GO CONGRESS UPDATES
Maeda LIVE TONIGHT on Ing Masters: Ryo Maeda 6P (l) of Japan will provide live commentary tonight beginning at 7P PST (10P EST) on KGS; he’ll be commenting on the North American Ing Masters Round 2 game between Mingjiu Jiang 7P and Juyong Koh 8d.
7 Undefeated in U.S. Open Top Band: There are now seven undefeated top players – including Mingjiu Jiang 7P and defending champion Yongfei Ge -- in the U.S. Open after the first two rounds. Click here for the interactive crosstab showing wins, losses and selected game records for the Open’s top band.
Congress On Flickr: Glenn Peters has put together a U.S. Go Congress photo group on Flickr and welcomes other Congress attendees who want to join the group and contribute photos.
13x13 Tournament Report: Tom Xu 4d, Steven Wu 2d, Andrew Shang 6k, Eric Wu 8k and Barbara Huang 12k are the current table winners of the 13 x 13 Tournament. “We didn't have many top players because the North American Ing Masters tournament was twice as big this year,” said tournament director Jim Hlavka. Steven and Eric Wu are father and son, respectively. Tom Xu and Steven Wu will have a playoff for the dan-level prize. Andrew Shang and Eric Wu will face off for the strong kyu level prize. Barbara Huang won the low kyu prize.
- Lee Hunyh

TAKEMIYA SIMUL: Eight lucky fans of Takemiya Masaki (right) got a chance to try their hand against the "Cosmic Go" master Sunday afternoon in the famous professional's first simul of the Congress. Smiling with pleasure and frowning in concentration, Takemiya played each move with precision as he took on the mix of kyu and dan players. Photo by Chris Garlock

THE EMPTY BOARD: "Traditional" Chinese Stones
by Bill Cobb
There are a lot of "traditional" Chinese stones - the ones that are flat on one side -- at this year's Go Congress, thanks to the generosity of Weiqi World. They're useful for examining variations, but hard to pick up off the board. Imagine our surprise, then, when EJ Youth Editor Paul Barchilon told us that he saw 1,500-year-old go stones at a museum in China that were labeled "traditional" Japanese style, that is, double convex sided. Could it be that the original go stones that appeared after pebbles were considered inadequate were "Japanese" style? If so, why did the Chinese change to stones that are flat on one side? Paul says maybe it's because they're cheaper and easier to make. So what's next? Was the Chinese Opening actually first played by a Japanese player? Well, you might want to check with T Mark Hall of GoGod about that. To be continued...

KIDS CLEAN UP AT N.Y. GO CLUB: Thirty young players from the East Coast Go camp visited the New York Go Center on Friday, July 25. After a lecture by Feng Yun 9P on one of her recent games, "We had an impromptu tournament with over 50 people participating," reports Boris Bernadsky. "The campers took home all the book prizes," Bernadsky adds. "Now we have to restock our shelves! The most popular book was The Dictionary of Basic Tesuji so anyone playing kids from the camp, beware!" Photos from the visit are posted online. "Thanks to teachers Feng Yun, Rob Muldowney, and Richard Liang," says Camp Director Karen Jordan, "and to counselors Nano Rivera, Dexter Brown, and Shay Jones, as well as Steve Wu and his family, who helped arrange our stay at the Madison Suites Hotel."

GO STAMPS: Longtime player Les Lanphear (right) - who's been playing nearly 40 years -- stopped by the Congress for a quick visit Monday. Based out of San Diego, Lanphear's been less active in the go scene in recent years, "between my interest in stamp-collecting and a recent bout with cancer." His health is good now, Lanphear told the EJ, and he showed off copies of his award-winning stamp exhibition about "Go: It's Culture and History Through the Ages." The show uses brilliantly-colored stamps from around the world to tell the story of go, from its' origins through development of the game, the people involved, as well as various related historical developments, including go's transmission to Japan, Europe and the United States. Lanphear is working on getting the exhibit into a format that can be posted on the web; we'll keep you posted.

