AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go
Association
August 23, 2004
In This Issue:
U.S. GO NEWS: US Reps Lose In Toyota-Denso; SmartGo
Adds Pro Games; Riverview Surprise Round 2 Winner; Free Problem Software
Released; Taking The Shodan Challenge; This Week’s Go Photo
WORLD GO NEWS: Changho Wins Battle Of The Lees;
Chunwon Goes Into Semis; Ward Edges Macfadyen In Marathon; British Championship
First Round; 7th Isle Of Man Go Week; Deadline For 9th Internet World Amateur Go
Tournament
GAME COMMENTARY: Bad Moves, But
Why?
BEGINNER’S MIND: The Year That
Counts
GO REVIEW: SmartGo
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILE(S):
2004.08.23.LipingHuang-7k game.sgf; 2004.08.23.Nakayama NS-10.pdf
U.S. GO NEWS
US REPS LOSE IN TOYOTA-DENSO: Both
North American representatives lost in the first round of the 2nd Toyota Denso
Cup in Tokyo, Feng Yun 9p falling by resignation to Chang Hao 9p of China and
Mingjiu Jiang 7p losing by resignation to Yoda Norimoto 9p of Japan. All the
other participants not from China, Japan, or Korea also lost in the first round:
the three European representatives, Andrey Kulcof 6d, Frank Jansen 6d, and
Alexandre Dinerchtein 6d were defeated by Kong Jie 7p of China, So Yohkoku 7p of
Japan, and Sakai Hideyuki 6p of Japan, all by resignation. Fernand Aguilar 6d of
Argentina, the South American representative, lost by resignation to Wang Lei 8p
of China. The sixteen remaining players include six from China, five from Japan,
and five from Korea. Lee Changho 9p, who won this title last year, is still in
the running this time after defeating Yang Jinhua 6p of Singapore by 2.5
points.
SMARTGO ADDS PRO GAMES: The latest release of the popular SmartGo
go software now allows users to find out where professionals play. “Study joseki
and fuseki in the context of your game by matching the position in your game
against thousands of professional games,” says SmartGo’s Anders Kierulf. The
SmartGo family of programs includes SmartGo Player (for playing, recording,
replaying, analyzing, annotating, and printing games), SmartGo Viewer (a limited
version of Player), SmartGo 9x9, SmartGo Games (which includes over 27,000
professional games) and SmartGo Combo, a lower-priced combination of SmartGo
Player and SmartGo Games. SmartGo:Player is $59; add SmartGo Games for $25 more
or download the free SmartGo:Viewer (which includes 1,600 san-ren-sei games).
Details at http://www.smartgo.com
RIVERVIEW
SURPRISE ROUND 2 WINNER: Surprises never stop popping up as rookie team
Riverview (Michigan) defeated two-time silver medalists Monta Vista (California)
in the 3rd US High School Team Go Championships, reports organizer Christopher
Vu. Texas teams continue to show their dominance as Clear Lake and Plano Senior
teams are all 8-0. The final qualifying round will get underway soon to
determine the national tournament finalists.
FREE PROBLEM SOFTWARE
RELEASED: GoGrinder, a software program for practicing go problems has just been
released by Tim Kington. The open source freeware comes with 750 problems in
.sgf format, ranging in difficulty from 25k to 4d and allows the import and
export of problem sets. Users “can save progress through problem sets to file,
so you can go work on a different set of problems, and then pick up where you
left off,” says Kington. Details and download at http://gogrinder.sourceforge.net
TAKING
THE SHODAN CHALLENGE: “I recollect a ‘shodan by the ’04 Congress’ challenge
initiated a while back via the E-Journal,” writes Becci Torrey, “and was
wondering if we have any reports from the contenders.” The challenge was
initiated by E-Journal columnist Joel Turnipseed at the 2003 Congress in
Houston. Turnipseed, a 6 kyu, writer and ex-Marine, bet a round of drinks that
he’d make it to shodan by the 2004 Congress. Progress, as Joel reported over the
last year, turned out to be even more difficult than he’d imagined, and for some
reason, the impending arrival of his first child wound up distracting Joel from
his studies. Joel, who missed the Congress, is now a 4 kyu and the proud father
of Maia Elizabeth Hernandez (since we owe Joel a congratulatory drink, we’ll
just call it even on the bet). 5-kyu Ethan Baldridge of Richmond, VA, joined the
challenge but also fell short and now has a 2-kyu rating, an impressive 3-level
jump. As columnist Aria von Elbe reports this week, she’s now taken up the
Shodan By The Congress challenge: anyone else who wants to go on record as
taking this on for next year can go on record by email us at journal@usgo.org
and we’ll follow your progress over the next year.
