AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association October 23, 2000 In This Edition: - CALENDAR OF EVENTS - GO NEWS: Online Go Offline This Week; Lost & Found: The Ing Cup; Korrection: Kong, Not Ko; 'Skip' Ascheim Public Go Lessons - CAMPAIGN 2000: SHAEVEL vs. LAIRD - SCOREBOARD: Newark, DE - AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST CALENDAR OF EVENTS (U.S.) October 28-29: Flushing, NY 2000 Eastern Open Chendao Lin (212) 826-3440; (212) 826-9908 cdlin5@yahoo.com October 28: Arlington, VA Pumpkin Classic Allan Abramson (703) 684-7676; mediate@mnsinc.com October 28-29: Houston, TX 2000 Texas Open & AGTC Tournament Mike Peng (281) 228-4233; pmpeng@swbell.net November 3-6:, Lancaster, PA Yilun Yang Workshop Chuck Robbins (717) 203-9100; crobbins@wareunl.com November 4: Chicago, IL Nader's Nadare Bob Barber (773) 467-0423; igo@uic.edu November 11, 2000 Princeton, NJ Princeton Fall Ratings Tournament Rick Mott (609)466-1602 rickmott@alumni.princeton.edu November 12: New York City, NY International Friendship match, featuring a tour group from Japan and four professionals -- Ms. Y. Shinkai 5-Dan, Ms. Ogawa Tomoko 6-Dan, Ms. K. Furucho, and Ms. Kong. NY Go Center, 323 E 52nd St.; 212-223-0342 November 15-19: Round Top, New York: Guo Juan Workshop Jean-Claude Chetrit jc@BrooklynGoClub.org www.brooklyngoclub.org/bgc/cgi-bin/disp_topic.iphtml?topic_id=29 November 18: Iwamoto Memorial Tournament (not AGA rated) All levels welcome. A strong top section is expected. NY Go Center, 323 E 52nd St.; 212-223-0342 UPCOMING/ABROAD (see WWW.USGO.ORG for details) - October 29: Wessex (England) Simon_Shiu@hp.com - October 29-30: Avignon (France); Pierre Peronnet, 04-90-87-70-34 Or Serge Noppen: Nops@club-internet.fr - October 28/29: Brussels (Belgium) - November 4-5: Goeteborg TT - November 11-12: Three Peaks (Yorkshire, England) toby@ptmfa.freeserve.co.uk - 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 ONLINE GO OFFLINE THIS WEEK Terri Schurter's ONLINE GO column resumes next week with a look at the Kiseido Go server. Meanwhile, you can find an archive of previously-published ONLINE GO columns at http://www.britgo.org/gopcres/agaart/index.html LOST & FOUND: THE ING CUP The 16th Congress is offering a reward of 1-year AGA membership to the first person who knows the location of this year's ING CUP. Please send e-mail to utamm@worldnet.att.net KORRECTION: KONG, NOT KO Several sharp-eyed readers wrote in to correct our listing of "Ms. Ko, China's first female 9-Dan, now living in Japan" who'll be participating in the November 12 International Friendship match in New York City. "Ms. Ko" is actually Kong Xiang-Ming, 8-Dan, as Yi Zhou points out. Further, "China's first female 9-Dan is Rui Nai-Wei (Jujo's wife) and China's second female 9-Dan is Feng Yun." David Saunders reports that Ms. Kong is the ex-wife of Nie "Iron Pillar" Wei-Ping "and for the last several years has been living in Japan." While David agrees with Yi Zhou that "I am fairly sure that there are only 2 lady 9-dan pros in the world. Whatever her rank, Ms. Kong used to be the strongest female Go player in the world." We regret the error, appreciate the informative and helpful corrections, and are thrilled that there are enough top-level female Go players to generate this bit of confusion. 'SKIP' ASCHEIM PUBLIC GO LESSONS Friends of Skip Ascheim (who died in early August) are organizing a series of public Go classes to be played on the Internet Go Server (IGS), beginning in November 2000 (The first game is scheduled for Nov. 1 (Feng Yun vs. James Chien) at 10:30pm EST / 7:30pm PST.) With the consent of Skip's family, this series of lessons will be called the "Ascheim Public Go Lessons". Each lesson will start with a game between a professional Go player and an amateur. After the game, observers can join the review with the Go professional. For more information on how to contribute to the Lesson fund, or to suggest the name of an amateur player, please send email to the principal organizer, David Saunders dsaun@panix.com CAMPAIGN 2000: SHAEVEL vs. LAIRD [NOTE: The campaign for President of the American Go Association is entering the final stretch (ballots, cast by AGA chapter reps, are due by November 1); this week and next the E-Journal features final campaign statements by both candidates. ] JEFF SHAEVEL: "A leader with a proven track-record" It's time we had a leader with a proven track-record of leadership in non-profit educational organization building. Due to limited