AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association

July 12, 2004

In This Edition:

U.S. GO NEWS: Zhang Wins Austin Tourney; Moyoman Released; Go Congress OT Ticking; E-Journal Plans Expanded Congress Coverage
WORLD GO NEWS: Redmond Gets Early Win In Ryusei; Park Yeonghun Wins 1st World Championship; Another Lee Sedol-Lee Changho Match-Up; Cho U Defends Honinbo; Brooks Leads BGA Youth Grand Prix
YOUR MOVE: READERS WRITE: More Is Better; The Wrong Fujisawa
GAME COMMENTARY: The 16-Year-Old, The Editor and Eye Shape
BEGINNER’S MIND
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILES: 2004.07.12.Guo Juan Commentary.sgf; 2004.07.12. Furuyama Lesson 17.pdf

U.S. GO NEWS

ZHANG WINS AUSTIN TOURNEY: Charlie (Lihua) Zhang took top honors in last weekend’s Austin Go Tournament in Austin, Texas, reports organizer Michael Heinich. Twenty-five players participated, including five new players; Heinich ran the July 10 tourney with help from Jeff Shaevel and Jim Conyngham. The full winner’s report:
Dan Section: 1st Zhang, Charlie (Lihua); 2nd Hudnall, Christopher; 3rd Michael Ruiz; Single Digit Kyu Section: 1st Schneider, Ira H. (perfect record 4-0); 2nd Marc Eisenbarth; 3rd Green, Kevin J.; Double Digit Kyu Section : 1st Karl Backs; 2nd Andrew Bjorksten; 3rd Justin Chiang. Check out the Austin club’s new location on their website: http://www.shaevelcom/Go/austingo.asp

MOYOMAN RELEASED: David Weiss has just released a new go playing program called Moyoman. “Moyoman is an open source go playing program,” Weiss tells the E-Journal. “It is written in Java and both plays go and allows the user to graphically examine how a move is generated.” Moyoman’s strategy is divided into modules which correspond to standard go concepts such as shape, tesuji, and life and death, Weiss says. “The Moyoman project is actively seeking software developers to develop new modules,” adds Weiss. Details are at http://www.moyomanorg or email Weiss at dweiss51@yahoo.com

GO CONGRESS OT TICKING: Don’t let your clock drop! Register for the upcoming U.S. Go Congress before July 15 and save the $50 late fee. Nearly 400 have already registered for the July 31-August 8 event: find out who’s signed up for eight days of wall-to-wall go at http://ssl8.pair.com/emptysky/attendees.php And if food is a factor, now you can check out the menu online at http://www.gocongress.org/menu.html (there’s “Freshly Brewed 100% Colombian Coffee” at every meal and how about that “Make Your Own Taco Bar”?) Plus, help Congress organizers plan the Wednesday day trips to Niagara Falls, the Corning Glass Museum and Letchworth State Park by taking the online survey at http://www53.pair.com/emptysky/survey.php

E-JOURNAL PLANS EXPANDED CONGRESS COVERAGE: The American Go E-Journal will expand its coverage of the annual U.S. Go Congress this year to include commentary on top games and Congress photos along with the usual tournament reports and features. If you can’t actually be at the Congress, we’ll do our best to bring you as much of the experience as possible! And once again, we’re looking for a few good volunteers to join the E-Team; those interested should email Managing Editor Chris Garlock at journal@usgo.org


WORLD GO NEWS

REDMOND GETS EARLY WIN IN RYUSEI: Michael Redmond 9p defeated Sonoda Yasutaka 9p in Preliminary A of the 14th Ryusei (Dragon Star) tournament on June 28th, reports John Power on the home page of the Nihon Kiin. Redmond won by resignation playing White. The Ryusei is a very large, fast play tournament. The preliminaries winnow the players down to 80 survivors plus 15 seeded players who engage in a series of knock-out rounds with a final 8 player round to determine the overall winner. Kobayashi Koichi 9p was the winner of the 12th Ryusei last year. The 13th Ryusei is about to enter the final 8 player round.

