AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go
Association
May 17, 2004
In This Edition:
U.S. GO NEWS: Benthem Best In Grand Rapids; Garlock
Maddest In Arlington; Janice Brings Go To Denver; AGA Seeks 4 Nominees For
Board; 2004 U.S. Go Congress Expose; Register Early For 50% Off Origins; Antique
Go Equipment; Yang Fundamentals, Discounted; Word Wars On Screen; Seeing
Smilack
WORLD GO NEWS: Yu Bin Repeats In 16th
Asian TV Cup; Redmond Loses One; Former World Amateur Champ Loses Bid For Kisei
Spot; A New Star In The New Star; Yoda Doing Well; Amsterdam Tourney This Week;
Scottish Open Set For July
GAME COMMENTARY:
Lee v. Lee
THE TRAVELING BOARD: Report
from Shikoku
GO REVIEW: The Best Play: In-Depth Game
Analyses
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILES:
2004.05.17.gogameworld.com.game.sgf; 2004.05.17.Furuyama Lesson #13.pdf;
2004.05.17.SlateandShellProblem.sgf
U.S. GO
NEWS
BENTHEM BEST IN GRAND RAPIDS: Jim Benthem 2d won the May 15
tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Twenty-one players attended from all over
the state participated, reports organizer David Hast. "We hope to begin to host
such tournaments on a regular basis, and to draw from an even wider geographic
area as the word gets out," says Hast.
The complete Winners
Report:
Dan division: 1st: Jim Benthem, 2d; 2nd: David Frankel, 1d; 3rd: Matt
Wang, 1d. 1-10 Kyu division: 1st: Daryl Blood, 9k; 2nd: Jason Rudd, 7k; 3rd:
Richard Jankowski, 7k. 11-30 Kyu division: 1st: Adam Twork, 19k; 2nd: Paul
Miller, 15k; 3rd: Drew Rushton, 16k. In addition, two Fighting Spirit awards
were made to those who gave it their best shot: Jared Duncan, 24k and Keith
Thobe, 12k.
Last but not least "We
presented a 'Future of the Game' certificate to the youth player with the best
winning record: Martin Benthem, 20k.
GARLOCK MADDEST IN ARLINGTON: Chris
Garlock 2d won all four rounds to take top honors in the May Madness tournament
held May 15 by the NoVa Go Club in Arlington, Virginia. Twenty four players
participated, competing for nearly twice that many prizes, thanks to organizer
Alan Abramson.
The complete Winners Report:
First place winners: Chris
Garlock, 2d; Ethan Baldridge, 3k; Raymond Yeh, 7k; Gary Whitten, 14k; Charles
Yeon, 26k. Second place winners: Bob Ehrlich, 7k; Todd Heidenreich, 10k; Kurt
Haldeman, 21k.
JANICE BRINGS GO TO DENVER: More than fifty Denver (CO)
go players turned out for Janice Kim's May 1 lecture, "An Evening with Go
Seigen." Kim's first lecture as a new resident of Denver was a resounding
success, as demonstrated by standing-room-only for late arrivals in the War
Museum of VFW Post #1. "Janice used the famous Game of the Century between Go
Seigen and Shusai, to help the audience see how go should be played." local
organizer Ulo Tamm reports. "The game of go is simple but not easy," Kim said,
explaining that this seemingly peaceful game between Go and Shusai was really
intense. Kim provided a number of hints on improving, including: Do not hold
stones in your hand while playing: go is a thinking game and not a "hand reflex"
game; count your game as often as possible: it should not take longer than a
minute; practice solving simple life and death problems by sight; go is "a game
of chicken": don't follow your opponent meekly; the capture of stones is the
ultimate gote, so be prudent when offered. For the rest of Kim's insights, Tamm
recommends attending her next lecture, adding "Those of you who do not have the
'Learn to Play GO', volumes 1 to 5, by Janice Kim 3 Dan and Jeong Soo -hyun 9
Dan , should seriously consider buying them before the next Go Congress!"
AGA SEEKS 4 NOMINEES FOR BOARD: Nominations have opened for four AGA
Directors to serve 2-year terms beginning January 1, 2005. The openings are for
Directors in the Western, Central and Eastern regions, as well as an At Large
Director. Nominations may be made by any member of the AGA; nominations must be
accompanied by a notice that the person nominated has read the AGA by-laws and
agrees to stand for election. The nominee must have been a full member of the
AGA for one year at the time of taking office (1/1/05). Nominations close on
June 6; chapters will vote on the nominees and the results will be announced at
the U.S. Go Congress in early August. Nominations should be sent to Sam
Zimmerman at szimmerman@wareunl.com
2004 U.S. GO CONGRESS EXPOSE!
Everyone will tell you they go to the annual U.S. Go Congress for the eight days
of go, the pro simuls and lectures and the tough competition but in a stunning
expose the E-Journal has uncovered the real reason: friends! It turns out you
can’t beat the Congress for go camaraderie; after all, where else can you talk
morning noon and night about josekis, tesujis and tsume-go and expect everyone
around to know exactly what you’re talking about? Now you can sneak a peek at
the Congress registration list and see which of your pals is signed up! Check it
out at http://ssl8.pair.com/emptysky/attendees.php
And those folks on the list you don’t know are just future friends.
