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Nominations being accepted for 2021 AGA Board Election

Monday April 26, 2021

Three American Go Association (AGA)  Board of Director seats are in play for the Eastern, Western, and Central regions. The current terms of office expire this September. If you know of someone who you believe would offer guidance and service to the AGA consider making a nomination. Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made by full members for the regional seat in which the member resides and must be received by June 15, 2021. Nominations and questions must be emailed to elections@usgo.org. Click here for complete election information and qualifications.

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50 years aGO – April 1971

Friday April 23, 2021

By Keith L Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

Kajiwara Takeo
Kajiwara Takeo

The month began with Kajiwara Takeo 9d, the sharp tongued author of Direction of Play, defeating Sakata Eio on April 1 in the Asahi Best Ten. His subsequent win over Ōtake Hideo placed him in the best of five final against Ishida Yoshio. (Game record: Otake-Kajiwara.)

Ishida, of course, is the busy man of the month, winning his final game of the Hon’inbo League over Fujisawa Shūkō, unable to help his nephew, Fujisawa Hōsai, who was losing his match to Sakata at the same time. And so, Ishida won the league with a 6-1 record. (Game record: Shūkō-Ishida.) The first game of his challenge against Rin Kaihō was played on April 26-27, and did not go well, he was convincingly defeated. (Game record: Ishida-Rin.)

Arakawa wins the All Japan Amatuer Ladies Championship
Arakawa wins the All Japan Amateur Ladies Championship

April 6 saw Arakawa Kazuko upset Miyashita Suzue in the All Japan Amateur Ladies Championship. The photo captures the precise, dramatic moment when Arakawa, left, captures a large group to clinch the victory.

The British Go Championship required a final post Leeds Go Congress game between Jon Diamond and Tony Godard before Mr. Diamond prevailed on April 17 in London.

Finally, the First Gaijin Hon’inbo was held at Iwamoto’s Go Salon in Tokyo. Hugh Hudson, of San Diego, California, defeated M. Hall and Ishi Press’s Richard Bozulich to win the handicap event, securing promotion to 2k for his efforts.

Photos courtesy of Go Review

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Rujun Ding 6d wins tenth annual San Diego Go Championship

Thursday April 22, 2021

Rujun (Larry) Ding 6d of Palo Alto, California beat Qipeng Luo 7d of Champaign, Illinois in the final round of the Open section to win the Tenth Annual San Diego Go Championship with a record of 5-0. Ding won a ko fight at the end of the game to pull ahead for a 7-stone victory. Kyle Fenimore (NY) and Mani K Sanford (MI) placed second and third with 4-1 records in the 18-player Open section.

The 2021 SD Go Championship had its largest turnout ever with 73 players, representing 17 states, competing. Among the 32 players from California, 21 were from the San Diego Go Club. This was the second year that the tournament was held online due to the pandemic, with one game per week over five weeks. AGA membership was required of all players and there is hope that since the AGA Board has approved online ratings, that the tournament will be rated by the new AGA online rating system.

In the Handicap division there were eight sections. The winners were:

1) 3d-1.5d    Patrick a Ferl (CA)
2) 1k-1.5k     Wanqi Zhu (IL)
3) 1.6k-2.3k  Michael Mei (CA)
4) 2.8k-3.7k  Jerry Young (TX)
5) 4.2k-5.5k  Duncan Harris (MI)
6) 5.7k-6.5k  Juliet Zhang (NJ)
7) 7.3k-10k   Terri Schurter (NJ)
8) 11.5k-25k Lewis Lin  (NY)

All winners were awarded a redesigned 2017 Go Congress San Diego Go Club T-Shirt. This was the fourth online tournament organized by the San Diego Go Club during the pandemic. The club will continue to provide opportunities for online go competition as long as it is unsafe to play face-to-face. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving weekend SDGC will be able to hold the 4th Annual California State Go Championship in person.

-report and photo provided by Ted Terpstra      

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Registration Open for AGHS Youth vs. Adult Charity Event

Monday April 19, 2021

“Registration for the AGHS Youth vs. Adult Charity event is now open!” says Promotion Head Jenny Li, “Anti-Asian violence and hate crimes have been on the rise, so we want to take this time to raise awareness and appreciation for Asian culture. As much as it is an inspiration for all, the game of Go we have today is a result of millennia of Asian culture, built up and passed down through the generations. We hope the AGHS values of collaboration and opportunity can translate to supporting the AAPI community. We welcome all players to participate. The three rounds will be held in KGS’s AGHS Tournament Room on June 12 at 1 PM, 3 PM, and 5 PM EDT. Each table will be played in a round robin format between 3 adult players and 3 youth players. The registration deadline for this event is June 5, 11:59 PM EDT.”

For more information about rules and regulations, click here.

To register for the event, click here.

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NYIG announces Go Dojo in Midtown Manhattan, Path to Pro training

Sunday April 18, 2021

NYIG’s Manhattan location

“I still remember how desperate Go players were when we heard the news that the New York Go Center would permanently shut down. It finally disappeared no matter how hard we tried,” says Stephanie Yin, the president of the New York Institute of Go. “The NY Go Center was not only a place for Go players to play Go, but also like a big family. It was a place for people to laugh, share stories, forget about pressure and unhappiness, and just enjoy some Go time.” The NYIG team is happy to announce that a location for that big family is back! The NYIG headquarters has been permanently set in Mid-town Manhattan. It is a 3600 square feet commercial building on W 49th street and only a 10-minute walk to Central Park. The place now is under renovation, with plans for a grand opening in September. 


The NYIG headquarters (official name TBA) will become the first physical Go Dojo in America. Plans for study abroad programs, intensive training, monthly tournaments, the New York State Championship, classes, membership, and Pair Go Night are in the making. Stay tuned for updates at ny-go.org. The NYIG team is open to potential collaborations.


Shortly after the AGA pro qualification tournament in Washington, DC this summer, the NYIG will host the North American Youth Open and New York Youth Open. From June 28 to July 16 at 1:30-4:30 pm EDT, Ryan Li 1p will hold a three-week Path to Pro intensive training class. Registration now is open to all ages! For more information, please visit ny-go.org/path-to-pro.

-report and photo by Stephanie Yin 1P

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