AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association

May 24, 2004

In This Edition:

U.S. GO NEWS: Waldron Wins In Rochester; Upcoming Events; Youth Go Camp Filling Up Fast; AGF Looking For Youth Camp Contributions; Anime Fans Prove Quick Learners; Feng Yun Simul, Summer Classes In Princeton; Journal Seeks Reviewers; Vets, Engineers & Mathematicians In Syracuse
WORLD GO NEWS: Mingjiu Jiang 1-1 In LG Cup; Cho U Dominating Meijin League; Korean Team Go Off & Running; Ko Geuntae Makes New Star Finalist Bracket; Kisei Leagues Set To Go; Pro Rating Ladder Updated
GAME COMMENTARY: Two Top Chinese Pros Plus Nakayama
GO REVIEW: Counting Liberties and Winning Capturing Races
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILES: 2004.05.24.go4go.Gu-XieGame.sgf; 2004.05.24.Nakayama.NS7.pdf

U.S. GO NEWS

WALDRON WINS IN ROCHESTER: Phil Waldron 6d came down from the wilds of Canada to win the Empty Sky Spring Tournament May 8 & 9 in Rochester, NY. Complete winner's results:
Section A: 1st: Phil Waldron; 2nd: Yong Han; Section B: 1st: Peter Straus; 2nd: Gregory Rosenblatt; Section C: 1st: Chris Wells; 2nd: Julie Zobel; Section D: 1st: Ben Bassett; 2nd: Mike Lamenzo

UPCOMING EVENTS: One of the East Coast’s biggest tournaments will be held this weekend at the 31st Maryland Open in Baltimore, MD May 29 & 30. The Davis/Sacramento Go Club holds its Quarterly Tournament this Saturday, May 29. And Feng Yun is holding her 2nd Annual Youth Tournament for players under 18 in Piscataway, NJ, on May 29. Get details on this and other upcoming events in the CALENDAR OF EVENTS below, or click on http://www.usgo.org/usa/calendar.asp

YOUTH GO CAMP FILLING UP FAST: Young go players making summer plans will want to sign up now for this year's Summer Go Camp, says Karoline Burrall, who's been at nearly every Camp. "The campus was great, the counselors were cool, and all the campers loved to play go!" While there are 3 go sessions per day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening, "In between lessons, we would eat, play all kinds of crazy games, some go related, some just totally insane and wild! It was great fun, and all the games were great bonding experiences!" Burrall says. The camp also features hikes, field trips, mini golf and more. Camp Director James Chien reports that almost 30 youngsters have already registered for this year's Go Camp, but there are still about five spots left with enough scholarship funding for a couple more applicants. For more info, or to register, go to: http://www.usgo.org/gocamp/index.asp

AGF LOOKING FOR YOUTH CAMP CONTRIBUTIONS: In related news, the American Go Foundation is in the midst of its 2004 US Go Camp fundraising drive, reports AGF President Terry Benson. “Half of the $5,400 needed for scholarships and professional costs has come in with early contributions,” says Benson, “and we’re hopeful that this year won't require dipping into reserves.” The December fund drive brought in $6,400 to help meet the AGF's expanded outreach program. Of the $18,000 in equipment purchased in 2004 from prior donations, $7,000 has already gone out to teaching programs. Tax deductible donations either to the Go Camp or the AGF general fund can be sent to American Go Foundation c/o Laird, 211 West 106th St. Apt. 3C, New York, NY 10025.

ANIME FANS PROVE QUICK LEARNERS: There were 7,500 participants, most in costume, at the sixth Anime Central convention, held in Chicago May 15-16. Led by Evanston Go Club President Mark Rubenstein, several of us attended and taught go to standing-room-only crowds. We also had a lot of space in the Role Playing Games room to teach all day Saturday and Sunday and must have taught over 300 folks (mostly teens) how to play. The kids are bright and quick to catch on. At least one young lady learned on Saturday and taught on Sunday. She's taking her skills back to Fargo, ND. We all had a lot of fun. Most of the students had seen Hikaru no Go, but some hadn't. By the end of Sunday, we were already getting into the basic big eye shapes. I tried to talk Mark into joining me at Dance Dance Revolution, but he decided to concentrate on go. So if you hear of an anime convention in your area, see if you can join in. And try to think of a cool costume while you're at it.
- reported by Robert Barber

FENG YUN SIMUL, SUMMER CLASSES IN PRINCETON: Feng Yun 9P treated the Princeton Go Club to a 10-game, three-hour simultaneous match on May 19, right after four hours driving there and teaching an enthusiastic class of elementary students, "including my 6-year-old daughter", notes organizer Rick Mott. Along with her already-established programs in Piscataway and Livingston, she began teaching kids in Princeton on Wednesday evenings in February. Attendance has grown to 15-18 regular students. The classes will continue throughout the summer at the Princeton YWCA: email skubota@ywcaprinceton.org for info.

JOURNAL SEEKS REVIEWERS: The E-Journal is looking for reviews of the following books: Opening Theory Made Easy (Kiseido); Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go (Kiseido); Punishing and Correcting Joseki Mistakes (Slate & Shell); Come Up to Shodan (Slate & Shell); Step Up to a Higher Level (Yutopian); Tricks in Joseki (Yutopian). Reviews must be 200 words or less. If accepted, reviewers receive a $25 go vendor gift certificate. Reviews of other go books and products will also be considered, but the books above receive top priority. Send to us at journal@usgo.org

VETS, ENGINEERS & MATHEMATICIANS IN SYRACUSE: This week’s AGA homepage photo -- http://www.usgo.org/index.asp -- is from a Central New York Go Club weekly meeting in April. Veterinarian Melissa Mandzak, front-left, is is playing Stephen Lee, an engineer. Seated next to their table are Ben Gonnella (left) and his father Jim, a mathematician. Looking on is Dr. Rob Kantrowitz, a math professor at Hamilton College. Photo by Anton Ninno.

