AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association September 18, 2000 In This Edition: - CALENDAR OF EVENTS - GO NEWS: Go Congress 2000 In Living Color - GO CLUBS: Portland Update - YOUR MOVE: READERS WRITE: No Kibitzing on The Zone? - ONLINE GO: A Personal History of Online Go - CAMPAIGN 2000: CANDIDATE VIEWS - AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST CALENDAR OF EVENTS September 20: College Park, MD ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GO CLUB 7:30P; Room 1216 H.J. Patterson Hall (across Campus Dr. from the Stamp Student Union) September 24: Lancaster, PA JACK FROST SPECIAL Sam Zimmerman (717) 892-1249 szimmerman@wareunl.com October 8: Boston, MA MGA FALL HANDICAP TOURNAMENT Don Wiener (617) 734-6316 donwiener@earthlink.net October 15: Hoboken, NJ HOBOKEN FALL TOURNAMENT Larry Russ (201)216-5379 lruss@stevens-tech.edu October 21-22: El Segundo, CA 2000 COTSEN OPEN & HANDICAP AGTC TOURNAMENT Larry Gross (310) 837-1855 le144@earthlink.net October 21-22: Portland, OR PORTLAND FALL GO TOURNAMENT Michael Alford malf@spiritone.com UPCOMING/ABROAD (see WWW.USGO.ORG for details) - September 30: Bucharest tournament - September 30-October 1: Australian Open Championships , Canberra, Australia; Neville Smythe, 02-6232-7255; neville.smythe@anu.edu.au - October 8: MGA Fall Tourney, Boston, MA - October 14: Wanstead (England); alison@acjamj,demon.co.co - November: Round Top, New York: Guo Juan Workshop www.brooklyngoclub.org Jean-Claude Chetrit jc@BrooklynGoClub.org - August 4-12, 2001: Baltimore, MD: U.S. GO CONGRESS Keith Arnold hlime@clark.net 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://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.html For the European Go Calendar see http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/go/tourn.html GO NEWS Go Congress 2000 In Living Color If you can't wait for our photo essay in the forthcoming Fall issue of the American Go Journal, check out the pix Glenn Peters of the Willamette Valley (OR) Go Club has posted at http://www.wvgc.org/congress2000/ GO CLUBS Portland Update: Play Go twice a week in Portland, Oregon: Wednesdays from 5-10:15P, Anne Hughes Coffee Room, Powells Bookstore, 10th and West Burnside; and Saturdays 1-6P, Accuardi's Old Town Pizza Co. ,226 NW Davis. YOUR MOVE: READERS WRITE No Kibitzing on The Zone? "Actually, the Zone at least does offer a 'no kibitzers' option," writes Michael H (ONLINE GO: Social Dynamics of The Zone and Yahoo, E-Journal 9/11/00) "My son and I use it for our weekly Go game." TERRI RESPONDS: "While it is possible to avoid kibbitzing at your table on the Zone by selecting the 'no kibbitz' option, this action also prevents any observation of your game at all." "On Yahoo you may be more selective by kicking only troublesome individuals off your table rather than banishing everyone. However, all comments made at a table on Yahoo or the Zone are very public since players and observers see all comments. On IGS and NNGS players see comments they make to each other through commands called 'tell' and 'say', but observers do not see these comments. Observers see the comments they and other observers make through the 'kibbitz' command, but players cannot see these comments until after the game is over and they examine the game record." "So although you can prevent kibbitzing at your table on Yahoo or the Zone by preventing observation, there is no way to ALLOW observation and PREVENT comments, which is the function of the kibbitz command on IGS and NNGS." ONLINE GO: A Personal History of Online Go by Terri Schurter Take twenty-six years of Go deprivation, add two years of internet geekdom, throw in the discovery that you can play Go through a computer, and what do you get? A formula for online Go Nirvana, and a major life change. If it were not for the internet I would not be playing Go today. Although I was introduced to the game thirty years ago, I did not play except with people I attempted to teach. For 26 years I carried a Go board under my arm, boring, frustrating, and sometimes -- unwittingly -- humiliating every relative and acquaintance who crossed my path. No one could beat me, so I thought I must be very good. I bought and read the Elementary Go Series but was afraid to study it because no one would play more than a few times with me as it was. Who would play with me if I was stronger? Go was an unrequited love. He seemed to be avoiding me. I tried to forget him. Then, in the Spring of 1996, I discovered my first Go server. My passion for Go proved to be real and strong, but I found that I wasn't as good as I thought. In fact, I was pretty bad. I was a slow learner. I was humbled, but I never gave up. It is good for the soul to work hard at something that one is not particularly good at. For me that is Go. Since I discovered online Go I have rejoined the AGA, attended the U.S. Go Congress every year, played in at least five tournaments a year, found a local club, and attended ten Yang Workshops. None of this would have occurred if it were not for online Go. Online Go has changed my life. I used to go to chat rooms and talk with strangers about nothing. Now I log onto Go servers and talk with friends about something that we are both passionate about, the game of Go. Future columns will continue to provide in-depth coverage of the four major Go servers -- IGS, NNGS, Yahoo, and the Zone – as well as the Kiseido server which holds potential for becoming the ideal location for hosting online Go teaching events. Terri Schurter has been playing Go online since 1996. Her Go club, Wings Across Calm Waters, is a "virtual" chapter