THIS WEEK’S GO PHOTO:
Every regular Go Congress attendee will know the man featured on this week’s AGA
homepage photo -- http://www.usgo.org --
but who can come up with the best caption for this wonderfully charming shot?
Send them to us at journal@usgo.org
Last week’s challenge: Terry Benson gets
the nod for correctly identifying E-Journal editor Chris Garlock at work on the
board at the recent U.S. Go Congress in photo #6 but we have to applaud Pete
Gousious for his creative response: “It’s obviously the picture of my photogenic
back mistitled as Jimmy's nemesis at http://users.waymark.net/LIPH-DL0839/2K4GoCongress/pages/p03.htm”
Pete writes. “In Round Two of the Open in which I graciously lost to Congress
first-time attendee Keiko Matsuo (sitting to the left of Jimmy). As a part-time
go game transcriber for the E-journal, that must be why there is particular
relevance for the E-journal. Also, if you strain very hard you can see Aria von
Elbe, our exciting new columnist for the E-Journal standing up in the top left
of this picture. So there are two reasons for this photo to be the relevant
picture, making it much like a good go move that does two things at once…I
almost was tricked into thinking it was picture 8, professional go player Guo
Juan, who does such a great job of providing commentary for E-Journal
games.”
WORLD GO NEWS
CHANGHO WINS
BATTLE OF THE LEES: In the decisive fifth game of the 38th Wangwi Title Match in
Korea on August 17th, Lee Changho 9p bested Lee Sedol 9p to take the battle of
the Lees by a score of 3-2. All five games in this match were won by White, four
of them by resignation. Game records can be found at http://www.go4go.net/english/bytournament2.jsp?id=10
. Changho has now held this title for nine consecutive terms, starting in 1996.
He also won the title in 1991. Many consider Lee Changho, not yet thirty years
old, to be the strongest player in the world. At one point, in 1993, he held
twelve titles. Lee Sedol, just out of his teens, is seen by many as the "next
Lee Changho". Cho Hunhyeon 9p also held the Wangwi title for nine consecutive
years, from 1982 through 1990, but Cho has won it four additional times as
well.
CHUNWON GOES INTO SEMIS: In the second round of the 9th Chunwon
Tournament in Korea, Cho Hunhyun 9p defeated by resignation Song Taekon 7p, who
won the title two years ago, Choi Cheolhan, current title holder, defeated Mok
Jinseok 8p by resignation, and An Dalhun 6p beat Kim Seungjun 8p by resignation.
The remaining second round game will be between Rui Naiwei 9p and Lee Sedol 9p.
This tournament concludes with a best of five title match. In the semi-finals
Cho plays Choi and An plays the winner of the Rui-Lee contest.
WARD EDGES
MACFADYEN IN MARATHON BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND: In the first game of the
British Championship, challenger David Ward 4d of Cambridge defeated Matthew
Macfadyen 6d of Leamington. The game was tied on the board, so Ward won by the
6.5 komi after a game that lasted over six hours. Macfadyen first became British
Go Champion in 1978 and has been Champion eighteen times since; if he defeats
David Ward's challenge it will be his twentieth Championship. Ward is a 4-dan
British player, but has been improving recently, thanks to lessons from a
Chinese professional player. See http://www.britgo.org/bchamp/2004/match/people.html
for pictures and full bios of the players.
7TH ISLE OF MAN GO WEEK: More
than forty-five players, many accompanied by family members, enjoyed one of the
most appealing locales for a go tournament last week at the 7th Isle of Man Go
Week at the Cherry Orchard in Port Erin with plenty of sunshine and seaside
activity. Piers Shepperson 5d of Slough repeated as the champion, winning all
five of his games. Matthew Cocke 5d of Norwich was second and Francis Roads 4d
of Wanstead was third. Tony Atkins 3d of Bracknell won the afternoon tournament,
which had thirty participants, on SOS tie break from Francis Roads. In other
tournaments, Bill Streeten 5k of Wanstead won the twenty-seven player handicap
event by tie break over Paul Barnard 1d of Swindon, and the doubles event was
taken by mother and son pair, Pauline and Steve Bailey of West Surrey. The 13x13
tournament with twenty-four players was won by Tim Hunt 3d of Milton Keynes, and
William Brooks 1k of Cambridge beat Jil Segerman 7k of Brighton in the finals to
repeat as lightning title holder.
-reported by BGA News
DEADLINE FOR
9TH INTERNET WORLD AMATEUR GO TOURNAMENT: The deadline for signing up for the
9th Internet World Amateur Go Tournament on IGS, the PandaNet Cup, is August
24th. Details can be found at http://www.pandanet.co.jp/event/iwag2004/e/
Pros are not allowed to play in this tournament.