REGISTER EARLY FOR 50% OFF ORIGINS: To get the 50% entry fee discount at
the "Origins" game convention June 24-28 in Columbus, Ohio, be sure to contact
local go organizer Joe Carl at jcarl@neo.rr.com. The AGA will have an official
booth and will be hosting a beginners tournament as well as a 4-round AGA
tournament with cash prizes. Pre-register online by May 24 for the 50% off
convention admission. More info at http://www.originsgames.com
ANTIQUE
GO EQUIPMENT: Shogun's Gallery, an Asian arts and antique store in Portland,
Oregon has some interesting collector's go boards and stones, many acquired from
estate sales in Japan. Check them out at http://www.shogunsgallery.com/Go.htm
Thanks to Syracuse go organizer Anton Ninno for the tip.
YANG
FUNDAMENTALS, DISCOUNTED: A special hardback edition of Yilun Yang 7p's
forthcoming "Fundamental Principles of Go" can be pre-ordered for a 20%
discount. The selection of Mr. Yang's famous guidelines focuses on the opening
and early middle game and will be available in early June from Slate &
Shell. Sample pages are posted on the web site: http://www.slateandshell.com
WORD WARS ON SCREEN: Readers who enjoyed discovering the wild world of
competitive Scrabble in "Word Freak" won't want to miss "Word Wars," the
brand-new documentary inspired by Stefan Fatsis' 2001 book. Go players will find
many of the idiosyncratic Scrabble characters all too familiar in their
board-game obsession. The doc follows four of the top players as they crisscross
the country in heated competitions culminating in the $25,000 top prize at the
National Championship in San Diego. While the defending champ memorizes
thousands of words on his commute to work, clutching slips of paper as he
drives, one challenger pursues a regimen of physical training and brain-boosting
vitamins and another brings Scrabble to inner-city minority kids. The film does
a terrific job of bringing alive the mental processes of game players, using
computer graphics to send letters and words flying across the screen as they
players sit motionless over the board. Directed by two long-time Scrabble
players, "Word Wars" also captures the intense camaraderie of the small group of
top competitors who battle each other fiercely on and sometimes even off the
board, yet find themselves inextricably linked by their love of the game.
Although "Word Wars" is not yet in general release, it's being screened at
festivals and special events around the country; check for locations near you at
http://www.7thart.com/wordwars/
SEEING
SMILACK: Readers who have been following Solomon Smilack's reports from Shikoku,
Japan, will want to check out this photo of the author watching some of his
Japanese go friends play at http://www.usgo.org
Smilack, a native of Carbondale, Colorado, teaches English at two high schools
in Kochi Prefecture, Japan and has been filing regular reports on his go
adventures.
WORLD GO NEWS
YU BIN
REPEATS IN 16TH ASIAN TV CUP: Yu Bin 9p of China defeated Song Taekon 6p of
Korea to claim the title of the Asian TV Cup for the second time. Yu Bin was
able to capture a group of about 30 stones and held on for a victory by a margin
of 12.5 points. Yu defeated Cho Chikun 9p of Japan in the semi-finals. A summary
of the tournament and game records can be found at http://gobase.org/games/nn/asiatv/16/.
Yu Bin also won his game in the second round of the 16th Mingren tournament in
China, defeating Ding Wei 8p.
- reported by Stephen Bazzone
REDMOND
LOSES ONE: Michael Redmond 9p was forced to resign in his game against Mizokami
Tomochika 7p in the final preliminaries for the Kiriyama Cup on May 13th. The
tournament itself will be a knockout round with sixteen players. Unusually,
amateurs are allowed in the preliminary rounds and have the chance of making it
to the final tournament.
FORMER WORLD AMATEUR CHAMP LOSES BID FOR KISEI
SPOT: Former world amateur champion Sakai Hideyuki 6p of the Kansai Kiin was
defeated by Miyazawa Goro 9p for a place in the 29th Kisei Leagues (the
tournaments to determine the challenger for the title). Yuki Satoshi 9p, also of
the Kansai Kiin, was more fortunate, defeating Takemiya Masaki 9p by 5.5 points
for the other place that was open in the leagues. Kobayashi Satoru 9p and Ryu
Shikun 9p won spots in the leagues earlier.
