News from the American Go Association
June 30, 2006
Volume
7, #54 (Member's Edition)
MASTERS
B LEAGUE FINAL 4
CONGRESS
CLOSES IN ON 400 MARK
YOUTH
CAMPI UPDATE
STREAMING
HIKARU
38K GAMES IN
SMARTGO 2.2
FUJITSU
SEMIFINALS THIS WEEKEND
YAMADA
HANGING ON IN HONINBO
LEE
CHANGHO STARTS STRONG IN WANGWI
ABRAMSON
& SIRA TACKLE NEW JOBS
NEW
GO JOURNAL AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR WANTED
AGA
MEMBERSHIP DIPS
WEEKEND GO
ACTION: Seattle, WA
GAME
COMMENTARY: A Move is a Move
KERWIN'S
CONGRESS PREP GUIDE: Putting Time on Your Side
ATTACHED
FILE(S): 2006.06.30 Challenge, Hop-valius, Chung; 2006.06.30 McGuigan
Series #19
MASTERS B LEAGUE FINAL 4: The third and
semifinal round of the Master's Tournament B League will be held this
Saturday, JuLY 1 at 4P EST on KGS. The pairings for this round: Board
1: Zhaonian Chen ZCHEN vs EricLui THEONE. Board 2: Jung Hoon Lee
JHLEE vs Yuan ZHou YZHOU. Get more information about the tournament
at http://www.seattlegocenter.org/namt
CONGRESS CLOSES IN ON 400 MARK: Registration for this
year's US Go Congress - August 12-20 in Black Mountain, NC - is
closing in fast on the 400 mark, with 367 signed up as of today. The
biggest go event of the year features eight days of non-stop go
(literally: one tournament begins at midnight), from tournaments to
lectures, simuls and more. Details online at
http://www.gocongress06.org/ A
wide range of non-player activities are planned this year, reports
organizer Paul Celmer, including a craft shop that can be open in the
evening "to provides something relaxing to do and a place to
visit after conference sessions before turning in for the night."
The craft shop offers paint-on-pottery, potter's wheels for throwing
clay pots, hand building with clay, floor looms for weaving,
leatherwork, beads and painting small craft items. Other possible
activities: Tower Night Climb Climb the Alpine Tower in the dark,
campfires and Appalachian Experiences, which includes Cherokee
stories and crafts, Mountain clogging, Star Lab, professional
storytelling, square dancing, magic show.
YOUTH CAMPI
UPDATE: "The East Coast Youth Camp -- August 5-12 in
Delaware Water Gap, PA -- is expecting 20 campers with an exactly
50/50 male/female split," reports Director Karen Jordan. A few
spots are still open and there's still room in the West Coast Camp --
July 15-22 in Tacoma, WA. Tomorrow's the deadline
for East Coast Camp sign-up: get your application at
http://www.usgo.org/gocamp/index.html
for details.
STREAMING HIKARU: "Hikaru no Go is
coming to a laptop near you!" reports the EJ's Hikaru Desk
reporter Joe Sanet. "According to the July issue of NewType USA,
our favorite anime is on the initial lineup of shows when the
Internet program stream Toonami Jetstream launches July 17. It will
share thespotlight with four other shows including Prince of Tennis
and the very popular Naruto. New episodes will become available once
a week. The Jetstream is a joint venture between Cartoon Network and
VIZ Media. Its placeholder website is already up at
www.toonamijetstream.com.
HnG will also be shown subtitled and dubbed on ImaginAsian TV,
www.iatv.tv.
38K
GAMES IN SMARTGO 2.2: SmartGo 2.2 -- now with 38,049 professional
games -- has been released, reports programmer Anders Kierulf. "One
of the new features helps you review games played on a server:
SmartGo can automatically find the 10 moves that took the longest
time, so you can easily review the moves where you had to make a hard
decision. Thanks to Philip Waldron for suggesting that
feature."
FUJITSU SEMIFINALS THIS WEEKEND: The
semifinals of the 19th international Fujitsu Cup will be held
Saturday, July 1st. Results on Monday.
