 1st: Michael Wanek 6K; 2nd: Raymond Chan 8K; 3rd: Calvin Clark 6K. 30K-9K: 1st: Henry Zhang 13K; 2nd: Ray Shieh 21K; 3rd: Alex Fang 11K.
- report/photos by Lawrence Ku, West Coast EJ Correspondent
photo: Round three: Front: Joey Hung 8D (left) vs Louis Abronson 6D (right). Back: Jeffrey Wang 8D (left) vs Mingjiu Jiang 7P (right)

BIG BATTLES EXPECTED AT OZA: Major battles on the top boards are shaping up on both coasts for the upcoming North American Oza Go Tournament coming up January 19-20 in Baltimore and Los Angeles and featuring a $25,000 prize pool. In Baltimore, Jie Liang 8D, Minshan Shou 8D and Yuan Zhou 8D top the list of competitors, while in LA, Korean insei Bi Jang – undefeated thus far in U.S. tournaments – will face challenges from Dae Hyuk Ko 8d and Joey Hung 8d, fresh from his Jujo Cup win last weekend in San Francisco. More players of all levels are expected to sign up as the Oza nears; 129 are already registered, including 106 in LA, the first time the Western Oza has broken into triple digits. Pre-registration is highly recommended; latecomers will be paired into the second round.

AGA HITS NEW RECORD HIGH: Membership in the American Go Association blew through the 2,300 level in December, setting a new all-time high. A special 2-for-1 American Go Yearbook offer (which ended 12/31 at midnight) helped spark across the board increases, with full memberships jumping 35 and youth memberships up 54, along with increases in sponsors, sustainers, Life Members, Limited memberships and chapters. The December figures capped a year of significant growth for the AGA, which had started the year at 2,111 members and notched increases in ten of twelve months.

CALENDAR: Salem & Boston
January 12: Salem, OR Salem Winter Tournament
Cynthia Gaty ckgaty@gmail.com 503.585.3380
January 13: Somerville, MA Massachusetts Go Assoc. tournament
Su Co Marjorie E. Hey sucoplaysgo@yahoo.com 781.475.6603

GO PHOTO: Christmas – And Go – In Costa Rica
Mike Dobbins, a 6-kyu and software engineer in Virginia whose three sons also play go, arranged to play go in Costa Rica during a family visit over the recent holidays. In this photo, taken by Dobbins, two of his sons (r) play two Costa Rican players. Click here to read Dobbins account of the visit and see more photos.

RUI TAKES LEAD IN WOMEN'S MYEONGIN: Rui Naiwei 9P won the first game in the best-of-three-game defense of her Korean Women's Myeongin (Japanese: Meijin) title against Cho Hyeyeon 7P on January 4th. These two have often been matched in title matches. Cho has been in the Myeongin title match five of the last six years, defeating Rui to gain the title in 2003. Rui has held the title for seven of the past eight years. The pattern in the Women's Kuksu is similar: Rui has held the title five of the past seven years, while Cho has held it twice, losing to Rui in the title match four times and defeating her only once, again in 2003. Rui is in her forties, more than twenty years older than Cho.

WINNINGEST PROS OF 2007: In a development that bodes well for the future of the game, five of the top nine pros who won the most games last year were teenagers. Cho U 9P (r), who won five titles in 2007, leads the Japanese list with 51 wins and a winning percentage of 70%. The next two are teens Iyama Yuta 7P at 44 and a remarkable 80% winning rate, and Xie Yimin 3P with 40 and 71%. Iyama won the Shinjin O (King of the New Stars) and Xie the Women's Honinbo. In Korea, Mok Jinseok 9P (l) had 93 wins and a 76% winning percentage to gain first place. Surprisingly, despite all these wins, he did not take a single title though he obviously qualifies for lots of events. Lee Sedol 9P, who did win several titles (four national and two international) in 2007, took second place with 81 wins and 78%. In third place is teen Kim Jiseok 4P at 78 and 72%, also with no title wins. The top Chinese player is Zhou Ruiyang 5P (r), another teen, with a record of 55 and 68%. Zhou won the Xinren Wang (New Pro) tournament in 2007. Piao Wenyao 5P is second with 50 and 70%; Piao won the last CCTV Cup and is not quite twenty himself. In third among Chinese pros is Kong Jie 7P who has won the Chang-Ki Cup twice and is in his twenties.

