News / Articles

REPORT FROM MANLIUS SCHOOL CLUB: "The Manlius Pebble Hill School Go Club has met thirteen times since October, and the club is thriving." reports Richard Moseson, who recently started up a go club at the school his two sons attend in Syracuse, NY. "We have over 20 enthusiastic 'regulars' who attend the club at least two weeks out of three, and several more who show up occasionally, sports and other activities permitting.  Ten of the club members now have their own full-sized sets at home, most received as Christmas and Chanukah gifts last month.  The students are fairly evenly distributed over several grades, ranging from 3rd grade through 11th, making for an interesting mix of kids.  
      "The school administration has been extremely pleased with the stude nt interest in the club and has purchased a large magnetic demonstration board for the club and four go books for the school library (Janice Kim's first two Learn to Play Go books and the first two Hikaru no Go volumes).  The school also paid to become an official AGA chapter.  In December we teamed up with the Syracuse Go Club and hosted our first AGA Ratings Tournament at the school more than 30 people came to play, over half from out of town.  We'll be co-hosting another tournament on April 2nd, hopefully with more attendees including several more students from the school club.
      "The AGA's Paul Celmer has been extremely helpful, sending the club several 9x9/13x13 go sets and introductory booklets (The Way to Go, by Karl Baker).  Anton Ninno, prime mover of the Syracuse Go Club, has provided ideas and motivation, and he's occasionally come over to help me teach the kids.  I think this is a good model for starting a school go club: begin at your child's school and get some faculty and administration support for a club, request free starter supplies from the AGA, and if your town has a go club, ask for some assistance from its members.  We're currently working to get go clubs started at two nearby schools, and hopefully Syracuse's first Interscholastic Go Tournament will take place in the near future."
      See the Manlius club on the AGA's homepage this week at http://www.usgo.org

NEW CLUB IN WOODBRIDGE, NJ: The Wisonet Go Club opened in Woodbridge, NJ on January 15. Club co-director Liu Peng 6d gave an analysis of a recent game by Feng Yun 9P. "We welcome you to our club every weekend to play and research games, learn and exchange techniques, and for communication and making friends," says Liu Peng. Co-directed by Chen Rong Hao 2d, the club is open Saturday 9:30A-12:30P & Sunday 9A-5P (including a Beginner's class from 10A-12P on Sundays). The club is located in the Woodbridge Kumon Center, Suite #825, 1 Woodbridge Center, NJ 07095; cost is $10 per half day. Info: Liu Peng, 848-459-3869    

YUAN ZHOU IN DC FRIDAY: Yuan Zhou 7d continues his monthly lessons at the Greater Washington Go Club this Friday, February 4th, at 8:30P in the basement of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda. "Bring game records to participate ($5), or observe for free," says club organizer Haskell Small. "Don't have a game? Come early (official opening time 7P) to play and record a game." More info: haskellsmall@starpower.net

FENG YUN SIMUL MARKS CHINESE NEW YEAR: Feng Yun 9P will play a 10-person simul on February 10 to celebrate the Chinese New Year, followed by brief game analysis if time permits. Register now, seating is very limited: Gary Luo,  973-493-3571, or Hua Chen 973-884-7222 to either play or observe. Lo cation: 107 East Mt. Pleasant Ave., Livingston, NJ 07039;
Feng Yun Go School; golesson@yahoo.com

"HONINBO" CASTING CALL: Tacoma Go Congress organizers are looking for volunteer performers and staging assistance for "The Honinbo," a full-scale parody of "The Mikado" with the setting, songs and dialogue all adapted to the world of go. "Bob High completed it shortly before his death in 1992, and many of the songs are included in the AGA songbook and  have been sung at the impromptu song fests at past Congresses," reports Chris Kirschner, "But it has never been presented in full.  We will be doing the whole play, not just excerpts, which will make this the world premiere performance." No roles have yet been cast, "so all are open to those with ambition" says Kirschner. The performance is planned for Saturday, August 6 and organizers expect to have a few days of on-site rehearsal. Check out the script from the AGA website at http://www.usgo.org/bobhighlibrary/  Contact Kirscher at: chrisk.aga@comcast.net or 206-579-8071

