A few simple rules ... limitless possibilities

The deadline for registration of the first International Collegiate Go Tournament (North American College Players Invited to July Tournament in China, But Must Act Quickly 5/2/2013 EJ) has been extended until May 31. The invitation has been extended to students in Europe as well. More details about the July 7-13 event can be found at the ACGA’s website.

Although the Nordic Championship that was to be held in Odense in March had to be canceled for lack of a venue, the Danish Championship took place on schedule, April 26-28, at the Copenhagen Go Club. It was a 6-round McMahon tournament with fourteen players, half dan, half kyu. The top of the field included three 4-dans but it was a young 3-dan, Arne Ohlenbusch, returning after a three-year absence from this event, who won all his games and gained his first championship. Former Danish champions Jannik Rasmussen (4-dan), Torben Pedersen (3 dan), and Thomas Heshe (4 dan) finished with identical 4-2 scores; Jannik took second place on SOS and Torben took third on SOSOS. Rasmus Bisschop-Larsen (5 kyu) also scored 4-2, and finished ninth. The full results are here.

Three American Go Association (AGA) Board of Director seats are up for election this year, reports Arnold Eudell, who’s coordinating this year’s election process. The terms of three seats – one in each region – expire this September. Nominations are now being accepted and will close on June 15; nominations must be made by email by full members of the AGA. Send to elections@usgo.org Click here for complete election information and qualifications.

Now that Go World magazine has ceased publication (EJ 11/16/12) , back issues of this matchless archive of top analysis and instruction have become more valuable than ever. The American Go Foundation’s Store offers a selection,  and the first 108 issues are also available as PDFs from Kiseido Digital.  The AGF was delighted to recently receive a generous donation of hundreds of oldies but goodies from the publisher, including twenty issues that have never been available from the AGF before. Click here to browse the contents of all but the last seven issues. If you’re unfamiliar with this great resource, download a free sample issue of Go World and check it out.  A total of more than 50 back issues are now available to AGA members, and AGF programs.  Click here to order from the AGF,  who will ship anywhere in the US.  If you enjoy the “real feel” of actual paper-and-ink, act now — when they’re gone, they’re gone!  Still missing an elusive issue? Kiseido is offering all back issues from #72 – #124 on at $8/each including airmail from Japan. Issue #125-129 are $10/each. Some earlier issues are also available.   Click here to find more info about Kiseido’s offer (at the bottom of the page). -Roy Laird

Top winners at this year’s U.S. Go Congress will receive the AGA’s first-ever Rank Certificates. Although the automated rating and tournament reporting system may not be ready by August, “AGA President Andy Okun looked at reports of US Open winners and determined that over 90% of those who place in the top three in their band, or top 6 in the open section, hold or exceed the rank,” reports Congress Co-Director Chris Kirschner. “That’s good enough for us to jump-start the program with certificates based on placing at least third in your band,” said Okun. When the automated process is completed, players who meet the standard for their next rank will receive an email notifying them of their achievement and a printable PDF certificate. Fancier certificates and plaques, suitable for framing, will be available at a reasonable cost. “This is an exciting addition to the tournament scene,” said Karoline Burrall, AGA National Tournament Coordinator. “Since the only way to get the certificate is to compete in AGA tournaments, we are expecting more and larger tournaments.”

Dueling schools in Portland, OR, are at it again, with Irvington Elementary notching up an 8-4 win over Sun Montessori, at their most recent tourney on April 21st.  Irvington Elementary is coached by Peter Freedman, while Sun Montesorri is coached by Fritz Balwit. Richard Blakeslee, a Portland-based go player and film-maker, has been covering go at Irvington, and made a three minute video of the match which can be seen here.   Another longer video, just over seven minutes, shows the kids playing and includes interviews with some of the kids about go, and the program, and can be seen here.  Interschool match results: Irvington: McCaleb, 2-1, Hikaru, 2-1, Ellis, 2-1, Wilson, 2-1; Sun Montesorri: Amos, 2-1, Hanson, 2-1, Dylan, 0-3, Shelem, 0-3. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Photo by Peter Freedman: Players square off at the tournament on April 21st.

