AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association January 2, 2001 In This Edition: - CALENDAR OF EVENTS - GO CLUBS: AGA Chapters Page; East Central IL; Wings Tourneys; Denver, CO; Northern VA - YOUR TURN: READERS WRITE: Go: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido or Katana? Long Shot in Sao Paolo; Computer Go, Version 1; Computer Go, Version 2 - ONLINE GO: Server Netiquette - AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST CALENDAR OF EVENTS (U.S.) January 6-7: Santa Clara, CA 9th Zhu Jiu Jiang Goe Tournament Ernest Brown, (415) 641-1452; Falcon@sfo.com January 13: Salem, OR Third Annual Salem Winter Go Tournament Jim Levenick, levenick@willamette.edu January 13-14: Lancaster, PA Pennsylvania Open; Held in conjunction with the Fujitsu Qualifer Chuck Robbins, (717) 203-9100; crobbins@wareunl.com January 13-16, 2001; Evanston, IL Yang Yilun 7P Workshop Mark Rubenstein, (847) 869-6020; workshop@easyaspi.com January 14; Boston, MA MGA Winter Handicap Tournament Don Wiener, (617) 734-6316; donwiener@earthlink.net January 20; Arlington, VA Winter Warmer; Allan Abramson, (703) 684-7676; mediate@tryi.com January 27; Chicago, IL Winter Tournament and Kid's Go Camp Reunion Bob Barber; (773) 467-0423; igo@uic.edu UPCOMING/ABROAD (see WWW.USGO.ORG for details) - January 20: Furze Platt (Maidenhead, UK) best@vfree.com 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 CLUBS: AGA Chapters Page; East Central IL; Wings Tourneys; Denver, CO; Northern VA Check Chapters Please take a moment to check the Chapters Page on the AGA's web site (http://www.usgo.org/usa/chapclub.asp ). If your club is not listed, please let us know so we can put it up. If it's there, check the accuracy of the information. We have re-edited the page, eliminating the street addresses of the contact persons. Send changes and additions to Bill Cobb at wmscobb@rcn.com. ATTN Go Players In East Central Illinois "Is anyone interested in joining an east-central Illinois Go chapter?" asks Phil Wall. "Such a chapter would offer face-to-face play for some who only get to play online. The idea is that a meeting would be held once or twice a month but the meeting place would migrate from town to town. Also, since it would be a full dues-paying AGA chapter, it could hold AGA-sanctioned tournaments once in a while, with prizes and results that affect player ratings. It would also receive benefits from being an AGA chapter such as teaching materials and other help." If you're interested, contact: Phil Wall, pwall@argus-systems.com, 607 W. Healey St., Apt. 11, Champaign, IL 61820 2x @ Wings The Wings Go Club presents two on-line go tournaments: the AGA Chapter Team Championship (even games) and the AGA Chapter Handicap Team Championship. These events are designed to promote friendship and interactions between registered chapters of the American Go Association and their members. If successful, they may grow into a team competition among world-wide go organizations. All fully paid up chapters of the AGA are eligible to enter teams into each event. To discover issues with the logistics of such an undertaking, a three-round pilot event will be run February though April, 2001 and thereafter, depending on what adjustment may be deemed necessary, the full participatory championships will be scheduled. The pilot events will be limited to eight teams on a first-come, first-accepted basis, but the subsequent full tournament will be open to all teams. The team matches will be played on the Kiseido Go Server (KGS). For more information please check the tournament web pages at http://www.wingsgoclub.org For more information about KGS, see http://kgs.kiseido.com A Higher Level Of Play In Denver Denver Go Association meets Tuesday nights 6-11 pm at VFW Post #1 in Denver, CO. Contact: Deedee Eckles, Deedee@Eckles.net; 303-458-7399 home or 720-331-3170 cell Nova Annual Meeting Scheduled NoVa's Annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for MONDAY, January 15 and features features light food, potluck desserts, membership meeting, and pay-your-dues time (Dues for 2001 = $25). YOUR TURN: READERS WRITE Go: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido or Katana? "Do you consider go to be a part of the Japanese arts that have roots in the samurai tradition, art inspired by the inflexible bushido code or the way of katana?" wonders Andrei. "The way I see it the combat between two players is like the crossing of two katanas. The game of go is like a match of kendo: one mistake and..." Long Shot in Sao Paolo "I know this is quite a long shot," writes Elaine Bann, "I was wondering if you knew anyone who lives in Sao Paulo who is of a high rank who might be willing to give lessons." Elaine wants to help keep her go-playing husband Ellery's "love for go alive and I think lessons would be a nice thing for