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

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August 18, 2003


In This Edition:
U.S. GO NEWS: Kisei Comes To Seattle; AGA Posts 14th Straight Membership Gain; The Hikaru Effect; Pros, Pros, Pros WORLD GO NEWS: Gu Li Sweeps Tengen; First Female Makes Korean Team; Takamiya Wins Epsom; GoGod Offers 25,000 Pro Games & More GAME COMMENTARY: Student v. Teacher YOUR MOVE: Readers Write GO KIDS: Progress in Go A VIEW FROM ABROAD: A Brit's Go Adventures in America GO ONLINE: Everybody Must Get Stones
GO CLASSIFIED
CALENDAR OF EVENTS


U.S. GO NEWS

KISEI COMES TO SEATTLE: The first match of 2004 Kisei Championship will be played in Seattle on January 15 and 16, reports Frank Fukuda, General Manager of the Seattle Go Center. "The Kisei-sen is the largest professional go championship with about $3.5 million in prizes," says Fukuda, "the winner gets $350,000." Organized by the Nihon Ki-in and sponsored by the Yomiuri Newspaper Co. and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Association), the high-profile event will be held in the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel's Presidential suite, with a Japanese tatami room set up just for the game. The Seattle Go Center will likely host the live presentation to the public with special pro commentators from the Nihon Ki-in.using a large projector screen. "This event will contribute to improving international understanding and friendship," says Fukuda, adding that "it will contribute to festivities commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Japan-USA Friendship Treaty of 1854." Mr. Keigo Yamashita, current ! Kisei, will play a challenger to be determined by the end of November. Seattle beat out several candidates in Europe, Asia and New Zealand to win the honor of hosting the Kisei Championship, and AGA President Chris Kirschner reports that local organizers will capitalize on the opportunity by running the amateur Toyota Densho the following weekend.

AGA POSTS 14TH STRAIGHT MEMBERSHIP GAIN: Membership in the American Go Association spiked up again last month, setting yet another new record at 1,768 members. The fourteen consecutive months of growth continue to shatter records, with 52 new full members in July, 80 renewing members and 24 new youth members. The number of chapters continued to grow, as well, with 101 now signed up. With the popular E-Journal boosting content and the forthcoming release of the English version of Hikaru No Go, the AGA looks to be well-positioned for even more growth in the months ahead.

THE HIKARU EFFECT: Over 100 people learned how to play go at the Otakon, a national anime convention, on August 9th, reports Baltimore Go Club organizer Keith Arnold. "Only a handful had played before, and more than half attended because they were familiar with Hikaru No Go," says Arnold, who credits club members James McIlhargey, Ed Caldiera, Ed Hsu, Jack Nosek and Brian Kelly with answering the call with many of the club's key organizers away at the Go Congress in Houston. McIlhargey, who is also cofounder of the UMBC Go Club, reports that the go workshop was the largest workshop of the convention and expects to be invited back for a bigger crowd next year.

PROS, PROS, PROS: East Coast players have three opportunities to study with professionals this fall. Feng Yun 9P will provide special go programs at her club every Saturday beginning September 6th. Check her website for details: http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791154&u=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/fengyun/FY_Go_Center/FYGC.htm&g=0&f=84791172
Guo Juan 5P will conduct a workshop in the Catskills October 10-13, starting with a lecture late on Friday evening (Oct 10) and ending Monday, Oct 13 in the afternoon. The format will be the typical workshop format with a mixture of lectures, games and game analysis. The Woodlands is an informal inn co-owned by long-time Brooklyn go organizer Jean-Claude Chetrit. Get more details at
http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791153&u=http://brooklyngoclub.org/generic_club/cgi-bin/disp_topic.iphtml%3ftopic_id=155&g=0&f=84791172
James Kerwin, 1P will cover fundamentals of attack and defense in his October 17-19 workshop at the home of Gordon Fraser in Germantown, MD. Sponsored by Slate & Shell, the workshop will follow the standard format of a combination of lectures, game playing, and game analysis. The workshop will begin on Friday at 7P and go through mid-afternoon on Sunday. For more info: Gordon Fraser gordon@wui.net

