AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association

May 31, 2004

In This Edition:

U.S. GO NEWS: A Record Congress?; Yupei Xiong Wins Maryland Open; Yuan’s Last Lesson; Redmond Cup Grows Up; At Least You Won't Need $200 Million; Critical Website Additions; Know Your Pro; Go Classifieds Work!
WORLD GO NEWS: Cho U Wins In Honinbo; Redmond To Face So; Yamada To Challenge For Gosei; Sakai Hideyuki Moving Up; A Close Fight To Meet Lee Changho; Zhou Junxun Wins Taiwan's Tianyuan; Taranu And Guo Tops In Amsterdam; Healey And Macfadyen British Fourpeat Pair Go Champs; Young Brits Follow Turing's Footsteps
GAME COMMENTARY: O’s Breathtaking Tesuji, Repeat As Necessary
GO REVIEW: Come Up to Shodan; Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go; Opening Theory Made Easy
PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING: Go Seigen
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED FILES: 2004.05.31.Go World 95 Game Commentary.sgf; 2004.05.31.Furuyama Lesson 14.pdf

U.S. GO NEWS

A RECORD CONGRESS? With two months to go, over 100 players have already registered for this year’s U.S. Go Congress July 31 - August 8 in Rochester, NY, reports organizer Greg Leffler. Registrants range in strength from 7d to 35 k; 46 dan-level players have signed up, along with 57 kyu-level players; check out the full list at http://ssl8.pair.com/emptysky/attendees.php?sort=rank&order=desc
“Two other reminders,” Leffler adds: “Oza gift certificate winners can apply them to the Congress registration fee, and to avoid the $50 late fee, be sure to register before June 15.” Registration and more info at: http://www.gocongress.org

YUPEI XIONG WINS MARYLAND OPEN: Chinese pro Yupei Xiong won the 31st Maryland Open last weekend, posting a perfect 5-0 record. 19k Sam Craig won this year’s Fighting Spirit Award. Eighty-one players turned out for the annual Memorial Day weekend event organized by Keith Arnold and directed by Sam Zimmerman. The full winner’s report:
     OPEN SECTION: 1st: Yupei Xiong, pro; 2nd: Yuan Zhou; 3rd: I-Han Lui; 4th: Eric Lui; 5th: Zhaonian Chen.
     A SECTION (3-5D): 1st: Yi Huang 4d; 2nd: Yubo Liu 4d; B SECTION (1-2D): 1st: Peter Straus 2d; 2nd: Jia Yu 2d; 3rd: Kenneth Koester, 2d; C SECTION (1-4K): 1st: Xin-Li Zhou 1k; 2nd: Arnold Eudell 4k; D SECTION (5-8K): 1st: Max Peterson 8k; 2nd: Mark Penner 8k; E SECTION (9-11K): 1st: Tim Koo 11k; 2nd: Joseph Craig 10k; F SECTION (12-14K): 1st: Jeffery Chou 13k; 2nd: Bob Bacon 14k; G SECTION (15-27K): 1st: Kevin Koo 20k; 2nd: Rebecca Mulligan 15k.

YUAN’S LAST LESSON: Yuan Zhou, 7 dan, will give his last regular first Friday teaching session of this season this Friday, June 4 at the Greater Washington (DC) Go Club, at 8:30P in the basement of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church, 9601 Cedar Lane in Bethesda. Bring game records to participate ($5), or observe for free. Don't have a game? Come early (official opening time 7:00) to play and record a game. “We hope Yuan will continue these lessons for us in the fall,” says organizer Haskell Small. More info: haskellsmall@starpower.net

REDMOND CUP GROWS UP: When the Redmond Cup started twelve years ago, there were few young go players in the United States, and just a couple were shodan. “The Redmond Cup’s mission is to search out excellence in go-playing children in the United States,” says None Redmond, “and in this ambition, the tournament has succeeded. This year we have expanded so that people who usually play in the Redmond Cup but who are 5 Dan or stronger may compete in the Ing Redmond instead of the Redmond Cup." The Ing Redmond Tournament was started two years ago as a continuation of the Redmond Cup; the Ing-Redmond is for players up to 30 years of age who are 5 Dan or stronger and not playing in the Redmond Cup (which has a Junior League for kids under 12 and a Senior League and the senior league for dan players 12 to 17 years old). The finals of the Ing Redmond Tournament are played on the IGS; the winner takes the youth seat in the prestigious Ing tournament at the annual U.S. Go Congress. Registration is open now for young people who wish to play in either the 12th Redmond Cup or the 3rd Ing Redmond tournament can get the form by emailing None Redmond at chinski@inreach.com

