AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association August 10, 2003 In This Issue: JIE LI REPEATS AS U.S. OPEN CHAMP WHY WE PLAY: Horst Sudhoff NOTES FROM A CONGRESS NEWBIE JIE LI REPEATS AS U.S. OPEN CHAMP: Jie Li 6d won all six rounds in the U.S. Open this week, successfully defending his title as the reigning U.S. Open champion. Characteristically, Li was modest in victory. "I think people expected me to win again," Li told the Journal. "When I lost my last round in the Ing Amateur Cup, (former AGA president) Roy Laird told me, 'So you're human after all.'" The Ing Cup still has Li's fingerprints on it, though. The 2003 winner, Joey Hung, 7d, has been Li's student for the past four years. "As a teacher, I felt great," Li said. "As a player, I'm mad about my stupid mistakes." In the Ing final, Li explained, he was ahead of Joey in the opening and most of the middle game. "I beat him eleven times in a row in other tournaments," Li said. But Hung got Li confused in the late middle game and secured a five-point lead that Li could not make up. Jie Li's U.S. Open win is his second in a row and his third overall, first winning in 1999. Li is no! t just the highest rated AGA amateur at 9.3d but at the 2001 Toyota/Denso Oza Championship, he beat four pros: Janice Kim (then 1P, now 3P), Jimmy Cha (4P), Ming-Jiu Jiang (7P), and Zhu-jiu (Jujo)Jiang (9P). But Li, 22, has no plans to seek pro status. "It's just a piece of paper; it doesn't mean you're stronger." Li says. "Being an amateur is much more fun. Amateurs play much more freely. You can win some and lose some and not feel badly." A college junior, Li is studying political science at the University of California at San Diego. "Being a professor is an option," Li says. "But I have broad interests. Maybe economics or law school. Who knows?" Born in Nanjing, China, Li began playing go at about age 10. He reached shodan in a year. In 1998, he moved to the US, and won his first US Open title in 1999. For players eager to increase their strength, Li has different advice, depending on their rank. Players at 10k or weaker should simply play lots of games and bone up on fundamentals through reading books. Stronger kyu players, however, should seek out a teacher, a stronger player willing to play games. "Below 10 kyu, it's not entertaining for high level players," Li said. "To get stronger, keep playing and playing and playing." For amateur dan players, Li says it's crucial to play in tournaments, where the intensity of competitive play hones skills. In addition, Li suggests reviewing pro games, as well as playing "very strong players." These days, however, Li himself doesn't play all that often, except at tournaments every six months or so. "Go is not very popular in the US, so there aren't so many tournaments. But in the last few years, more people have started to play." - reported by Jeff Miller WHY WE PLAY: Horst Sudhoff Horst Sudhoff, a veteran of 17 Go Conqresses, is always one of the most active players in the SeIf-Paired tournament, winning the Dedicated award this year, with 37 Self-Paired games. "I come all the way from Germany; I want to play go," Sudhoff said. The 3d has had a long love affair with the game. Now 72, he began playing at 14 and estimates he's played more than 150,000 games. Now retired, Sudhoff says he has even more time for go. Interestingly, most of his games are not played in Germany, but in the U.S. and he often flies over for tournaments. "I don't have the time in Europe," Sudhoff said. " I have two chiidren and four qrandchildren. Here, I feel free." In fact, Horst notes, "At the Seattle Congress (in 1995), I could have played 100 if I hadn't eaten so much." - reported by Jeff Miller NOTES FROM A CONGRESS NEWBIE by Joe Carl This year's Congress is my first. As a local organizer, I came to Houston to learn more about how to promote go, to make some new friends, and to learn more about the game of go. To be perfectly honest, I also came to prove how strong I've become. After winning two Self-Paired games Saturday night, I went into the U.S. Open prepared to humble my opponents. Experienced players will not be surprised to hear that this 4k lost his first three rounds in the Open. I was officially Not Having Fun and was carrying around a bad attitude like an ugly hangover. Then I took a step back and looked over my lost games. I realized I'd been trying too hard to prove my strength and wasn't respecting my opponents. And I'd forgotten one of the fundamental reasons I play go: fun and friends. I decided to drop the attitude and play like I do back at my home club in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio: with a smile on my face and a desire that my opponent come back to play me again. Suddenly, when people asked h! ow I was doing, instead of saying "0-3" I found myself saying "I've met some great people." More than that, I've learned a tremendous amount about go. Seven different professional players have reviewed my games and I've had a 9-stone game with a top Japanese professional. I'll be back again next year in Rochester. By the way, since I stopped worrying about winning, I've won every game but more importantly, I've made a new friend each time. EDITOR'S NOTE: We hope you've enjoyed these daily reports from this year's U.S. Go Congress. We've tried to convey some of the event's tremendous excitement, camaraderie and love of the game of go that brings so many of us back year after year. For those of you who couldn't attend this year, we hope the reports provided a way to join us "virtually" and hope to see you in person next year in Rochester. Very special thanks to the E-team who gave up precious time on the board to track down and file their daily reports. See you next year, guys! - Chris Garlock, Editor E-JOURNAL GO CONGRESS EDITION STAFF: Chris Garlock, Bill Cobb, Bob Barber, Joe Carl, Mike Heinich, Jeff Miller. FORMATTING NOTE: We apologize if there are formatting problems with the Congress Edition of the E-Journal, which is filed from a Palm PDA.