A few simple rules ... limitless possibilities

Venkata Velpuri of the Belfast club secured victory in the recent ‘Warming up’ tournament in Galway. Second place went to Philippe Renaut with James Hutchinson in third.

Full results can be found here

Just because the Gotham Go Group at the Hungarian Pastry Shop on Tuesday evenings 7-11p - 1030 Amsterdam Ave - between 110th and 111th – “is the hottest go scene in New York City does not mean it’s the only option,” reports local organizer Peter Armenia. Here are four other places to play go in the Big Apple, along with Armenia’s pithy descriptions:

Go at Pie by the Pound - Wednesday evenings 6:00 - 124 4th Avenue between 12th and 13th St. “The healthy alternative.”

Go at the Fat Cat - Sunday afternoons 12:30 - 75 Christopher St, at 7th Ave. “The jazzy afternoon bar option.”

Brooklyn Go Club - Intermittent Fridays (email Jean-Claude Chetrit (jc.chetrit@gmail.com) for time and location. “The social club of NYC go lore in someone’s home. Good food, good conversation, and maybe even some go.”

Korea Baduk Club - Daily 11AM-12 Midnight  - 36-18 Union Street (Flushing) – Call Sammy Park (718-353-4646) for more info. “The seriously smoky, less healthy option. English sporadically spoken, strong players routinely humbled.”
photo: at the Gotham Go Group, November 2014; photo by Chris Garlock

Pandanet Go European Team Championship: On January 13th, the UK secured a win against the South African team with a score of 3 wins to 1 loss, making it their fifth win in the league. A commentary by Andrew Simons of his own game against Victor Chow 7d can be found in the news article on the BGA website. The UK team currently ranks second to Bulgaria in their league. The two teams will play on February 24th.
- edited by Amy Su from reports on the BGA website.

How Do You Study Pro Games? “We often hear ‘study professional games to help you improve,’” writes Eric Osman. “But how do you actually do that in practice?” Osman says he plays through pro games on his phone.  “At each move, I think for a few seconds about what move I’d make next, then I click to see what the professional did.  If the professional’s move differs from mine, I try to see if I can think of a reason the professional’s choice was better than mine.” Osman is a KGS 2k/AGA 2d living in Amherst, MA who’s been playing go since 1976. Send your suggestions/comments to journal@usgo.org

Robert Jasiek, German 5D and author of eight go books aiming to clarify various aspects of the game for kyu players, has released his ninth and tenth instructional books. With Endgame 1 – Fundamentals Jasiek begins a study of the last phase of the game, where “most moves of a scored game belong,” he writes. Most endgame instruction focuses on calculating the value of each remaining sequence. Jasiek takes a more strategic approach. Have you ever wondered how to avoid premature or worthless endgame moves? How can you prepare for the end earlier in the game? Jasiek looks at these considerations while also delving into other strategic factors such as forcing moves, timing, sente/gote and importance of reading. These principles are reinforced with 229 problems. Click to view the table of contents or some sample pages. Volume Two will address how to calculate the value of endgame plays.

Jasiek describes his fourth book on josekis, Easy Learning – Joseki, as a summary of his three-volume joseki series. It is intended as the first or second book on the topic for the aspiring new player. Each of its 196 pages addresses a specific joseki or topic in simple bite-size lessons. Jasiek begins by discussing a dozen or so of the most common patterns, then begins his standard approach of interspersing one- or two-page essayson topics such as “Why To Cut,” “What Is Efficiency?” and “What Group To Defend?” Click to view the table of contents or some sample pages.

These two books are worthy additions to Jasiek’s growing collections of books for aspiring mid-level players. Don’t expect any “New Moves” or groundbreaking strategic concepts, but Jasiek’s books present familiar concepts that appear well-founded in standard thinking. They are organized in a way that is thoughtful and easy to follow. Some of the brief essays seem especially useful in their simplicity and clarity. If you find other mid-level books overly problem-focused and want more explanatory content, have a look at Jasiek’s growing catalog.
- Roy Laird, EJ book review editor

January 24: Middlebury, VT
Vermont Winter Go Tournament
Peter Schumer schumer@middlebury.edu 802-388-3934

January 25: Portland, OR
Mochitsuki Celebration
Peter Freedman pleefreedman1@comcast.net 503-242-4203
Glenn Peters aenigma@gmail.com

Get the latest go events information.