AT LEAST YOU WON'T NEED $200 MILLION: The American Go Association's Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is seeking candidates for President of the AGA. The current President's term expires later this year and the LDC is actively recruiting interest among active members of the American go community for this unpaid position. The President is appointed by the AGA Board of Directors and works with the Board to develop policies and strategic concepts to promote go through the AGA. " It is not necessary to ask the person if they are willing to serve (we'll do that later) and you may suggest yourself," says the LDC's Steve Burrall. Deadline for submitting nominations is June 8; a full job description is available from Burrall at sburrall@comcast.net

CRITICAL WEBSITE ADDITIONS: Everybody's a critic, as you know if you've been reading the dozens of reviews of go books, software and equipment that have appeared in the EJ since 2001. Now you can look at them systematically, by visiting the AGA's "Books" page at http://www.usgo.org/resources/books.asp. Book listings are now linked to their EJ reviews; sometimes we've published multiple reviews of the same book, so now you can compare and select the next addition for your library!
- reported by Roy Laird

KNOW YOUR PRO: The E-Journal is seeking brief biographical sketches of professional go players to help our readers become more familiar with some of the exciting new crop of younger stars. We are particularly interested in any of the following, who all rank near the top of the ratings list at http://www.goweb.cz/progor/ : Gu Li 7p or Hu Yaoyu 7p of China, Ch'oe Ch'eol-han 7p or Mok Chin-seok 7p of Korea, and Yuki Satoshi 9p or Yamada Kimio 9p of Japan. If accepted, writers receive a $25 go vendor gift certificate. Send to us at journal@usgo.org .
   
GO CLASSIFIEDS WORK! "I got quite a response!" writes Christopher Weinberger, who posted a recent Go Classified in the E-Journal. "Thank you again for this service." Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to buy? You too can 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 PLUS: Got a success story from a classified posting? We'd love to hear about it at journal@usgo.org


WORLD GO NEWS

CHO U WINS IN HONINBO: Cho U 9p forced the challenger Yoda Norimoto 9p to resign after only 159 moves to bring the score to 2:0 in his defense of his Honinbo title. This is a seven game match. You can get the game records at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/59honinbo.html

REDMOND TO FACE SO: Meanwhile, in the preliminary leagues for the next (60th) Honinbo, Michael Redmond 9p, having defeated Ishii Kunio 9p in the first round, will next play So Yohkoku 7p, who is in his twenties and is one of the Japanese pros actually born in China. So defeated Yamashita Keigo 9p by a half point to win the match with Redmond.

YAMADA TO CHALLENGE FOR GOSEI: Yamada Kimio 8p defeated Cho U 9p and current Honinbo in the finals of the challenger's league for the 29th Gosei in Japan. Yamada managed to win by a half-point. He will face the title holder Yoda Norimoto 9p in a five game match beginning in June. This is Yamada's first title match in six years.
- reported by John Power on the Nihon Kiin home page

SAKAI HIDEYUKI MOVING UP: Sakai Hideyuki 6p, who was World Amateur Champion in 2000, defeated Umezawa Yukari 5p by resignation to move to the third round in the 29th Shinjin O (New Stars) Tournament in Japan. Sakai's next opponent will be Kohno Rin 7p, who defeated Mitani Tetsuya 2p in the second round. The Shinji O is open to all Nihon Kiin and Kansai Kiin players 7p and under. It concludes with a three game match between two finalists after a 32 player knockout tournament; preliminary tournaments limited the field to 32. Sakai must win two more games to reach the finals.

A CLOSE FIGHT TO MEET LEE CHANGHO: Lee Sedol 9p and An Choyeong 8p are tied for the lead at 4 and 0 in the Wangwi Challenger's League in Korea with one game remaining. Lee must play Cho Hunhyun 9p, who is 2 and 2 in the League, while An is matched against Kim Juho 4p, who is 3 and 1. The League winner will meet the title holder, Lee Changho 9p.

