October 6, 2003
In This Edition:
ROSENBLATT TOPS WESTERN MA TOURNEY:
Gregory Rosenblatt 2k took top honors in
the Fall Western Massachusetts Go Tournament, held September 28 in Amherst,
MA. Thirty players turned out for the event, which was directed by Andreu
Cabre.
Winners: 2k and up: 1st. Gregory Rosenblatt; 2nd. Huan Yang; 3k-10k:
1st. Li Song; 2nd. Jeffrey Miller; 10k and down: 1st. Andrew Hall; 2nd.
Daisuke Tanaka.
HOMEPAGE NAKAYAMA:
Nakayama Noriyuki, Japanese go writer and long-time
supporter of U.S. go is featured in this week's Go Photo of the Week at
http://www.usgo.org/ We welcome photos of go events for posting on the
AGA's website. For details see http://www.usgo.org/photos/
YOUTH STUDY GROUP RECRUITING:
The American Go Foundation is sponsoring
another youth study group to begin this fall under Sensei James Kerwin 1P.
There will be eight 2-hour sessions over a 16 week period, allowing time for
study of life and death problems, professional games and to play games with
other children and with another member of the study group. Games and
instruction will be conducted on KGS. "We are looking for 4 young people 17
years or under and of approximate strength 6d, 3d, 1d and a strong kyu
player," reports organizer None Redmond. The cost to the student will be
$110; contact None at chinski@inreach.com
FREE SMARTGO RELEASED:
Anders Kierulf has just released "SmartGo:Viewer,"
the latest product in the SmartGo series. Viewer is free, and has most of
the features as SmartGo:Board, except for the ability to save, print, export
diagrams, or add to collection. "Viewer is the perfect tool for replaying
games," says Kierulf. Check it out at http://www.smartgo.com/SGVSetup.exe or
go to http://www.smartgo.com to learn
more about SmartGo.
WILCOX RELEASES GO DOJO:
Bruce Wilcox, famous for his book "EZ-GO," is at it
again. He's just released new go software called "Wilcox's Go Dojo: Contact
Fights." "Contact happens often throughout a game and most players screw it
up royally," Wilcox says. "One sees dan players making mistakes with rules a
20 kyu could master. Obviously there is a need for a thorough training on
the subject and this is it!" The Dojo is a computerized interactive tutorial
on fighting that targets four levels of play, identified in classic
Wilcoxian as "Squirm with the Abysmals" (beginner to 20 kyu); "Commit with
the Acolytes" (to 10 kyu); "Study with the Ascendents" (to 1 dan) and
"Marvel with the Adepts" (to professional). Each level covers how to see the
board and what rules to follow, with interactive tests and a printable crib
sheet, as well as a built-in viewer that can display SGF games. Wilcox's Go
Dojo: Contact Fights is available on CD (Windows only) for $15 plus $2 S&H
(no S&H for orders delivered by email accounts accepting a 500kb zip file).
Also available in PDF: 'EZ-GO Oriental Strategy in a Nutshell', an updated
version of the original print book, available for $25 including S&H. For
ordering details email brucewilcox@bigfoot.com
SOFTWARE REVIEWERS WANTED:
Go software: does it work? Which program is best
for which player? Help E-Journal readers make the best move: review go
software and get a $25 gift certificate at your favorite go vendor (use it
to buy more software, equipment or old-fashioned but ever-popular books!).
If you're interested, query us at journal@usgo.org and let us know which
software you'd like to review.
HAPPY CAMPER:
Bonnie Liao got a big surprise when she met her son, Lionel
Zhang, at the Philadelphia airport last summer. "When he saw me ... he
hugged me and sobbed. I was taken aback a bit not expecting he could be so
'emotional' to see me," Ms Liao writes in a letter to James Chien and Jon
Boley, administrator and director, respectively, at this year's American Go
Association Go Camp at Mills College, CA June 28 - July 5. The unexpected
tears made her wonder whether Lionel had not had a good time or had been
homesick. But her worry about the tears was short-lived as Lionel shook his
head when she asked "Were you unhappy?" Shortly, Lionel started telling his
mother about some of the best moments he had ever had in his life. "By the
time we got to our car in
the airport parking lot, Lionel had already asked, 'Will next year's Go Camp
be one-week long?'" Bonnie reports. "I think so," she told him. Lionel's
response: "Why can't it be longer? I am going to the Go Camp every year from
now on!" So what caused the tears in the airport? "I don't know," Lionel
told his mom. "I felt very sad that I had to leave the Go Camp and I was
very happy to see Mommy." "It was the first half that I would have never
guessed," Bonnie says. She and husband Barry Zhang "thank you from the
bottom of our hearts for all you have done and thank AGA for all of its
support, which have made this trip possible for Lionel. The 2003 AGA Go Camp
is a memory that he will treasure forever!" Not only that, but Lionel's game
has improved, too, his parents report. "He won one game on IGS last night."