SPECIAL ELECTION SET FOR BOARD SEAT: A special election is being held to fill the AGA Board of Directors vacancy created by the resignation of Bill Cobb, reports Sam Zimmerman. "Nominations will be accepted from any full member of the AGA living in the Eastern Region," says Zimmerman, "A nominee must have been a full member of the AGA for at least one year and must reside in the Eastern Region." Also, notes, Zimmerman, "Please get permission from the nominee before you send in the nomination." Nominations must be received by email or by USPS before 11:59P on Friday, February 14, 2005. Send the nominations to szimmerman@ctipc.com or to Samuel E. Zimmerman 925 Lindsay Lane Lancaster PA 17601-6622

AMSTERDAM GO? Got tips on the go scene in Amsterdam? E-Journal Editor Chris Garlock and photographer Phil Straus are headed to Amsterdam in early march to play and report on the go scene there. Please send your suggestions and contacts to us at journal@usgo.org

COMING UP IN FRIDAY'S MEMBER'S EDITION: Jim Kerwin 1P on the fastest way to improve from 20+ kyu to under 10k; game commentary by Yilun Yang, and Lawrence Ku reviews "Punishing and Correcting Joseki Mistakes." Non-members can sign up now at http://www.usgo.org/org/application.asp  

THIS WEEK'S NEW CLASSIFIED HIGHLIGHTS: 14 years of the British Go Journal! Check out this and much more in Go Classified below!

YOUR MOVE: Readers Write

MORE FOUNDATIONS: "I liked Bill Cobb's column on foundational principles in go ("Shifting Sands" 1/28 EJ)," writes Dewey Cornell. "I think there are foundational principles, but like the foundations of buildings, they are covered up and overlooked as the b uilding gets taller. All of us had to learn painful principles about keeping groups connected and making eye shape. Eventually we take these principles for granted because they are routine parts of our game and look for more advanced principles to advance us to the next level. We look for open spaces, the intersections between groups, ways to invade or escape, etc. At each level of play there are new principles, and of course the previously learned principles continue to be valid. Each floor of our building stands on the structure of the floor beneath it."

THE LONG VIEW: "As a new member I had absolutely no problem with the extra time devoted to eulogizing Kato Masao sensei on the website ("Enough Kato?" EJ 1/17/05)," writes Doug Kendrick. "In the 4000-year flow of go, it is entirely fitting that we pause to pay tribute to those legends that enlighten our path from time to time, regardless of how frenetic and insensitive our modern communication media make us."

GOT YEARBOOK? "Has the 2004 Yearbook been distributed to the members yet?" wonders Mike Peng. "I haven't seen my copy in the mail yet." The Yearbook and CD are both in the very final stages of production and we hope to mail it out by next week; we apologize for the delay but hope you'll agree that the wait for the 100-page publication & CD will be worth it!    

WORLD GO NEWS

CHO U REACHES NEC CUP SEMIFINALS: Cho U 9P continues to be a major figure in Japanese, winning a place in the semifinals of the 24th NEC Cup. Cho defeated Kobayashi Koichi 9P by 4.5 points with White on January 29th. Kobayashi won this tournament last year and Ryu Shikun 9P won in 2003. Cho's opponent in the semi-finals will be either Ryu Shikun or Cho Sonjin 9P; the match between these two will be on February 19th in Osaka. The NEC Cup is a fast play tournament (30 seconds plus 10 minutes thin king time in one minute units) and is number four in Japan in terms of the size of the prize fund, after the Kisei, the Meijin, and the Honinbo. Sponsored by the Japanese Electric Corporation, the winner of the NEC Cup receives about $140,000 US and the runner-up gets about $70,000. Third and fourth places win about $40,000 each. The players in this tournament are restricted to the top money winners at the time, so it is an impressive list. The finals will occur in Tokyo in March.