of the AGA. Wings meets week-nights on the Zone from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Time. Terri plays under the name goddess_of_go. CAMPAIGN 2000: CANDIDATE VIEWS (Note: Roy Laird and Jeff Shaevel have been nominated for President of the American Go Association in an election to be held this Fall. The E-Journal published brief opening statements from both candidates in the July 25 edition; this week they offer further thoughts on the issues and opportunities they see facing the American Go Association.) JEFF SHAEVEL ISSUES: There are several important issues facing the American Go Association today. The three I'm focusing on mainly are: MAKING GO IMPORTANT, MEMBERSHIP GROWTH and ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS. For more information on campaign issues, please visit http://www.shaevel.com/Go/issues.asp and ask if you have any questions. MAKING GO IMPORTANT: Through absolutely no fault of the congress organizers or any of the volunteers involved in running the congress, a number of people did not receive the recognition they deserved for their accomplishments on the Go board. This was not an oversight, per se, but an endemic lack of focus on rewarding member accomplishment. The AGA must learn to REWARD GOOD GO in an effort to MAKE GO IMPORTANT. Please see http://www.shaevel.com/Go/important.asp for more details about these events and suggestions for what we can do. MAKING MEMBERSHIP MATTER: The organization has been focusing on ways to bring Go to people and to give away materials and information as much as possible. This helps our goal of increasing awareness for Go, but makes the AGA into more of a charity than a service organization for members with special interest in a game. People are always happy to get something for free, but the more we do this, the less important it is to be a member in the organization. We must put our focus on MAKING MEMBERSHIP MATTER. For more information on this problem, and some of the things I'd like to see us focus on collectively, visit http://www.shaevel.com/Go/membership.asp and find out how we can improve this situation. Please continue to write to me at jeff@shaevel.com with your questions and concerns. See http://www.shaevel.com/Go/election.asp for details on my campaign. Your informed vote will help to make our organization the best it can be. ROY LAIRD I want to thank everyone who has expressed such generous support for what I've done in my first full term as President. I am grateful and proud that my supporters include many Chapter Representatives from all across the country, as well as five former AGA Presidents. Next month, when representatives of over sixty Chapters select someone to the lead the AGA for the next two years, I hope they will consider some recent exciting events and the progress we have made: Membership and Chapter enrollment are on the rise; More than 10,000 children have received Go instruction in AGA-supported programs; More than 100 young people have attended three annual Summer Go Camps; Dozens of teachers and organizers use a complete range of AGA- produced or supplied support materials: booklets, equipment, demo boards, Starter Sets, plus a new CD-ROM; Nearly 1500 Go players subscribe to this E-Journal; The annual Ing Foundation grant is being used responsibly to fund many new projects and build our reserve fund; The Web site has been expanded and upgraded under a team of eight talented volunteers; Reflectors have been created to help Chapters, members, and interest groups communicate more effectively; Two top amateurs can now compete in the Masters tournament; The First US-Cuba Goodwill Tournament was held last July in Havana. No one person could have accomplished all this alone, but people tell me they appreciate an open, "can-do" attitude that I have worked hard to cultivate. At this year's National Assembly, I sensed a level of excitement and interest I've never seen. More of you seem to be involved in doing more things than ever before. With the powerful combined energy of volunteers and officers, we are forging our way to a new era for Western Go. GET LISTED & BOOST TURN-OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 1,300 readers coast-to-coast every week! List your Go event/news In the E-Journal: email details to us at journal@usgo.org Ratings are on the web! Check the website (www.usgo.org) for the full list. GET YOUR TOURNAMENT RATED! Send your tournament data to ratings@usgo.org AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST: President; Roy Laird: president@usgo.org Eastern VP; ChenDao Lin: vp-eastern@usgo.org Central VP; Jeff Shaevel: vp-central@usgo.org Western VP; Larry Gross: vp-western@usgo.org Treasurer; Ulo Tamm: treasurer@usgo.org Membership Secretary; John Goon: membership@usgo.org Chapters Coordinator; Bill Cobb: chapters@usgo.org Tournament Coordinator; Mike Bull: tournaments@usgo.org Education Coordinator; None Redmond: education@usgo.org Congress Liaison Officer; Chris Kirschner: cngrsliaison@usgo.org AGA website; Gordon Fraser and Chuck Robbins: webmaster@usgo.org American Go Foundation; Terry Benson: terrybenson@delphi.com AGA Librarian; Craig Hutchinson: archives@usgo.org Published by the American Go Association Material published in " AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL" may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. To make name or address corrections – notify us at the email address below. Story suggestions, event announcements and other material are welcome and should be directed to: Editor: Chris Garlock email: journal@usgo.org Voice: 202-289-7174 Fax: 202-371-0168