This Sunday is the second round of the Pandanet-AGA City League. Watch heavyweights from the A League including professionals like Ximeng Yu and Ryan Li, the AGA’s newest pro. “Don’t discount our B and C Leagues; they will be duking it out with the other teams,” says Steve Colburn. Check the schedules for your local team.

Sweden: The Jusandan 2015 finished on January 18 in Stockholm with Yaqi Fu 6d (left) in first, Charlie Aakerblom 4d in second, and Fredrik Blowback 6d in third. Czech Republic: Also on January 18, Martin Jurek 5d took the 5th Decin Open Tournament. Behind him were Ondrej Kachyna 2d in second and Tadeas Berkman 1k in third. Turkey: Ertug Akkol 1d bested Mustafa Morca 2k at the 2nd Istanbul City Championship Finals on January 17 while Barkin Celebican 2k placed third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

Ten children played go and 15 chess in a  four round Swiss-McMahon tournament, at Taborspace, in Portland, OR, Jan. 18th, reports organizer Peter Freedman.  “All the children were in the chess and Go clubs at Irvington, Richmond and Beverly Cleary schools. Sam Wonciewicz, of Irvington, took first place in go with a perfect record of 4-0.  Tied at 3-1, Grant McFeeters-Krone and Luke Helprin, both from Irvington, had a play-off match to determine 2nd and 3rd place.  Grant won in a tightly contested game that featured a possible seki which would have led to the death of a neighboring group, and his defeat. Four children finished with 2-2 records, two with 1-3 records, and 1 with a 0-4 record,” said Freedman.

Leo Frankunas, Irvington, topped the chess tournament with a 4-0 record, followed in second place by Mason Buchanan, Irvington at 3 ½, and third place, Benjamin Cicilian, Richmond, at 3-1. Trophies were award for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for both chess and go. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Peter Freedman

“I taught one of my best lessons ever this morning,” wrote Stephen Brivati recently on the violinist.com blog. “When this nice thing happens, I always try to figure out why. When playing Go, the greatest intellectual challenge in my life after the cat, one has to do things in the correct order or get slaughtered. Both teaching and practicing the violin are the same: you have to make real-time decisions about what to work on that is appropriate for that time and place and student. Get the wrong order, and the value of the lesson or practice diminishes significantly.”
- Thanks to Justin Teng for sending this in, his dad plays violin and follows this blog.

Online EGF Academy to Launch in March: In “another very important milestone for European go,” European Go Federation (EGF) President Martin Stiassny reports that the new online EGF Academy will launch March 23. “The EGF Academy will offer online-playing, analyzing and teaching in different groups for more than 30 players,” says Stiassny. The Academy is a result of an agreement Ge Yuhong, owner of the go school in Beijing where EGF students are now studying, and Luo Gang, chief manager of CEGO. The General Manager for the project will be Viktor Lin, the vice-president of the Austrian Go Association.

EGF Seeks Young Players for Beijing Go Academy: The EGF is looking for young European go players interested in studying in Beijing under theEGF-CEGO cooperation agreement ((European Go Federation Inks Deal With Chinese to Promote Go in Europe 7/5/2013 EJ). “Our goal is to find players in Europe younger than 18, maybe 16 years old, best case 14 years old,” says Stiassny. “If you have a candidate, Chinese pro Zhao Baolong is coming back to Europe in March, to test these promising boys and girls.”  Contact Stiassny at martin.go.europe@gmail.com for details and to nominate students.

The 2015 Osaka Go Camp is set for June 28 – July 18, supported by the Kansai Kiin and the Osaka University of Commerce. The camp offers intensive training by Kansai-Kiin pros, the opportunity to play go inside the Kiin with pros, play against top amateur players, former inseis, sightseeing to major historical cities like Kyoto and Nara. A discount of 5.000 JPY is available for students who pay the deposit before February 28. Email osaka.go.2015@gmail.com for more info or reservations.
photo: 2014 Osaka Go Camp participants