AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association September 29, 2003 In This Edition: U.S. GO NEWS: Membership Nears 2,000; Child's Play?; 45 Brave Hurricane For Joe Shoenfield Memorial Tourney; Chinese Culture Day In Tacoma, WA; Highland Park & Charles River Tied In Super-Go; New Club Forms In Alaska; Games Sought For New Kerwin Series; Hoboken Update WORLD GO: Yoda Takes 2-0 Lead In Meijin; Oza Challenger Determined; Yoshida Wins 2nd Women's Kansai Igo; World Amateur Internet Go Tournament Begins; Final Cyber-5x5 Scheduled; 2004 To Be Big Year For Go; Other Asian Go News In Brief GAME COMMENTARY: Two Two Kyus TRAVELING GO BOARD: Report from Shikoku THE INNER GAME YOUR MOVE: Readers Write GO CLASSIFIED CALENDAR OF EVENTS U.S. GO NEWS MEMBERSHIP NEARS 2,000: Membership in the American Go Association leaped to nearly 1,900 in September, jumping to 1,881 members from August's 1,801. A slight dip in Full memberships was more than made up for by a significant increase in Limited memberships. This extends the record string of membership increases to sixteen months, beginning in January, 2002, when membership was just over 1,400, and maintains a pace that puts the AGA on track to easily surpass 2,000 members by the end of the year. CHILD'S PLAY? See young go players "Caught up in the game" in this week's Go Photo of the Week at http://www.usgo.org/ We welcome photos of go events for posting on the AGA's wqebsite. Please include the following information: photographer's name; date and location of the event; type of event (tournament, public demonstration, etc.); names of the people in the photo. You may also want to write a short description of the event. While all photos will be considered, final determination for posting will be made by the Journal Photo editorial staff. Send your photos to photoeditor@usgo.org 45 BRAVE HURRICANE FOR JOE SHOENFIELD MEMORIAL TOURNEY: Despite Hurricane Isabel's devastation, a record 45 players turned out for the third annual Joe Shoenfield Memorial Go tournament September 20 in Durham, North Carolina. Cash prizes were awarded in each section. Defending champion Suk Jun Kim took first prize in the open section with a perfect 5-0, with Sheng Feng and Yuanjing Zhou tied for second place at 4-1. The A section was won by Woojin Han, 1k, at 4-1, and Brent Marinello won the B section, also at 4-1. Erik Lindquist and Wayne Hansen, both 7k, tied for first in section C at 4-1 and Frank Thorne 11K swept section D at 5-0. A three-way tie for first in section E was shared by Dave Laverdure 16k, Scott Ellis 17k, and Joseph O'Donnell 20k, all at 4-1. Because of the full schedule (five rounds of rapid-pace play) organizers provided both a full lunch and supper, supplied by Peter Armenia, Dave Fruchtenicht, Adam Bridges, Adam's wife Arlene, and others. The tournament was held at the home of Charles and Tessie Alden. "Despite the fact that Hurricane Isabel had bulldozed her way through northeastern North Carolina and Virginia only two days before, leaving much of the region without power, nearly everyone who said they would come did," report organizers Paul Celmer and Charles Alden, who add that "many had fascinating anecdotes about harrowing adventures dodging downed trees and power lines." Most inspiring of these tales, perhaps, was the inimitable Chuck Robbins' account of coming all the way from Pennsylvania only to have to crawl along the Interstate as cars squeezed past an overturned RV on I-85 in Virginia, and then having to take a few hours on back roads to finally get to Durham Friday evening in time for a little informal go-playing. "After his mad trek south, he played all day Saturday, and then left that night for a ten-hour drive to Hoboken, New Jersey to direct a tournament there on Sunday!" say Celmer and Alden. "We suppose the force of a hurricane is nothing compared to the passion a go player has for the game." Or as Alden said in a pre-storm email "Not to worry - a hurricane has only one eye." CHINESE CULTURE DAY IN TACOMA, WA: Meanwhile, across the country, a dozen came to play on a sunny Saturday at Pacific Lutheran University, in Tacoma, Washington. The September 20 tournament was part of the Chinese Culture Festival and was held in a music recital room "that echoed percussively with each slapped stone," reports organizer Mike Malveaux. "The strongest players took turns beating each other: Jon Boley, manager of the Seattle Go Center, beat Ma Dong of the Seattle Chinese Go Club; and Steve Stringfellow notched a win in his perennial rivalry with Jon Boley, but lost to Ma Dong." Ben Tilford trekked up from Oregon, and pitched in at the demonstration table between games, teaching the rules to a number of young future players. Chinese Cultural Consul Shixun Yan was among the spectators who passed through the tournament area during the Chinese Culture Festival. 