- edited by David E. Whiteside
CHO HUNHYUN WINS KOREAN MEIJIN CHALLENGER'S LEAGUE:
Cho Hunhyun 9p won the
challengers' league of the 34th Korean Myeongin (Meijin) tournament by
defeating Yi (Lee) Sedol 9p on September 30th. The current title holder is
Yi (Lee) Changho 9p. The title match is a best-of-five. You can download all
the game records from the league at
http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/momoyama/news/kr/my/my.html .
NIE WINS CHINA QIWANT CUP:
Nie Weiping 9p has won the Wuxi Weifufang (China
Qiwant) Cup by defeating Yu Bin 9d. In the previous round he defeated Chen
Zude 9p. The AGA Journal included a commented game between Chen Zude and
Yilun Yang in the September 15th issue. You can download the game records
from the Wuxi Weifufang at
http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/momoyama/news/cn/cqw/cqw.html .
SUICIDE IS PAINFUL:
A very unusual incident occurred in the first round of
the 15th Korean Kiseong tournament. Cho Hunhyun 9p was forced to lose a game
because of an illegal play. You can see the game record at the time of the
infraction at http://www.go4go.net/english/sgfview.jsp?id=3586 . Cho
obviously intended to take the ko in the lower left corner when he made an
illegal suicide play instead. Such a mistake is extremely rare in
professional tournaments.
RUI NAIWEI GOES FOR THREE-PEAT:
For the third time, Rui Naiwei 9p will meet
Cho Hyeyeon 4p in the title match of the Women's Kuksu in Korea. Rui was the
winner the first two times. Rui defeated Cho in the preliminary rounds, but
Cho came back for the title match by winning the losers' group. You can
download the game records at
http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/momoyama/news/kr/fk/fk.html . The title match
begins on October 18th.
KOBAYASHI TAMES YOUNG LIONS:
The young lions who have recently emerged at
the top of Japanese pro tournament play received a setback when Kobayashi
Koichi 9 dan, one of the veteran winners, won the Ryusei tournament by
defeating Hane Naoki 9 dan. The game was quite close, but Hane made a
mistake and Kobayashi was able to quickly force Hane to resign. Kobayashi
also won this title last year. He has now won 57 titles altogether. This
title game was the last pro game to be played in Japan under the old 5.5 komi.
- reported by John Power on the Nihon Kiin's Home Page at http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/index-e.htm
JAPAN WINS WORLD AMATEURS:
The new World Amateur Baduk Championship,
replacing the World Amateur Go Championship in Japan that was cancelled this
past summer, was held in Incheon, Korea, from September 27th to October 3rd.
Fifty-eight countries participated in six rounds and the top four players
then played a knockout match. In the regular tournament, Korea won all six
games, while Japan, the Netherlands, Ukraine, China, Russia, and Canada won
five. In the knock out match, Japan's Hiraoka Satoshi beat Ukraine and then
Kim Junghwan of Korea to win the championship. Kim was second, the
Netherland's Emil Nijhuis beat Kmitrij Bogatshiy to take third.
- from BGA News
YOUNG KIM WINS WANSTEAD:
Young Kim 5d of London won the Wanstead tournament,
held in England on October 4th with 54 players. Five other players were also
4 for 4: Phil Beck 1d of Cambridge, Matthew Reid 2k of Cambridge, Erwin
Bonsma 5k of Ipswich, Patrick Donovan 9k of Eastbourne, and Kay Dackombe 23k
of Bromley. Several players got prizes for going 3 for 4: Li Shen 5d of
London, Tony Atkins 3d of Bracknell, Tim Hunt 3d of Milton Keynes, Weed 1k
of Billericay, James Aspden 1k of Oxford, Martin Solity 3k of Wanstead,
Martin Harvey 3k of Chester, Steve Bailey 4k of West Surrey, Shaun Hearn 6k
of Sleaford, Pablo Marco 8k from Spain, and Ken Dackombe 25k of Bromley.
This week's bonus file is a selection from "200 Endgame Problems" by Shirae Haruhiko 7 Dan, published by Slate & Shell and used by permission. Check out the book at http://www.slateandshell.com
GET game commentaries and problem files PLUS get the E-Journal's go news, reviews and columns 24 hours earlier! Sign up for the Games Edition today at http://postsnet.com/r.html?c=241091&r=240642&t=46044451&l=1&d=84866041&u=http://www.usgo.org/org/application.asp&g=0&f=84866048 and start receiving your game files next week!
SEE YOU IN ROCHESTER:
"Have the dates for the Rochester Congress been set?"
wonders Wayne Nelson. Yes: July 31 - August 7, 2004; get all the details at
http://www.usgo.org/congress/index.asp
It was an ordinary enough night on IGS -- a close loss here, a sloppy win there -- capped by a lackadaisical and spiritless loss. I don't know, maybe I'd had two glasses of wine. It was late. But I felt like I had to get my games in that day (I have a schedule you know -- a thousand games to shodan, or three games a day for a year).