QUARTERFINALS MATCH-UPS SETTLED IN CHINESE TIANYUAN: On January 29th the third round of the 19th Tianyuan tournament in China settled the match-ups for the quarterfinal round that takes place today. The four players include Hu Yaoyu 7P, who defeated Wang Xi 5P, and will play Kong Jie 7P, who defeated Zhou Ruiyang 2P. The other pairing is Wang Yao 6P, who beat out Qui Jun 7P, against Zhou Heyang 9P, who won over Peng Quan 5P. Only one of the third round games was not won by resignation: Kon g defeated Zhou by 1.5 points with Black. You can download all the game records at http://igo-kisen.hp.infoseek.co.jp/tn.html

FIELD NARROWS IN FUJITSU PRELIM: The preliminary rounds of the tournament to select the unseeded Japanese participants in the Fujitsu, which begin with thirty-two players, has narrowed down to eight: Aoki Shinichi 9P, Ishida Yoshio 9P, Yuki Satoshi 9P, Mimura Tomoyasu 9P, Nakaonoda Tomomi 9P, Yamashiro Hiroshi 9P, Yamada Kimio 8P, and O Meien 9P. Such famous players as O Rissei 9P, Otake Hideo 9P, Ryu Shikun 9P, Ishida Yoshio 9P, and Cho Sonjin 9P have already been eliminated. This top international tournament has been dominated by the Koreans in recent years. Kobayashi Koichi 9P of Japan was the last non-Korean winner (in 1997), though Yoda Norimoto 9P of Japan did reach the finals last year, only to lose to Park Yuonghoon of Korea. In each of the three years before that, both final ists were Korean.

BROOKS WINS BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: William Brooks 1d of Cambridge was the overall winner at the British Youth Go Championships in Birmingham; he was also the winner of the under-16 division. The under-18 winner was Jonathan Englefield 8k of High Wycombe. Under-14 winner was Sadhvik Vijay 23k of Alston, and under-12 winner was Chun-Hin Woo 12k of Hong Kong. Chun-Yin Woo 6k of Hong Kon won the under-10 division, and the under-8 winner was Thomas Meehan 35k of Solihull. The attendance reached a record total of 73 this year, with a number from new schools around the country and even two players from Hong Kong. In a demonstration game with a six-stone handicap, William Brooks defeated the current British Champion Matthew Macfadyen 6d by resignation.
-reported by BGA News

BOARD GAME COLLOQUIA VIII: The annual get-together of the International Society for Board Game Studies is set for April 27-30 in Oxford, England, UK. The Society is an interdisciplinary group dedicated to research on board games and the history and development of board games around the world. Some of the research is very general and examines board games as a part of play and learning in different cultures. Other studies relate to specific board games and their evolution; such games include backgammon, mancala (wari, oware, awele, et. al.), Halma (Chinese Checkers), the game of India (Parchesi, Ludo, et. al.), checkers, chess, and others. The International Society for Board Game Studies encourages board game research and publishes a journal, Board Game Studies. More info: http://boardgamesstudies.org/colloquium/

GO CLASSIFIED

NEW! FOR SALE: British Go Journals, May 1980 to Autumn 1994. Almost the complete set, issues #48 to #96 (missing issue #54); all in pretty good condition. $100+ S/H from W isconsin. Steve Osbon@sm_ozz@yahoo.com

FOR SALE: Chinese Go board: http://www.bidville.com/listings/details/index_asp.asp?itemnum=10450349
sensei_ming@hotmail.com

FOR SALE: Go Magazine Collection.  Go World: 1977-2003, #1-6, 19-40, 46-72, 77-78, and 82-100.  Amer. Go Journal: 1981-2003, Vols. 16-37 (either a few issues are missing or they weren't published).  Amer. Go Newsletter: 1981-1998, #1-57 (missing 4, 13, 27 -- but there are two different #28s -- and 33).  Ranka Yearbook 2000. Go Winds, Spring 1998.  Best offer accepted, but you also have to pay shipping on about 45 lbs. from Colorado.  Contact Ron White: whiterg@acm.org.