4-game winner: McKee, James, 4k; 3-game winners: Xiong, Xing, 6d; Cai, Mike, 3d; Yang, Zijiang, 2d; Tilford, Benjamin 10k. Photos will be posted at http://www.hilltopgo.com/evrep/plufall2003 HIGHLAND PARK & CHARLES RIVER TIED IN SUPER-GO: "After an exhausting 4 months of playing 28 games and an impressive seven game winning streak by Xiaoying Huang, Highland Park Go Club and Charles River Go Club are tied with two player left for each side," reports organizer Rob Muldowney. Another match with 10 players for each side has also been arranged between U. of Maryland GC and Highland Park. See http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~xyhuang/ for a schedule of the final matches and the new tournament. NEW CLUB FORMS IN ALASKA: A new club is forming at the University of Alaska in Firbanks, says 11kyu Brian "bojo" Jones, President of the new club. "We have about 13 registered members, and we are in the process of getting the official recognition papers. It would be great to get more Alaskan members involved, as we are applying for a campus club, which means anyone in Alaska can feel free to join us and play go, but only students derive benefits from the University itself (i.e. national touranments, travel, etc). Professor Tape, who is a rusty 6 kyu or so has elected himself as our club advisor. " For info: bojo@mojobojo.com GAMES SOUGHT FOR NEW KERWIN SERIES: Professional go player and American Go Journal contributing editor James Kerwin is now accepting game records for a new E-Journal feature. Kerwin will review selected games online with both players and the game, with commentary, will then appear in the E-Journal. There is no cost to players, but at least one must be a member of the American Go Association. Please send .sgf game records to E-Journal Assistant Bill Cobb at wmscobb@comcast.net HOBOKEN UPDATE: Three-game winner Mike CHOTIKUL was accidentally omitted from last week's report on the Hoboken Fall Handicap. Mike is from the Empty Sky Go Club in Rochester and is a soon-to-be-former 35K. Congratulations, Mike! - Steve Bretherick WORLD GO YODA TAKES 2-0 LEAD IN MEIJIN: On September 25th, Yoda Norimoto 9p, defending his title for the third time, won the second game of the best-of-seven Meijin title match. Playing white, Yoda defeated challenger Yamashita Keigo 9p by resignation after only 176 moves. While 2-0 represents a significant lead in the series, Yamashita should not be counted out just yet. In a recent article, Rob van Zeijst says that "fireworks are expected...as both [players] are in top form and they [both] play an attacking game." Game 3 is scheduled for October 1 and can be watched live on IGS. Game 2 records can be found at http://www.go4go.net. - reported by Dennis Hardman. OZA CHALLENGER DETERMINED: In a marathon game of 302 moves, Cho U 9p defeated Kato "the Killer" Masao 9p to become the challenger for the 51st Oza tournament. Kato, who held the Oza title continuously from 1982 to 1989, was also defeated by Cho in the Honinbo title match earlier this year. The first game of the Oza title match will take place in Tokyo on October 30th. Game records can be found at http://www.go4go.net. - reported by Dennis Hardman. YOSHIDA WINS 2ND WOMEN'S KANSAI IGO: Yoshida Mika 8p, playing white, defeated Ashida Isoko 6p by resignation after 156 moves to win the 2nd Women's Kansai Igo tournament. Yoshida was recently promoted to 8 dan becoming one of only three Japanese women professionals to hold this rank. - reported by Dennis Hardman. WORLD AMATEUR INTERNET GO TOURNAMENT BEGINS: The first of four rounds of the Pandanet Cup, also known as the 8th World Amateur Internet Go Tournament, began September 25th on the Internet Go Server (igs.joyjoy.net), with 16 players competing in the "even" game section and 16 players in the "handicap" section. Players will participate in 4 rounds to determine the amateur champion for each of the two sections. First prize for the even games section is 100,000 yen. Of the 16 even-game participants, 12 report they are from Japan with 1 from the U.S., 1 from Germany, and 2 from South Africa. While also heavily populated with Japanese