American Go E-Journal » Europe

China Sweeps World Youth Championships

Wednesday August 17, 2011

Thirteen-year-old Ki Jie 2p and his compatriot, ten-year-old Liao Yuanpei have conquered the World Youth Go Championships, shutting out 11 other nations who sent representatives to Bucharest, Romania, to compete. The semi finals, held this morning, August 17th, saw Ke take down Chen Cheng-Hsung 7d of Chinese Taipei in a pay-back match. Chen was the only player to beat Jie in the previous rounds, but couldn’t do it a second time. Meanwhile, Korea’s Song Sang-Hun knocked out Japan’s Koyama Kuya, setting the stage for the final showdown this afternoon. Song (at left above), was overwhelmed by Jie (at right), and forced to resign in just 102 moves. In the Junior Division US champ Aaron Ye 4d did his best against China’s Liao Yuanpei 5d, but had to resign when the situation became hopeless. Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chi-Jui 6d rose to the occasion to defeat Korea’s Lee Ye-Chan 4d, and then went on to face Liao again in the finals. Chen drew black and opened with the Low Chinese, fitting in a game with two Chinese boys under 4.5 feet tall, and seemed to be getting everything he wanted. Liao seemed perfectly happy to crawl on the second line in his own moyo, perhaps planning on demolishing Chen’s third line stones even then, ultimately forcing him to resign. SGF game records of all of these matches are available on EuroGoTV. With all the fighting on the go board, the kid’s all got a chance to have some fun on yesterday’s sightseeing tour. Everyone was delighted with Peles and Bran Castles, and the kids found time to blow of some steam playing soccer as well . New friends have been made all across the globe now, and international barriers seem small when kids like this can come together from all over the world. No one seemed happier than Yang Yu-Chia of the Ing Foundation himself, who jumped right in to play soccer with the kids even after a long day of sightseeing. The Ing Foundation has sponsored the WYGC for the past 28 years, and has made it possible for strong children to compete live internationally. Winners Report: Junior Division: 1st: Liao Yuanpei (China), 2nd: Chen Chi-Jui (Chinese Taipei), 3rd: Lee Ye-Chan (Korea), 4th: Aaron Ye (US); Senior Division: 1st: Ke Jie (China), 2nd: Song Sang-Hun (Korea), 3rd: Chen Cheng-Hsun (Chinese Taipei), 4th: Koyama Kuya (Japan). Story and photos by E-J Youth Editor Paul Barchilon, who is covering the event from Romania. Photos: Top: Song Sang-Hun 4d, Korea (l) vs. Ke Jie 2P, China (r); bottom: Liao Yuanpei 5d, China, waves to the camera while visiting Bran Castle on the day off.

Categories: Europe,U.S./North America,World,Youth

China Leading in World Youth Championship

Monday August 15, 2011

E-J Youth Editor Paul Barchilon reporting live from Romania.

China is at the head of the pack in this year’s World Youth Go Championship, in Bucharest, Romania, with a first place lead in the Junior Division, and a finalist in the top 4 in the Senior. Round 2 saw Liao Yuanpei 5d (China) take an early lead by defeating Shibano Toramaru 6d (Japan) in the Junior Division (under 12), while Ke Jie 2P (China), Koyama Kuya 6d (Japan) and Cheng Cheng-Hsun 7d (Chinese Taipei) all won their games in the Senior division. Yuanpei continued his lead in rounds 3 and 4, by defeating Chinese Taipei and Korea in the Junior, while Cheng-Hsun pulled a surprise upset in the Senior Division, by defeating 13-year-old Chinese pro Ke Jie, but then lost to Japan’s Kuya in Round 4, who in turn was defeated by Ke Jie in round 5. The top four in each bracket are now set for the finals: China, Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei in the Senior; China, Chinese Taipei, Korea, and the US in the Junior, which will be held Wednesday Aug. 17th. American Junior contestant Aaron Ye 4d won entry into the finals by a stroke of luck – he drew China as his first opponent, a game he lost, but then gained three wins in a row by competing against other kids who had lost, narrowly edging Shibano Toramaru 6d (at left, in photo below, in his match against Singapore’s Yi Fei 3d).

For full results visit the WYGC website. The E-J is partnering with EuroGoTV to provide coverage, and we are broadcasting games on KGS daily. Records of many games are here, and we are providing live video streaming of several boards as well. The players will all take a break tomorrow, for the traditional day-off sightseeing trip, which will take us to Bran Castle, one of several that can claim some connection with Vlad Tepes, the real person behind the legend of Dracula. We will also visit Peles Museum and castle, and visit scenic Gradistei in Brasov. Assuming no parties are lost to vampires while we are gone, the finals will commence on August 17th, at 9 am GMT+2. Look for live broadcasts on KGS from EuroGoTV1-4, with a corresponding video feed if possible. Photos and story by Paul Barchilon: Top: I am dubbing Yuanpei , at left, “the boy with too much time on his hands.” Having recorded almost all of his games, I have noticed he barely uses any of the time on his clock, while his opponents, like Lee Ye-Chan 4d, at right, tend to run out of it. Aside from playing faster, Yuanpei seems to play better as well, and is the only player at this event to be undefeated. Bottom: neither of these boys made it to the top 4, but I felt this photo captured the spirit of the event.

Categories: Europe,U.S./North America,World,Youth

US Team Down One in World Youth Championships

Saturday August 13, 2011

E-J Youth Editor Paul Barchilon reports live from Romania.

