AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association
October
4, 2004
In This Issue:
U.S. GO
NEWS: Wu Wins 4th Shoenfield Memorial Marathon; SF Go Club Re-Do
& Wireless Too; From Dice To Go Games Symposium; Free Lessons With Joey
Hung; Membership See-Saw; NoVa Date Correction; Power Of Ten; The Honinbo To
Debut At 2005 Congress
WORLD GO
NEWS: International Pro Rules Discussed; Yoda Rebounds In Meijin;
Qui Jun Tops Chinese National Individual Tourney; Kobayashi Izumi Takes Early
Lead In Women's Honinbo; Mizokami Ties It Up In Shinjin O; Cornel Burzo Wins In
Bucharest
GAME COMMENTARY:
Hashimoto v. Fujisawa
GO REVIEW:
Bruce Wilcox’s Sector Fights Instructional CD
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ATTACHED
FILE(S): 2004.10.04.Go World #1.sgf; 2004.10.4.Go Review problem.sgf
WU WINS 4TH SHOENFIELD MEMORIAL MARATHON: Changlong Wu 6d edged Sheng Feng 5d
by 3 points in the final round to capture the $250 first prize in the Fourth
Shoenfield Memorial Go Marathon September 25 in Durham, North Carolina. Thirty
eight players participated in the Triangle Go Group's unique 5-round tournament
distinguished by non-stop play and on-site cuisine, reports Charles Alden. “The
tournament was hosted by the Thai Tana Restaurant in Research Triangle Park, who
also provided a delicious buffet luncheon at midday,” says Alden. “Generous
prizes were awarded in all six sections, thanks to a grant from the Ing
Foundation.” The Open section featured eight players rated 6 dan to 3 dan; Aheng
Feng won $150 for second place, and the third place prize of $100 went to
veteran player Yoshiteru Suzuki. “Mr. Suzuki, the tournament's oldest player,
returned from Delaware for the tournament and showed astonishing stamina in
turning around his final round game with skillful yose play,” notes Alden.
For the second year in a row the A
section (2D-2k) was won by Woojin Han, who took home $150 with a score of
4-1. In the B section (3k-6k) first place was split by Glenn Williamson
and Adam Bridges, who each won $60.
In
the C section (8k-11k) veteran John Greiner rolled through with a perfect 5-0
record and pocketed $100. Similarly in the D section (12k-14k) newcomer
Sergio Parreiras was impressive in posting the third perfect score of the
day and won $90.
And in the E
section one of the stories of the day was the victory by 13-year-old Rob Lampe,
the youngest player in the history of the tournament, who posted a score of 3-2
and won clear first and $80. “Rob clearly understood the Ing scoring
system, winning the decisive game in the section by one point by filling the
final dame point in the position after his opponent had passed!”
SF GO CLUB RE-DO & WIRELESS TOO: Re-decorated, re-painted, and wireless, too! The San Francisco Go Club showed off recent renovations at a September 18 celebration. The club has added a DSL network with two computers with wireless connections, and the club has been also been re-decorated and re-painted, reports Danny Swarzman. And last Saturday, the club started an ongoing tournament on the first Saturday of each month, a self-pairing tournament used to maintain a local rating system. The club is open daily; check out photos and more info at http://sfgoclub.com/
FROM DICE TO GO GAMES SYMPOSIUM: In conjunction with their exhibition on Asian games, the Asia Society and Museum in New York City, NY is holding a symposium entitled “From Dice To Go: Asian Games Through The Ages” on Saturday, October 16 from 10A-6P. Professional player Feng Yun 9P will give a lecture and demonstration on "Origins and Strategies of Go" with amateur player David Saunders. Other speakers and topics include Irving L. Finkel, The British Museum and cocurator of the exhibition Asian Games, speaking on "Asian Games in the Western Imagination;" Colin Mackenzie, Middlebury College and cocurator of Asian Games, speaking on "Liubo and Divination in China;" David Parlett, inventor/author, speaking on "Invention and Evolution: The Natural History of Games," Ulrich Schaedler, Musee Suisse de Jeu/Swiss Museum of Games, speaking on "Medieval Games Between Gambling and Science;" Emma Levine, journalist, speaking on "A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat: In Search of the Ancient Games of Asia." Tickets: $20 students; $30 members; $45 nonmembers. For a complete agenda and information contact the Asia Society Box Office: 212-517-ASIA or www.AsiaSociety.org
FREE LESSONS WITH JOEY HUNG: Joey Hung 8d, 2003 Ing Cup winner and protégé of top-ranked Jie Li, is now offering free lessons every Thursday night from 8-9P on KGS. “I plan to offer game reviews, simul games, and problems,” Hung tells the EJ. “I have about ten of my current students already attending, and everyone is welcome to join.” Look for him in the "Lessons/Joey's Go School” room, where he’ll be commenting through microphone and typing from his home in San Francisco. The EJ hopes to feature some of these game commentaries in future editions of the EJ.
