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AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association

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July 15, 2003

In This Edition:
U.S. GO NEWS: Bonus Time In Princeton; Fast Times In Cleveland; Guerilla Go Artist Strikes; Top 10 Reasons To Attend The 2003 US Go Congress:
WORLD GO NEWS: Cho U Wins Honinbo In Upset; Rui Naiwei Wins First Game In Kuksu; Roads 3-Time Winner At Scottish Open GAME COMMENTARY: The Kid Takes on the Champ GO REVIEW: The Girl Who Played Go GO CLASSIFIED CALENDAR OF EVENTS

U.S. GO NEWS

BONUS TIME IN PRINCETON: The Princeton Go Society has been looking at converting to better digital timing methods for its New Jersey tournaments, report Paul Matthews and Rick Mott. "One elegant timing idea, which has gained considerable momentum in the chess community, is 'bonus' timing that adds a few seconds to a player's time for each move played." This idea is a foundation for the official FIDE (international professional chess) timing methods, and is supported by most contemporary chess timers. "Our calculations suggest that 12 second bonus timing could directly replace 20/5 Canadian overtime, using about the same basic time allocation," say Matthews and Mott. The equivalent byoyomi would be about 20 sec. "Bonus timing is a smooth and uniform process with no interruptions for overtime: a player's clock starts showing the basic time allotment, the bonus time is added for each play, and the player simply continues as long the displayed time remains greater than zero. The! bonus time is always available for the next play, and by speeding up, a player can build up a reserve even after his time has counted down to near zero. For one-day events that require shorter time controls, we think the value of bonus timing in enabling players to concentrate on their game and feel more comfortable is even greater." Most digital chess timers, as well as mechanical clocks and even specialized byoyomi timers could be used for bonus timing, can be used. Comments or queries on this idea are welcome and should be directed to Paul Matthews at pgmatthews@stanfordalumni.org or Rick Mott at rickmott@alumni.princeton.edu

FAST TIMES IN CLEVELAND: The Cleveland Go Tournament on June 12th, with 29 players, used a timing system that is unusual in the United States, although it is common in Japanese amateur tournaments, reports Bill Cobb. "Games are strictly limited to one and a half hours, but no clocks are used during the first hour. Then, if it looks like the game won't finish on time, clocks are introduced with a relatively fast byoyomi time." If the game is still not finished after the hour and a half, the tournament director determines who will be declared the winner, and the next round proceeds. "This system, developed by Joe Carl, worked fine," Cobb says, "no games required adjudication."

GUERILLA GO ARTIST STRIKES: Go player and American Go Journal contributing artist Blake Haber has posted an interesting photograph that brings together Starbucks Coffee, Michael Redmond and Blake's folding goban. Check it out at
http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744109&u=http://members.aol.com/bhaber/gopage/blakesgo.html&g=0&f=84744121

TOP 10 REASONS TO ATTEND THE 2003 US GO CONGRESS: Reason #8: Self-Paired Handicap Tournament. Have a serious game any time you want, with whoever you want. Players have been known to report results from as many as 70 games or more -- the sky's the limit! Reasons #7-4: Special Events. Each evening, an activity of special interest is scheduled for your enjoyment: Lightning Tournament: How does five rounds in two hours strike you? More than 100 players usually register for this popular event. Small Board Go: Tournaments on 13x13 and 9x9 boards are especially popular with new players, but even experienced veterans enjoy the challenge of switching to a smaller board. Pair Go: Male-female pairs of players compete in this festive, popular event. The top eligible pair wins a trip to Japan to compete in the World Pairs Tournament. Crazy Go: "And now for something completely different"...Adventurous players explore variations like three-dimensional go, blindfolded team go (rengo krie! gspiel), four-player go and playing on oversize boards. If you can think of a workable variation and provide the equipment, they will probably try that one too. The Congress runs August 2-10 in Houston, TX: 287 people are already registered. More details at: http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744113&u=http://www.houstongoclub.org/USGC2003/intro.html&g=0&f=84744121