WORLD GO NEWS

GU LI SWEEPS TENGEN: Gu Li 7P of China won the 7th China Korea Tengen match by 2-0 when he defeated Song TaeKon 5P of Korea with White by resignation in 178 moves in the second game. Although not the winner of the match, Song TaeKon is not quite 17 years old and already has an impressive professional record. The championship prize is $10,000 and the runner up prize is $5,000. Game records for both games can be found at www.gogameworld.com.
reported by Dennis Hardman

FIRST FEMALE MAKES KOREAN TEAM: In the Korean preliminary of the 5th Nong Shim Cup, Park Jiun 3P made history by becoming the first female player to be a member of the Korean team. Park, nicknamed "the female Yi (Lee) Changho", won the first women's Myeongin title in 2000 and went 5 5 in a ten game match with Rui Naiwei 9P in 2003. Two other Korean players (also decided in the preliminary) are Weon Seongchin 5P and Hong Minpyo 3P, who will join Yi Changho 9P (the one seeded player) on the Korean team. The Nong Shim Cup is a knock out team match between Korea, Japan, and China. The first four Cups were won by Korea.
- reported by Dennis Hardman

TAKAMIYA WINS EPSOM: The second Epsom Tournament in England attracted 52 players including a very strong top group. The winner was Hirsohi Takamiya 5 dan of the Central London Go Club. All players on two and three wins got prizes thanks to sponsor Forbidden Technologies Plc. Those with three were: Li Shen 4 dan CLGC, Hyo Sik Cho 1 kyu London and Jil Segerman 8 kyu Brighton. Jenny Radcliffe 15 kyu Durham won the 9x9 and Andrew Jones 3 dan Wanstead the 13x13. Photographs are at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791168&u=http://www.yuhong.demon.co.uk/tourny.html&g=0&f=84791172 . The first game of the British Championship was held also, with Matthew Macfadyen defeating challenger Matthew Cocke by resignation. The next two games are scheduled for August 16th and 17th, with a fourth game in Leamington in September is needed. [from BGA News]

GOGOD OFFERS 25,000 PRO GAMES & MORE: The latest version of the GoGoD Encyclopedia and Database CD is now out, with even more games, including thorough coverage of the games of Dosaku, Shusaku, Shusai, Kitani, Go Seigen, as well as more than 1000 games each of Rin Kaiho, Cho Chikun, Yi Ch'ang-ho, Cho Hun-hyeon, Otake Hideo, Kato Masao and Takagawa Shukaku. The collection of games spans from the earliest known Chinese (196 AD) and Japanese games to the most recent title matches in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. GoGod continues to expand its coverage of the history of tournaments and matches, associations and clubs, offering articles on famous players, a list of all the Castle Games (the remaining games will appear in future updates) and much more. Find out why Fujisawa Hosai wanted to play mimic go, and study how the pros did it in a collection of games, including the amazing series between Cho Hun-hyeon and Seo Pung-su in Korean title matches. Also included is the updated ! Names Dictionary, Kombilo fast database search program, screensaver and much more. Check it out at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791157&u=http://www.gogod.demon.co.uk&g=0&f=84791172 .

GAME COMMENTARY: Student v. Teacher

Today's commented game is another in the continuing rivalry between former student Yi (Lee) Changho 9P and former teacher Cho Hunhyun 9P. The exciting second game in the title match of the 37th Wangwi Tournament was played on July 19 in Korea, with Yi (Lee) taking black and Cho playing white. The commentary is by Ma Xiaochun 9P in China Sports Weekly and was translated by http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791156&u=http://www.gogameworld.com,&g=0&f=84791172 a subscription service for commented pro games.

BONUS FILES: The solutions to last week's original life-and-death problems from the master of tsume-go, Yilun Yang.