s pace here, please find more information at http://www.shaevel.com/go/election.asp. What are the issues? The "rosy vision" of AGA activity comes from the privilege of being able to spend money freely from grant money--something we may have for only a few more years. However--through no fault of the hard-working volunteers—-we have failed in the mission to have 2000 members in the year 2000 due to a lack of leadership and understanding of what it takes to properly build our organization. Without sustained growth, the end of the grant will mean the end of prosperity. The AGA needs to focus on several important areas in order to continue to accomplish its mission: - making membership matter; - making Go important; - improving organizational process; - continuity of leadership; and - fostering new ideas through consensus and team-building; Please visit http://www.shaevel.com/go/issues.asp for discussion and proposed solutions, including sale of diplomas, better rewards for achievement in Go, emphasis on executive communication and establishment of an "Immediate Past President" position. What are my qualifications? To accomplish these things, a president must be accomplished in communication and organizational skills. Highlights of my background and service includes: - AGA life member; 4-Dan - 5 years as Central Region Vice-President for the AGA; - 6 years as Game Director/webmaster for North American Masters Tournament (NAMT); - director/writer 1999 Summer Go Camp promotional video; - President, Austin Go Club; - professional background in programming and marketing (Dell Computer Corporation); - founding and supporting numerous Toastmasters clubs as President and Educational Vice-president, including awards for growing clubs; - board of directors of Fairlington Players (theatre), with award for outstanding contribution; and - 2nd place in International-level speech competition from Toastmasters International. These qualifications have spelled success for other, similar organizations and can be a major contribution to the AGA. Roy Laird: "Plans For The Future" In the last campaign installment, I described some of the exciting things we have accomplished in American Go over the last few years. Now let's talk about the future. From the outset of my term as President I have outlined three sets of priorities to launch us forward: - Member and Chapter Services: We'll continue linking chapters and members together in new ways, expanding our publications as membership grows and offering more support to local organizers and teachers. In addition, after years of talk, let's collaborate with our distinguished cohort of certified professional players to develop a Ranking Certification Program. - Growth and Development: Membership campaigns and more promotional activity will help go, and the AGA, to grow in popularity. The AGA Governance Committee, formed in the spring of 2000, will help us to re-structure urselves more effectively. I also like my opponent's proposed Chapter of the Year Award, which I agree could help to stimulate chapter growth. - Fiscal Responsibility and Restraint: Prudent management of the Ing Foundation grant has produced a stable array of events, programs and services. As stipulated, half goes for tournament activity, the rest for teaching and promotional activity. We expect this funding stream to continue for the foreseeable future. The AGA's basic operating expenses are covered completely by income (mainly membership dues). With a more than adequate reserve, The AGA is fiscally sound and ready to grow. A few of you have expressed some interest in my background. I'm is a clinical social worker living on New York's Upper West Side, a child/adolescent specialist working as a supervisor in a large mental health clinic and operating a small private practice. I consult and speak publicly on a wide range of mental health topics, and I have served as vice president of a mental health trade organization. These experiences have given me skills that I often use in the service of the AGA. SCOREBOARD: Newark, DE Delaware Fall Tournament; October 21; Newark, DE: TD: John Shaw; 1st: Chuck ROBBINS, 1D; 2nd: Thomas BROOKS 13K; 3rd: Thomas WRZOSEK 22K; 4th Yoshiteru SUZUKI 4D. The University of Delaware ended up being a very a nice location. Look for the next tournament in March of 2001. We recruited at least one new AGA member from the university and are hoping to see more at the next tournament. 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