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AGA News!
Updated 11/13/2007 11:51A TOP STORIES: Cho U Retakes Meijin; Bi Jang 9d Sweeps Cotsen; U.S. Invited To Ing; U.S. Goes 3-2 In 18th Pair Go Tourney US GO NEWS: Youth Championships Seek Venues; World Mind Sports Details Emerge; U.S. Mind Sports Fundraising Gets In Gear WORLD GO NEWS: Lee Sedol Grabs Lead In Gs Caltex Cup; Kono Rin Recovers In Tengen; Yuki And Sakai Tie Up Kansai Kiin Championship; Japan Out Of LG Cup; Cho Hanseung Takes First Game In KBS Cup  CHO U RETAKES MEIJIN: Cho U 9P http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=19 won the decisive seventh game in the Meijin http://senseis.xmp.net/?path=BigTitles&page=Meijin title match on November 8th and 9th, taking the title back from Takao Shinji 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?ShinjiTakao , who took it from Cho last year to become the Meijin-Honinbo, a prestigious position in Japan. Cho, who held this title in 2004 and 2005, won the final game by 2.5 points. This gives Cho five current Japanese titles, two of which are in the top seven: this one and the Gosei http://senseis.xmp.net/?Gosei , which he won for the second consecutive year back in August. Cho needs only one win in each event to be the next challenger in both the Kisei http://senseis.xmp.net/?path=BigTitles&page=Kisei and the Judan http://senseis.xmp.net/?path=BigTitles&page=Judan , and he has won his first game in the current Honinbo League http://senseis.xmp.net/?path=BigTitles&page=Honinbo . BI JANG 9D SWEEPS COTSEN: Bi Jang 9d swept the 2007 Cotsen Open 5-0 to win the $1,000 top prize and his third AGA tournament. The former Korean insei – who reached #14 among Korean amateurs and is now visiting and teaching in Seattle, WA – is undefeated thus far in three AGA tournaments this year. Dae Hyk Ko 8d took 2nd place, Robert Mateescu 8d was 3rd, Jong In Jeong 8d 4th, Lu (Jeffrey) Wang 8d 5th and Calvin Sun 6th. The Orange County Go Club won the $1,000 Go Club prize. WINNER’S REPORT (handicap division): Division A (4-5d): 1st: Wei Sha, 2nd: Tony Emsenhuber, 3rd: Tianbing Chen; Division B (3d-1k): 1st: Brett Kelly, 2nd: Brian Leahy, 3rd: Theodore Drange; Division C (2k-5k): 1st: Kevin Yang, 2nd: Irving Lai, 3rd: Card (Fred) Hopkins; Division D (6-8k): 1st: Xu Ming Li, 2nd: Edward Lee; 3rd: Michael Lebl; Division E (9-12k): 1st: Victor Aranda, 2nd: Bryant Luong, 3rd: David Whiteside; Division F (13-16k): 1st: Henry Zhang, 2nd: Peter Zhou, 3rd: Gordon Castanza; Division G (18-34k): and Vincent Yue, 2nd: Michael Asynaps, 3rd: Sunny Blue. Go Clubs: 1st: Orange County (59 points); 2nd: Santa Monica (49); 3rd: Ventura (23); 4th Tucson (22). U.S. INVITED TO ING: All U.S. professionals are being invited to vie for the chance to play in the 2008 Ing Cup, the prestigious quadrennial competition of 32 top go players from around the world. This is the first time the United States has been invited to send a player to represent North America. “We deeply appreciate the ING Foundation for its support in achieving this major step for the AGA,” says AGA President Mike Lash.The Cup winner takes home nearly half a million dollars ($400,000 US) and all players who compete receive cash prizes. An online competition will be held to select the U.S. rep; stay tuned for details. U.S. GOES 3-2 IN 18TH PAIR GO TOURNEY: The US team of Eric Lui and Cherry Shen finished 3-2 in the 18th International Amateur Pair Go Tournament http://www.pairgo.or.jp/amateur/index_e.htm last weekend in Tokyo, reports US Guest Official Allan Abramson. “They had a tough first game against the Russian team, leading up to the endgame, but made some mistakes under time pressure to lose,” Abramson tells the EJ. The Russians went on to finish 6th; their 4-1 result was the best finish by a non-Asian team in many years. The Korean team -- Chang Bae Kang and Hye Lim Kim -- was the overall winner, with a perfect 5-0 record. “They played a Japanese team for the championship,” says Abramson, “which is a great step for the host country: usually the final two are from China and Korea.” In all, 32 pairs competed, with 11 pairs from Japan, selected through regional tournaments and the other 21 from all over the world. France, Germany and Finland also had 3-2 records. Japanese teams came second, third and fourth. Fifth was Taipei and sixth was Russia's Dmitriy Surin and Natalia Kovaleva with 4 wins. The US team beat Malaysia, lost to a Japan pair, beat a Japan pair and beat another Japan pair by time in the final round. Canada´s Dong Wan and Naiting Liu won 2 games. France was 10th, Germany 13th and Finland 16th with three wins. Scoring two wins were Austria, Czechia, Spain and Poland. Gunn Larsen and Oystein Vestgarden of Norway