YOUR MOVE: Readers
Write
CONGRESS INFO: “Where I can find information about the last U.S. Go
Congress?” wonders Angela Zemaitat. “Where I can find photos and the results of
the tournament?” Photos are at http://www.usgo.org/photos/
stay tuned for a new online posting of tournament results.
PLAYING ONLINE:
“How can I play go on the Internet?” asks reader C.Yang. Get info and links to
software for playing go online on the AGA’s website at: http://www.usgo.org/resources/computer.asp#internet
GAME COMMENTARY: Bad Moves, But Why?
Two anonymous
7-kyus battle it out to make the slowest and least efficient moves in today’s
game commentary. But wincing readers may recognize some of their own mistakes
and learn from the brutally honest commentary by Liping Huang 4p, who lives and
teaches go in the Chicago area.
We’re also pleased to present another
installment of the ever-popular “What’s Wrong With That Move” by Nakayama
Noriyuki.
To view the attached .sgf file(s), simply save the file(s) to your
computer and then open 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
BEGINNER’S MIND: The Year That Counts
by Aria von
Elbe
It wasn’t until I returned to Miami that I realized just how much the
U.S. Go Congress had instilled in me. Not just determination, dedication, and,
amazingly, new skills, but also a goal. Not the weak,
I-never-got-around-to-following-it-though one that I thought I had after
returning from Seattle in January, but one that I am really set on reaching.
I know that trying to become
a shodan by next June is a stretch, but it’s precisely because it’s so far out
there I yearn for it all that much more. Besides, this is the girl who, before
she went out to Seattle for the Toyota/Denso, hesitated to even dream of
becoming a writer for the Nihon Ki-in’s Shuukan Go and ended up becoming a
columnist for the E-Journal and got a contact inside the Nihon Ki-In to
boot.
I guess the unobtainable seems just a few inches out of my reach, and
that’s okay, because I know I’m going to grow. Naturally, though, that’s not to
say that it won’t be a challenge. I’ll have APs, SATs, ACTs, and let’s not
forget that this will be my junior year in high school, “the year that counts”.
Not to mention a go club to run on top of all that and most probably some random
other endeavor that I will take on, but “the best way to learn is to teach!” Oh,
wait, that’s not a proverb? Well, it’s a new one, one I’ll be living by for a
while. That and “Procrastinate now, don’t put it off” — I mean...
But I've
always liked challenges, otherwise I wouldn't have started playing go, right?
You know what I mean, the waiting and waiting to get stronger. But there's just
so much for me to look forward to: the club, of course, but also the RSC
Tournament at the Sea Otter Go Club I heard about at the Congress. Team matches
with high school clubs! If I can get a club trip planned, Texas here we come!
There's the Oza again this year, where ever that'll be I'm there. I can just say
I'm college hunting. And of course Internet Go. With all the people I met from
the Congress, and all the screen names I have, it'll be back to playing during
Chem class. I'll be a shodan in no time, just you watch!
-16-year-old Aria
von Elbe starts 11th grade this September in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
GO REVIEW: SmartGo
By James Kerwin,
1P
If you want to improve at
go, a good editor is an essential tool for efficient and effective study. The
most valuable thing you can do, other than taking lessons, is review your own
games. For this purpose, Anders Kierulf's popular game editor SmartGo is an
outstanding program. I have used various game editors for years to teach and
study and SmartGo has become my favorite game editor and I now use it almost
exclusively. While all game editors are now powerful, SmartGo has features that
put it significantly ahead of the pack. Here are three of my favorite
features.
Once I have studied or commented a game, I often jump through the
game to quickly review it. Sometimes I use the Find tool to jump from comment to
comment or variation to variation. While all game editors have Find tools,
SmartGo makes it possible to mark a game position at a particular move. There
are a number of special-purpose markers but mostly I use two general markers,
the checkmark and the hotspot. In SmartGo one can use the Find tool to search
for these position markers, which is a fast and powerful way to quickly review
games. For example, in game commentaries I mark key moments with the 'hotspot'
marker. My student can use the Find tool to find hotspot positions and
immediately find the most important points of the game. Then he/she can go back
and review all the comments at leisure. Another powerful use of this combination
is marking a game position and a superior variation position with a marker such
as a checkmark, which I often do in workshops. Using the Find tool I can flip
between the two positions. The difference between the game result and the
variation result, and the improvement of the variation really jumps out when
shown this way.
