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

MEMBER'S EDITION BONUS CONTENT: A little holiday bonus for you today: two games from the recent Romanian Ambassador Cup, one featuring eventual winner Cornel Burzo 6d against Lucian Corlan 5d, the other with Cristian Pop 7d playing Lucian Corlan 5d. And to prepare for the upcoming Samsung Cup Finals, here’s Game 1 from last year’s Samsung, with commentary by Ma Xiaochun 9P on the game between Lee Changho 9P of Korea and Chang Hao 9P of China, who will be playing each other in the upcoming Chunlan finals.
Non-members: join the American Go Association and get all this great content with every EJ! It's all just a click away!

December 22, 2008; Volume 9, #63

HENCKELL WINS FORT MYERS OPEN: Karsten Henckell 4D took top honors at the Fort Myers Open, held December 6, when the Fort Myers Go Club hosted one of the largest tournaments ever held in the state of  Florida. With player strength ranging from 30 kyu to 4 dan, 54 players turned out, and “Registration of new and old members had a line out the door!” reports Tournament Director Joshua Frye. “It was awesome to see the range of ages playing each other,” Frye reports. “Go clubs from all over the state turned out, including Orlando, Miami, and Sarasota.” Players battled it out in three divisions for prizes from Yellow Mountain Imports and Slate & Shell Publishing. In the final top match, Henckell faced off against Joshua Lee 4D of Go Orlando. “It was an intense match to watch!!” said Fort Myers go member Rob Cheyne. Entering the endgame, Lee was ahead on points, but Henckell pressured Lee into overtime. “During one of Joshua Lee’s captures, he forgot to hit his clock and ultimately lost on time.” WINNER’S REPORT: Advanced Division: 1st: Karsten Henckell 4Dan (Sarasota Go); 2nd:  Chi Wong 4k (Miami Go); 3rd: Joshua Lee 4D (Go Orlando). Intermediate Division: 1st: Rob Cheyne 6k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd: Joong Suk 6k (Sarasota Go); 3rd:  Carlos Valdes 9k (Miami Go). Beginner Division: 1st: Nathan Slider 14k (Fort Myers Go); 2nd:  Jake King 10k (Fort Myers Go); 3rd: Nick Ponader 13k (Fort Myers Go). Photo: Karsten Henckell 4D vs. Joshua Lee 4D; photo courtesy Joshua Frye

LEE CHANGHO AND CHANG HAO IN CHUNLAN FINALS: Lee Changho 9P (r) and Chang Hao 9P will meet in a best-of-three finals of the 7th international Chunlan Cup. In the semifinals on December 11th Lee Changho 9P of Korea defeated Kong Jie 7P while Chang Hao 9P defeated Zhou Heyang 9P. Chang came in second last year, losing to fellow countryman Gu Li  9P, which is the only time the Chinese have won this event. Lee has won it twice, in 2003 and 2005. Overall, Koreans have won it four times and the Chinese and Japanese once each. The winner's purse is about $150,000 US. Lee is also the only Korean ever to take second place, in the first Chunlan in 1999 when he lost to his teacher Cho Hunhyun 9P.

KONG JIE TO TAKE ON LEE SEDOL IN SAMSUNG FINALS: Kong Jie (l) 7P will face titleholder Lee Sedol 9P in the Samsung Cup finals. The best-of-three-games semi-finals of the international Cup featured one Korean, Lee Sedol 9P, and three Chinese representatives, Huang Yizhong 7P, Kong Jie 7P, and Zhou Ruiyang 5P, the only teen in the group. Lee kept Korea's hopes alive by defeating Huang 2-0 and Kong got the privilege of facing Lee in the finals by defeating Zhou 2-0. Both players won their first semi-final game by a mere half point, and Kong took the second by only 1.5 points.  Lee won this event last year, as well as in 2004, and currently holds three international titles. Kong's most notable achievement is winning the national Chang-ki Cup twice, in 2005 and 2007. Overall, the Japanese and Chinese have won the Samsung twice, and the Koreans the other eight times. The finals are set for mid-January.