PARK YEONGHUN WINS 1ST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: In the final match of the 17th Fujitsu Cup, 19 year old Park Yeonghun of Korea defeated Japan's Yoda Norimoto 9p by 1.5 points and achieved his first world championship title. Under the Korean professional ranking system this means he is automatically promoted three ranks to 9p, so he is now also the youngest 9p in Korea. Koreans have now won this title seven times in a row. The battle for third and fourth place between Song Taekon 7p and Yoo Changhyuk 9p, both Korean, was won by Song, also by 1.5 points. Game records can be found at http://www.go4go.net/english/bytournament2.jsp?&id=4 .

ANOTHER LEE SEDOL-LEE CHANGHO MATCH-UP: After a solid victory in the challenger's league, concluded by a win over Cho Hunhyun 9p, Lee Sedol 9p will face Lee Changho 9p in the 38th Wangwi five round title match in Korea. The match begins July 16th. In a rehearsal, these two met in the final game of the losers' section in the 23rd Korean KBS Cup on July 7th. Lee prevailed by resignation (game record at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kbs.html) and will play Cho Hanseung 7p in the three round finals match for the KBS Cup.

CHO U DEFENDS HONINBO: In game 6 of the Honinbo title match in Japan, the title holder Cho U 9p managed to defeat challenger Yoda Norimoto 9p by a half point and hold on to his title by a score of 4-2. You can download all the Honinbo title match games at http://www.go4go.net/english/bytournament2.jsp?id=50 . Yoda is also engaged in defending his Gosei title against Yamada Kimio 8p. Yamada won the first game of their match on June 29th, also by a half point.

BROOKS LEADS BGA YOUTH GRAND PRIX: William Brooks 1k of Cambridge is leading the British Go Association’s (BGA) Youth Grand Prix with 655 points. The BGA sponsors the Youth Grand Prix every year, running from September to September to mirror the school year, and the 2004 edition is nearing its conclusion. Players under the age of 18 earn points by showing up for tournaments, with bonuses for winning games. At the end of the year, prizes are awarded; rules and current rankings can be found at http://www.britgo.org/junior/gprix.html Brooks, who was second last year, is followed by Jonathan Englefield 9 kyu of High Wycombe with 432, Paul Blockley 13 kyu of Worcester with 328, and Li Shen 5 dan of London with 300. There are 57 participants this year. Last year, Jonathan Englefield was first with 1283 points, and William Brooks just beat out Paul Blockley for second with 778 points to 769.


YOUR MOVE: READERS WRITE

MORE IS BETTER: “Just wanted to thank the AGJ for the 'rich' E-journal supplemental of 7/2/04,” writes Ken Pelter. “The 'learn, read, and teach,' info within was both substantial, AND succinct. Most specifically, thanx for the follow-up book reviews on, ‘Opening Theory Made Easy,’ ‘Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go,’ and ‘Come Up to Shodan’ first reviewed in the 5/31/04 EJ. I thought each work deserved better, more considered treatment than that mailing, and apparently the AGJ agreed. As a Go 'book-o-phile', and collector, these second reviews confirmed my enthusiasm as a weekly recipient of this 'broadsheet.' Keep up the good work.”

THE WRONG FUJISAWA: The winner of the first Meijin title was Fujisawa Shuko (Hideyuki), not Fujisawa Hosai, as reported in last week’s Moments In Go History (Go Seigen Almost Becomes Meijin, 7/5/04).

