Drawn by a shared love of over-the-board play, 58 players spent a rainy Sunday together at the Bridge Club of
Atlanta, shattering previous turnout records for the local go tournament scene. After three rounds, Enzo Aozono-Araldi (3d) and Guangqiu Liang (6d) ended undefeated in the open section, with Enzo claiming the inaugural state championship title based on tiebreaker scores. Five other players ended tied 2-1. In the four handicapped main sections, Peikang Liu (1d) went undefeated in section A, Skip Lazenby (6k) and Yun Luo (12k) in section B, Chloe Hazzard (15k) swept section C. In section D, three players finished undefeated - Ryan Rostohar (20k), Yuji Ichihashi (23k), and Bud Henderson (27k).
The tournament drew go players from across the southeast and beyond, with participants traveling from Alabama, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and New York to mingle with locals. First time tournament participant and Atlanta Go Club regular Griffin Martin (14k) commented on the different play styles he encountered and the pugnacious nature of the Atlanta players: “it was good chance to play against people who aren’t the normal Atlanta Go Club people…my first game was one of the most unique games I’ve played, because there was no fighting. I was like, what? this is not the go I know”.
The Atlanta Go Club recognizes the efforts of those without whom this tournament would not have been possible, including but not limited to Jeff Kubach (10k), who secured the venue and Brad Davenport (15k), who arranged for prizes and awards. TD duties were handled by Andy Wong (14k). Our sponsors provided generously - special thanks to Yellow Mountain Imports, GoMagic, OGS, and BadukPop for showering the tournament with prizes.
Report by Andy Wong, photos by Tomomi Aozono.
Photos: (top right) From left to right: TD Andy Wong, Guangqiu Liang, Enzo Aozono-Araldi, Atlanta Go Club President Chris Haverly
Bottom left: Some more section winners and tournament officials: From left to right: front row: Kai Northcott, Yun Luo, Yuji Ichihashi. Back row: Andy Wong, Ryan Rostohar, Skip Lazenby, Peikang Liu, Chloe Hazzard, Chris Haverly