DON'T MISS ANOTHER WEEK OF 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=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791162&u=http://www.usgo.org/org/application.asp&g=0&f=84791172 and start receiving your game files next week!


YOUR MOVE: Readers Write

CORRECTION: MOST, NOT LOST: "There's a typo in the 8/11 Self-Paired report," writes Self-Paired TD Russ Williams. "'Dedicated (lost games)' should say 'Dedicated (most games)' Anyway, all the reporting from the Congress was fun to read after the fact when I got home from Houston."

GO KIDS: Progress in Go
"I was at Ella's house, we ate some cookies, then we went to Ella's room and I played go on the computer. 'Let's play that we are pros' said Ella. 'OK!' I said. Soon we went to Ella's pool, where we cooled down. When I got home I played go on the computer as many times as I could. Now I am 14k, just like Ella!" by Connie Lee, 6 years old, from her prize-winning essay in Slate & Shell's essay contest at this year's U.S. Go Congress. All five winning essays in their entirety can be seen at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791160&u=http://www.slateandshell.com&g=0&f=84791172

A VIEW FROM ABROAD: A Brit's Go Adventures in America
by Francis Roads

American Go Player: "Francis! Good to see you! It's been a long time!" British Go Player Francis Roads: "Since '99 actually, when I came to the San Francisco Congress."
AGP: "You should come more often."
FR: "When did you last come to a European Congress?"
AGP: "Europe? Ah, now, that's a long way."
FR: "Yes, it's much closer in the other direction."

I started my visit about a fortnight beforehand with a visit to friends in Manhattan. They leave me alone during the daytime to recover from jetlag, but in the evenings there were dinner parties and a well attended meeting of the Brooklyn Go Club. The venue for this rotates around members' homes. This one, hosted by my own hosts, Roy and Mary Laird, attracted over 20 players, and lasted until 1.30 am.

My hosts in Boston were go players Marvin and Katherine Wolfthal. Marvin is a trained classical pianist who now works in computing. So when we weren't playing go we had a fine old time discussing the music of Beethoven and Elliott Carter, who is still composing major works at 95. In the hospitable manner of US hosts they had arranged a barbecue in my honour, where I met several more of the Boston go community.

The Wolfthals live out in the sticks, so I moved on to another billet with musical friends closer to the centre. I had several evening musical commitments, and on two other evenings I was able to visit the local go club. This meets in the basement of a Social Security Office (don't ask). Boston is an old city of some charm. It's older, for example, than St. Petersburg. The Bostonians are very conscious of living in the birthplace of the Revolution. There's even a monument to the battle of Bunker Hill, which the rebels actually lost.

On to George Bush airport, Houston. From a distance, the city centre is an impressive sight. The cluster of skyscrapers rises from an otherwise flat landscape, and for once some thought seems to have gone into their design and relative position. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to visit the downtown area itself, as public transport isn't the strongest point of the state of Texas, and I found myself more or less confined to the air-conditioned buildings of the university. This was the main drawback of an otherwise largely well-organised and enjoyable Congress.

The other drawback was the lack of a suitable cafe or pub-like place to sit and drink beer and play liar dice in the evenings. The best option was the bar of the on-campus Hilton Hotel. Why did the university have a Hilton? Because you can do degrees in hospitality or whatever there, and the hotel provides for those students what laboratories do for scientists.

There were about 260 participants in the main tournament, plus a goodly attendance of young players who had their own tournament in a separate room. That's one thing the Americans are really good at, involving youngsters in go. They have a head start, as so many of the young faces are oriental, and come from backgrounds in which go is as well-known as chess is in the European. Still, we may have lessons to learn from them.

There was a team of Chinese and Japanese professionals in attendance, including our friends Guo Juan, Feng Yun, and senseis Nakayama and Saijo. Amongst the amateur participants there was a contingent of Japanese visitors, a Canadian or two, a handful of Germans, and T Mark Hall and myself from Britain. So, hardly a very international event, but that has its advantages. The common language, and, perhaps more importantly, the common culture, leads to a very relaxed and friendly event with few disputes or misunderstandings.

