AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association

June 14, 2004

In This Edition:

U.S. GO NEWS: The Way To Go; The Other Congress; Upcoming AGA Elections
WORLD GO NEWS: Lee Changho Sweeps Four; Cho U Holding Lead In Meijin League; Final Count-Down To Kisei Title Match; Unbeaten Lee Kang Wook Wins World Amateur; Lin Zhihan Dominates Yayi Cup In Taiwan
GAME COMMENTARY: The Fatally Mild Move
GO REVIEW: Ellen's Leather Go Set
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILES:

U.S. GO NEWS

THE WAY TO GO: Get up, eat, play go, sleep. Repeat for eight straight days, July 31-August 2 in Rochester, NY. For more details about the full schedule of this year's U.S. Go Congress -- including lectures and simuls with professional go players, a screening of "The Go Masters," the Lightning Tournament and much more -- you can check it out now at http://www.gocongress.org/schedule.html PLUS: save $50 and register by tomorrow, avoiding the $50 late fee after June 15.

THE OTHER CONGRESS: If you can't attend the U.S. Go Congress because you'll be Europe that week, you’ll want to check out the 48th European Go Congress in Tuchola, Poland from July 24 to August 7. More than 450 players are already registered: nine professional players will teach, comment games and play simuls, and two other pros will take part in the tournament. From Japan come Akinobu Tozawa 9p, honorary member of Polish Go Association and Shigeyuki Muraoka 9p, accompanied by Shusaku Inoue 5p and Yuki Shigeno 2p. Two Chinese professionals are confirmed to attend: Guiyong Liao 9p and Bo Ding 5p, and Korea is also sending two professionals, Gyu Chul Oh 8p and Poong Jho Chun 7p. Catalin Taranu 5p from Romania will also participate in the event. The two professionals playing in the main tournament are Alexandre Dinerchtein 1p and Svetlana Shikshina 1p, both from the Russian Federation. More details at http://egc2004.go.art.pl/index.php?lang=en&co=005

UPCOMING AGA ELECTIONS: Contested elections are shaping up in two out of the four upcoming elections for Directors of the American Go Association, reports Election Committee Chairman Sam Zimmerman. Roy Laird and Bill Saltman have both been nominated for the Director at Large position, while Mike Bull and Larry Gross will face off for the West Coast Region Director position. Jeff Shaevel is running unopposed in the Central Region, as is Bill Cobb in the Eastern Region. Candidate statements are posted at http://www.usgo.org/board/election.asp Ballots will be sent to AGA chapters on June 27; each chapter is entitled to a weighted vote based on how many AGA members they have on that date. Ballots must be returned by July 28 and will be counted at the Go Congress on August 2; the winners will serve 2-year terms.

WORLD GO NEWS

LEE CHANGHO SWEEPS FOUR: Lee Changho 9p of Korea has been showing his incredible strength in the last week, winning an unbelievable four major games. On June 8th he defeated China's Chang Hao 9p by resignation in the third round of the Chunlan Cup. In the semi-finals on June 10th, Lee next defeated Hu Yaoyu 7p by 1.5 points. He will face Peng Quan 5p of China in the best of three games final. Peng Quan defeated Zhou Heyang 9p, also of China, to gain his first-ever world championship title match. Then, on the 12th and 13th of June, Lee beat Kong Jie 7p of China and Yoda Norimoto 9p of Japan to win the Taida Cup, an invitational tournament played in Tianjin, China. Records of the Chunlan Cup games can be downloaded at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cl.html .

CHO U HOLDING LEAD IN MEIJIN LEAGUE: In the Meijin League to determine the challenger for the 29th Meijin title match in Japan, O Meien 9p defeated Yamashita Keigo 9p by 2.5 points, giving both players a 3 and 3 record. Cho U 9p is holding on to his lead in the league, with a 5 and 1 score. He must still play Yamashita Keigo and Cho Chikun 9p (Cho has lost all six of the games he's played so far). Kobayashi Satoru 9p is 5 and 2, so he has a chance if Cho U slips up. Kobayashi, who lost to Cho U by only a half point, must play O Meien in his last game. The current Meijin is Yoda Norimoto 9p.

FINAL COUNT-DOWN TO KISEI TITLE MATCH: The final stage has begun of the long and complicated process to determine a challenger for the Kisei title, now held by Hane Naoki 9p, who defeated Yamashita Keigo 9p in the 28th title match. Twelve players are included in a double league. In the two A League games, played on June 10th, Yoda Norimoto 9p defeated Yamashita Keigo 9p by a half point and Mimura Tomoyasu 9p beat Miyazawa Goro 9p by resignation. In the B League game played on June 3rd, O Rissei 9p defeated Yuhki Satoshi 9p by a half point.