The E-J mistakenly reported that Jung Choi 3P was the teacher of Changhyeok Yu 9P, in our story on Chinese Pair Go on May 5th.  In fact, the reverse is true: Yu was Choi’s teacher.  We apologize for the error, which has been fixed in the original story.

With just three weeks left to register for the third annual Young Kwon National Online Tournament (YKNOT), the field already shows “an exciting diversity of ranks from the high 7 dans all the way into the 20 kyus!” reports AGA

download SGF file

Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. The tournament, with $3,000 in total prizes, is shaping up to have a very strong open section, with at least 9 of the registrants so far being 6 dan or stronger. Players of any level can register for free. “Brand new AGA members are welcome,” Burrall adds, “or even those who haven’t joined the AGA yet, as long as players are AGA members by the time of the tournament, they may participate!” Players don’t have to be citizens or permanent residents either; if you live in the US you are eligible to compete and AGA life members living anywhere are also eligible. Now in its third year, the tournament has produced two champions so far, both professional players: Zhanbo Sun 2P in 2011, and Mingming Yin 1P in 2012. Check out the final game of the 2012 tournament between Mingming Yin 1P (Mingming) and Jie Liang 8D (gust) at right, featuring some exciting fighting throughout the game. “Continued thanks goes to Young Kwon for sponsoring this exciting tournament and his dedication to promoting go in the US!” says Burrall. “His support makes all of this possible.” Players who have already registered (or if you just want to see who is playing), click here and double check that your information is correct. If you requested a rank adjustment when you registered, these changes are not displayed yet; Burrall will be contacting players closer to the tournament date to discuss any rating change requests.

With just a week before starting his 200-mile trek across England (E-Journal Editor’s 200-mi UK Walk to Raise Funds for AGF 4/17 EJ), American Go E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock 3D Garlock has raised nearly half of his $1,000 fundraising goal. “Go players have been incredibly generous,” says Garlock – who’s undertaking the Coast to Coast Walk with his wife Lisa to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and raise funds for the AGF. “From our friends at Go Game Guru to AGA President Andy Okun and San Diego Go Club president Ted Terpstra, the response has been truly inspiring.” The AGF supports go in hundreds of schools, libraries and community centers across the country, provides scholarships and resources for youth who play go, and supports go in institutional settings such as prisons, and senior centers. Click here to donate and follow him on Facebook (Christopher Garlock) for posts from the Walk.
- photo by Lisa Garlock

If you’ve been thinking about visiting Vienna, mid-June could be just the time. The Österreichischer Goverband will be hosting Wien 2013, Vienna’s annual International Go Tournament June 15-16. Attractions include plenty of prize money, book prizes for players with multiple wins, and a venue in one of the most beautiful parts of Vienna, near the Lainzer Tiergarten, 20 minutes to the city center. Registered players will also enjoy inexpensive meals, free wifi, and a welcome party June 14 that includes grilled food, poker, and free go play. Players who register before May 20 are eligible for discounted accommodations. For more information on rules and how to register, visit the official Wien 2013 website.
-Annalia Linnan

Chinese and Japanese embassies and consuls have been sponsoring major go tournaments in Russia since the 1990s. The latest two were held in St Petersburg on two weekends in February and April: the Weiqi Cup of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China on February 16-17, and the Japan Consul Cup on April 13-14. Both were topped by a pair of players from Kazan: 3-dan pro Alexander Dinerchtein and 7-dan amateur Ilya Shikshin.

Each tournament was divided into A, B, and C leagues. The A league was an elite double-elimination knockout . The B and C leagues were six-round McMahon tournaments, B for dan and single-digit kyu players, C for double-digit kyu players.