Before she signed-off, my opponent's last remark scrolled past the command line: "Maybe next time you'll try to win." It's been bugging me ever since. How could she know? Is a four kyu that much more sensitive to the spirit of the game than a five kyu? Was there a mismatch between a non-attentive fuseki and some string of clever tesujis that meant that I must really have been better? No. I think it was the knowledge, from being in the proper relation to the game, that I wasn't THERE.
It was a statement of disgust, right? It had that ring as I repeated it in my head, in all caps: "MAYBE NEXT TIME YOU'LL TRY TO WIN." And that disgust comes from, I think, two places -- a failure to take play seriously, and a concomitant failure to take myself seriously (or, a fear that I am not able to GET SERIOUS).
While it's true that philosophers have never yet helped me to solve a problem, they have a great track record of making them a hell of a lot more interesting, so I put down my tea and reach for my Gadamer: "Play fulfills its purpose only if the player loses himself in play. Seriousness is not merely something that calls us away from play; rather, seriousness in playing is necessary to make the play wholly play. Someone who doesn't take the game seriously is a spoilsport." So there! Nothing worse than having a German Hermenueticist and a semi-anonymous Internet go player giving me a double raspberry.
Now back to that old saying that's keeping me busy: it's fine enough, but if I'm going to take that as a benchmark, I had better start PLAYING and stop merely PLACING stones.
WANTED: Go clubs or players on Maui; billandcorrine@comcast.net
(10/6)
WANTED: Go players in the greater Towson, Maryland area. We're a small
club that meets weekly, but on various nights (usually Mon.). Contact Jim
Pickett j.m.pickett@att.net
(10/6)
WANTED: Players of all strengths. Rumors of the Bayou Go club's demise
have been greatly exaggerated. We meet Wednesdays at 7p at the PJ's
Coffehouse (1532 Robert E Lee Blvd) near the University of New Orleans.
Come one, come all ... we need players. Meisch.Robert@nola.sysco.com
(10/6)
WANTED: Santa Barbara, CA players; I'm currently a student at UCSB and I'm
looking for a go club in the area. Pierre Tournier, pierre.tournier@colorado.edu
(9/29)
WANTED: Vetters for Milton Bradley's latest book, tentatively entitled "New
Go Proverbs Illustrated". Familiarity with the Segoe classic "Go Proverbs
Illustrated" and/or David Mitchell's "Go Proverbs" preferred, but not
mandatory. Public recognition in acknowledgments plus free autographed copy
on publication for successful completion. If interested, email Milt at
bradleym@villagenet.com
(9/29)
WANTED: I would like to hook up with go players in the Sullivan County NY
area. The nearest go club meeting in Woodstock NY with is a 2 hour drive
from my house. Port Jervis or Middletown NY or the Honesdale Pa area would
also be good. Ouida.Edington@ssa.gov
(9/29)
Got go stuff to sell, swap or want to buy? Do it here and reach more than 5,000 Go players worldwide every week at Go Classified! Send to us at journal@usgo.org
October 11 & 12: Toronto, CANADA
2003 Korean Cup Open Go Tournament
June Ki Beck 416-733-9597 junekibeck@yahoo.com
October 12: Boston, MA
MGA Fall Handicap Tournament
Zack Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com
October 17-19: Germantown, MD
James Kerwin Workshop
Gordon Fraser 301-540-2640 gordon@wui.com
October 18 & 19: San Francisco, CA
Dote Sensei Memorial Fall Tournament
Steve Burrall 916-688-2858 sburrall@comcast.net
October 25: Tacoma, WA
UPS Fall Tournament
Tyler Sellon 253-759-6860 tsellon@ups.edu
http://www.hilltopgo.com/ev/upsfall2003/index.html
October 25: Arlington, VA
Pumpkin Classic
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net
October 25: Piscataway, NJ
Feng Yun Fall Tournaament
Contact: GoLesson@yahoo.com
October 26: Ottawa, Canada
Japan-Canada Friendship Go Tournament
Pre-registration must be received before 10/25 by phone or by e-mail; only
the first 60 will be accepted, as facility space is limited : 613-722-0603;
ab073@freenet.carleton.ca
November 1 & 2: Rochester, NY
Empty Sky Fall Tournament 2003
Gregory L Lefler 585-424-2269 glacticjoke@hotmail.com
http://www.emptysky.org/tournament/
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
GET LISTED & BOOST TURN-OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 5,000 readers every week! List your Go event/news In the E-Journal: email details to us at MAILTO:journal@usgo.orgPublished by the American Go AssociationRatings are on the web! Check the website; http://www.usgo.org for the full list.
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AGA CONTACT LIST:
For a full list of AGA officers, contacts & their email addresses, go to: http://www.usgo.org/org/index.asp#contactinfo
To make name or address corrections, notify us at the email address below.
Story suggestions, event announcements, Letters to the Editor and other
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be directed to:
Editor: Chris Garlock
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