AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association May 7, 2001 In This Edition: - CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Latest listings! - SCOREBOARD: Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Gaithersburg, MD - GO NEWS: Redmond To Attend Go Congress; Go Camp Registration Deadline Looms - GO IN THE NEWS: Dancing Stones - GO RESOURCES: Hankuk Kiwon Guide Book - GO REVIEW: EZ Go - ONLINE GO: Cyber Baduk - AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST CALENDAR OF EVENTS (U.S.) May 12: Lancaster, PA Mothers Day Tournament (Women enter tournament free) Sam Zimmerman (717) 892-1249; szimmerman@wareunl.com May 19-20: New Orleans, LA First Annual New Orleans Spring Tournament David Dinhofer (504) 626-1138; ddinhofer@cs.com May 26-27: Baltimore, MD Maryland Open Keith Arnold (410) 788-3520; hlime@clark.net May 31-June 3: Belchertown, MA Go Workshop with Feng Yun 9 Dan Bill Saltman (413) 323-8658; bsaltman@charter.net June 9 & 10: Denver, CO Yang Yilun Workshop Susan Howell showel3@attglobal.net June 16: Chicago, IL Bloomsday Basho Bob Barber (773)467-0423; igo@uic.edu July 21-29: U.S. Go Congress York College, York PA Keith Arnold, Director; (410) 788-3520; hlime@clark.net ABROAD May 26: Panama; local go tournament from 2-7P. - José Díaz Seixas; digon@sinfo.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 SCOREBOARD: Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Gaithersburg, MD April 28: Cuyahoga Falls, OH: CuyahoGo 2001 TD: Joseph W. Carl Jr.; 20 players Chuck ROBBINS, 1D, 3-1; Fred WIEDMANN, 15K, 4-0; David HERSHHORN, 16K, 4-0; Cory Massaro, 20K 2-2 May 5-6: Gaithersburg, MD Fourteen go players gathered in Gaithersburg, Maryland last weekend for a workshop with James Kerwin, professional 1-Dan. Ranging in strength from 20k to 4d, the group learned about "Finding the big area." "It is easy to bring order and clarity to go," Kerwin said, "The key is to retrain the eye to correctly see the relative value of different parts of the board." Running from Friday night to late Sunday afternoon, the workshop alternated group lectures, play and game analysis, providing an opportunity to immediately apply new knowledge and then to receive professional analysis of how well the lessons had been applied. Kerwin's teaching style combines go theory and practice in an accessible - and often humorous - style: "A great play in the wrong area is worse than a less-than-optimal play in the right area." Kerwin will return to Gaithersburg September 21-23. Attendance is limited to 16, so early registration - Gordon Fraser, gordon_fraser@sra.com -- is recommended. GO NEWS Redmond To Attend Go Congress The Japan Go Association's representative at this year's Go Congress will be Michael Redmond 9-Dan, reports AGA President Roy Laird. "Michael is by far the strongest Western go player in the 4000+-year history of the game," says Laird. "Emigrating to Japan from California in 1977, he finally reached the ultimate pinnacle of go achievement -- a 9-Dan professional rating -- last year. At one time or another over the past few years, Michael has defeated most top Japanese players. One day he may win a big title over there, and this is your chance to meet him!" Go Camp Registration Deadline Looms Deadline for Go Camp registration is nearing! Go-playing kids must sign up by May 23. Camp organizer Peter Rzepecki says that "We assembled such a magnificent team of instructors and staff that you won't want to miss this year's Go Camp!" Maybe you could be the next Michael Redmond. http://www.usgo.org/gocamp/index.html or write to Peter at AGAGoCamp@aol.com Financial help is also greatly appreciated, says Rzepecki. "Please support this unique go event, help us keep camp fees low and allow more kids to attend. Even small donations make a big difference." Tax deductible donations should go to the American Go Foundation at AGF attn Mary Laird, 211 W 106th St, 3C, NY, NY 10025 GO IN THE NEWS: Dancing Stones "Like clouds or stars, if you stare at the black and white stones long enough, eventually you'll see just about anything. Go is a subtle art which rewards careful study in ways that are difficult to explain in words. Playing it, you sometimes have the sense that there is something going on beneath the surface, beneath the dancing stones, as if the black and white pattern were merely the external face of a complex and divine intelligence." Excerpted from "Dancing Stones: The Ancient Art of Go" by Steven Robert Allen, appearing in the current (May 3-9) issue of the