The participants in the A league of the February Weiqi Cup included included three who among them have won the European Championship twelve times: the above Alexander and Ilya, and Petrozavodsk State University's go-playing mathematician Alexey Lazarev. In the first two rounds, Alexey was eliminated by losses to Oleg Mezhov and Vasiliy Andrienko, but Ilya beat both Vasiliy and Oleg, and Alexander beat Andrey Cheburakov and Dimitri Surin. In the third round Alexander and Ilya had byes while Vasiliy and Oleg beat Dimitri and Igor Nemliy, who had eliminated Andrey in round two. In the last round Alexander defeated Ilya to win the cup, while Vasiliy defeated Oleg to take third place and Dimitri defeated Igor to take fifth.

The B league drew 27 dan-ranked and 65 kyu-ranked participants, including some from Belarus, China, and the Ukraine. The undefeated winner was Chinese 7-dan Ying Li, while Russians Timur Sankin and Anton Zatonskikh finished second and third, and Tatarstan champion Alexander Vashurov finished fourth. Timur and Alexander earned promotions into the A league for the Japan Consul Cup in April. Complete results are here.

The outcome of the April A league resembled the outcome in February. The duo from Kazan, Alexander Dinerchtein and Ilya Shikshin, again won their first two games, and Alexander beat Ilya to take the cup while Ilya finished second. Alexander Vashurov and Timur Sankin took third and fourth places; Dimitri Surin and Igor Nemliy again took fifth and sixth.

The 86-player April B league ended with a husband-and-wife clash between Igor Burnaevskiy and Dina Burdakova. Though outranked (4 dan to 5 dan), Igor asserted male superiority to win the game and take first place with a 5-1 score. Dina's score was also 5-1, so she finished second, ahead of Alexey Lazarev, who had the best 4-2 result. Don't miss Daria Koshkina's report on Dina and Igor.

The C leagues drew over thirty players in both events. Jakov Galunov (14 kyu) was the undefeated victor in February, while Vladimir Sulimov (16 kyu) took first place in April. Russian go players were also busy between the two Consul Cups: at the Moscow Kido Cup, the Polymetal Rapid Cup, and the Tomsk Go Festival, for example. A recent interview with Alexander Dinerchtein can be read here.

Chinese and Japanese embassies and consuls have been sponsoring major go tournaments in Russia since the 1990s. The latest two were held in St Petersburg on two weekends in February and April: the Weiqi Cup of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China on February 16-17, and the Japan Consul Cup on April 13-14. Both were topped by a pair of players from Kazan: 3-dan pro Alexander Dinerchtein and 7-dan amateur Ilya Shikshin.

Each tournament was divided into A, B, and C leagues. The A league was an elite double-elimination knockout . The B and C leagues were six-round McMahon tournaments, B for dan and single-digit kyu players, C for double-digit kyu players.

The participants in the A league of the February Weiqi Cup included included three who among them have won the European Championship twelve times: the above Alexander and Ilya, and Petrozavodsk State University's go-playing mathematician Alexey Lazarev. In the first two rounds, Alexey was eliminated by losses to Oleg Mezhov and Vasiliy Andrienko, but Ilya beat both Vasiliy and Oleg, and Alexander beat Andrey Cheburakov and Dimitri Surin. In the third round Alexander and Ilya had byes while Vasiliy and Oleg beat Dimitri and Igor Nemliy, who had eliminated Andrey in round two. In the last round Alexander defeated Ilya to win the cup, while Vasiliy defeated Oleg to take third place and Dimitri defeated Igor to take fifth.

The B league drew 27 dan-ranked and 65 kyu-ranked participants, including some from Belarus, China, and the Ukraine. The undefeated winner was Chinese 7-dan Ying Li, while Russians Timur Sankin and Anton Zatonskikh finished second and third, and Tatarstan champion Alexander Vashurov finished fourth. Timur and Alexander earned promotions into the A league for the Japan Consul Cup in April. Complete results are here.