BURZO WINS ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR CUP: Cornel Burzo 6D won the Romanian Ambassador of Japan Go Cup held December 13-14 in Bucharest. Lucian Corlan 5D took 2nd place and Daniel Cioata 5D was 3rd in the second edition of the event in which 150 Romanian Go players from 6 to 60 years old played. The event was also the occasion for the launch of Pro-G0, the new Romanian electronic go publication by Dorin Chis.
- report by Marilena Bara, Romanian correspondent for the E-Journal; photo: Burzo (r] with Ambassador of Japan in Bucharest Yoshinobu Higashi; photo by Liviu

LEAGUE UPDATES FROM HOLLAND & GERMANY: Utrecht’s Team 1 won the top Fall league in Holland and Utrecht's Michiel Tel 1k won the prize for best progress in the top league with 44 points. Leyden had tied in matches and games, but lost the Leyden- Utrecht match. The top teams from Eindhoven won both the 1st and 2nd leagues; Eindhoven 1 won all five matches, finishing ahead of Utrecht 2 (4-11) and 3 (2-7). Eindhoven 2 won the second league 4-11, where Ivo Creusen gained 72 points, making him overall Best Progress winner. Finally, Almere 2 won 3rd league 5-13, with Huib Olij winning Best Progress. A total of 72 players participated. After three rounds in Germany’s Autumn Leagues – in which 72 teams are playing -- only three teams in the top league are still undefeated:  Karlsruhe didn't drop a single game, Dragons from Frankfurt am Main won all matches but lost two games and HH-Hebsacker, the Go publishing house from Hamburg is third. The differences between go leagues in Holland and Germany are interesting and may be instructive for go organizers elsewhere. The Dutch leagues have small teams and meet in person, while the German league teams are larger and meet almost exclusively online.
- Peter Dijkema, European correspondent

GERMAN TOURNAMENT UPDATES: Benjamin Teuber 6D (l) won the Nikolaus tournament in Brauschweig, Germany on December 6-7, with 38 players participating. Lin Hai 4D took 2nd and Stefan Katschick 5D won third place. Stephan Thober 1D of Greifswald won the Mecklenburg-Vorpommeren state championship on November 21-22. Volkmar Liebscher 3D was 2nd and Martin Schidt 1D was 3rd.  Franz-Josef Dickhut 6D won the Japanese Consul-General's Cup, also held November 21-22. At stake was a ticket to Japan, and Dickhut told the EJ that "My wife is from Korea, so we go there almost every year. But I’ve only been to Japan a few times, representing Germany in the WAGC." Christoph Gerlach 6d won the 'Blitzmeister' title December 13-14 when the final four contestants met in a marathon in which they played each other six times.
- Peter Dijkema

AGF FUND DRIVE LOOKS TO GROW GO: The American Go Foundation  is conducting its annual fundraising appeal, asking players who love go to support the growth of the game. "We're doing more than ever to bring in a new generation of players," says AGF President Terry Benson, "and we're doing it with generous donations from American players, not with foundation or government help. The AGF is a 501(c)3 charity, so US donors can deduct their contribution from their taxes." The AGF has many new offerings, Benson explained. "This fall we added the newsletter for teachers, a Teacher Store, a lesson plan cooperative for teachers , more types of teaching equipment, and we are working on a college scholarship program," Benson said. "We can now accept credit card payments and donations.  In today's financial climate, we need all the help we can get. Even small amounts matter. Whether someone contributes to the AGF General Fund, to help go education and outreach like the tigersmouth.org website, or to the Summer Go Camp Scholarship Fund, they'll join hundreds of others who make AGF work possible ." To contribute, download this form  and fax with your credit card info or mail with a check. See the AGF's appeal on godiscussions.com for more information about AGF programs.

