Building Moyo

[ AI disclosure: Claude helped draft this post. ]

On Tuesday, October 6, we rebooted the AGA chapter heads meeting, which had gone quiet for a while. About a dozen of us met on David Kahn’s MGA Zoom for 90 minutes, including our new AGA president Jonas Acres, past president Gurujeet Khalsa, and board chair Daniel Lambert. The highlights are below, and the full notes doc has more details.

The one thing to do this week: put the free beginner workshop QR code on your phone and share it. The registration page is aga-events.azurewebsites.net/events/learn-go-in-an-hour, and the QR code itself (with download and share buttons) is at aga-events.azurewebsites.net/events/learn-go-in-an-hour/workshop-qr.

Upcoming meetings, all Tuesdays at 9 pm Eastern / 6 pm Pacific. Chapter heads and interested AGA members are all welcome, so put these on your calendar now:

• December 1, 2026
• March 2, 2027
• April 27, 2027
• June 15, 2027
• Then the chapter assembly at the Seattle Congress, July 16-25, 2027

Highlights

• Getting the word out. Meeting announcements will now go out by ClubExpress email, the E-Journal, and Discord. The Zoom link stays private, so contact me or your chapter head if you’d like to join.
• Bringing DDK players to tournaments. Ideas from the group: a discounted DDK rate (New England Open), a free 13x13 beginners’ section with meals (San Diego), a free first tournament (Nebraska), and half off a new member’s first year of AGA membership with the code NEWAGA.
• The free online beginner workshop. One hour, no membership needed, and automated end to end, taught by Milan Mladenovic, with an 8-week follow-on course. A zip-code chapter finder is coming next to point graduates to their nearest clubs. When a graduate near you looks you up, what will they find?
• The monthly self-paired rating tournament. Since Congress, the AGA has run a monthly tournament on Leago: register yourself, challenge anyone else signed up, play in person, and report the result. The games are rated together at month’s end.
• Meet Jonas Acres, our new AGA president. His main priority is the AGA as a national hub for Go. Fresh back from Korea and Japan, he reported that the IGF is pursuing Olympic recognition for Go as a mind sport, so anyone we send to international tournaments may have to disclose all their medications in advance.
• The board’s goals for the year. Board chair Daniel Lambert’s list is led by the 501(c)(3) transition and an audit of committees and roles at the November 8 board meeting. It also covers brand identity, volunteering, chapter and TD relations, content and media, diversity outreach, and business development.
• Go in Fairfax County schools. Gurujeet's program, now in its third year, is in six schools. His biggest lesson: build support at the district level first.

Next time

We ran out of time for Jim Story’s question, how the AGA will promote Go and raise awareness this year, and how chapters can help. It lands on the Dec 1 agenda.

See you December 1!