The outcome of the April A league resembled the outcome in February. The duo from Kazan, Alexander Dinerchtein and Ilya Shikshin, again won their first two games, and Alexander beat Ilya to take the cup while Ilya finished second. Alexander Vashurov and Timur Sankin took third and fourth places; Dimitri Surin and Igor Nemliy again took fifth and sixth.

The 86-player April B league ended with a husband-and-wife clash between Igor Burnaevskiy and Dina Burdakova. Though outranked (4 dan to 5 dan), Igor asserted male superiority to win the game and take first place with a 5-1 score. Dina's score was also 5-1, so she finished second, ahead of Alexey Lazarev, who had the best 4-2 result. Don't miss Daria Koshkina's report on Dina and Igor.

The C leagues drew over thirty players in both events. Jakov Galunov (14 kyu) was the undefeated victor in February, while Vladimir Sulimov (16 kyu) took first place in April. Russian go players were also busy between the two Consul Cups: at the Moscow Kido Cup, the Polymetal Rapid Cup, and the Tomsk Go Festival, for example. A recent interview with Alexander Dinerchtein can be read here.

Strong players in the Eastern Region will have another chance to earn points towards the North American Masters Tournament on Memorial Day weekend. The May 25-26 Maryland Open in Baltimore has been designated the second NAMT Qualifier for the Eastern Region, reports AGA Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. “Now in its 40th year, the Maryland Open is a great competition with a long history,” says Burrall, “and is a fantastic opportunity for players in the open section to earn points towards the North American Masters Tournament at this year’s U.S. Go Congress in August.” The five-round, two-day tournament also offers prizes in all dan and kyu sections. Check out the Maryland Open section of the Baltimore Go Club webpage for information on schedule, directions, and nearby lodgings for traveling players.
- photo: Jie Li 7d, Andy Liu 1P and Daniel Chou 6d review a game at the 2012 Maryland Open; photo by Chris Garlock

Chang Hao 9p (left) and Chenxing Wang 5p (right) took first place at the Tri-Nation Pair Go tournament, held in Heifei, China,  April 30 through May 2. They fended off a challenge from 2nd place winners Korean duo, Jung Choi 3p and her former teacher Changhyeok Yu 9p,  while Japanese pair Satoshi Yuki 9p and Ayumi Suzuki 6p came in third.

The pair go tournament was the main attraction, and go fans also had a chance to play professionals during the event. Former Chinese Go Association President Runan Wang 8p (below) even made an appearance, playing some of Anhui Province’s youngest players.

Another instance of the old connecting with the new was the venue itself: Three Kingdoms Park. As mentioned on Go Game Guru, Chinese history buffs will recognize “Three Kingdoms” as a tempestuous period in Chinese history, filled with struggles between the Wei, Shu and Wu kingdoms. In the same region where there are ancient ruins from those dark times, players of all ages enjoyed peaceful teaching games.

For more information about the tournament including photos and game records, please visit Go Game Guru. -Annalia Linnan, photos from gogameguru.com

The most recent episode of Da Vinci’s Demons  “The Prisoner” (Episode 3) — is structured to parallel a game of go, played by Riario and the eponymous, mysterious prisoner.  ”The villain forces a prisoner to teach him go,” reports EJ reader Diego F. Pierrottet. “The villain then uses the go strategy and philosophy that he is learning against his enemies, in this case DaVinci’s employer and DaVinci himself.” The series airs Friday nights at 9 pm on Starz.
- Dave Weimer

The inaugural Thailand 15-Dan Go League unfolded over a three-month period from February through April 2013. Although it ended in victory for a team from Korea, there were lots of prizes for teams and individuals from Thailand as well, thanks to sponsorship by several Thai companies.

Twenty-six teams participated, each limited to five dan-ranked players with a maximum total strength of 15 dan. Most of the teams were organized by Thai firms, but there were also teams from Chinese Taipei, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, as well as a combined Laos-Singapore team. The field was divided into two sections, thirteen teams apiece, and a full round-robin was played in each section in February and March. During this stage the Thai teams competed weekly at the CP Tower in downtown Bangkok, while the foreign teams competed online from their home countries. Each team fielded four players in each match.