won 1 game and the best dressed prize. In other results: China won 3, Thailand and Singapore 2, Costa Rica, Australia, Philippines 1 and Peru 0. Michael Redmond 9P and Yuki Shigeno 2P provided English-language comments on the Championship game to a filled room. There also was a one-day open handicap pair tournament on Sunday, which attracted 172 pairs from all over Japan. The annual event concluded with a final awards banquet for all the competitors; much informal discussion involved the inclusion of Pair Go -- with 48 pairs from 42 countries expected -- in the first International Mind Game event, scheduled for Beijing next October. - includes reporting by Tony Atkins YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS SEEK VENUES: The second annual U.S. Youth Go Championship (USYGC) season will begin in January, reports AGA President Mike Lash. “Start the publicity for youth in your city!” says Lash. Funded by the ING Foundation, the USGC features a series of eight qualifiers that conclude with finals in May 2008 to select the US Senior and Junior players who will compete in the World Youth Go Championships later next year. Chapters interested in hosting a USYGC qualifier -- including those who have already indicated an interest -- should contact USYGC Tournament Coordinator Nicole Casanta at nicole@seraphine.us “Modest funding is available to host chapters to support the qualifiers and finals,” Lash tells the E-Journal, who urges interested chapters to step up soon. “We will select venues based on distribution of locations, tournament experience, venue resources and the overall availability of choices.” WORLD MIND SPORTS DETAILS EMERGE: Next year’s First World Mind Sport Games http://www.usgo.org/IMSA/WMSG2008.pdf (WMSG) will feature men’s and women's teams, Pair Go teams and individual events, reports AGA President Mike Lash. There will be an individuals event open to all players and one open only to amateurs. “The AGA will use regional AGA-rated tournaments -- and internet events as needed -- to create a large pool of qualified players from which the final group of up to 24 players will be selected,” Lash tells the E-Journal, noting that only U.S. citizens qualify for the U.S. team. “We are planning a one-day tournament at the US Go Congress in Portland to make the final cut from all eligible players, followed by assignment to specific events,” Lash adds. Organizers will be recruiting coaches to support the teams and players both before departure and in Beijing. “Players interested in attending the WMSG should consider the substantial commitment of time and effort required through next year and start sharpening their game!” Lash urges. U.S. MIND SPORTS FUNDRAISING GETS IN GEAR: With nearly $5,000 in pledges already received, The American Go Foundation's Mind Sport Games Fund http://www.usgo.org/WMSG08.html is off to a great start, according to AGF VP Roy Laird. “More support is needed,” says Laird, who is coordinating the fundraising drive. "We intend to send a full team of about twenty players to Beijing next year," Laird tells the E-Journal. "Player expenses will be covered once they arrive for the two week event, so we just need to cover travel, uniforms, and incidental expenses. Any support will go a long way." Donations to the AGF are tax-deductible. "Other mind sports, especially chess and bridge, are expected to send large teams,” adds Laird, “We want to show the world that go, and specifically American go, is alive and kicking!" Click here http://www.usgo.org/WMSG08.html for more details.  LEE SEDOL GRABS LEAD IN GS CALTEX CUP: Lee Sedol 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?LeeSedol took the first game of the best-of-five-game GS Caltex Cup http://senseis.xmp.net/?GSCaltexCup title match by resignation on November 3rd. Lee is defending his title against challenger Park Yeonghun 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?ParkYeounghun . This event changed to an eight-member league this year to determine the challenger, and Park came through it with an impressive 7-0 record. The league included Lee Changho 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?LeeChangho and Choi Cheolhan 9p http://senseis.xmp.net/?ChoiCheolHan , both of whom went 3-4. Formerly known as the LG Refined Oil Cup, the sponsorship changed in 2006. Lee Sedol won it in 2006 and 2002; Park was the challenger in 2004, losing to Lee Changho. This is one of the five national titles Lee Sedol currently holds, along with two international titles. Park won the international Fujitsu http://senseis.xmp.net/?FujitsuCup this year and also holds a Korean national title, the Kisung http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/pg_titlelist_detail.php?title=Kisung. KONO