players, the handicap-game section includes players from Canada, Italy, the Ukraine, Romania, Thailand, and Germany. The Pandenet Cup is organized by the Internet World Amateur Go Championship Executive Committee, and supervised by the International Go Federation with the support and cooperation of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Nihon Kiin, Kansai Kiin, and the Japan Pair Go Association. For more information, go to http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English. - reported by Dennis Hardman. FINAL CYBER-5X5 SCHEDULED: The 5th and final game of the China-Japan Cyber 5x5 Team Match will be played on September 30 at 2p (Japan time), and will feature Japan's O Rissei 9p and China's Kong Jie 7p. Rissei, one of the Nihon Kiin's top players, hopes to avert a complete sweep by the Chinese team who lead this 5-game "good will" match 4-0. The game will be carried live at http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/pub/web_goweekly/nicchu/index-e.htm. - reported by Dennis Hardman. 2004 TO BE BIG YEAR FOR GO: In a recent article, Go Game World (http://www.gogameworld.com) predicts that 2004 will be "the busiest and most lively year for Go". More than 10 world professional tournaments will take place in 2004, including: 17th Fujitsu Cup; 5th Ing Cup; 9th LG Cup; 9th Samsung Cup; 5th Chunlan Cup; 2nd Toyota Cup World Oza; 1st JP Morgan Chase Cup; 16th Asian TV Cup Fast Game; 3rd CSK Cup Asian Team Contest; 5th Nong Shim Cup Ring Contest; 2nd Jeongganjang Cup Women Go Contest. In addition, there will be the usual bilateral confrontations between China, Japan, and Korea. - reported by Dennis Hardman. OTHER ASIAN GO NEWS IN BRIEF (compiled from http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/momoyama/news/news.html) Japan: JAL HayaGo - Yuhki Satoshi & Cho U go to final. Korea: Dream League - Changho defeats Hunhyun, 2nd round finished. Japan: Kisei - Hane Naoki leads League A by 4-0. Japan: Judan - Cho U goes to winner's final. Japan: Kansai-Kiin - Yukawa goes to final (best-of-3 matches). Japan: Women's Strongest - Nakazawa narrowly defeats Inori and goes to semifinal. - reported by Dennis Hardman. GAME COMMENTARY: Two Two Kyus Today's game commentary is from a game between two amateurs in the 2003 US Open during the US Go Congress in Houston, Texas last August. Michael Samuel 2k is well known for his work with the Summer Go Camp and for his annual original tee shirt designs for each Congress. Jim Bonomo 2k was the winner of the 2002 Teacher of the Year award. The commentary is by Liping Huang 4P. As a bonus file this week, we're pleased to offer a clever sample problem from "Rescue and Capture" by Yilun Yang 7 dan, published by Yutopian Enterprises and used by permission. See more about Yutopian at http://www.yutopian.com To view the attached file(s), simply save the file to your computer and then open it using an .sgf reader such as Many Faces of Go or SmartGo. Readers who need .sgf readers can get them for most platforms at Jan van der Steen's http://gobase.org/sgfeditors.html YOUR MOVE: Readers Write GO ON THE XBOX? "When are we going to see the game of go on the Sony Playstation, Microsoft XBox, Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Gameboy Advanced?" asks Michael Turk. "When I visit China and Korea on behalf of my university and when I talk to some of my overseas students from China, Korea and Japan I often ask the students if they play Go/Igo/Weiqi/Baduk. Some reply 'My dad plays, he is addicted. It is an old man's game' and dismiss it. The rest either have never heard of the game or mention that they have heard of it but know very little about it. A creative tie-in between the Hikaru No Go series and the game of go on one or more of these platforms could be used to introduce a new generation of potential players to our game." REMEMBERING MOON: "I have known Moon Cha since my first days at the GWGC almost 25 years ago, and deeply mourn his death," writes Haskell Small. "He has been a mentor for me, keenly interested in my progress and always generous with his analysis of my games. We traveled to China together for the World Amateur Championships (I went as 'team captain') where he insisted I give a concert at the closing ceremony (he was also a lover of classical music). I met him in tournaments a few times, once in an even game which I almost won - he graciously acknowledged his mistakes (as well as mine). Always, always, he sought the truth on the board- understanding