Albuquerque weekly "Alibi." Get it online at http://www.alibi.com/alibi/current/feature_section.html GO RESOURCES: Hankuk Kiwon Guide Book Hankuk Kiwon Guide Book Paperback, 169 pp (with b&w photographs) Samarkand Why do the Koreans dominate in international play? Find out all about the mysterious Korean Baduk Association (Hankuk Kiwon), how it operates, who's in charge, what all those tournaments are and how much the winners take home, and finally connect the name with the face of the Korean pro who beat you in that simultaneous game at the Congress last year. Read about the origins of Go and the history of Go in Korea, and how to find and use the "World Cyber Kiwon" to study and play on the internet. Contains the official Korean rules written in English for the first time -- a must read for anyone interested in Go rules. www.samarkand.net GO REVIEW: EZ Go EZ Go by Bruce & Sue Wilcox Ki Press, 1996 Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K When we start playing go, reasonable mastery of the game seems very distant. One technique to determine the position of a distant point is called "triangulation." Triangulation involves taking a bearing on that distant point from two rather widely separated sites. Bruce and Susan Wilcox have written a book based on concept as opposed to inculcation. It camps a far distance indeed from the problem books. EZ Go -- based on a series titled "Instant Go" that ran in the American Go Journal in 1977 and 1978 -- covers all the basic concepts from making shape to attacking weak groups. It offers some useful original ideas, like sector lines. It's also full of proverb-like rules of thumb. I don't suggest that anyone start with EZ GO, but after working hard in the traditional forms, you might benefit a great deal from the concept-based, metaphor-driven approach offered here. As you read EZ Go, the material covered in traditional books may gain an extra level of meaning. Likewise, EZ Go's concepts will resonate more strongly. That's the benefit of triangulation. ONLINE GO: Cyber Baduk by Terri Schurter Another Korean go server for players of all levels is Cyber Baduk. Download Version 1.5 at http://www.cyberkiwon.com/english/cyber/cyber_100.html and click on the desktop icon. To register an account, click on the right icon, "register" and fill out the form. You only need to fill out the information with stars next to the spaces. Be sure to type "US" where it asks for "Keyin." Once you have registered, you can click on "Play." Enter your User ID and password, and click "okay" to accept what appears to be a Korean "terms of service" screen. On the left of the screen you will see three icons: "Cyber Baduk Game," "Teaching game" and one ominously labeled "No Touch.Caution." I haven't had the nerve to click that last one (If you do, let me know what happens). For now, we'll just deal with the first, "Cyber Baduk Game." Cyber Baduk is a large server, with around 1,400 users when I checked, and about 140 in the waiting room. I registered as an 18k (based on AGA 12k) and not only found many players my strength but was able to give them a run for their money. I always waited for someone to challenge me and simply accepted whatever terms were offered. I found Cyber Baduk's chief advantage to be immersion in "fighting style" play: the Korean reputation for strong fighting is well-earned. I also get to learn how to expand on an opening that begins with all hoshi stones, as I have yet to see an opponent on Cyber Baduk play anything but 4-4 in their first two moves. Stronger players may find an advantage in the presence of up to twenty Korean 7d players. I also found time limit offers to be generous, which might also be an incentive for some: no one set time limits of less than 30 minutes (my first opponent gave me a generous 9 hours, which amounted to no time limit at all). I prefer Cyber Baduk to Neostone because I get to practice playing white, it meets my need for occasional anonymous games and I'm assured of a worthy opponent. Terri Schurter has been playing go online since 1995. Her 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. Past columns are archived at http://www.britgo.org/gopcres/agaart/index.html 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 2,500 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: 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: mailto: terrybenson@eudoramail.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, 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: 202-857-3410 Fax: 202-857-3420