RIN RECOVERS IN TENGEN: Kono Rin 9P http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=52 took the second game in the best-of-five-game Tengen http://senseis.xmp.net/?TengenTheTitle match on November 8th to even the score 1-1. Rin is defending his Tengen title against challenger Yamashita Keigo 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?YamashitaKeigo . Kono and Yamashita both hold only one title currently: Kono has the Tengen and Yamashita the Kisei http://senseis.xmp.net/?Kisei . This is Kono's second consecutive defense of this title, with Yamashita as the challenger both times. Kono took this title from Yamashita in 2005, and it is the only title Kono, who is in his middle twenties, has ever won. Yamashita, who is almost thirty, has held the Kisei for the last two years and also won it in 2003.  YUKI AND SAKAI TIE UP KANSAI KIIN CHAMPIONSHIP: Yuki Satoshi 9P (r) and Sakai Hideyuki 7P (l) are tied 1-1 in the Kansai Kiin’s best-of-three First Place Championship. The Kansai Kiin http://senseis.xmp.net/?KansaiKiIn is the western branch of the Nihon Kiin http://senseis.xmp.net/?NihonKiIn , becoming independent in 1950 under the leadership of Hashimoto Utaro 9P. Located in Osaka, it’s players are not as well known as those in the Nihon  Kiin, though they too can play in all the national and international tournaments. The First Place Championship http://senseis.xmp.net/?KansaiKiInChampionship of the Kansai Kiin started in 1950. Last year's winner was Yuki Satoshi 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?YukiSatoshi, who has had some other successes, including winning the 25th and last holding of the Kakusei http://senseis.xmp.net/?Kakusei tournament in 2003. In 2005 he was the challenger for both the Gosei http://senseis.xmp.net/?Gosei , losing to Yoda Norimoto 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?NorimotoYoda , and the Kisei http://senseis.xmp.net/?Kisei , losing to Hane Naoki 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?HaneNaoki. Yuki's challenger this year is Sakai Hideyuki 7P http://senseis.xmp.net/?SakaiHideyuki , who became a pro after winning the World Amateur Go Championship http://senseis.xmp.net/?WorldAmateurGoChampionship . He won the Kansai Kiin First Place championship in 2003. [pics of Yuki at http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=yuki+satoshi&gbv=2 ] [ pic of Sakai at http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=sakai+hideyuki&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2 ] JAPAN OUT OF LG CUP: All the remaining Japanese representatives in the international LG Cup http://senseis.xmp.net/?LGCup were eliminated in the third round on November 12th. Cho U 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?ChoU lost to Lee Sedol http://senseis.xmp.net/?LeeSedol 9P of Korea, whom some now say has taken over the number one spot in the world from Lee Changho 9P http://senseis.xmp.net/?LeeChangho , and Kono Rin http://senseis.xmp.net/?RinKono 9P lost to On Sojin http://senseis.xmp.net/?OnSoJin 4P of Korea. The semifinals will include a third Korean, Han Sanghoon http://senseis.xmp.net/?HanSanghoon 1P, who defeated Liu Jing http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=137 8P of China, and a lone Chinese representative, Hu Yaoyu http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=70 8P, who defeated Park Jungsang http://senseis.xmp.net/?ParkJungsang 9P of Korea. Lee is paired against Hu for the semifinals, and Han and On are the other pairing, so the chances of an all-Korean final are good, although since Hu was the runner-up in this event last year, he cannot be considered an easy target for Lee. Lee won this event in 2003 and was the runner-up in 2003, losing to Lee Changho. The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, November 14th.  CHO HANSEUNG TAKES FIRST GAME IN KBS CUP: Cho Hanseung http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=60 9P defeated Lee Changho http://senseis.xmp.net/?YiChangHo 9P by 3.5 points on November 12th in the first game of the best-of-three-games final of the Korean KBS Cup http://senseis.xmp.net/?KBSCup . Cho had already defeated Lee in the fourth round, but this event has a losers' bracket (that is, it's a double elimination tournament) and Lee won his way into the finals, defeating Lee Sedol 9P http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=10 in the final game in that group. Lee has won this event eight times, first in 1988 and most recently in 2005. The KBS Cup is a fast play event, sponsored by Korean TV. The next game is scheduled for December 3rd. [pics of Cho at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?id=60 ] | |
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