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AGA News!
updated 10/29/2007 11:06P  U.S. GO NEWS: U.S. Leading In Online Team Tourney; Morris Wins Undampened Pumpkin; Dae-Hyuk Ko Blazes In Socal Wildfire Tourney; Jackson Tops Lefler Memorial; U.S To Send Team To '08 World Mind Sports Games; Go In The News WORLD GO NEWS: Yamashita Takes First Game In Oza Title Defense; Feng Yun Loses In Yuanyang Cup; Catalin Taranu 5P Tours Ireland; French Smartgo Available YOUR MOVE: Of Euro Ratings & Ranks Photo at right -- from the Triangle Go Club -- by Jeremy M. Lange, INDY U.S. LEADING IN ONLINE TEAM TOURNEY: While the U.S. leads Canada 5-4 in the online team event held last weekend, with the final two rounds scheduled for tonight (8P EDT), the final result is far from certain, reports organizer Ke Lu. The results thus far (U.S. player listed first): Andy Liu 8d (B) lost to Jing Yang 8d by resignation; Zhaonian Chen 8d d. Zhiqi Yu B (W+R); Jie Liang 8d lost to Xiandong Zhang (B+R); Minshan Shou 8d d. Dewu Zhang (B+R); Thomas Hsiang 7d d. Sarah Yu (W+R); I-han Lui 7d lost to Hank Xie (W+R); Xiliang Liu 7d d. William Shi (W+5.5); Young Kwon 7d lost to Jeffrey Fung (W+10.5); Changlong Wu 6d d. Liang Yu (W+R). Game records are posted online MORRIS WINS UNDAMPENED PUMPKIN: Trevor Morris 6d topped a field of .jpg) three dozen players who braved a morning downpour in Northern Virginia to play in the 2007 NOVA Pumpkin Classic tournament on Saturday, October 27. “Winners of the Great Pumpkin for perfect records of 4-0 were Keiju Takehara 5k and Joey Phoon 29k,” reports organizer Allan Abramson. Winner’s Report (each of whom also took home a pumpkin): First Place: Trevor Morris 6d, 3-1; Craig Nelson 2d, 3-1; Todd Blatt 1k, 3-1; Keiju Takehara 5k, 4-0; Kabe Chin 7k, 3-1, and Joey Phoon 29k, 4-0. Second Place: Daniel Chou 7d, 2-2; Patrick Allen 1d and Ben Armitage 1d, tied at 2-2; Nathan Schmitz 2k and Stephen Tung 3k, tied at 3-1; C.S. Chin 5k, 3-1; Kelsey Dyer 7k and Yukino Takehara 10k, tied at 2-2; and Melody Chao 30k, 3-1.DAE-HYUK KO BLAZES IN SOCAL WILDFIRE TOURNEY: Orange County Go Club president Kevin Chao hosted the Southern California Wildfire Invitational at his home in Laguna Hills, CA on October 21. The tournament was a Baltimore Eight knockout among many of the strongest players in California. “As fires blazed from San Diego to Newhall, Dae-hyuk Ko 8d burned a path of his own en route to a 3-0 record,” reports Steve Burrall, who directed the three-round competition. Winner’s Report: 1st: Dae-hyuk Ko 8d; 2nd: Robert Mateescu 8d; 3rd: Yixian Zhou 6d. JACKSON TOPS LEFLER MEMORIAL: Andrew Jackson 4d topped the 3rd Annual Greg Lefler Memorial  Tournament in Rochester, NY October 20-21. A highlight of the event was the presentation of an AGA Lifetime Membership to longtime local go teacher Bill Hewitt. Winner’s Report: Dan Division: 1st: Andrew Jackson 4d, 4-1; 2nd: Phil Waldron 6d, 3-2; 3rd: James Sedgwick 6d, 3-2. High Kyu: 1st: Carrie Lapidus 6k, 4-1; 2nd: Thomas Wolf 6k, 4-1; 3rd: Will Wood 6k, 4-1. Low Kyu: 1st: Elliot Stern 13k, 4-1; 2nd: Tom Smith 14k, 4-1; 3rd: Will Boer 11k, 3-2. U.S TO SEND TEAM TO '08 WORLD MIND SPORTS GAMES: More details are emerging about the First World Mind Sport Games in Beijing next year, a part of the Olympic movement under the auspices of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Thomas Hsiang – the American Go Association’s representative on the International Go Federation -- reports that the Games will be organized by China Card and Board Game Centre and the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), which was formed in 2005 by the international federations of four mind sports, go, chess, bridge and draughts. The International Go Federation announced on October 22 that the competition will include professionals as well as amateur players, and medals will be awarded in six categories -- Men's Individuals, Women's Individuals, Men's Teams, Women's Teams, Pair Go, and a special "Open" section for amateurs only. The AGA intends to send a team of up to twenty players, and is now developing a “fair, open, inclusive procedure” to select the US team. The AGA has initiated a fund drive to cover travel and incidental costs for the team; other expenses will be borne by the event organizers. The American Go Foundation will participate by providing a tax-exempt vehicle for individual and foundation donors. Write to agf@usgo.org if you can help. Corporate donors please contact president@usgo.org or igf@usgo.org.  