MEMBERSHIP SEE-SAW: Membership in the American Go Association continued to see-saw, following August’s uptick with a downswing in September. Full memberships were up in September, but limited memberships dropped significantly, contributing to an overall decline in membership to 1,967, still short of the elusive 2,000 mark. A new membership working group formed by AGA President Mike Lash is looking into ways to increase membership; recommendations are expected soon.
NOVA DATE CORRECTION: The NoVa Pumpkin Classic is scheduled for Saturday, October 30 in Arlington, Virginia, not the 20th, as listed in last week’s EJ. We regret the error.
POWER OF TEN: With two new Shodan Challengers this week, our band of intrepid go students is now ten members strong. Christopher Kiguchi 3k is our youngest Challenger to date, just 7 years old. Christopher hails from New Jersey, where he’s a 2nd grader; he’s been playing for four years and studies at the Feng Yun club twice a month. Eric Lavigne 8k, Challenger #10, is a nuclear engineering graduate student and a member of the University of Florida Go Club. The E-Journal has arranged for professional game analysis to help the Shodan Challengers improve their games, and you can see photos of some of the Challengers on the AGA’s website at http://www.usgo.org/photos/ Want to try to make Shodan by next year’s US Go Congress in Tacoma, WA? Take the Shodan Challenge by emailing us at journal@usgo.org
THE HONINBO TO DEBUT AT 2005 CONGRESS: If all goes according to plan, next year’s US Go Congress will feature a first: go opera! "The Honinbo" is a full-scale parody of Gilbert & Sullivan’s "The Mikado". While many of the “Honinbo” songs have been performed at Congress songfests through the years, there has never been an actual production of the entire libretto, a void that Chris Kirschner and “a few intrepid souls” intend to fill next year. "I've wanted to do this for a long time,” Kirscher says. “PLU has a nice theater, a drama department with some draftable resources and it is right here in my back yard. This is the year." Written in 1991 by the late Bob High, “The Honinbo” begins with a rousing chorus of “Gentlemen Who Play Go” and continues on from there. The plan is for performers to practice at home during the year, and arrive a few days early to rehearse together just before the Congress. “No casting has been done yet, so anyone with particular ambitions has a chance at their choice role,” Kirschner promises. “There is a chorus, so all singers will be welcome. There will be other work as well, for those who want to contribute.” Anyone interested can get in touch with Kirschner at chrisk.aga@comcast.net. Check out the Honinbo libretto at http://www.usgo.org/bobhighlibrary/
INTERNATIONAL PRO RULES DISCUSSED: A discussion of rules for professional
international tournaments was held during the 5th Ing Cup World Professional Goe
Championship held in Guiyang, China from Sept 5-10. The Ing Foundation invited
rules experts and guest officials from Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, the
European Go Federation and the United States, represented by Chris Kirschner and
Terry Benson. There was a frank exchange of views about fundamental differences
in the rules, particularly area versus territory counting and a discussion about
komi including the recent decision by the AGA to go to 7 ½. It was agreed that
if go is to become an Olympic-level competition a unified set of logical,
simple, and reasonable rules for international professional play is needed and
that a committee will be established to work on this in the near future. Because
they are less bound by tradition and national pride to particular rules, the AGA
and associations other than the Big Three may well be able to help shape the
compromises needed to achieve a consensus. The EJ will continue to cover this
ongoing effort as the game of go moves toward standardizing rules for
international play with the long term goal of Olympic style
competition.
