2003 U.S. Congress Highlights

Over three hundred go players and fans gathered at the University of Houston August 2-10 in Houston , Texas for the 19th U.S. Go Congress. Players from as near as the sponsoring Houston Go Club and as far as away as Japan, England, Taiwan and Germany attended the weeklong annual event, which features a professional tournament, several major amateur tournaments and a full schedule of lectures by professionals and lots of non-rated events and play.

For the third straight year, the American Go E-Journal provided daily reports on the Congress, with Bill Cobb, Bob Barber, Joe Carl, Michael Heinich and Jeff Miller joining Editor Chris Garlock on the "E-team." Very special thanks are also due to the Congress Team who organized this year’s weeklong go marathon: Congress Director Mike Peng; Assistant Director John Eckelkamp; Staff: Robert Cordingley, Bill Holden, Hideki Innan, Roger Mills, Jessica Rhodes, Kris Rhodes, Michael Rouen, Chris Sutter, Vincent Tam, George Wang, Vincent Wang. Robert Cordingley and Ted Peterson ran the website and Chris Cordingley did the Congress logo.

Here are highlights of those reports. 

PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING: Guo Juan

"Enough is enough," Guo Juan, 5P told a packed lecture room Sunday night. "If you're ahead by twenty do you really need to win by thirty? Is a four point win better than a 3 point win? A win is a win." Ms. Juan was emphasizing the importance of counting in determining correct strategy. In the game she was analyzing, Black didn't realize he was thirty points ahead and got entangled in a local fight that wound up costing him the game. "So often we get distracted by the fascinating local fights that we lose track of what's going on in the game overall,"  Ms. Juan warned.

- reported by Chris Garlock

SPEED KILLS! They say speed kills and that was certainly the case at the Lightning Tournament Monday night when there was plenty of dying happening on 47 boards.  With a brisk, no-nonsense style that matched the tournament name, Keith Arnold once again successfully directed the madness as 94 people crowded into the main playing hall for this ever popular un-rated event.  Quickly shuffled into groups of six, the stones began to fly and the hall soon resounded with the thunder of hastily-played stones. With just ten minutes per player and no overtime, losing a big group doesn't necessarily affect the outcome if your opponent is behind on time.  The groups played round robin with the group winners playing single elimination as time permits during the week to determine dan and kyu champions. Group Winners: Dan Winners - Zipei Feng 6d, Tsutomu Ota 4d, Hiroshi Yoyama 3d, Jesse Chao 1d, Greg Lefler 1d, Matthew Burrall 2d. Kyu Winners: Jonthan Englander 2k, Jarett Pon 14k, David Dinhofer 2k, William Zhou 6k, Lionel Zhang 4k, David Montoya 10k, Felix Chao 17k, Stephen Sun 6k, Hunter Peress 14k, Stanley Sun 29k.

- reported by Michael Heinich

FENG YUN ING PRO CUP CHAMP: Feng Yun 9P, won the 2003 AGA/ING Pro Cup Tuesday morning, defeating Mingjiu Jiang, 7P, and collecting the $2,500 first place prize. Jiang took second and $1,500.  In third ($600) was Huiren Yang 1P, who nudged out Yilun Yang 7P by just one point, Yang's second 1-point loss in the ING Cup. Yang's fourth-place finish earned him $400. 

- reported by Bill Cobb

JOEY HUNG WINS ING AMATEUR: In a surprise upset, Joey Hung 6d defeated defending Amateur Ing champion Jie Li 6d by resignation in Wednesday night's final round, winning the 2003 Amateur Ing title. "I taught him too well," said Li good-naturedly as Joey, a huge smile lighting up his face, accepted congratulations from onlookers. The 27-year-old software engineer from Fremont , CA , credits Li, his teacher for the last four years, for helping improve his game. Although he's been playing for twenty years and achieved 6d when he was just 16, Joey says the last four years studying with Jie Li have made a huge difference in his game. Joey's advice to would-be top players is to "Play a lot! The three periods of the most growth in my strength were when I was playing the most go. You need a good teacher to show you your mistakes, but it's best to play a lot of games." Perhaps sowing his own seeds for a new future Ing champion, Joey now has thirty students of his own, ranging in age from 5 to 17 years old.