ZHOU JUNXUN WINS TAIWAN'S TIANYUAN: Zhou Junxun 9p, who recently won the Taiwan-Kiin Cup 3:0 against Lin Zhihan, has also defeated Lin Zhihan for the Tianyuan title in Taiwan. This time the score was 3:1. Zhou, who is in his early twenties, was the first Taiwanese pro to make 9 dan (in 1998). He has won several Taiwan titles and also done well in international tournaments.

TARANU AND GUO TOPS IN AMSTERDAM: Catalin Taranu 7d of Romania won the Toyota-PandaNet European Go Tour event in Amsterdam May 20-23 undefeated with five victories. Taranu, who is a Nihon Kiin pro, is currently living in Romania again. Guo Juan 7d of the Netherlands, who holds Chinese professional credentials, was second, losing only to Taranu, and Ondrej Silt 5d of Czechia, the European Youth Champion, was third, losing only to Taranu and Guo. There were 119 participants. The best performance from the UK was by Piers Shepperson 5d, who was in eleventh place with three wins. Complete results are given at http://www.go-centre.nl/index.php?page=tournaments/amsterdam/history/asd2004.html

HEALEY AND MACFADYEN BRITISH FOURPEAT PAIR GO CHAMPS: Kirsty Healey and Matthew Macfadyen have retained the British Pair Go Championship for a fourth year. They defeated Natasha Regan and Matthew Cocke in the final at Foxcombe Lodge Hotel, Boars Hill near Oxford, on May 23rd. Third were Sue Paterson and Jim Sadler, Jackie Chai and Francis Roads. Helen and Martin Harvey got the fighting spirit prize. In the handicap group of five pairs, Pauline and Steve Bailey, mother and son from Guildford, were runaway winners with a 4 out of 4 record. Best-dressed pair were judged by a member of public as Natasha and Matthew. Geography quiz winners were Anna Griffiths and Tony Atkins; Pair Go photo year quiz winners were Elinor Brooks and Erik Hall.
-from the BGA News

YOUNG BRITS FOLLOW TURING'S FOOTSTEPS: Britain's Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, was home to the famous code breakers of the Second World War and is the birthplace of modern computing and communications. Alan Turing, Britain’s most famous code breaker, played a key role in cracking the German Enigma cipher at Bletchley and is widely known for his groundbreaking research into artificial intelligence. Less-known is that while at Bletchley during WW2, Turing introduced his fellow code breakers to go; many think their discussions of the game's tactics played an important role in developing Turing’s theories on ‘building a brain’ – the computer. On May 22, Bletchley Park was once again home to go when thirty children from the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth learned how to play the ancient game of strategy and intuition. “It is most appropriate that the National Code Centre of Bletchley Park, with its history of intelligence and strategy, hosted this event," said Claire Ellis, Bletchley Park’s Education Manager. "It’s one of a series of special educational events for schools, teachers and families that aim to build on the work of the code breakers.” Bletchley Park is now run by a charitable Trust and is open to the public every day. For more information, see: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk and http://www.britgo.org
- reported by Peter Wendes, British Go Association Education Officer

GAME COMMENTARY: O’s Breathtaking Tesuji, Repeat As Necessary
        
Hold onto your seats for a wild ride in today’s game commentary, which features O Meien’s bold and imaginative fuseki in his 2002 Fujitsu Cup quarterfinal against Pak Yeong-hyeon, 3P, a tough 17-year-old Korean who’s only foiled by O Meien’s “breathtakingly unexpected tesuji” at move 207. The thorough commentary is by Kiyonari Tetsuya 9p, adapted from the Yomiuri Newspaper and translated by John Power. The game was originally published in Go World Issue 95 (Summer 2002); Go World is available at http://www.kiseidocom

"Becoming a strong go player requires a bit of patience," says Kazunari Furuyama, whose latest lesson is attached this week. Repetition is critical, Kaz says, recommending that players who want to improve should review lessons at least once a week for three months. "You should try to apply the lessons in your real games," Kaz adds. "There must be many discoveries when you actually use it in your game. Use it or lose it."