YAMADA HANGING
ON IN HONINBO: Yamada Kimio 9P, back to the wall, down three
games to one in the best-of-seven title match against Japanese
Honinbo Takao Shinji 9P, has managed to pull out a second victory.
Details on Monday.
LEE CHANGHO STARTS STRONG IN
WANGWI: Lee Changho 9P has won the first game in defense of
his Wangwi title in Korea against challenger Lee Yeongku 5P. Details
on Monday.
ABRAMSON & SIRA TACKLE NEW JOBS:
Two AGA members have recently agreed to take on key positions,
reports President Mike Lash. "Former Board Chairman Allan
Abramson has accepted the position of AGA Pair Go Coordinator,"
says Lash. "In this new position, he will continue the activity
he started by growing the number of Pair Go events across the nation,
spreading awareness of Pair Go tournaments and rules, and working
closely with the Nikon Kiin Pair Go Association to obtain
international support for Pair Go tournaments here in the US. His
effort will compliment those of Jeff Shaevel, our Go Congress Pair Go
Tournament Director." Also stepping up is Christopher Sira from
the Empty Sky Go Club in Rochester. Sira has agreed to come on as the
Acting National Tournament Coordinator. "This job carries a
large portfolio," says Lash, "streamlining our current
schedule of events, updating the AGA's tournament rules and
regulations infrastructure, publishing and maintaining the national
calendar of AGA tournaments, the development of new tournaments, and
more. Chris will also begin working with Tournament Directors of
regular national events to assure consistency of AGA support."
NEW
GO JOURNAL AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET: The Russian Go
Federation is now publishing a free go journal in English on the
Internet that includes interviews with pros, problems and game
commentaries. Check it out at http://gogame.info/
VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR WANTED: The AGA's Volunteer Coordinator is
responsible for regular recruitment of new volunteers, placement into
vacant positions, and providing support to volunteers as appropriate.
The Coordinator will formulate and revise job descriptions as needed,
evaluate performance related to the job description, recommend
revisions, assists volunteers in changing jobs as desirable for
either training or personal preferences of the individual.
Interested? Email AGA President Mike Lash at president@usgo.org To
find out more about other opportunities available at the AGA click
here: http://www.usgo.org/org/volunteer.htm
AGA
MEMBERSHIP DIPS: Membership in the American Go Association
dipped below the 2,100 mark for the first time this year, after three
months of declines in Full memberships. After hitting an all-time
record high of 2,180 members at the end of January, total membership
has dropped in four out of the last five months and now stands at
2,090. While Sponsors were up slightly to 36, Sustainers dropped
slightly to 60, Limited continued its 2006 downward trend to 268 and
Youth memberships were also down (to 471). Chapters were down 2 to
145. Life membership continues to be a bright spot, the record 48 up
11 over the beginning of the year.
WEEKEND GO ACTION:
Seattle, WA
July 2, 2006: Seattle, WA
Ratings Tournament
Jon
Boley jon@airsltd.com 206.545.1424
GAME COMMENTARY:
A Move is a Move
Chung Luke 6d takes
a close look at Shodan Challenger Jonathan Hop 3k's game in today's
game commentary, and in the nineteenth installment of Questions from
Actual Play, Haruyama Isamu 9P looks at "an odd move" that
"can't be called a good move. However, a move is a 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
KERWIN'S
CONGRESS PREP GUIDE: Putting Time on Your Side
By
James Kerwin 1P
This article
completes the program for players who want to do well in the Congress
main tournament. The longer time limit in the US Open requires you to
improve your stamina. The longer time potentially enables you to play
at your highest level, but it's important to remember that more time
does not automatically mean better play. You have time to learn how
to use your time wisely.
The basic
time limit in the US Open is 90 minutes per player plus byo-yomi.
(The top sections get two hours per player.) This time limit means
the game can easily last four hours or longer. I'll assume 90 minutes
is twice what you usually use for a game. Of the extra 45 minutes,
reserve 20 minutes for yose and 10 minutes for crunch time (when the
game is on the line). Spend the other 15 minutes doing the other
things I suggest below. I realize that there are players out there
who like more time; adapt my suggestions to your own game, but do
consider these recommendations on maximizing the use of
time.