was far more important to him then winning. I will miss you, Moon." TRAVELING GO BOARD: Report from Shikoku By Solomon Smilack In preparing to come to Japan to teach, I was looking forward to playing go every day, since whenever I logged on to IGS back home I saw many Japanese players. But after a month here I have only played once. Muroto is neatly tucked away on the eastern cape of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands and go has turned out to be hard to find in this fairly rural area. An invitation by Akita Sensei (a fellow teacher) to his father's house in Ogata, a four-hour drive from Muroto, brought my first game in months, where Akita's father deftly cut off and smothered an enormous group of my stones in a running battle. It was tremendous fun. My office has introduced me to Yokoyama sensei, a pleasant old man with a four-dan certificate who retired from our school some years ago. He promises me that if I study with him for three years I will reach shodan (I am currently somewhere around seven kyu). So far, and bearing in mind that these are impressions from just a month in rural Japan, it seems like go in Japan is a bit on an antique. Although 'Hikaru no Go' has apparently jumpstarted a new generation of young players, they are just that: young (elementary school students). Out of 600 senior high school students, not a single student of mine knows how to play go. Once in a while a student (or even a fellow teacher) will tell me that their father or grandfather plays go and while of course I would welcome meeting any go players, my contact is limited and indirect - lack of rapport prevents me from being able to solicit games with people I have never met. So go has become something rare and special. As with improving my game, the very process of finding opponents takes dedication and time. I'm looking forward to spending a year with Yokoyama sensei. THE INNER GAME by Mark Rubenstein "Your toughest opponent is yourself." How many times have you heard that? I thought it was just a way of saying that if you don't keep learning, your own limitations will keep you from getting stronger. How wrong I was! I was playing the fifth round of the U.S. Open at the 2003 Congress. I had moved down a couple of tables since the beginning and was now taking Black against a 5 kyu who had won most of his games. Early in the game, I felt a twinge of happiness when my opponent blundered and I played a low approach, forming a nice extension along the top. All my opponent had was a loose formation in the upper left and two star points on the lower side. When he jumped into the upper right corner at the 3-3, my heart leaped. It was much too early for him to invade and after the standard joseki ensued I had a lovely wall facing perfectly placed black stones. When White jumped out towards the middle, I thought the game was already over. I had thickness on top, territory on the bottom, and all he had was two star-point stones and two weak groups. If I could prevent those weak groups from connecting, the game would be mine. It was only move 32, but I was confident. There was only one place White could connect his weak groups but I wanted more. I found a move that increased the size of my corner group, limited White's ability to expand into the corner, and protected my one-point jump. Three purposes for one move: that'll show him! When Black calmly wedged into my one-point jump, I realized I had misread and was now in atari and that I was the one who had been cut apart. I lost. Reviewing the game later, my friend Joe Carl said, "I know exactly what your problem is, because I have it too. It's pride. You thought you were so far ahead that your opponent should resign! You were too proud to connect; after all, the game was already yours." He was right. I saw the connection as a weak move, not because the stones were weak, but because connecting implied that I was weak. I was too proud to make the proper move. "Your toughest opponent is yourself." Now I know what that means. It's not about knowledge of the game but about knowledge of oneself. Rubenstein, 4k, is president of the Evanston (IL) Go Club. - edited by Katherine Wolfthal GO CLASSIFIED WANTED: Vetters for Milton Bradley's latest book, tentatively entitled "New Go Proverbs Illustrated". Familiarity with the Segoe classic "Go Proverbs Illustrated" and/or David Mitchell's "Go Proverbs" preferred, but not mandatory. Public recognition in acknowledgments plus free autographed copy on publication