Some of the strongest kids in the world have gathered here in Bucharest, Romania, for the 28th annual World Youth Go Championship, which began this morning August 13. 22 children, from 13 different countries, have all come to the beautiful Parcul Herestrau, Bucharest’s equivalent of Central Park, with the sponsorship of the Ing Goe Foundation. Players arrived from all over the world on Friday, some as late as midnight local time. Activities began with a Team Leader meeting in the morning, where first round opponents were selected by lottery, this was followed by a presentation on the Ing Rules from Yang Yu-Chia. The first round began at 3 pm, and was broadcast live on both KGS and EuroGoTV. The opening ceremonies were held after the first round, and organizer Catalan Taranu has set a new standard by which to measure the event. Three different Romanian dance troupes performed, ranging from break dance to traditional folk dancing, and representatives from the Chinese, Korean, and Canadian Embassies were all on hand to show their support for Romanian go. Romania is at GMT +2, which makes the start time 11 pm PST in the US, but game records are available on EuroGoTV. We will be broadcasting both rounds daily (look for EuroGo TV in the English Game Room) 2 and 3 are Aug. 14, 4 & 5 will be on the 15th, and the finals will be on the 17th. I will be updating daily, with commented game records whenever possible. US Junior Champion Aaron Ye 4d, age 9, drew Liao Yunpei 5d, age 10, of China for the first match, while Senior Champion Vincent Zhuang 6d, age 15 drew Vanessa Wong 5d, also 15, of the UK. Both US players lost their first match, but spirits remain high. The Chinese team leader, Huang Yizhong 7p, was kind enough to comment both game records for the E-J – which are included here as a freebie. To get great benefits like this, join the AGA for weekly game records, a steal at only $10 for a youth membership. Photo: Liao Yuanpei 5d, China (l) vs. Aaron Ye 4d, US (r), by Paul Barchilon.

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Categories: Europe,Game Commentaries,U.S./North America,World,Youth

Snapshots from the European Go Congress

Tuesday July 26, 2011

E-Journal photographer John Pinkerton stopped by the European Go Congress — now underway in Bordeaux, France — the other day and sent us these snapshots.
- photos by John Pinkerton; collage by Chris Garlock

Categories: Europe

Euro Go Congress Underway in France

Sunday July 24, 2011

The Zhuyeqing Tea European Go Congress started last Saturday in Bordeaux, France. You can follow the EGC games live on EuroGoTV1 and IGS. The EGC main tournament started Sunday and can also be followed on KGS. Click here for the complete schedule.

Categories: Europe

Adan Wins UK Go Challenge

Sunday July 3, 2011

Adan Mordcovich from London was the new champion of the UK Go Challenge, held June 26 in Aston. He also won the Under-18 Boys section forcing Aston’s Mazhar Warraich to take second in the section and overall. Hamzah Reta, also from Aston, was third overall and Under-16 Boys Champion. Aston also won the schools trophy and their Ibraheem Mustafa won Under-12 Boys. Thomas Meehan from Solihull won the Under-14 Boys. Milton School players cleaned up in the younger age groups and won the Junior School Cup. Roella Smith was Top Girl winning Under-12 and her sister Kelda won Under-8. Their brother Edmund, aged 6, won the Boys Under-8 and Mark Slatter won the Boys Under-10. There were prizes too to many others for good results or solving puzzles. A special award of UK Go Challenge Meijin Organiser was given to Mr Mike Lynn for supporting the event from its start up to his forthcoming retirement. Click here for results.
- Tony Atkins

Categories: Europe

MyGoFriend Program Ties Top Pro

Sunday June 26, 2011

The MyGoFriend program scored a 2-2 result against Kim Young Sam 8P in a June 16 9×9 exhibition match played during the recent Kido Cup in Hamburg, Germany and broadcast live on KGS. MyGoFriend – a Gold Medal winner at the 15th Computer Olympiad that employs state of the art Monte Carlo algorithms — won the first two games and Kim Young Sam 8P the last two. While MyGoFriend officially lost the final game on time, due to connection issues, the position was evaluated as unclear or better for MyGoFriend. Click here for the complete report, videos, photos and game records.

Categories: Europe,Tools: books, software & hardware,World

Teuber Sweeps Amsterdam

Monday June 6, 2011

Benjamin Teuber 6d (r) swept the 2011 Amsterdam Go Tournament, held June 2-5. Click here for EuroGoTV’s coverage, which includes round-by-round reports, photos and game records.

Categories: Europe

Scot Wins Scottish Open

Sunday June 5, 2011

For the first time in many years, the Scottish Open was won this year by a Scottish-born player. Local native Sandy Taylor 2d (Durham) won all five games to take his first tournament title at the Open, held May 28-29 in Dundee. The closure of long-term sponsor Real Time Worlds and a local wedding anniversary contributed to a drop in attendance, with 23 players participating. A new sponsor, Denki — a locally-based “digital toy factory” — ensured that, as ever, all players took away a jar of Dundee’s famous marmalade. Prizes were also awarded to David Lee 2d (Dundee) and Dieter Daems 9k (Leuven) for four wins out of five, and to Martha McGill 2k (Edinburgh), Boris Mitrovic 2k (Edinburgh), Tom Croonenborghs 1d (Antwerp), Eugene Kee-Onn Wong 4k (Glasgow) and Andrew Thurman 7k (Durham) for three wins. Edwin Brady 1k (St Andrews) and Sandy Taylor 2d (Durham) jointly won the Lightning tournament with three wins out of four.
- Tony Atkins, based on his report on the BGA website

Categories: Europe

Nick Krempel to play Matthew Macfadyen for British title

Saturday June 4, 2011

Matthew Macfadyen, the 2010 British Champion, has won all seven games in the Challengers’ League May 27-30 to earn the right to defend his title. This year he will be playing Nick Krempel 3d (London), who won five games in the League, in a best-of-3 final. Hui Wang and Alistair Wall just missed out on playing for the title by one win each.
- Tony Atkins, based on his report on the BGA website

Categories: Europe

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