The 45 minutes you currently
spend on playing a game are divided into a certain amount of reading,
some time on finding reasonable moves ('move candidates'), some time
on yose and so on. With the exception of yose, I don't recommend
changing how you apportion your time. If you generally read to a
certain depth, you won't significantly improve your reading by trying
to read each move farther. And if you spend a certain amount of time
selecting move candidates, it's unlikely you'll find better moves if
you spend a lot more time on it. It's even possible to spend so much
time on a move that you find a really bad one.
Instead,
spend time doing things you're not currently doing. Use some of the
time to estimate the game state, as suggested last week. Most players
should spend more time finding the big area. Here's a clue: if you
can't explain why the area you're playing in is the big area, you
don't know it's the big area. Take a moment to think about how your
play in the big area will affect the next-biggest area. When you take
sente and leave an area, spend a moment picking future moves or aims
in the area for when you come back to it. Spend some time reading out
areas you don't intend to play in next. That effort will reveal
forcing moves or aim points that set up gains in those areas. Knowing
those points will enable you to link the play in other areas to
future play and raise the level of your game. This last item is a
good thing to do while your opponent is thinking.
Don't
plan to use up every minute of time. If the game goes smoothly you
may only use a fraction of your total time. But if you find you're
going through your time speed up your play a little: you need to keep
a reserve. While I don't think you will play better by trying to read
deeper on every move, it is worthwhile to read as deeply as you can
when the game is on the line. Save some clock time for crunch time.
And save clock time for yose. Most players should spend more time on
yose. For one thing, it's best in the yose to count the actual value
of moves instead of estimating. Counting takes time, but it makes a
big difference in the quality of your yose. In addition, about half
of all games are decided in the yose. Spending more time on the yose
can have a dramatic effect on your winning percentage.
You
have the program, now practice it in your games. By the Congress you
should have integrated these skills into your game and you'll be able
to stand up to the pressure of competition. Good luck!
GO
CLASSIFIED
CONGRESS NON-PLAYERS WANTED: Seeking
non-players at this summer's Congress in Black Mountain who are
looking for an active week: exploring local (historical) sites, white
water rafting, golf, moderate to strenuous hiking, anything outdoors
and away from Go boards. Please contact Laura Champagne at:
ChampagneL@michigan.gov or use the Go Congress message board at:
http://www.gocongress06.org/bb/ (6/30)
VETTERS
WANTED for new book "Improve Fast In Go", designed for
players in the 15K-5K range desiring to reach Dan status. At least
one vetter is sought in each of 3 categories: 5 Dan and Stronger, 4
Kyu - 4 Dan, 5 Kyu - 15 Kyu. If interested in participating, email
Milton Bradley at bradleym@eniinternet.com with a brief description
of your qualifications. (6/30)
GO LIBRARY FOR SALE: 360
Japanese Go Magazines from 1960 through 2006. Most in good to
excellent condition. Classic magazines include Takagawa's 9th defense
of 15th Honinbo Title (1960), Hashimoto wins 1st 10 Dan (1962),
Sakata takes 2nd Meijin (1963), Rin Kaiho takes 4th Meijin (1965),
Cho Chikun and Kobayashi Koichi's first titles, etc. $15 apiece OBO.
400 other items available, including books signed personally by Go
Seigen, Sakata, etc. Contact: rjterry100@hotmail.com (6/16)
CONGRESS
COUPON FOR SALE: $350 AGA coupon for sale for $250 OBO; coupon can be
used as $350 cash in the coming Go Congress. Contact Wenjie Xu at
weiqilover@gmail.com or call 646-270-1180 (6/9)
Classified ads
are free for AGA members and run for 4 weeks: send your ad to us at
journal@usgo.org
Published by the American Go
Association
Managing Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor:
Bill Cobb
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, go to
http://www.listlynx.com/MailUser1.asp
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
American Go Association P.O. Box
397 Old Chelsea Station New York, NY 10113-0397