Arirang, the Korean team, got off to a good start in the Black section by shutting out the Thai Panasonic team 4-0 in round 1. Arirang met with stiffer resistance in rounds 2 and 3, drawing 2-2 against teams representing Zorus and Ichitan. The Ichitan team was led by Vorawat Charoensitthisathien, who was soon to win the WAGC selection tournament and will represent Thailand at the next World Amateur Go Championship. In round 4, however, Arirang began a six-match winning streak by shutting out the Foremost team, headed by 'Iron Hammer' Pariwat Sompaokaew, a 5-dan veteran of the 2007 World Student Go Oza and Korean Prime Minister Cup and the 2008 World Mind Sports Games. Although Arirang drew once more, against the Glory-Thai team, they remained undefeated and finished first in the Black section, while Foremost took second place.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team from Saigon was winning the White section, with the team representing MFEC, a Thai IT services company, coming in a close second. The Saigon team was led by WAGC and KPMC veteran Le Mai Duy (7th in the KPMC in 2007). The MFEC team was led by Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit, also known as 'The Killer'. who gained third place in a tournament held last November in Nanning and had his 4-dan Thai rank officially raised to Chinese 5-dan.

The final stage was a round-robin among the four teams that took the top two spots in each section, each team now fielding all five of its members. The two foreign teams made the trip to Bangkok to compete in person. The action started with Arirang defeating MFEC and Foremost defeating Saigon on the morning of April 26. In the afternoon Arirang defeated Saigon and MFEC defeated Foremost. This established a clear pecking order that was finalized the next day, Arirang beating Foremost again and MFEC beating Saigon.

At the awards ceremony on the afternoon of April 27, Korsak Chairasmisak, president of the Thailand Go Association, presented the victory cup to the Arirang team (Yunjeong Jang, 5-dan; Sunghyun Park, 4-dan; Solbin Kim, 3-dan, Hyunwook Cho 2-dan, Eunjin Park 1-dan). This came with a prize of 90,000 bahts (about $3,000 or €2,000). MFEC received the 80,000-baht prize for the best Thai team, while the Foremost team took home a 70,000-baht runner-up prize. Pariwat Sompaokaew won the MVP award for being the Thai player to win the most games. MFEC's Phatraphon Aroonphaichitra won the Woman Warrior award for being the Thai woman to defeat the most male opponents. PTT's Nonthawat Tanthanasiwakun won the Rising Star prize awarded to the Thai high-school student who won the most games. These three individual prizes were also worth 70,000-bahts apiece, and in addition, all twenty players in the final stage received a 10,000-baht participation award.

Photos of the awards ceremony and charts of the Black and White round-robin results can be found here.

The video clip of the awards ceremony at the bottom of this page is worth a look even if you don't understand Thai.

Over 100 early birds have registered for the 2013 U.S. Go Congress, which runs August 3-11 in Tacoma, Washington. Registration cost rises $50 after May 31; payment must be made in full to receive the early-bird discount (which is why only 48 show on the “Who’s Coming” page, though some registrants simply may not yet selected room and board plans).

“This Congress has new exciting plans,” says Congress Co-Director Chris Kirschner. “The AGA will issue official rank certificates, a teacher’s workshop will inaugurate an AGA teacher certification program, and The Pentathlon is a new competitive opportunity for the truly dedicated.” Combined scores from the U.S. Open, Self-Paired, 9×9, 13×13 and the Lightning tournaments will determine the Pentathlon winners. photo: Mt. Rainier, nearby the Congress site

Though he is a 7-time European Go Champion, the first Russian player to achieve professional rank and currently considered one of Europe’s finest players, Alexandre Dinerchtein 3p (“breakfast” on KGS) keeps his accomplishments in perspective.