There used to be a generally-held idea that US grades were a stone weaker than European. I think that the US grades are firming up now, and probably the difference is nearer half a stone. The AGA has been considering what powers its president should have of late. Some members felt that under their old constitution the president had too much power, so the new one has policy determined by a board of eight governors, some regionally elected, and then carried out by the president and other officers. So now while the president may advise, he doesn't actually have a say in decisions. It's my opinion that they've now swung too far in the other direction. Managing unpaid volunteers is a very different business from managing paid employees. It is far easier for volunteers to cause difficulties by resigning with immediate effect. I think we've got it about right in Britain; we likewise have a council of eight, but the president and other senior officers have a vote each, when votes are needed.

This wasn't my favourite US Congress, but that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it; just that the other five that I've been to were even better.

Now to poetry. The Bob High Memorial competition invites entries of go songs and poems. I won the song division in '98 and '99, so I decided to put in a poem this year, which came second. Here is the first prize entry, from my near-namesake Kris Rhodes, a Texan go player:

A final stone
the rain falling outside
and inside, the thunder.


GO ONLINE: Everybody Must Get Stones
by Roy Laird

A bowl full of well-made Go stones is a thing of beauty. Running them through your fingers brings a cool, refreshing stream to mind. With good equipment, black's satin sheen and white's sharp glint as they spell out patterns across the board add a level of visual beauty to one's enjoyment of the game.

Stones can be made of nearly anything. Players in remote locations have been known to spray-paint bottlecaps and draw grids in the dirt. Yutopian offers stones made from jade, marble and agate/quartz at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791170&u=https://www.yutopian.com/yutop/cat%3fcategory=ge.&g=0&f=84791172 Yutopian also sells stones made by the Ing Foundation, a philanthropic group in Taipei that supports international go. These weighted plastic stones stay put a little better than other plastic stones. Ing stones come in self-counting bowls that help you verify exactly how many stones there are. Why do you need to know? Because you might want to try a rule set developed by the Ing Foundation, called the "SST Laws." You can find them at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791164&u=http://www.usgo.org/resources/SST.asp&g=0&f=84791172

Most people agree that the very best materials for stones are shell and slate. The finest black stones are made from a particular type of slate that yields a glossy sheen. The best white stones are made from clamshells, with the shell's grain on one side. The quality of the grain on white stones varies considerably and accounts for nearly all of the cost difference. White stones fall into three categories. Jitsuyo or "standard" grade stones are judged to be of good quality, but some of the grain may be blurry or indistinct. Tsuki, sometimes called "flower" or "moon" grade stones, have more uniform grain, while yuki or "snow" grade stones are the best you can get. Black stones are a tiny bit smaller than white stones, to compensate for an optical illusion that causes them to appear larger.

Go stones, especially shell and slate ones, also vary in their thickness. After many games, the best white stones take on an ivory cast from the many hands that touch them. Generations of use can erode even the finest stones to a flat, wafer-like shape, but new stones can be almost round, up to 11 mm or more in thickness. Many players find the thickest stones hard to use, preferring the 8-10 mm range.

Most stones are rounded on both sides, but Chinese stones, also called yunnan stones, are flat on one side. The young woman on the cover of the new epic novel "The Girl Who Played Go" ($16.50 at www.amazon.com) holds some yunnan stones in her hand. Some players like to use these stones for teaching games. In the post-game analysis, some stones can be placed flat side up, making it easier to visualize difficult variations, then restore the actual game. Yunnan stones seem to available only from Yutopian, at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791169&u=http://www.yutopian.com/go/stone/sc045.html&g=0&f=84791172 These stones are made of an interesting jade-like material. Hold a "black" stone to the light, and you discover that it is actually dark green. They come with their own woven containers

If you're shopping for your first set, I recommend some nice glass stones. Very serviceable glass stones manufactured in Korean are available for $20 or less. Japanese stones, which have fewer imperfections, cost significantly more, $50 and up. You'll want a good thickness, not too thick but at least 8mm or better. You'll like the way a nice thick stone lies in your hand.