BETA SMARTGO FOR IPHONE: Some lucky Congress attendees are beta-testing the new SmartGo for the iPhone and iPod touch. "In its first version, SmartGo touch will focus on three areas that help you study go on the go," says Anders Kierulf, who's attending the Congress. "You can replay professional games, with more than 5000 professional games, solve more than 2,000 problems, and record and annotate your own games."

REPORT FROM THE EURO GO CONGRESS: The 52nd annual European Go Congress is now in its’ second week in Leksand, Sweden; click here for latest news and results. Lai Yu-Cheng of Taipei, who led the European Go Championship in after the first five rounds, sat down for a brief interview with EJ European Correspondent Peter Dijkema late last week. "This is my first time in Europe,” Lai Yu-Cheng told EJ European Correspondent Peter Dijekma. “I haven’t visited the US yet. Playing go is my hobby. It make me feel happy and helps to calm me down. It also teaches to think more carefully, so it is a very good hobby." Lai says he has not yet decided whether to try to become a professional, “although in Taiwan it is easier than in the big three weiqi countries in Asia. Every year there are two places for boys and one for girls, but we do not have insei-schools like in the big three. I don't spend much time on go; perhaps once a week I play on internet." Lai has been playing in all the European Go Congress tournaments and says “I lost a few games, but only in the rengo and Pair Go. In Taiwan we don't play Pair Go. It's really fun. You make many friends - not only your partner, but also your opponents." Lai starts his first year of university in September, and plans to study technology. Asked about what he thought his chances of holding his lead in the tournament, Lai said "I think the Koreans are stronger than me, but only a little bit. But they are really very strong. Next week I'll work hard and try to do my best." Click here for EGC photos by Krister Strand

GO CLASSIFIED
SELL IT, BUY IT OR TRADE IT HERE with nearly 13,000 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: Wellington, OH: Starting a go club; all players, all levels welcome. Want to save on gas? We can meet online as well. Anyone interested please e-mail Joe at wellington_go@mail.com (8/4)

FOR SALE: Brand new high-quality Kiseido go set. Includes BK214 Kaya Table board (hand picked by Richard Bozulich), S33Y Shell & Slate Stones (9.2mm), T378 Keyaki Go Bowls, a Wooden Cover for the Board and a Go Clock. Original cost: over $1,400 USD. Best (reasonable) offer. chriskubica@yahoo.com or 919-259-8023 (8/4)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Chicago Area: Looking to start a Go club for Chicago's west, southwest, and south suburbs, especially the Naperville/Aurora/Bolingbrook area. All players welcome. For information and to voice an opinion on meeting days, times, and locations please email Jonathon at JWCapps+go@gmail.com or message Uncola on KGS. (8/4)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Springfield, MO. Starting a club; any players, any level wanted. E-mail Sara at dbztiger18@yahoo.com (7/28)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Atlanta: At the Atlanta Chess & Game Center. All players, all levels welcome. Anyone interested please e-mail Michael Bacon: wmichaelbacon@yahoo.com Or call 404-377-4400 If there is enough interest we hope to start a Go meeting on Thursday evenings in September. (7/21)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Decatur/Huntsville, AL: Starting a Go club in the Decatur/Huntsville, AL area. All players, all levels welcome. Anyone interested please e-mail Brandon at gomeditate@gmail.com (7/14)

GO PLAYERS WANTED: Phoenixville, PA. All levels of player welcome (though currently, we are mostly beginners). Meeting on Saturday afternoons and sometimes weeknights. If interested, please email Craig at scorelessdraw@gmail.com for details. (7/7)

Published by the American Go Association
Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Bill Cobb
Professionals: Yilun Yang 7P; Alexandr Dinerchtein 3P; Fan Hui 2P
Contributors: Paul Barchilon (Youth Editor); Lawrence Ku (U.S. West Coast Reporter); Brian Allen (U.S. West Coast Photo Editor); Keith Arnold (Go Quiz); Peter Dijkema (Dutch/European Correspondent); Marilena Bara (Romania/European Correspondent); Ian Davis (Ireland Correspondent)
Columnists: James Kerwin 1P; Kazunari Furuyama; Rob van Zeijst; Roy Laird; Peter Shotwell
Translations: Chris Donner (Japan); Bob McGuigan (Japan); Matt Luce (China)

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.