GO IN THE NEWS: Roanoke, VA: “A Chinese war lasting more than 4,000 years has migrated to the Pop's Ice Cream Shop and Soda Bar in Grandin Village," reported Marvin T. Anderson in the October 5 Roanoke (VA) Times. "It's kind of like a dance," said Jim Payette, who travels from Lexington to challenge Roanoke residents. "You defend and then you attack. You defend and then you attack." Click here to read the full report on the Roanoke Go Club. Durham. NC: “My nemesis is a 12-year-old named Adam,” wrote Gerry Canavan in the October 10 INDY. “When I first played Go with Adam Plesser over the summer at Francesca's coffeehouse in Durham, I entered the game with what I thought was a healthy mix of generosity and arrogance. Go easy on him, I thought to myself, he's just a kid. Wrong. He crushed me, and midway through the game I mumbled something about being tired and resigned in disgrace.” Canavan ran into Plesser in the second round of the recent Triangle Memorial Go Tournament; click here to read his report on the encounter and on go in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Photo of 10-year-old Michael Plesser by Jeremy M. Lange, INDY YAMASHITA TAKES FIRST GAME IN OZA TITLE DEFENSE: Yamashita Keigo 9P defeated challenger Imamura Toshiya 9P by resignation on October 26th to take the first game in the defense of his Oza title. The Oza is one of the top seven Japanese national titles and has a best-of-five-game title match. Yamashita took this title from Cho U 9P last year, after challenging unsuccessfully the previous two years. Imamura is in his forties and a member of the Kansai Kiin. He won a couple of minor national titles back in 1984 and also was the challenger for the Gosei title in 1989. Yamashita also holds the Kisei, the number one Japanese title, and is the challenger for the current Tengen. The title match for the latter, currently held by Kono Rin 9P, starts next week, so Yamashita will be playing in two top-seven title matches at the same time.  FENG YUN LOSES IN YUANYANG CUP: Playing as the North American representative in the new international women's tournament, the Yuanyang Cup, on October 29th, Feng Yun 9P of the USA lost in the first round to Kim Eunsun 3P of Korea. The European representative, 6d amateur Cho Bae, also lost, playing Aoki Kikuyo 8P of Japan. Besides the two Western reps, the event included six Japanese, six Koreans, and ten Chinese. The tournament is sponsored by a Chinese company, Yuanyang. Counting those who were seeded into the second round, there will be three Japanese representatives, three Koreans, and eight Chinese. A number of players well known to E-Journal readers will be in the second round, such as Rui Naiwei 9P and Park Jieun 8P for Korea, along with Kato Keiko 5P and teenager Xie Yimin 3P for Japan. CATALIN TARANU 5P TOURS IRELAND: In what’s believed to be the first time a professional go player  has visited the northern reaches of the Emerald Isle, Romanian Catalin Taranu 5P toured Ireland earlier this month. “He played simultaneous games and gave a lecture at the 2nd Belfast Go Tournament,” reports Ian Davis 1d, who won the tournament. “He also played simultaneous games at the Dublin Go Club.” Click here for photos and a complete tournament report. FRENCH SMARTGO AVAILABLE: SmartGo is now available en Français, in addition to German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Russian, reports Anders Kierulf. “Just go to www.smartgo.com, download the newest version, and choose Help > Français to switch the user interface to French,” says Kierulf. “Many thanks to Jean-Pierre Avy for translating SmartGo.” YOUR MOVE: Readers Write OF EURO RATINGS & RANKS: “The E-Journal actually had it right the first time, Fan Hui is the highest rated player in Europe,” (“Top Euro 10/22 EJ) writes Ian Davis from Ireland – one of a number of European readers who wrote in. “Guo Juan and Catalin Taranu are the highest ranked. (You can check the EGF Official ratings for confir  mation) It’s the old ranks and ratings definition difference.” EGF ratings put Fan Hui (FR) 3P at #1 with 2827; next is Cho Seok-bin (DE) 7D with 2776; 3rd: Dinerstein Alexandr (RU) 1P at 2759; 4th: Hwang In-seong (DE) 7D with 2757; 5th: Taranu Catalin (RO) 5P at 2747. GO PHOTOS The Upper Valley's Go Club (NH) “had a great summer, playing outdoors a few times,” reports the club’s Karen Plomp. “Our locations ranged from Quechee Gorge to Mt Ascutney (all in Vermont) as well as at Silver Lake, where we played go in a rowboat. Click here for more photos from the UVGC’s go summer. | |
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