GO CLASSIFIEDS WORK! “Thanks, E-Journal!” writes Bob Barber. “I listed my collection of Go World magazines here, and was able to sell them to one of your many readers, this one in Argentina.” Buy, sell, or trade go stuff, plus find go players through the EJ’s free classifieds: email us today at journal@usgo.org

JENNIE SHEN TEACHES FIGHTING: Look out for more fighting from attendees of the recent Jennie Shen workshop. The Penn Go Society organized a 3-day workshop with the  Santa Barbara, CA-based 2-dan professional on December 12-14 at the University of PA. “She was a wonderful teacher full of wisdom and lighthearted humor,” organizer Matt Bengtson tells the E-Journal, “with special excellence in the area of the middle game, where she encouraged everyone to fight more.” The workshop was attended by about 20 participants ranging from 20k to 5d, with a focus on game review over the course of the workshop. “We are very grateful to the Ing Foundation Professional Teaching Program for their generous grant, which has made the event possible and affordable for all,” Bengtson added. Click here for event photos. photo courtesy of the Penn Go Society

GO DESIGNS: Italian graphic designer Stefano Giurin has designed some new eye-catching go-themed t-shirts, sweatshirts and bags. A self-described “go addict,” Giurin, a 12-kyu, started playing a year ago. “I’m trying to make go more cool for everyone, not only for players,” Giurin tells the E-Journal.

CORRECTION: Austria, Not Australia: “Pardon me, but ‘Swiss-Australian border’?” (Go Makes Linux Mag 12/16 EJ) writes Dave Tukey. “I didn't know global warming was moving the continents around to this extent.  Or have the Swiss invaded the Outback?” Neither, as far as we know; make that the Swiss-Austrian border. Our apologies for the error and thanks to everyone who wrote in to point it out. Photographer David Cantrell also sent in this update: “In the absence of any go-playing Austrians or Swiss in our group, Switzerland was represented by Edwin Brady (2k) and Austria by me (13k),” said Cantrell. “It was a nine stone game, and Switzerland won convincingly.  Which I thought was very un-neutral of them.  All of the recent Linuxbierwanderungs have included go-playing, and over the years I've introduced a good dozen people from all over the world to the game, at least some of whom now play regularly.  Geeky social events like this are a great way of introducing new people to the game.”

GO SPOTTING: Go Wargames: In the 2008 film Wargames 2: The Dead Code, -- the sequel to the 1983 science fiction film WarGames -- “when Joshua is playing games with Ripley, and the games are rapidly flashing on the screen, games of go can be seen,” reports Doug Buchanan. Spotted go somewhere interesting? Email us at journal@usgo.org!

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

STUDENTS WANTED: Yuan Zhou is currently accepting new students. He offers private lessons, group lessons in person or on the internet.  If you’re interested in becoming Yuan Zhou's student and/or taking lessons from him – especially if your rank is 9k and above – and if you are a serious go player who wants to learn, improve and enjoy go, contact him at yuan.zhou@zhouyuan.com You can also check out his website www.zhouyuan.com for more information. (12/22)

PLAYERS WANTED: Downers Grove, IL: Contact Corey McQuarters at farplanedragon@gmail (12/15)

PLAYERS WANTED: Western Colorado: Rifle, Grand Junction, Glenwood
Springs, perhaps even further afield, like Vail and Aspen. We have two
players so far, looking for more. Click here or email jake@edge2.net for more info. (12/15)

PLAYERS WANTED: Lexington, KY: The downtown branch of the Lexington Public Library hosts an evening of go the first and third Wednesday of every month from 6-9P. Players of all skill levels are welcome. Email dantenen@lexpublib.org for more information. (12/15)

PLAYERS WANTED: Abilene, TX: Starting a go club at Abilene Christian University & invite anyone attending any of the area colleges or who is living in Abilene or nearby to come and join us. We meet every Sunday at 2P in front of the Brown Library, where we then go to the location. Contact: Dustin Janssen, dkj07a@acu.edu (11/24)

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 Photographer); Keith Arnold (Go Quiz); Peter Dijkema (Dutch/European Correspondent); Marilena Bara (Romania/European Correspondent); Ian Davis (Ireland Correspondent); Jens Henker (Korea 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.

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