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN: ’08 Is Off and Running
By Mike Lash
Welcome to 2008 and what promises to be the busiest year on record for American go! It kicks off in less than two weeks as more than 200 players compete for top cash prizes at the bi-annual Toyota Denso Oza events, held this year in Los Angeles and Baltimore and generously supported by the Nihon Ki-in. Over the next three months, we’ll be watching the National ING School Team Championship, a new national program formed in collaboration with the American Go Honor Society (AGHS). Students from kindergarten to high school will play online in teams against other school team in a program that’s been managed and run by AGHS students for years and is being expanded with funding from the ING Foundation in concert with the AGA. And through July you’ll begin seeing an unprecedented series of qualifier tournaments nationwide for three different programs. The second season of the US Youth Go Championship – also sponsored by the ING Foundation – will feature eight qualifier venues from Hawaii to Massachusetts with the finals in New Jersey. The winners go to the World Youth Championship and we anticipate many more youth than last year. Those in the National ING School Team Championship should start looking for the closest US Youth Go qualifier! The second qualifier series is for the North American ING Masters championship at the Go Congress. We expanded the field from 16 to 32 players, but instead of simply inviting players based on AGA ranking, the unseeded strong players now have to compete by earning points at qualifiers to earn a place at the finals. The top point earners will join the seeded players at the Congress in a 5-round tournament – the biggest Masters event ever. Finally, we have a third national qualifier series starting soon that leads to the selection of the World Mind Sports Games team going to Beijing this October. The WMSG will be the largest-ever international mind sports event and go will have hundreds of players from all continents competing for medal events - just like the Olympics. The AGA will send up to 24 players in men’s and women’s teams, individuals, and pair go events. Keep in mind that points earned in one tournament may or may not apply toward all qualifier series (eg., only citizens can play in the WMSG) so make sure you are fully informed of the rules and the event. Get ready to start your go engines, fasten your seat belts and hold on - 2008 is taking off in a hurry!
Lash is President of the American Go Association

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: Columbus, GA: Starting a go club. Day and time to meet TBA. If interested, email Dylan at dylaned@gmail.com (1/7/08)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Kansas: Looking for go players in Kansas (especially in the Wichita area) to join the city's Go Club. For more information contact Andrew Wrinn (cell: 1-229-255-1100; email: wichitagoclub@gmail.com) or visit our website at http://wichitagoclub.googlepages.com/home/ (1/7/08)

FOR SALE: The original audio and video material from Pieter Mioch’s 1999 interview with Go Seigen at his house in Odawara, Japan. “The interview covers Go's views on religion and Chinese/ Japanese culture,” says Mioch, “there is almost no technical material dealing with the game itself.” Materials include: one 120-minute Hi8 tape about 100 min long; 1MD with same contents but better sound quality plus some extra conversation between Mioch and Mr. Teramoto, Go's manager; 1 video camera (1994 model) with small lcd screen, adaptor for 110~220 V included; 1 copy of a signed copy of Go’s biography, "Ibun Kaiyu" and some not too well focused pictures made by Teramoto during the interview. NOTE: All the material is in Japanese. There are no extra copies of the original tapes; purchaser gets all rights of usage. “Most of the material has never been used in any of the articles I did,” says Mioch. If interested, email pmioch@ma.ccnw.ne.jp and include "Go Seigen Material" in subject line. (12/24/07)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Rexburg, ID. The BYU-I Go Association has been formed and is looking for members. We meet every Wednesday 7-9 pm on the BYU-I campus, Manwaring Center building, first floor at the "Nordic Landing". instruction provided! email Mark: markoliver07@gmail.com (12/25/07)

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 (12/17/07)

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 (12/17/07)

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. (12/17/07)

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 (11/26/07)

GO PROFESSOR WANTED: The Department of Baduk Studies at the Myongji University of Korea is looking for a Contract Professor. Must hold a Master's in a related field to Baduk; responsibilities include lectures in English and lectures related to Baduk. For more info email Kim Se Young at gnuoyes@hotmail.com (11/26/07)

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.
 
American Go Association
P.O. Box 397
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0397