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Updated 2/1/2010
 WORLD PAIR GO REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED: The registration deadline for the World Pair Go Tournament has been extended to this Thursday at midnight. See News Page for details.AGA BOARD WAIVES U.S. YOUTH GO CHAMPIONSHIP REQUIREMENT: The AGA Board acted Sunday to waive the 10-game minimum requirement for the annual U.S. Youth Go Championship, converting last year's one-time exemption into a permanent exemption for this tournament, which leads to the selection of the U.S. representative to the World Youth tournament. Board Chairman Roy Schmidt noted that "This responds to concerns of youth advocates that the AGA should be encouraging maximum participation in this tournament, with reduced requirements."
 GU LI WINNINGEST PRO IN ’09: An important indication of superiority among go professionals is their winning percentage, especially among the most active players. WORLD GO NEWS: Xie Sweeps Women’s Kisei; Cho U 2-0 In Kisei; Lee Changho Wins 1st Round In KBS Cup; Park Jieun Wins 1st Round Of Jeongganjang Cup; BC Card Cup Tournament Update; Kong Jie Ranked #1 In China; Was The Han Taehee Win Against Lee Changho A Fluke?EUROPEAN GO NEWS: GROENEN & BROUWER TIE IN DUTCH CHAMPS: Geert Groenen 6d and Peter Brouwer 5d tied for the Dutch title after the final rounds of the Championship, which were played last weekend at the European Go Center near Amsterdam. The winner will be decided in a best-of-three play-off in the Spring. Click here for results. GROENEN DENIES POMSTRA BID FOR 5TH WIN AT HEERLEN OPEN: Geert Groenen denied Willem-Koen Pomstra’s bid for a fifth win at the Heerlen Open January 9-10 in Holland. Groenen topped the 20th Open, the traditional opener of the new year, winning the deciding match with Willem-Koen Pomstra, who had won the last four. By tradition, the tournament is held in an old bar, which serves a wide variety of beers in the old center of town. 32 participants from 6 countries attended. POCSAI-PALOGH CORNER MARKET ON HUNGARIAN TITLE GOLD: Dynamic duo Rita Pocsai 4d and Pál Balogh 6d have added the Hungarian Pair Go title to their collection of titles, winning in Budapest on January 30. Pocsai is the Hungarian Women’s Champion and Balogh is the Hungarian Men’s Champion. Domonkos Albrecht kept his Hungarian Youth title and Róbert Czismadia – who took 4th at last year’s European U-12 Championships (EC) -- retained his Children's title. KACHANOVSKIJ WINS FIRST KGS INSEI LEAGUE: Artem Kachanovskiy (Artem92), a young player - barely 17 -- from the Ukraine, won the A-division of the first Insei competition on KGS (KILL), run by Alex Dinerchtein, which ended January 31. A bonus round after the league caused a sensation when the most active players from each league were invited to a simul against Cho Mikyung 1P. Only 'j13' won. Watch the game here KACHANOVSKIY, SIMARA, PROKOPOVA TO STUDENT OZA: Artem Kachanowskiy 6d (Ukraine), Jan Simara 5d and Anna Prokopova 1k (both Czech) qualified for the World Student Oza in Japan, later this year. The qualifiers were held for the first time on KGS. GRABOWSKI STEPS DOWN AS POLISH RATINGS MASTER: After more than 30 years running the Polish rating list, aka 'Grabolka', Krzysztof Grabowski resigned on January 1, although he has retained his place at the EGF rating commission. In addition to three decades of running Polish ratings, Grabowski says he proudest of a Kansai Kiin 3-dan diploma signed by their top three 9-dan professionals, Hashimoto Utaru, Shoji and Sekiyama Toshio in 1990. “Perhaps my greatest joy were the Pair Go tourneys during several Polish summer camps." Grabowski was named the third honorary (lifetime?) member of the Polish Go Association, after Tozawa Akinobu 9p and Janusz Kraszek 6d. For details and more news click on Latest Go News at right
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MATTHEWS TO RETIRE AS AGA RATINGS COORDINATOR: "Our ratings coordinator, Paul Matthews, has informed me of his decision to retire from this position to spend more time pursuing other go related interests," reports AGA President Allan Abramson. "Paul has been one of our AGA heroes," Abramson told the E-Journal, "having developed the rating system algorithms 20 years ago, and having maintained ratings with regular updates for all this time." See News Page for complete story. Go is... an ancient board game which takes simple elements -- line and circle, black and white, stone and wood -- combines them with simple rules and generates subtleties which have enthralled players for millennia. Beyond being merely a game, go can take on other meanings to enthusiasts: an analogy with life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one's personality, an exercise in abstract reasoning, or, when played well, a beautiful art in which Black and White dance across the board in delicate balance. But most important for all who play, go is challenging and fun.