As with boards, you can spend thousands for the best stones, but you can own a good set for the price of a good DVD player,. Start your shopping at http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791159&u=http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/go/okaidoku/02-02.html,&g=0&f=84791172 where slate and shell stones are available direct from the manufacturer. "Moon-grade" stones are often on sale for half price. I doubt that you can tell the difference between these "Moon-grade" stones and most "snow" grades stones, but if you must have the best, Kiseido, Samarkand and Yutopian offer a full range of thicknesses and grades. Go to http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791165&u=http://www.usgo.org/resources/distributors.asp&g=0&f=84791172 for complete information about many reliable vendors.

OK, you've got a good board and a nice set of stones. You're almost fully equipped. Last question -- what do you put them in? Stay tuned . . .


GO CLASSIFIED

WANTED: I am moving to Callao, Virginia soon and would like to get in touch with go players on the Northern Neck. Contact Bob at shinebob@verizon.net

WANTED: teacher to teach and meet online once or twice a week, to play a game and review it. I am 15-16k. I can meet anytime at night on weekdays, or almost anytime on weekends.
e-mail josh87102@yahoo.com

AVAILABLE: Lessons from an IGS 5d. 30k-1d welcome; visit http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791155&u=http://www.angelfire.com/oh5/icarii&g=0&f=84791172 First lesson free.

WANTED: Players in Kodiak, Alaska. Contact Seth Minyard at Sethdid@hotmail.com or 907-486-5284 for more information about times, dates and locations.

WANTED: Players in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Wayne Page, wdpage@pinn.net

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

August 16 25: Manchester, England
Mind Sports Olympiad
+44 1707 659080; entries@msoworld.com

August 30: Sacramento, CA
Davis/Sacramento Go Club Tournament
Fred Hopkins 916 965 0478 fred.hopkins@mckesson.com

August 30 September 1: Montreal, CANADA
26th Canadian Open Go Championship
Steven Mays smays@videotron.ca

Labor Day weekend Go Get-together
8/30-9/1
Roundtop, NY (The Woodlands, in the Catskills)
Jean-Claude Chetrit
zorglub@brooklyngoclub.org

September 6: Chicago, IL
Fall Tournament
Bob Barber 773 467 0423 komoku@earthlink.net

September 13: Livermore, CA
Vintage Go Event
S.C.Herric 925 423 7458 herrick4@llnl.gov

September 20: Durham, NC
Third Annual Joe Shoenfield Memorial Marathon Go Tournament Paul Celmer pcelmer@earthlink.net

September 20: Tacoma/Parkland, WA
Tournament at Pacific Lutheran University
Mike Malveaux 253-906-0095 tacomagofiend@yahoo.com
http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791158&u=http://www.hilltopgo.com/evrep/plufall2003/&g=0&f=84791172

September 21: Hoboken, NJ
Hoboken Fall Handicap Tournament
Larry Russ 201 216 5379 lruss@stevens tech.edu http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791152&u=http://attila.stevens-tech.edu/~lruss/hoboken_spring_tournament.htm&g=0&f=84791172

September 28: Amherst, MA
Western Mass Fall Go Tournament
David Dawidowicz 413 546 0095 ddawidow@student.umass.edu

October 10 13: Roundtop, NY
Guo Juan Workshop
Jean Claude Chetrit zorglub@brooklyngoclub.org

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=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791166&u=http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.html&g=0&f=84791172
For the European Go Calendar see http://gm14.com/r.html?c=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791167&u=http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/go/tourn.html&g=0&f=84791172

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=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791161&u=http://www.usgo.org&g=0&f=84791172 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=226827&r=226385&t=88498618&l=1&d=84791163&u=http://www.usgo.org/org/index.asp#contactinfo&g=0&f=84791172

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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