- reported by Chris Garlock

HEWITT TOP DIE HARDER: Bill Hewitt 3d won top honors in Wednesday's Die Hard Tournament, a 4-round event held during the traditional Congress Day Off. An amazing 107 players passed up visits to the Houston Space Center , museums or Galveston 's Moody Gardens to participate. Those wishing to emulate Hewitt's perfect 4-0 may want to consider the benefits of the focus and discipline of taking up shakuhachi, the Japanese flute Bill has learned to play since retiring a few years ago. Other winners: Low Dan: Hildegard Puttkemmer 2d (3-1); High Kyu: Peter Straus 1k (4-0); High Kyu Honorable Mention goes to Che Cho Yun 5k (4-0); Low Kyu: Stephen Sun (4-0); Low Kyu Honorable Mention: Sheng Xiong Xie 23k (4-0).

PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING: Huiren Yang, 1P

"Ko is difficult," Huiren Yang said at his Wednesday night lecture. "It's hard to know when to start and can be hard to manage, even for a 9 dan." Yang also reminded the crowd that "Your opponent's vital point is your vital point" and "Getting a base is important; get stable!" Last but not least "You can't capture the dragon but you can punish the dragon."

SHI/GUAN WIN 2003 PAIR GO: Gina Shi 4d and Mozheng Guan 7d won the 2003 Pair Go Championship Thursday night and will represent the U.S. in Japan in the World Amateur Pair Go Championships. Shi and Guan defeated Thomas Hsiang 8d and Debbie Siemon 2d.

-reported by Mike Heinich

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 not 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 how 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.

E-JOURNAL GO CONGRESS EDITION STAFF: Chris Garlock, Bill Cobb, Bob Barber, Joe Carl, Michael Heinich, Jeff Miller.

  U.S. GO CONGRESS WRAP-UP:

U.S. OPEN (TD: SUSAN WEIR, with Jeff Shaevel, Duane Burns & John Goon)

Open Section: 1st: Jie Li; 2nd: Ke Huang; 3rd: Yansong Zhou; 4th: Joey Hung; 5th: Lu (Jeffrey) Wang; 6th: Jung Hoon Lee.

6D: 1st: Rui Wang; 2nd: Jin Chen; 3rd: Zhi Yuan (Andy Liu); 5D: 1st: Richard Liang; 2nd: Curtis Tang; 3rd: Martin Bradshaw; 4D: 1st: Tsutomu Ota; 2nd: Steve Burrall; 3rd: Francis Roads; 3D: 1st: John Stephenson; 2nd: Kory Stevens; 3rd: Dan Micsa; 2D: 1st: Andreas Hauenstein; 2nd: Eric Osman; 3rd: Timothy Hoel; 1D: 1st: Tommy Slater; 2nd: Jeff Horn; 3rd: Terry Benson; 1K: 1st: Peter Straus; 2nd: John Paul Rodman; 3rd: Bob Hearn; 2K: 1st: Hao Shen; 2nd: James Bonomo; 3rd: Kevin Yi; 3K: 1st: Alan Perrin; 2nd: Timothy Huang; 3rd: Roy Laird; 4K: 1st: Robert Sloane; 2nd: Nicole Casanta; 3rd: Tien-kai Kang; 5K: 1st: Conny Irl; 2nd: Anna Wang; 3rd: Steve Feng & Eric Jankowski; 6-7K: 1st: William Zhou; 2nd: Stephen Sun; 3rd: Vincent Tam; 8-10K: 1st: Yao Guo; 2nd: Cherry Shen; 3rd: Justin Bazzano; 4th: David Montoya; 11-13K: 1st: Tom Xu; 2nd: Benjamin Morris; 3rd: Lars (Ben) Spillers; 14-16K: 1st: James Li; 2nd: John Eckelkamp; 3rd: Max Peterson; 4th: Rachel Small; 17-23K: 1st: Shenxiong Xie; 2nd: Karoline Burrall; 3rd: Felix Chao; 24-35K: 1st: Chrystal Yuan; 2nd: Stanley Sun; 3rd: Julie Burrall.

SELF-PAIRED TOURNAMENT (TD: RUSS WILLIAMS)

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