- reported by Terry Benson
YODA REBOUNDS IN MEIJIN: Yoda Norimoto Meijin regained the lead in his defense of his Meijin title against Cho U Honinbo in Japan by winning the third game of their match by resignation after only 145 moves. Yoda is trying for his fifth consecutive victory in the Meijin. This past Summer, Cho U defeated Yoda to retain his Honinbo title. Pictures and career highlights for Yoda can be found at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?name=Yoda Norimoto , and for Cho U at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?name=Cho U . The game records of the current title match can be downloaded from http://www.go4go.net/english/bytournament2.jsp?id=43 . A commented edition of the second game in the match is available to subscribers on www.gogameworld.com
QUI JUN TOPS CHINESE NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL TOURNEY: The 2004 National
Individual Tournament in China has ended with Qui Jun 7p, current Meijin, as the
champion. Qui had eight wins and one defeat. Second and third were Li Zhe 3p and
Hu Yaoyu 7p, each with seven wins. In the National Women's Individual Tournament
the champion was Xu Ying 7p, with eight wins and one defeat. There is no prize
fund for this tournament, so many top players, such as Chang Hao 9p and Gu Li 7p
don't participate. Pictures and career highlights of the champions can be found
at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?name=Qiu
Jun and http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?name=Xu
Ying
- reported in GoGameWorld.com
KOBAYASHI IZUMI TAKES EARLY LEAD IN WOMEN'S HONINBO: Kobayashi Izumi 5p has won the first game of her defense of her Women's Honinbo title against Chinen Kaori 3p in Japan. Kobayashi won by resignation. Chinen won the Women's Honinbo three times in a row in 1997-1999. She also held the Women's Kisei title from 2000 through 2003. Kobayashi won the Women's Honinbo three consecutive times in 2001-2003, so she is going for a fourth straight win. She has held the Women's Meijin title for the last two years. Pictures and career highlights of the two players can be found at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=84 and http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=166 .
MIZOKAMI TIES IT UP IN SHINJIN O: In the 29th Shinjin O (New Stars) Tournament in Japan, Mizokami Tomochika 7p defeated Sakai Hideyuki 6p by a half point to tie the three game match at one game each. Pictures and the game records can be found at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/shin.html . Sakai is a member of the Kansai Kiin and got an unusually late start as a pro, joining the Kiin after winning the World Amateur Championship in 2000 at the age of 28 and being initially ranked as 5p. Mizokami achieved pro standing in the Nihon Kiin when he was still in his teens.
CORNEL BURZO WINS IN BUCHAREST: Cornell Burzo 6d of Romania won the Toyota-Pandanet tournament in Bucharest this past weekend with six wins and no losses. Daniel Cioata 5d of Romania was second with five wins. Cristian Pop 7d of Romania and Bajenaru Dragos 6d of Romania tied for third with four wins. There were 83 participants. Complete results are posted at http://gobase.org/games/nn/tpeutour/bucharest2004/ . Burzo's games can also be downloaded there.
GAME COMMENTARY: Hashimoto v.
Fujisawa
Go legends Hashimoto Utaro and
Fujisawa Shuko face off in today’s game commentary, the third game in the first
Kisei title match, played in 1977. The thorough commentary is by Fujisawa Shuko,
who goes on to win the title and manages to hold on to it for the next five
years, a feat for which he is awarded the permanent title of Honorary Kisei.
When he finally loses to Cho Chikun in the 7th title match, it is apparently the
only time the loser of a match has been applauded when he leaves the board after
the final game. This was the first game commentary in the first issue of Go
World (May-June 1977); Go World is the quarterly English language go magazine
devoted to commentaries on pro games, pro news, and instructional material. It's
available from http://www.kiseido.com
Our bonus problem originally appeared in the Next Play article in Go Review VI,
12 (December 1966), the English language go magazine published by the Nihon Kiin
from 1961 to 1977. The question for Black is how to best develop along the vast
left side with the back-up of his large knight enclosure in the lower left
corner.
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: Bruce Wilcox’s Sector Fights Instructional
CD
reviewed by John Stephenson
Sector Fights is brilliant both in its lucid and compelling content as well as
its modern technical presentation. It’s no exaggeration to say that with only
this one resource, a new player could apply himself and become a high amateur
dan-level player, provided he (or she) carefully absorbed the its guidelines and
techniques. Bruce’s writing style is both humorous and hard-hitting and his
material is densely packed with useful concepts instantly applicable to one’s
own games.
The content is organized in
four parts. The first targets the 20-kyu level, Part Two the 10-kyu level, Part
Three the single-digit Kyu level, and Part Four dan-level. But it is misleading
to neatly define the content that way, because the fundamentals covered in each
part plugs gaps even in advanced players’ techniques, who would be well-advised
to return to basic material they think they know. Newer players will learn it
right the first time. Bruce’s work is impressive in its high utility to all
levels of players.
The CD Rom is
interactive with many click-style quizzes such that the reader can self-check
how he has absorbed the material. Thus it’s innovative compared with a book.