A NEW STAR IN THE NEW STAR:
Ko Geuntae 2p has now won the first three games in the knockout competition for
the 4th Korean New Star Cup, defeating Lee Yeongku 3p, Yun Hyeok 3p, and Kang
Dongyoon 2p. Ko won all three games by resignation. His next opponent is Kim
Whansoo 1p on May 21st.
YODA DOING WELL: Yoda Norimoto 9p defeated
Yamashita Keigo 9p in the first round of the challenger's tournament for the
43rd Judan title. Cho U 9p also won his first round game, against Kataoka
Satoshi 9p. Cho U was the challenger for the 42nd Judan title, but lost to O
Rissei 9p last month.
AMSTERDAM TOURNEY THIS WEEK: The 33rd Amsterdam Go
Tournament, a major event on the Toyota Pandanet European Go Tour, will occur
Thursday May 20 through Sunday May 23, six rounds, 90 minutes basic playing
time, large prizes. There will also be many side events. For details see
h
ttp://www.go-centre.nl/index.php?page=tournaments/amsterdam/2004/announcement.html
SCOTTISH
OPEN SET FOR JULY: The Scottish Open is scheduled for July 10th and 11th at the
University of Edinburgh. Accommodations are available, but you need to book
early. Details can be found at http://dogma.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Go/Scottish2004.html
.
GAME COMMENTARY: Lee v. Lee
This
week's game is an exciting blast from the past, as we present the stunning
victory by Lee Sedol over Lee Changho in the second round of the 2001 LG Cup.
Most of the first fifty moves are taken up with a complicated joseki and by move
82 Lee Changho is already in trouble. White tries to pull it out with move 98
but is forced to resign less than sixty moves later. The sharp commentary is by
Ma Xiaochun 9p and was translated by GoGameWorld from China Sports Weekly; www.gogameworld.com is a
site that offers commentaries on pro games on a subscription basis as well as a
lot of free go material.
In today’s problem file, Black and White are engaged
in a capturing race in the corner in a problem is taken from "200 Tesuji
Problems" by Shirae Haruhiko, published by Slate & Shell. Can avoid a
shortage of liberties?
The bonus file is another lesson from Kazunari
Furuyama; this week Kaz takes a look at the one-space jump.
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
THE TRAVELING BOARD: Report from Shikoku
By
Solomon Smilack
During Golden Week I played go every day. Golden Week is
one of Japan's holiday seasons, and includes Green Day, Children's Day and
Constitution Day. On Constitution Day I spent the afternoon at Yokoyama sensei’s
house, where we went over some of my recent misplays. He chides me for not
taking an extra move to connect my stones on the third or second line. He has
taken to describing my style as “toro toro,” the English equivalent of “take
take take.” He says it so emphatically that, at first, I thought he was
comparing me with a bull chasing after a bull-fighter. This wasn’t far from the
truth – he thinks that my style of play is too confrontational. He keeps
stressing the importance of give-and-take: he wants me to be more generous. He
tells me that strengthening my own position is a threat that should make my
opponent do likewise. If they ignore their own weak points, then I can become a
bull in a china shop.
In my games with Yokoyama, my handicap has shrunk
to three stones. I give and take, patiently making use of my handicap stones.
But I don’t have the same luxury at the go club, where I have begun playing even
games against Yanagawa-san and Hatakenaka-san. Yanagawa is definitely the more
fearsome of the two. He slaps the stones onto the board hurriedly and
confidently, even when he’s making moves that are clearly unreasonable.
Hatakenaka plays hesitantly, but with a very lighthearted manner. As he places
stones he often says, “Well, one more stone wouldn’t hurt,” and he laughs a lot
at his own mistakes. Against both of them, I try to play patiently. I try to be
generous, and spend more moves correcting flaws in my own groups. But as we
approach the middle game, my opponents have admirable territories sketched out
and my positions feel over-concentrated. I allow Yanagawa’s invasions to jump
out, and I happily chase them around the board. I lose against Hatakenaka, and
afterwards Yokoyama shows me where I needed to hane instead of extending. He
plays out all the possible sequences, and I see where I missed the chance to use
my nearby strength to resist.
In the evening on Constitution Day,
Yokoyama and I spent a few hours eating and drinking in an izakaya (a
restaurant/bar). As we pour sake for each other, I ask him what kinds of foods
he likes, and he begins talking about World War II. At first I am confused, but
he explains that he grew up during the war: during his childhood he ate
everything in his bowl because there were meager rations. He says that many
people his age are thin and do not have favorite foods. He turns the discussion
toward American and Japanese politics. Japanese people value unity and harmony,
and this makes the political hierarchy very strong. Everyone is expected to
support Prime Minister Koizumi even if they disagree with his decisions (for
example, sending Self Defense Forces to Iraq). Yokoyama asks the inevitable
question: Do I like President Bush? I think about answering with a simple
negative. Instead, I explain to him that I disagree with Bush’s foreign and
environmental policies. I can be generous and resist firmly at the same
time.