WORLD GO NEWS

CHO U WINS HONINBO IN UPSET: Cho U 8 Dan has won the Honinbo title from Kato Kensei (Masao) 9 Dan, taking the sixth game by a margin of 9.5 points. Kato was clearly ahead in the early stages of the game, but Cho managed to pull off an upset. This victory earns Cho a promotion to 9 Dan, and at 23, he'll be the youngest Japanese 9 Dan in history, though older than Yi Setol of Korea, who also just won a promotion to 9 Dan. [from John Power's report on the Nihon Kiin home page]

RUI NAIWEI WINS FIRST GAME IN KUKSU: Rui Naiwei 9 Dan has won her first game in the current Women's Kuksu tournament in Korea, defeating Lee Tahye 1 dan with White by resignation. You can download the game record at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744114&u=http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/momoyama/news/kr/fk/fk.html&g=0&f=84744121 For those who subscribe to Alexandre Dinerchtein's commented games at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744112&u=http://www.go4go.net,&g=0&f=84744121 he has just added a thorough commentary on this game (attached this week for E-Journal Games Edition subscribers).

ROADS 3-TIME WINNER AT SCOTTISH OPEN: The Scottish Open was held on July 5 and 6 at Pollock Halls at the Edinburgh University. Twenty-six players took part from Scotland, England, Isle of Man, and Japan. Three 4 dan players beat each other to end on 5 wins at the top. After splits by SOS, the winner for the third time was Wanstead's Francis Roads, second was Tokyo's Tatsushi Akiya and third Wanstead's Quentin Mills. Winning prizes for 4/6 were Reading's Ron Bell (4 kyu) and local player Allan Crossman (3 kyu). Shinpei Tanaka (2 kyu Edinburgh) won 3.5. [from BGA news]

GAME COMMENTARY: The Kid Takes on the Champ

Today's game commentary is from the 9th Korean Women's Kuksu Tournament. Teenager Yi Tahye 1 Dan takes on Rui Naiwei 9 Dan in an event involving eight players with a winners and a losers bracket. The winners in each bracket play a best of three match to determine the title holder. Rui won this tournament last year. Commentary is by Alexandre Dinerchtein 1p, from http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744110&u=http://www.Go4Go.com,&g=0&f=84744121 a subscription service for commented games, and used by permission.

Today's bonus problem is the solution to last week's elementary-level problem from a new book of problems by Liping Huang to be published soon by Slate & Shell.

THE BEST DEAL IN GO: 52 weeks of up-to-date go news, reviews, original columns PLUS game commentaries and problems for just $20 a year! Sign up today for the Games Edition at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744116&u=http://www.usgo.org/org/application.asp&g=0&f=84744121 and start receiving your game files next week!


GO REVIEW: The Girl Who Played Go
by Shan Sa
translated from the French by Adriana Hunter
280 pp.
published by Chatto and Windus of London, a division of Random House Reviewed by Roy Laird

In The Square of The Thousand Winds, a Chinese girl plays go. Serious go, toppling opponent after opponent. The time is the early 1930's and the Japanese are invading. Hearing that "terrorists" from the Chinese Resistance meet at the Square to plot their next moves, a Japanese soldier visits the square in disguise, to spy on them. Instead he falls into a game with the girl who plays go. They meet at the square day after day to continue this strangely compelling game. Meanwhile, we watch their lives converge toward a startling climax.

The award-winning author seems to know her Asian history and literature, and even fills us in with footnotes when the characters participate in major historical events, or discuss history. Attention to detail is so "granular" that the Chinese girl depicted on the cover is even holding authentic Chinese stones! (Chinese stones are flat on one side.) The writing is sprinkled with thoughtful little gems, but seems mostly halting and disjointed, and the occasional intrusion in the translation of Britishisms like "chivvying" is a bit jarring. Most of the chapters are only a few paragraphs long -- just when we're beginning to immerse ourselves in a scene, it's over. Nonetheless, as often happens with good books, I am left with vivid memories and images, and thoughtful questions about the meaning of war. You have to admire the author's ambition. Through these gradually intertwining lives, one Chinese, one Japanese, she seeks to illuminate a dark era of occupation, torture an! d violent death, and to some degree she succeeds.