UNBEATEN LEE KANG WOOK WINS WORLD AMATEUR: Lee Kang Wook 7d of Korea won all eight of his games to take the 25th World Amateur Go Championship title. The tournament was held in Kurashiki, Japan, June 6th to 10th. Lai Yu-Chang 7d of Taipei was second, losing only to champion Lee Kang Wook. Last year's champion, Fu Li 8d of China, was third, losing only to Lai. In an extremely impressive performance for a non-Asian player, Bernhard Helmstetter 5d of France took fourth, losing only two games. Ted Ning 7d from the US came in very respectable eighth, also with a 6 and 2 record. The rest of the top ten were: Nakazono Seizo 8d of Japan, 5th, Xianyu Li 6d of Canada, 6th, Tong Ling Ying 5d of Hong Kong, 7th, Laruent Heiser 6d of Luxembourg, 9th, and Radek Nechanicky 6d of Czechia, 10th. The complete results and many game records can be found at http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/amakisen/worldama/25/gameresult-e.htm

LIN ZHIHAN DOMINATES YAYI CUP IN TAIWAN: With a 6 and 1 record and only two people left to play, Lin Zhihan is holding on to his lead in the Yayi Cup League in Taiwan. At 5 and 1, Lin Shengxian 7p, still has a chance to overtake him. The two Lins meet on June 20th for what may be the decisive match.

GAME COMMENTARY: The Fatally Mild Move
Today’s game commentary is from the first round of the Fujitsu Cup on April 10, 2004 in Tokyo. Huiren Yang 1p, the North American representative to the Fujitsu Cup, takes on Wang Lei 8p of China. Although Wang makes a number of doubtful moves early on, Yang’s “mild” move at 81 gives Wang a chance which he exploits fully. Huiren Yang emigrated to the US from China in 1994 and lives in Boston, MA, where he is an active go teacher. He took second place in the pro tournament at the 2003 US Go Congress in Houston, TX. Wang Lei came in second in the Samsung Cup in 2003 and reached the semi-finals in the first Toyota Oza in 2002. In 2002 he was rated #1overall among Chinese pros. The commentary was dictated by Yang and edited by Sangit Chatterjee.
Also this week; Kaz Furuyama on The Pressing Tesuji, and the solutions to last week’s Yilun Yang life-and-death problems.
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

GO REVIEW: Ellen's Leather Go Set
Samarkand
Reviewed by Chris Sobolowski 8 kyu
       When people see the suede pouches and board for the first time, they are usually taken aback. "Leather? For a go set? Blasphemous!" But when you consider that Shusaku never played on vinyl, and Go Seigen wouldn't put up with those magnetic stones sticking to themselves, the leather go set starts to make sense...
       Cut from a single piece of suede, the board has a 19x19 board burned into one side, and a 9x9 on the other. Two drawstring bags hold your glass stones, and all come in your choice of a large drawstring bag or tote. The board smoothes out easily with no wrinkles, and reaching into the pouch for your stones has an aesthetically soothing effect. You will lose some stones, however - being nestled around in the bags seems to chip them on occasion. But two years of use hasn't diminished the number of stones significantly.
       The "Leather Goban of Love" (as it's known in my local club) goes anywhere, looks beautiful, and is a unique statement in and of itself. It's a wonderful blend of Eastern tradition and Western materials. I highly recommend it!
(What's YOUR favorite traveling equipment? Send us a review of 200 words or less; if accepted, reviewers receive a $25 go vendor gift certificate. Send to us at journal@usgo.org)


GO CLASSIFIED

BOOKS, EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, ETC:

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. 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)

AVAILABLE: Fridgego limited-edition 9x9 magnetic go set for fridge/filing cabinet. $18 + shipping; available late 2004/early 2005, but reserve sets by email now; first come, first served: Peter Wendes; pwendes@hotmail.com You can check out Fridgeplay's range of games & artwork at http://www.fridgeplay.com (5/31/)

WANTED: Modern Joseki and Fuseki Vols 1 and 2. CT Campbell; ccamp81318@aol.com (5/31)

TEACHERS & STUDENTS:

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)

WANTED: Go teacher in the Hagerstown, MD area (midway between Baltimore MD and Chambersburg PA). E-mail gryxzl@msn.com (5/31)

WANTED: Anyone in the Bridgeport, Connecticut area interested in getting involved in a program to teach go to children. Please contact Jonathan Glass at jglass@georgicacapital.com for more information. (5/17)

AVAILABLE: Free evaluation lesson with a 5 dan on any server, For more info, email icarii@zoominternet.net (5/24)

GO PLAYERS WANTED:
CA: Sonora; someone willing to introduce go to a friend of mine. Send contact information to Rob Muldowney at muldowne@rci.rutgers.edu (5/10)
FL: Ft. Myers; I'm interested in starting a club, contact kentsecor@yahoo.com (5/10)
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)

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

June 19: Richmond, VA
The Virginia Open

William Cobb 804-740-2191 wmscobb@comcast.net

June 19: Denver, CO
Rocky Mountain Summer GO Tournament
U. Tamm 303-466-2865 utamm@worldnet.att.net

June 24-27: Hackensack, NJ
2004 New Jersey Yang 7p Go Workshop
John Stephenson 201-612-0852 jcs@wingsgoclub.org
http://www.wingsgoclub.org/Yangworkshop.asp

June 26: Columbus, OH
"Origins" Go Tournament
J. Carl 330-284-7707 jcarl@neo.rr.com

July 10: Austin, TX
Austin Go Club Annual Tournament
mheinich@yahoo.com

July 11: Boston, MA
MGA Summer Handicap Tournament
Zack Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com

July 11: Seattle, WA
Monthly Ratings Tournament
Jon Boley 206-545-1424 jon@seattlegocenter.org
http://www.seattlegocenter.org/

July 24: San Francisco, CA
Northern California Open Go Tournament
Danny Swarzman 415-221-7194 northern@stowlake.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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