WORLD GO NEWS

MINGJIU JIANG 1-1 IN LG CUP: The first two rounds of the LG Cup were held in Seoul, Korea on May 18th and 20th. In the first round the North American representative, Mingjiu Jiang 7p, who is active as a go teacher in California, defeated the European representative, Franz-Josef Dickhut 6d, by resignation. Dickhut, from Germany, is one of the strongest amateurs in Europe, certainly in the top ten. His web site is at http://www.fjdickhut.de/home.htm . In the second round, Mingjiu lost to Lee Sedol 9p, one of the very strongest Korean pros. You can get both game records at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/lg.html .

CHO U DOMINATING MEIJIN LEAGUE: As of May 21st, Cho U seems to have a virtual lock on being the next challenger for the Meijin Title. With only two games left to play in the nine player league, Cho U, the youngest participant at 23, has a 5-1 record. The best anyone else has is 3 wins: Rin Kaiho, Kobayashi Satoru, and Yamada Kimio are all at 3-2 and O Rissei is 3-3. O Meien and Imamura Toshiya are at 2-3, Yamashita Keigo is 2-2, and Cho Chikun is having a miserable time at 0-5. The current Meijin is Yoda Norimoto, who has now won the title four times in a row, starting in 2000.

KOREAN TEAM GO OFF & RUNNING: The 2004 Korean Baduk Tournament is off and running. This is a match between eight teams of four members each, so it takes a while to finish it. So far the Feeder House team, captained by Lee Changho 9p, and the One Game team, captained by Lee Sedol 9p, have both won two games. Holy Construction, led by Choi Cheolhan 8p, and Korean Yanseng, led by Cho Hunhyun 9p, have both lost two. But it's early times yet.

KO GEUNTAE MAKES NEW STAR FINALIST BRACKET: Ko Geuntae 2p continued his winning streak to start off the 4th Korean New Star Cup by defeating Kim Whansoo 1p on May 21st by resignation for his fourth victory, but then lost by resignation himself to Yun Jaewoong 2p. Kim's next opponent will be Hong Jangsik 4p in this knockout tournament. His four victories make Ko the first player to be added to the finalists bracket.

KISEI LEAGUES SET TO GO: The complex process of getting a challenger for the current Kisei, Hane Naoki, for the 29th Kisei title match enters its final stage with two leagues involving twelve players that begin play on June 1st. This will be a great contest among the top Japanese players, including the young and the mature, and all the major title holders: Cho U 9p is the youngest at 24 and currently holds the Honinbo and Oza titles; his winning percentage so far this year is 67%. Another youngster is Yamashita Keigo 9p, who is 25 and has a 50% winning ratio for the year. The oldest player is Miyazawa Goro 9p at 55, with a 62% winning ratio. Other title-holding contestants are Yoda Norimoto 9p, Meijin and Gosei, and 38 years old with a 76% winning ratio, as well as the current Judan, O Rissei 9p, who is 45 and has a 54% winning ratio. This will be a very interesting tournament to watch. Results will be continually up-dated at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/29kisei.html .

PRO RATING LADDER UPDATED: Ales Cieply has updated his rating ladder of all professional (and top amateur) players. Check out who makes the top ten list, and everyone else, at http://www.goweb.cz/progor/ . The top three are a Korean, a Japanese, and a Chinese, in that order. Most people could guess the Korean in first place, but many will be surprised by the second place player from Japan. Third place is the very impressive young Gu Li.

GAME COMMENTARY: Two Top Chinese Pros Plus Nakayama
Two top Chinese pros face off in today’s game commentary, as Xie He, 5P takes on Gu Li, 7P in round 2 of the 18th Chinese Tianyuan. The commentary is by Alexandre Dinerchtein, from his web site at www.go4go.net, which provides commented games, both pro and amateur, on a subscription basis.
Today’s bonus file is another installment of Nakayama Noriyuki’s popular “What’s Wrong With That Move?” in which Nakayama takes a look at luring your opponent into the corner with the mokuhazushi (5-3) move.
        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: Counting Liberties and Winning Capturing Races
by Richard Hunter
Slate & Shell 2003
231pp.
reviewed by Richard Dolen
       If you do not recognize the sequence of numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, 17, or cannot use them to determine whether your stones are dead or alive, you need this book. Just as the rules of go lead to the principle of "two eyes," they lead to the principles of fighting between groups without two eyes. Based on material originally published in "The British Go Journal" and "The Second Book of Go," this book classifies fights into basic types. For each type, it develops the principles by means of fully worked examples, general illustrations and problems, then gives a summary. Another section on the complications produced by ko gives counter examples for simplistic proverbs, and systematizes the knowledge it would take hundreds of games to acquire. The monograph on the zoology of the "L Group" is an interesting supplement.
       A classic principle is that "if the situation could result in a seki, count a second time with the roles of defender and attacker reversed." Hunter loses some clarity by omitting this from the exposition, and proceeding immediately to the one-count method which identifies one side as the "favorite."


GO CLASSIFIED

WANTED: Looking for go players in the Jacksonville, Florida area; email Paul Swanson and Robert Tubbs at Gohan641200@yahoo.com (5/24)

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

AVAILABLE: 5.5 inch agathis board in nearly new condition for $200, or as part of a complete set with rosewood bowls and 10 mm glass stones, $225. Shipping not included. Photos, etc., available on request from nufflepod@earthlink.net (5/24)

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)

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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
The 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

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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:
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