him...so that he can improve and learn new things." If you can help, drop Elaine a line at elaine@bann.com Computer Go, Version 1 "Is there anyone who knows the status of the strength of current Computer Go programs?" wonders Byung-Doo Lee. "I heard that the best one is Handtalk that was awarded 3-kyu level by the Japanese Go Association. I also heard that Silver Star, which is produced in North Korea, is informally superior to the Handtalk." Computer Go, Version 2 "I wonder about the status of the Ing prize ($1.5M for the first computer to beat a human pro before 2000). What happens after the year 2000?" asks Konstantin. ONLINE GO: Server Netiquette by Terri Schurter The season of peace on earth and good will towards all is a good time to consider how we conduct ourselves on the various go servers and to generate good will towards those we meet there. This week I offer my suggestions for proper server netiquette: 1. Remember that there is a person with feelings on the other side of the board. Treat him - or her -- as you would like to be treated yourself. 2. On servers such as IGS or NNGS send a message requesting a game, and negotiating the terms, rather than popping up an unexpected game request (which many find annoying). 3. Realize that your opponent may not speak English. If he does not respond to your attempts to chat it may not mean he is uninterested in socializing. 4. Try not to say anything to your opponent you would be embarrassed to say over a real board. Statements such as "You got lucky.", "I was way ahead until you swindled me", or "If you had resigned when you should have, I would have won that game.", and "You are an unconscionable sandbagger", are unlikely to win you friends and are even likely to earn you a reputation as a poor loser. 5. Resign when you have lost a game rather than escaping. When you do resign tell your opponent he has played well, and thank him for the game. 6. After losing a game stick around and chat for a few minutes rather than leaving abruptly. The virtual Go community may be fairly large, but you are likely to want to play this person again. You don't want to leave the impression that you get angry when you lose a game (even if you do). 7. On servers without ratings, offer your own rating first when asking for the rating of a potential opponent... "I am 13k AGA, and you?" 8. If you have limited time, and think you may need to adjourn a game before it is finished, warn your opponent in advance of this possibility so he can make an informed decision about whether he wants to play under those conditions. 9. When observing games on servers like the Zone and Yahoo where discussion at the board is seen by the players, refrain from comments about the game unless you are sure they are welcomed by both players. 10. Play newbies, and offer to teach them after you learn that you are stronger than they are. Encourage the love of the game among new players. These are my ten "commandments" for proper behavior on the Go servers. Your mileage may vary. If I have missed any important suggestions for go server netiquette please let me know so I can share them with my readers. What are your pet peeves concerning poor server behavior? Let's hear them too. Terri Schurter has been playing Go online since 1995. Her Go club, Wings Across Calm Waters [http://www.wingsgoclub.org], is a "virtual" chapter of the AGA. Wings meets week-nights on the Zone from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Time, and on Wednesday nights at 8P on KGS. Terri plays under the name goddess_of_go. The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the American Go Association. 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 MAILTO: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 MAILTO:ratings@usgo.org AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST: President; Roy Laird: mailto:president@usgo.org Eastern VP; ChenDao Lin: mailto:vp-eastern@usgo.org Central VP; Jeff Shaevel: mailto:vp-central@usgo.org Western VP; Larry Gross: mailto:vp-western@usgo.org Treasurer; Ulo Tamm: mailto:treasurer@usgo.org Membership Secretary; John Goon: mailto:membership@usgo.org Chapters Coordinator; Bill Cobb: mailto:chapters@usgo.org Tournament Coordinator; Mike Bull: mailto:tournaments@usgo.org Education Coordinator; None Redmond: mailto:education@usgo.org Congress Liaison Officer; Chris Kirschner: mailto:cngrsliaison@usgo.org AGA website; Gordon Fraser and Chuck Robbins: mailto:webmaster@usgo.org American Go Foundation; Terry Benson: mailto: mailto:terrybenson@eudoramail.com AGA Librarian; Craig Hutchinson: mailto: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, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome - subject to editing for clarity and space -- and should be directed to: Editor: Chris Garlock email: journal@usgo.org Voice: 202-289-7174 Fax: 202-371-0168