GAME COMMENTARY: The 16-Year-Old, The Editor and Eye Shape

In today’s game commentary, 16-year-old Floris Barthel, a 1d from the Netherlands takes on Tobias Berben 4d of Germany in a game thoroughly commented by Guo Juan. Barthel has been playing just a year; Berben is not only one of the strong German players, but is also the chief editor of the German Go magazine.
In today’s bonus file, Kaz Furuyama takes a closer look at how to make eye shape.
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
by Aria von Elbe
Irasshaimase! Alas, with final exams, AP class prep and SAT II tests, go had to take a back seat for a while. But now I'm back to update you on how a now 16-year-old girl feels about being in a world where she's on the lower end of the age scale.
Anyway, here I am at Japanese camp where I can be a freak and speak Japanese 24/7 without getting odd looks. Well, here and Thursday night at go club. Hikaru no Go’s debut in America brought a lot of new people to the game with a genuine interest, not just wanting to play because they think they'll become instantly good like Shindou-kun.
Once the AVIs I'd downloaded got around my school the Go Club
finally formed, and with a teacher to sponsor us, the Judiciary Council's approval and a new year this Fall to engulf all those new freshman during Club Fair, it's one thing I look forward to as a high school junior in September. For now, however, I have to settle for kids and counselors who know nothing more about the game than "It's on a grid with black and white pieces, right?"
Hey, it's better than them not knowing at all. What is a little unnerving though, is how so many Japanese counselors don’t know the game. Granted, they’re all “ni-juu go sai” or “twenty five years old,” so they are part of the newer generation that’s immersed in current trends and American music and is mystified by my obsession with feudal Japan. Still, some do know how to play; one of my counselor's even dated one of the Norwegian pros, though she won't say who.
Some of the kids do know go, too, and even claim to be good, though that has yet to be seen. Not that I’m claiming to be anything other than an out of practice 18 kyu at best. Oh well, it’s a start, and maybe by the end of my month’s stay here in “Japan” some more kids will join the AGA and I won’t
be in a minority any more. A girl can dream can’t she?
-16-year-old Aria von Elbe will start 11th grade this September in Miami, Florida; she’ll be attending this year’s U.S. Go Congress as a player and part of the Journal’s “E-Team” providing daily coverage for EJ readers.


GO CLASSIFIED

RIDE WANTED: Young Congress attendee looking for a ride from Maine or Boston area; willing to help pay for gas and tolls. Please email jaymefosa@yahoo.com (7/12)


BOOKS, EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, ETC:

WANTED: Go Reviews and old go books: looking for issues of Go Review, primarily the first year; AGA Journals before Vol. 9; Ishi press #9, first ed. of #4, paperback 1st pr. of #5; copy with dust jacket OR EVEN JACKET ONLY of pecorini & shu's Game of Wei-Chi; de havilland's go book; any other long out of print books. I'm also always and primarily interested in out of print or hard to find fiction mentioning the game of go ESP. A BRITISH PAPERBACK OR CANADIAN COPY OF MARRIAGE OF THE LIVING DARK BY DAVID WINGROVE. I also buy foreign translations of any English go books, or foreign originals from which the English books were translated. chiwito@alamedanet.net (7/12)

WANTED: A version of "How To Play Go" specifically designed for American fans of Hikaru No Go manga and anime. We're doing a fan con in August and need a tailored and canned prezo to fill half of a one-hour slot. (6/22) dbogie@idahopower.com

WANTED : Looking for a copy of "The Breakthrough to Shodan", by Naoki
Miyamoto. Please contact Maurice at maurice033@hotmail.com (6/7)

TEACHERS & STUDENTS:

WANTED: Go teacher for new player in Stockton, CA area. Call Guy Thro at 209-474-0315 or email lldt@earthlink.net (7/5)

AVAILABLE: Lessons online with Cornel Burzo, 7d AGA, 6d EGF and IGS 6d*, for details http://www.golessons.com (6/21)

WANTED: Go teacher. Prefer in person in NYC area, will consider online. Currently 9 kyu on KGS. Please contact rberger6@nyc.rr.com with rates and experience. (6/7)


GO PLAYERS WANTED:
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)
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! Listing are free and run 4 weeks; send to us at journal@usgo.org


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July 17: Arlington, VA
Congress TuneUp
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net

July 24: San Francisco, CA
Northern California Open Go Tournament
Danny Swarzman 415-221-7194 northern@stowlake.com
http://www.sfgoclub.com
AGTC Event

August 1-7: Rochester, NY
20th US Go Congress
Greg Lefler 585-278-0705 congress@usgo.org

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 6,000 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

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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