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: Come Up to Shodan; Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go; Opening Theory Made Easy
Reviewed by Tyler Michael Moore, 2k
(here are thumbnail reviews of three popular books; look for more in-depth reviews in upcoming E-Journals)

COME UP TO SHODAN, by Rin Kaiho (Slate & Shell)
       In this inexpensive pamphlet targeted at kyu players, Rin's insights are revealed in the process of reviewing three games played in the promotional tournaments for amateurs at the Nihon Kiin. Originally appearing as magazine articles, this will be a useful review for stronger players and a helpful primer for weaker ones. “Come Up to Shodan” is another in the series of books based on material from Go Review, an English-language magazine published in Japan from 1961 to 1977. Slate & Shell is doing a wonderful service in republishing these excellent articles from a difficult-to-find source.

LESSONS IN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GO, by Kageyama Toshiro (Kiseido)
       This happy yellow volume is considered by many to be their favorite book on go. Kageyama has a wonderfully conversational writing ability. None of the topics goes beyond the most basic concepts, including nets and ladders and the struggle to get ahead. The information, although not discussed at a very high level, is excellent and must be absorbed by anyone who wants to get very far in this game. The anecdotes are refreshing and insightful; the popularity of this volume is probably due to the dry, humorless expositions of so many of the available works on go. Conversational as well as analytical, Kageyama’s style makes for a very enjoyable reading experience indeed. The bottom line is that the book is just plain fun to read. Highly recommended for anyone, beginner to advanced.

OPENING THEORY MADE EASY, by Otake Hideo (Kiseido)
      An approachable look at several opening positions with a discussion of each. “Opening Theory” goes beyond the very basic discussion of In the Beginning, but not very deeply. The material is accessible to just about any strength. A good primer for beginners. a solid review for stronger players.

PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING: Go Seigen
by Chris Kirschner

In the hands of Master Wu, the go stones seem to glide about the board under their own power. Variations appear and vanish like wisps of smoke in the air. Even the few words of explanation seem superfluous.

Born in 1914, Master Wu (as the legendary Go Seigen is known here in Shanghai) wears his ninety years, like his fame, quite lightly. I caught up with him for a few minutes last month at the quadrennial Ing World Goe Championships in Shanghai, China, where Go, a longtime top professional and one of the leading developers of modern go, could often be found engaged in everyday activities, eating breakfast or waiting for an elevator like any other mortal.

As befits a master who has been on this planet for nearly 100 years, Go's brief comments were highly philosophical. The spirit of play is as important as the more concrete elements on the board, Go said in response to American Ing Goe Foundation President Ernest Brown's question about Go's ideas about "Six Directions of Play." The six directions, Go told us, refer to the entire universe. He also said that go has two aspects, one dealing with conventional reality, the other with a spiritual realm, and that understanding both aspects is critical to the game. Even if humanity were to vanish, Master Wu said, perhaps contemplating his own nearing mortality, the spirit of go would remain throughout the universe.

When, continuing in the cosmic vein, I wondered about the hypothetical handicap a top pro would need to play God, Master Wu said simply, "At that level,the issue isn't winning or losing."

Asked his impression of the United States, he said that he's impressed by how much we rely on advanced technology. His observation contrasted with his obviously strong feeling that the game of go has deep spiritual, almost mystical properties. Recognizing this, he says, is essential to gaining a deeper understanding of go.

The competitive aspects of go may be key to stimulating us in that difficult search. Perhaps this explains Master Wu's sense of a divine wisdom that makes use of ordinary human desire for winning to spark the pursuit of a nobler purpose, the advancement of understanding.

- Kirschner, President of the American Go Association, was in Shanghai April 18-26 for the first round of the Ing Cup, as a guest of the Ing Foundation.


GO CLASSIFIED

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

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

WANTED: Go players in the Augusta, GA area, for playing and possible chapter; email Wesley Stewart at ICANSEEYOU7687@comcast.net (5/31)

WANTED: Go players in Jacksonville, Fl. area interested in regular, live,
game sessions. Contact BjornTFoss@comcast.net (5/31)

WANTED: Go players in or around Downers Grove, IL. 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)

WANTED: Beginning player, 10 kyu, looking for go teacher in the New York City area. Please contact rberger6@nyc.rr.com with experience and rates. (5/31)

WANTED: 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)

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

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 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, 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, 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

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