Another feature I have come to love is the ability to group
games into collections. Instead of opening one game at a time, one can open a
collection containing a number of games. For example, I create a collection for
each pro tournament, for each of my students, and a collection of problems and
examples for each workshop I give. This is much more convenient and efficient
than managing separate files. But more important, one can use the Find tool to
search the entire collection. One could make a collection of all the games one
played at a workshop or tournament. After the first review, one could search the
collection for a marker such as the 'hotspot' and quickly review the key points
of all the games in the collection. Or one could quickly review all the example
positions and problem positions from a workshop.
SmartGo's editing is highly
efficient, thanks to context menus. With other programs one must move the mouse
pointer outside the board area to make a menu choice, such as Add Variation or
Add Letter. Then one moves the mouse pointer back to the board to add the
variation or letter and then one must move the pointer once again to choose a
different tool. In SmartGo these chores can be done without ever moving the
pointer off the board. Just put the pointer on the place one wants to mark and
Right-Click. This brings up a context menu next to the location and one can
choose Add Variation, or Add Letter, or whatever right there. Click on the
choice in the context menu and it's done. Although there's only a small gain in
time each time you use this feature, when commenting a number of games these
gains add up significantly.
(Kerwin is a professional 1-dan and longtime
American go instructor; this review originally ran in the May 3, 2004 edition of
the E-Journal)
GO CLASSIFIED
BOOKS,
EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, ETC:
WANTED: Copy of Handicap Go, the seventh,
out-of-print book of the Elementary Go Series. Willing to pay reasonable price;
please contact hilarne@netscape.net (8/8)
INSTRUCTION, TEACHERS:
-
Joey's Go School: Joey Hung AGA 8d is teaching at San Francisco Bay Area. Find
out more about Joey's Go School
At 510-659-8220, egogames@yahoo.com or http://www.egogames.com
(8/23)
GO PLAYERS WANTED:
AK: Juneau, Alaska ; stevekrall@yahoo.com
(8/23)
AZ: Phoenix, AGA 5d looking for go players; michaelscai@yahoo.com
(8/23)
FL: Jacksonville; Gohan6412000@yahoo.com (6/14)
FL: Jacksonville;
regular, live game sessions. Contact BjornTFoss@comcast.net (5/31)
GA:
Augusta; for playing and possible chapter; email Wesley Stewart at
ICANSEEYOU7687@comcast.net (5/31)
IL: Downers Grove; 23k willing to play with
anyone who wants a friendly game or will teach those in the area who want to
learn. e-mail Kevin Steinbach at elpollomariachi@comcast.net (5/31)
KS:
Looking for players in Kansas (especially the Wichita area); contact Ted Dover
at tsgtdover@carrollsweb.com (6/28)
MA: North Shore (Hamilton); for playing
and possible chapter. Email glen@organicdesign.org
NY: Go players in New York
City. Our club is currently looking for more members. The "Village Go Club"
meets in Manhattan on Wednesday
nights. Our club is largely beginning
players, but all levels are welcome. Feel free to contact Kerry for more
information at kerry@nyu.edu
TX: Go club meeting at InfiniTea, located on
the SW intersection of Coit and Cambell in Richardson, Wednesdays from 7P until
midnight. If you have boards of your own, please bring them; any rank welcome.
Jeff Heckman, acedetone@yahoo.com
Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to
buy? Do it here and reach over 7,000 Go players worldwide every week at Go
Classified! Listings are free and run 4 weeks; send to us at
journal@usgo.org
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS
August 28: Davis, CA
Davis/Sacramento Quarterly
Tournament
Fred Hopkins 916-548-8068 cfredhop@msn.com
http://www.dcn.davis/caus/~jdnewmil/go/
September 4 & 5: Toronto, CANADA
Canadian Open
Young Kim
416-846-3024 km3024@rogers.com
http://www.go-canada.org/
September 4 & 5: San Francisco, CA
Dote Sensei Memorial
Tournament
Danny Swarzman 415-221-7194 dote04@stowlake.com
http://www.sfgoclub.com
September 11: Livermore, CA
Vintage Go Event
Steve Herrick
925-516-2617 (evenings) herrick4@llnl.gov
September 18: Chicago,
IL
Wife Appreciation Tournament
Bob Barber 773-467-0423
komoku@earthlink.net
September 25: Durham, NC
4th Annual Joe
Shoenfield Memorial Marathon Go Tournament
Paul Celmer
pcelmer@earthlink.net
This is a digest of events for the next month only;
for a complete listing see the Tournament Calendar on the AGA website: http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.asp
For
the European Go Calendar see
http://www.european-go.org/TOURNAMENTS/TListbyDate.htm
GET
LISTED & BOOST TURN OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 7,000 readers
every week! List your Go event/news In the E Journal: email details to us at
MAILTO:journal@usgo.org
Published by the American Go
Association
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.
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