AMERICAN GO E-JOURNAL: News from the American Go Association January 7, 2002 In This Edition: - CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Latest listings - GO NEWS: Latest Ratings Posted; Mr Yang's Annual Tsume-Go Problem; Go, Fun, Sun & Sand; Peng & Weir Join AGAEC; Go in the UK - YOUR MOVE: Readers Write: Board Care Tips; Commercial Go - GO REVIEW: The Breakthrough to Shodan - ONLINE GO: 10 Things I Love/Hate About Online Go - AGA OFFICER CONTACT LIST CALENDAR OF EVENTS (U.S.) January 12: Arlington, VA: Winter Warmer; Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net January 19: Salem, OR: Salem 4th Annual Winter Tournament; Jim Levenick 503-370-6486 levinick@willamette.edu January 19-22: Evanston, IL: 2nd annual Yilun Yang Workshop; Mark Rubenstein 847-869-6020 mark@easyaspi.com January 20: Boston, MA: MGA Winter Handicap Tournament; Don Wiener 617-734-6316 donwiener@earthlink.net January 26: Seattle, WA: Monthly Ratings Tournament; Seattle Go Center; Jon Boley 206-545-1424 go@seattlego.org January 26-27: San Francisco, CA: 10th Zhu Jiu Jiang Goe Tournament Ernest Brown 415-641-1452 Falcon@sfo.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 NEWS Latest Ratings Posted Find your own latest rating -- and your friends' and competitors' -- at http://www.usgo.org/ratings.html. Search by name, rank, AGA number, or state. Mr Yang's Annual Tsume-Go Problem We're pleased to offer Mr Yang's legendary annual New Year's tsume-go (life and death) problem to the go world on the AGA's website: www.usgo.org Be the first to solve the problem correctly (send an .sgf file to us at journal@usgo.org) and get a $25 gift certificate at the go vendor of your choice! Go, Fun, Sun & Sand The annual Youth Summer Go Camp has been scheduled for July 7-13, 2002 and features four terrific and well-loved teachers: Janice Kim, Bruce Wilcox, Jonathan Wang and James Chien. Check out http://www.usgo.org/gocamp/index.html for photos of last year's Camp. For info on the 2002 Camp, email PeterRzepecki at peter_rzepecki@ccmail.rustei.com Peng & Weir Join AGAEC "Houston go organizer Mike Peng recently won the closest election in AGA history, becoming the new AGA Vice-President of the Central Region," announced AGA President Roy Laird. "I am also very pleased to announce the appointment of a new Recording Secretary, a post that has been vacant since Mike Goerss departed several years ago. We are very fortunate to have Susan Weir of Ann Arbor Michigan join us. Susan will take minutes of National Assembly meetings and AGA Executive Committee conference calls as needed." Mike's plans include promoting go education, membership growth and go events in the Central Region, as well as increasing go's exposure to the general public, promoting communications and exchanges among clubs and utilizing regional resources wisely and effectively. Reach Mike at mailto:vp-central@usgo.org or Susan at weirdoll@provide.net Go in the UK For those interested in go activities across the Big Pond, Nick Wedd at the British Go Association reports that the BGA website has been temporarily moved to http://66.39.78.200.http://66.39.78.200. "This site has everything that is at http://www.britgo.org, with the advantage that it is being kept up to date, and the slight disadvantage of an unmemorable name," says Wedd. YOUR MOVE: Readers Write Board Care Tips "I have a 4 ?-inch go board," writes Doug Auclair "and I noticed the surface is drying a bit and it has some surface scratches and dings. I was told that a damp towel helps to remove the latter. I am wondering, should the board be oiled on occasion to prevent the former? What oil should be used?" "Depends on the board, type of wood etc.," says Bill Saltman, an experienced go board maker. "Something called camellia oil came with my traditional Katsura board-maybe Ishi knows how to obtain it. For hard-finished boards that already have a coat of polyurethane, lacquer or varnish, I like to rub and polish them with 'Butcher's' brand bowling alley wax. For non-finished boards, I like WATCO Natural Danish finishing oil. Also useable is just a good grade mineral oil (medicinal quality); Just wipe on generously, wait 10 minutes and wipe off. DO NOT use cooking oil as it gets rancid," Bill warns. Commercial Go "What may be the first ad for go on American commercial radio aired on KRLA in Los Angeles on the Hugh Hewitt Show the afternoon of December 31, 2001," reports Lon Atkins. "The one minute slot extolled the virtues of the game and pointed listeners to the AGA website, usgo.org. The slot was was donated by IMET Technologies." GO REVIEW: The Breakthrough to Shodan by Naoki Miyamoto 9-dan Translated by James Davies Reviewed by Christopher Shelley Go books in general suffer from two flaws: they are narrow in scope (many times by necessity), and they are written in a flat style, often by someone other than the purported author. The Breakthrough to Shodan has neither of these flaws. Because it was taken from a set of lectures transcribed into magazine articles, it rings with the author's voice in a lively prose. In addition, the book's scope is