Unless you’re a professional player or a gambler, the purpose of studying go is
to increase enjoyment, and taking Bruce’s self-paced Sector Fights course should
give you a clear road map to what’s really happening move by move, thus
providing rich opportunities to apply new levels of strategy and direction, the
stuff that makes go so much fun. Well worth the
$35.
More details can be found at
Wilcox’s website: http://members.cox.net/wilcoxeureka/Sector.htm
GO CLASSIFIED
BOOKS, EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE,
ETC:
FOR SALE: 8.0mm Japanese glass go stones. Complete set, 21.5mm diameter.
Pair of brown plastic bowls included. $40, plus shipping. Email Anton at:
antonninno@yahoo.com (9/27)
FOR SALE: Quality go equipment including
gobans/bowls/stones, ranging from entry level to elegant collectible items. http://equipment.go4go.net
or email equipment@go4go.net (9/20)
INSTRUCTION, TEACHERS:
- Joey's Go School: Free lessons every Thursday
night from 8-9P on KGS! Joey Hung AGA 8d teaches online and in the San Francisco
Bay Area. Find out more about Joey's Go School At 510-659-8220,
egogames@yahoo.com or http://www.egogames.com
(10/4)
- Cornel Burzo 6d Europe is accepting new students online on IGS
or KGS, for details check http://www.golessons.com
or email to cornelburzo@yahoo.com (9/20)
- Looking for a sensei to
improve your Go skills? Yang, In Lin, 5-dan from Taiwan is available for online
lessons. email for8veryong@tom.com for cost details. (9/20)
- IGS 5dan offers
one FREE LESSON for those thinking about getting a teacher. For more information
contact icarii@zoominternet.net for more details or to schedule the lesson.
(8/30)
GO PLAYERS WANTED:
AK: Juneau, Alaska ; stevekrall@yahoo.com
(8/23)
AL: Birmingham or Hoover: email goboard@bellsouth.net I'm about 5k;
any level is welcome. (9/6)
AZ: Phoenix, AGA 5d looking for go players;
michaelscai@yahoo.com (8/23)
FL: Tampa Bay; Looking for players within 30
minutes of Tampa Bay to help create a club which
might be located near
USF. rruiz002@tampabay.rr.com (9/27)
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: Northern Illinois, Gurnee area.
Any rank, age, or shoe size welcome. Looking for friendly or teaching games.
Contact (15 kyu) Joe at nothing217@comcast.net (9/6)
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)
MA: North Shore (Hamilton); for playing and possible chapter.
Email glen@organicdesign.org
NY: Go players wanted at or near SUNY Purchase
in Purchase NY: dmc8814@hotmail.com
NY: Go players in New York City.
The "Village Go Club" meets in Manhattan on Wednesday nights. Our club is
largely beginning players, but all levels are welcome. kerry@nyu.edu
TX:
Richardson; go club meets at InfiniTea, located on the SW intersection of Coit
and Cambell, 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! Listings
are free and run 4 weeks; send to us at journal@usgo.org
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
October 8-11:
Round Top, NY
Columbus Day 2004 Guo Juan Workshop
Jean-Claude Chetrit
718-638-2266 zorglub@brooklyngoclub.org
http://brooklyngoclub.org/gc/cgi-bin/disp_topic.iphtml?topic_id=212
October 10: Somerville, MA
MGA Fall Handicap Tournament
Zack
Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com
http://www.massgo.org
October 16: Houston, TX
Autumn Tournament
Christopher Vu
281-480-8615 wasonlyyesterday@yahoo.com
www.geocities.com/seaottergoclub/entryrev.html
October 23: Atlanta, GA
GA GA GA GO Tournament
Ken Labach
770-442-0952 ken.labach@gmail.com
www.gagagago.org
October 23: Austin, TX
Austin Fall Go Tournament
Michael Heinich
mheinich@yahoo.com 512-505-0055
October 23: Burlington, VT
Burlington Go Tournament
Quentin
Dombro 802-651-0734 quentin@together.net
October 30: Arlington, VA
Pumpkin Classic
Allan Abramson
703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net
October 30 & 31: Portland, OR
Portland Go Tournament Fall
2004
Glenn Peters 503-753-4919 glenn@aenigma.com
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 7,000 readers
every week! List your Go event/news In the E Journal: email details to us at
MAILTO:journal@usgo.org
Published by the American Go Association
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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
journal@usgo.org