Referring to his record against Ilya Shikshin 7d (“roln111″ on KGS), he told the E-Journal in a recent interview that “The official score is 24-8, but we cannot say that I am stronger.” Dinerchtein says he won early games against Shikshin because the distance in strength between them was much greater. For example, in their first match in 2001, Dinerchtein, the European Champion, played Shikshin as a 3-dan amateur. Their score in recent games has been more evenly matched, however, and Dinerchtein says he thinks Shikshin has more talent. “My score is not bad with him only because I know his go style well, his weak and strong points.” Citing strategy as a key Shikshin weakness, Dinerchtein said he forces Shikshin to solve more strategy-oriented problems. Shikshin “plays the same fuseki in every game for exactly the same reason,” says Dinerchtein, “he likes to avoid fuseki and joseki questions and start middlegame fights early.” These middlegame conflicts are Shikshin’s greatest strength and Dinerchtein’s biggest weakness. “I cannot fight as well as Ilya can and I hate any risk on the go board,” Dinerchtein told the E-Journal. Like his favorite professional Kobayashi Koichi 9P, Dinerchtein would rather games be as peaceful and risk-free as possible.

In terms of game study, Dinerchtein said that when he started playing go 25  years ago, “it was hard to find even a single go book, [a] single pro game record.” But now with many go books, game databases, and internet lessons (including his Insei League KGS go school), “it’s easy to find good partners online, so you can improve a lot without even visiting Asian go schools.” Dinerchtein emphasized the importance of studying professional games by using chess as an example. “Every chess grandmaster who wants to win tournaments spends a lot of time preparing new variations using go game databases,” he said, “I am sure soon we will see the same situation in go.”

Though go resources have expanded, the thing Dinerchtein would like to see most in the future is more “serious” interaction between top European and U.S. players. Except for his game with Michael Redmond 9P in 2001, he has never played any top U.S. players in an official event. As for recent U.S.-European events, he said, “I saw the matches between Lee Sedol and U.S. pros (and European pro Taranu), but I don’t think that they were interesting enough” because they were “novelty” fast games. He’d like to see the European Go Federation (EGF) and American Go Association (AGA) sponsor tournaments with big titles and prize purses, like those organized by the Chinese Weiqi Association, Korean Baduk Association and the Nihon Ki-in in Japan. Find out more about Dinerchtein on his homepage, KGS, OGS, DGS, or sign up for the GOAMA newsletter.
- Annalia Linnan

For more on Judge Dee (Your Move/Readers Write: Detective Dee Returns  4/29 EJ), check out Peter Shotwell’s 2010 monography on Judge Dee and Go Steganography.

In our April 29 Power Report, we mis-spelled the name of the Huading Tea Industries Cup World Women’s Team Tournament; we apologize for the error.

The Shanghai Ing Foundation has opened its first International Collegiate GO Tournament to US and Canadian college students, according to Michael Fodera of the American Collegiate Go Association. Students who attend the July 7-13 event will play go with players from all over China and the world, travel around Shanghai and Hangzhou and play teaching games with stars Gu Li 9P and Chang Hao 9P. While players must cover their own travel costs to China, their food, accommodation, travel within China, tour costs and sponsored events will be paid for by the Shanghai Ing Foundation. “I was one of the players that attended the [Ing-sponsored] 2011 go summer camp,” Fodera tells the E-Journal, “ and I can honestly say that this is a chance of a lifetime. The Ing Foundation really does not spare any expense when it comes to these events.” The opportunity is open to players who have attended college or will attend college —  undergraduate or graduate — in the 2013 calendar year, and who do not hold a professional certification from a recognized go association.

Act fast, however. The deadline for registration is May 15, and, while there is currently no cap on the number of North American students who can attend, the event includes students from the rest of the world as well and if room runs out, requests will be handled on a first-come first-served basis, Fodera says. Click here for details of the trip, as well as links to the registration form and schedule. Questions may be addressed to Fodera at mdf116@brandeis.edu or to the Shanghai Ing Foundation’s Min Xiao at min_xiao@harvard.edu.
- Andy Okun