- Smilack, a native of Carbondale, Colorado, teaches English at two
high schools in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. His home club is the Tesuji Go Club in
Columbus, Ohio, where he went to college. You can see a picture of Smilack
watching some of his Japanese go friends play at http://www.usgo.org
GO REVIEW: The Best Play: In-Depth Game Analyses
by Feng
Yun 9 Dan, Slate & Shell, 2004.
Reviewed by James Bonomo, AGA 1
kyu
This brief new book by Feng Yun contains two extensive game reviews,
exploring alternative lines of play in over 80 diagrams. The games are between
anonymous amateurs who are about AGA 4 dans. As such, the book is probably most
useful for players that strong or a bit weaker. Both games end by resignation
after a large loss in the middle game. Consequently, the book covers the opening
and middle game fighting, but does not discuss even the large end
game.
Weaker players will derive value from Ms.
Yun's overt comments, as well as from her implicit points, as well. For example,
the players do largely follow the natural flow of their games. While they
overlook important plays that Ms. Yun points out, these games still have few of
the pointless "pass" moves common in kyu-level games.
Of course, the overt lessons are best
developed. Ms. Yun shows very good examples of playing urgent points before big
ones. She also shows examples of how to best exploit an opponent's weaknesses.
The challenge to readers is to apply these lessons in their own
games.
Physically, the book is short, around 50
pages of text, and well made. There are several unfortunate editing errors,
though - most strikingly, a diagram (on page 19) is not mentioned. While it
appears to show a good line for Black, this should clearly have been explained
in the book.
Overall, the book is an
interesting alternative to the commented games available on-line. Its low price
and number of alternative lines are attractive, while its 4 dan level and lack
of end game analysis limit it. Ideally, many more such volumes will be
published, so a player could match the analyses to their own strength.
GO CLASSIFIED
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)
WANTED: A club or
individual near Sonora, California that would be willing to introduce go to a
friend of mine. Send contact information to Rob Muldowney at
muldowne@rci.rutgers.edu (5/10)
WANTED: Go players in the Ft. Myers area;
I'm interested in starting a club, contact kentsecor@yahoo.com
(5/10)
WANTED: Copies of Go Monthly Review. 1960 1-12; 1961 1-4; 1965 1;
1968 1, 4, 5, 8, 12; 1969 1; 1971 1. Willing to pay a reasonable price. Contact
T Mark Hall at tmark@gogod.demon.co.uk or at the US Congress at Rochester.
(4/19)
WANTED: Go players in Augusta, GA. Looking for go players of any
strength; if I can find enough, I would gladly start a chapter. Wesley Stewart,
ICANSEEYOU7687@comcast.net (4/28)
6D TEACHES ONLINE: Cornel Burzo, 6d,
online go tutoring on the IGS. More info at http://www.golessons.com
(4/26)
Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to buy? Do it here and reach
nearly 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
May 22 & 23:
Houston, TX
Houston Spring Go Tournament
Michael Rouen 281-481-4196
mandmrouen@SBCGlobal.net
http://www.houstongoclub.org/
May
29: Piscataway, NJ
2nd Annual Feng Yun Youth Tournament
(Open to players
under 18)
Feng Yun 973-618-1821 Golesson@yahoo.com
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/fengyun/FY_Go_Center/FYGT2004.htm
May
29: Davis, CA
Davis/Sacramento Quarterly Tournament
Fred Hopkins
916-548-8068 cfredhop@msn.com
http://www.dcn.davis.caus/~jdnewmil/go/
May
29 & 30: Baltimore, MD
31st Maryland Open
Keith Arnold 410-788-3520
hlime81@comcast.net
June 3-6: Round Top, NY
Guo Juan Workshop at The
Woodlands
Jean-Claude Chetrit 718-638-2266 zorglub@brooklyngoclub.org
http://brooklyngoclub.org/cgi-bin/disp_topic.iphtml?topic_id=188
June
5: Chicago, IL
"Summer" Tourney
Bob Barber 773-467-0423
komoku@earthlink.net
June 6: Seattle, WA
Monthly Ratings
Tournament
Jon Boley 206-545-1424 jon@seattlegocenter.org
http://www.seattlegocenter.org/
June
19: Richmond, VA
Virginia Open
William Cobb 804-740-2191
wmscobb@comcast.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,
July, August: KGS or Yahoo
2004 3rd RSC Team Youth Go Cup
Christopher Vu
wasonlyyesterday@yahoo.com
www.geocities.com/seaottergoclub/RSC.html
REGISTRATION
DEADLINE: May 31
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
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,
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Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the
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