for successful completion. If interested, email Milt at bradleym@villagenet.com WANTED: I would like to hook up with go players in the Sullivan County NY area. The nearest go club meeting in Woodstock NY with is a 2 hour drive from my house. Port Jervis or Middletown NY or the Honesdale Pa area would also be good. Ouida.Edington@ssa.gov FOR SALE: Old Go World magazines. Issues #23, 26-33, 47-55, 57-78. Included as a free extra are issues of the American Go Journal, Vol. 33, # 2-4, and Vol 34, #1-2. Michael Goerss; jgoerss3@cox.net. FOR SALE: Go Review #1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12; 1975:Spring, Summer, Autumn; 1976 Winter, Spring, Autumn; Go World # 38-51; 53-55; 58-80;82-86;88-92;95-97, 69 Issues including rare #1. Will sell only as a lot at $350 + postage Contact bsaltman@charter.net WANTED: Moving to the Spokane, Washington area for college, and want to get in touch with go players, especially any with connections to Whitworth College Sean R; weyounsix@hotmail.com WANTED: Pensacola, FL. Go players or interested parties to begin human play in the panhandle of Florida. Contact Ralph at rhaseltine@att.net. WANTED: Anecdotes about how a particular strategy, go problem or set of moves may have surfaced in your life away from the go board. Recently, when discussing a particular go strategy or problem with a friend in the middle of a difficult life problem, I was surprised how easily I could relate the go problem as an analysis or analog of my friend's problem. Please email any anecdotes to ddinhofer@msn.com WANTED: Interested Go players from the Guam area to form Guam's first local go club for fun, teaching and tournaments. Please contact Ed at: edp96912@yahoo.com WANTED: Beginning players in Santa Clara, California. Tired of playing only on the computer, I'd like to meet up with an actual human sometime for evening/weekend games. Lenny: briandamage@att.net Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to buy? Do it here and reach more than 5,000 Go players worldwide every week at Go Classified! Send to us at journal@usgo.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS October 10-13: Roundtop, NY Guo Juan Workshop Jean-Claude Chetrit zorglub@brooklyngoclub.org October 11 & 12: Toronto, CANADA 2003 Korean Cup Open Go Tournament June Ki Beck 416-733-9597 junekibeck@yahoo.com October 12: Boston, MA MGA Fall Handicap Tournament Zack Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com October 17-19: Germantown, MD James Kerwin Workshop Gordon Fraser 301-540-2640 gordon@wui.com October 18 & 19: San Francisco, CA Dote Sensei Memorial Fall Tournament Steve Burrall 916-688-2858 sburrall@comcast.net October 25: Tacoma, WA UPS Fall Tournament Tyler Sellon 253-759-6860 tsellon@ups.edu http://www.hilltopgo.com/evrep/upsfall2003/index.html October 25: Arlington, VA Pumpkin Classic Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net October 25: Piscataway, NJ Feng Yun Fall Tournament Contact: GoLesson@yahoo.com NOTE: this listing is not all-inclusive, featuring only upcoming tournaments in the next month or events which require early registration. For a complete U.S. listings, go to http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.html For the European Go Calendar see http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/go/tourn.html GET LISTED & BOOST TURN-OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 5,000 readers every week! List your Go event/news In the E-Journal: email details to us at MAILTO:journal@usgo.org Ratings are on the web! Check the website; http://www.usgo.org for the full list. GET YOUR TOURNAMENT RATED! Send your tournament data to MAILTO:ratings@usgo.org AGA CONTACT LIST: For a full list of AGA officers, contacts & their email addresses, go to: http://www.usgo.org/org/index.asp#contactinfo Published by the American Go Association Text material published in "AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL" may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that attached files, including game records, MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the Journal. To make name or address corrections, notify us at the email address below. Story suggestions, event announcements, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to: Editor: Chris Garlock mailto:journal@usgo.org Chris Garlock, Coordinator Union Cities/Streetheat Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO 1925 K St NW, #410 Washington, DC 20006 202-857-3410 cgarlock@dclabor.org