broad enough to appeal to any kyu level player. "Breakthrough" is divided into sections that deal with low handicap games. Within these sections, Miyamoto describes "Strides," or principles, by which black can rid him or herself from negative attitudes. By taking the reader through five-, four-, and three-stone games, Miyamoto deals with negative attitudes and complex joseki.Miyamoto shows how dan-level players often hoodwink weaker players, even those who are strong fighters. His treatment of the Taisha Joseki exemplifies this: the Third Stride in Chapter 7 is "Know the Taisha, but don't play it." After reviewing several complex variations, demonstrating the pitfalls, he shows the reader a simple variation that stresses thickness. It is an easy variation to remember, but what makes it so important is that it works with the power of the starpoint stones. Miyamoto does this with many popular joseki: shows how black tends to get into trouble with complications, squandering the influence of the starpoints, rather than playing perfectly serviceable joseki that compliment influence. Starpoints are about influence, and influence favors fighting. But without sensing the direction a wall made from handicap stones exerts power, fighting can degenerate into who is the best reader. (Hint: against a dan, it's rarely the kyu.) Therefore, fighting should take place, but in an arena where black has the advantage. The Breakthrough to Shodan shows the reader how to create this arena, how to see through white's false threats, and to trust the power of influence to create territory naturally, through a positive approach.Each chapter ends with two whole-board problems that test the reader's positional judgment. The end of the book is a set of problems derived from the large-knight's extension from a starpoint, and here Miyamoto shows the techniques white has used over the years to terrify and bamboozle kyu-level players, and the correct refutations.Since the book never really moves past handicap go, it should perhaps be called The Breakthrough to One Kyu. But this is quibbling. Miyamoto's philosophy of "You don't need to be fancy to win at handicap go," shows again and again how to find attacking moves that work with thickness and take territory. This book was worth four stones to my go strength, and any kyu-level player can gain from its expansive approach and clear thought. Available from Ishi Press: http://www.ishigames.com/intermed.htm ONLINE GO: 10 Things I Love/Hate About Online Go By Terri Schurter 10 Things I Love About Online Go: 1. Playing with people from all over the globe 2. Finding a challenging opponent who beats me consistently, and learning that he is six years old 3. Teaching beginners on the Zone and having them show up a couple years later on KGS as 1k with sentimental reminiscences of the days when they were weaker than I. 4. Reviewing games with stronger players who are generous with their time and talents 5. Reviewing games with weaker players who allow me to give back to the go community, and to be generous with my own time and talents 6. Playing even games with stronger players, playing even games with weaker players, and playing even games with players my own strength 7. Just watching 8. Being a part of a community 9. Working and playing hard at something I love 10. Realizing that being strong doesn't really matter 10 Things I Hate About Online Go: 1. People who disappear when they start to lose a game. 2. People on the Zone who don't have the social skills to state their own rank before asking someone else's rank. 3. People who insist on stringent time constraints and then have the nerve to ask for addtime when they run into trouble 4. People who don't discriminate between a "clicko" and a lapse of judgment when asking for an undo 5. Newbies who sit down to play expecting the game to be obvious, but who won't read the tutorial when they find out that it isn't 6. People who demand a resignation 7. People who say "I shoulda won", or who belittle your victory by crediting their own uncharacteristic lapse of judgment 8. People who violate common courtesy by using vulgar language 9. People who type a/s/l 10. People who think that being strong really matters. Terri Schurter -- onlinego@usgo.org -- 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. Everyone's A Critic Send us a 150-word review of a go book or go software and - upon acceptance -- we'll give you a $25 gift certificate to the go vendor of your choice, too!. Tell us what you liked - or didn't like - and how it helped (or didn't help) your game. Include the book's title, publisher, cost, your name and email address. Choose any book you like, from brand-new publications to old stand-bys that you keep going back to. Also, be sure to indicate what level player is best served by the material. GET LISTED & BOOST TURN-OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 2,700 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; Mike Peng: 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: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: 202-857-3410 Fax: 202-857-3420