As a go player, I was happy to see the game presented as in a compelling, dramatic way. The Japanese lieutenant goes to the Square on a mission for his country and the Emperor, but finds himself hopelessly seduced by go. He confesses to his Captain, who shows his understanding by quoting the Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zi: "When you lose a horse, you never know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing." In the end, the game becomes the means by which two minds meet in a profound, life-altering way.

This novel takes its place in a growing lexicon of "go stories". The ongoing, periodically adjourned game that progresses through most of the book invites comparison with Kawabata's "The Master of Go," which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968. After the degrading portrayal of women in Sung-hwa Hong's tough, dark "First Kyu", it's nice to see a woman who is not just the central character, but clearly the master of a her fate -- and a strong go player to boot!

Most of all, "The Girl Who Played Go" brings to mind the classic film "The Go Masters", a historic Chinese-Japanese film that has been called "an Asian 'Gone With the Wind.' " Unfortunately, "The Go Masters" is not commercially available at the present time, but if you go to ftp://ftp.hikago.flirble.org/pub/Misc/ with a high-speed modem, you can download a 300 MB .avi file and view this incredible masterpiece

I ordered my copy of "The Girl Who Played Go" from amazon.com at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744111&u=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400040256/qid=1055605735/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-4169735-8647810%3fv=glance%26s=books%26n=507846&g=0&f=84744121 For about $20, it makes a good read, and a great gift.


GO CLASSIFIED

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GO PLAYERS

BAYTOWN, TX: Looking for people in the area to start up a go club in the Houston Bay Area, since the Houston Club is a little too far away. gilgamesh@binary-fusion.com (6/23)

LAS VEGAS, NV: Trying to drum up club interest here: contact Ray Kukol at rkukol@lvcm.com (6/16)


Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to buy? Do it here and reach more than 5,000 Go players worldwide every week at Go Classified! Send to us at journal@usgo.org


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July 19/20: San Francisco, CA
Northern California Open Tournament
Danny Swarzman 415-221-7194 ncal@stowlake.com

July 19: Arlington, VA
NOVA Congress Tune-Up
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net

July 19-August 2: St. Petersburg, Russia
47th European Go Congress
egc2003@mail.wplus.net

August 2-10: Houston, TX
U.S. GO CONGRESS http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744113&u=http://www.houstongoclub.org/USGC2003/intro.html&g=0&f=84744121


NOTE: this listing is not all-inclusive, featuring only upcoming tournaments in the next month or events which require early registration. For a complete U.S. listings, go to http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744118&u=http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.html&g=0&f=84744121
For the European Go Calendar see http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744119&u=http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/go/tourn.html&g=0&f=84744121

GET LISTED & BOOST TURN-OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 5,000 readers every week! List your Go event/news In the E-Journal: email details to us at MAILTO:journal@usgo.org
Ratings are on the web! Check the website; http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744115&u=http://www.usgo.org&g=0&f=84744121 for the full list.

GET YOUR TOURNAMENT RATED! Send your tournament data to MAILTO:ratings@usgo.org

AGA CONTACT LIST:
For a full list of AGA officers, contacts & their email addresses, go
to: http://gm14.com/r.html?c=217011&r=216576&t=88498618&l=1&d=84744117&u=http://www.usgo.org/org/index.asp#contactinfo&g=0&f=84744121

Published by the American Go Association
Text material published in "AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL" may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that attached files, including game records, MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the Journal.

To make name or address corrections, notify us at the email address below. Story suggestions, event announcements, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:
Editor: Chris Garlock
mailto:journal@usgo.org

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