FOR SALE: (1.) Set of new 8.0mm/22mm Japanese glass go stones in pair of new Japanese heavy brown plastic bowls, $50. (2.) "Les Bases Techniques du Go" (French) by Lim Yoo Jong & Herve Dicky, Jeulogic, 1974, paperback, 191 pag es, $20. (3.) "Go Para Principantes" by Iwamoto 9p, Ishi Press, 1972, paperback, 154 pages, $15. (4.) "Go: A Guide to the Game" by D.B. Pritchard, Stackpole, 1973, hardback, 216 pages, $20. (5.) "The Game of Wei-chi" by Daniele Percorini & Tong Shu, Graham Brash, Ltd., 1991, 255 pages, $12. I pay shipping! Contact Anton Ninno at antonninno@yahoo.com

FOR SALE, Go Board, Bowls & Stones. Kaya wood board; Masame, Shihomasa cut, with Hand carved Kuriashi style legs. Stones: Hyuga  Clam  (Moon or Flower) &  Nachi Guro Slate (There is a tinge of redness in the white stones). Bowls: Aged Mulberry wood hand-turned Masame straight grain cut. The board was originally purchased in Tokyo in 1971; there are a few dings & nicks on it but it is a beautifully-grained board. The bowls have a little bit of wear but again such a lovely grain on them. The stones are beautifully aged but sadly there are 15 missing of the white & 6 missing of the black. Asking $2,500 US; negotiable. clivetheartist@yahoo.com for details & pix

ADULT CAMP? I've always wondered why Go Camp is just for kids; are there other adults out there who would be interested in being kids again and organizing our own Go Camp for grown-ups? Let David Dinhofer know at ddinhofer@msn.com

INSTRUCTION, TEACHERS:

FREE LESSON: 5dan offering one free lesson on a server of your choice for potential
students.  Contact josh at icarii@zoominternet.net for more details. (1/10)
- WANTED: 14-year-old with a ranking of 17k would like a teacher to play games with, and help my game improve to shodan level. E-mail me at TarenSolther@wmconnect.com
- DIANA KOSZEGI, Hungarian 6 dan, is now offering lessons on KGS. For more information please visit diana.koszegi.hu
- JOEY HUNG 8d is giving lessons on both IGS and KGS using voice chat skype.  For detail, email egogames@yahoo.com Joey is also giving free lessons on KGS from 8-9P PST. (11/29)
- CORNEL BURZO 6d EGF (7d AGA) is teaching online on IGS and KGS, also using skype voice chat, for pricing check http://www.golessons.com or email  cornelburzo@yahoo.com  (12/6)

GO PLAYERS WANTED:
AK: Juneau, Alaska ; stevekrall@yahoo.com (8/23)
AL: Birmingham or Hoover: email goboard@bellsouth.net I'm about 5k; any level is welcome. (9/6)
CA: Fresno/Visalia, meeting at Borders, 4kyu player, larrygates@sbcglobal.net
CO: Grand Junction: Beginner looking for players; email bevans@hospicewco.com  (12/6)
FL: Ft. Myers: Looking for players in the area interested in starting a go club; email kent_no_go@earthlink.net  (11/29)
FL: Tampa Bay; Looking for players within 30 minutes of Tampa Bay to help create a club which might be located near USF. rruiz002@tampabay.rr.com  (9/27)
IL: Northern Illinois, Gurnee area. Any rank, age, or shoe size welcome. Looking for friendly or teaching games. Contact (15 kyu) Joe at nothing217@comcast.net (9/6)
IN: Bloomington: Want to help start an AGA chapter?  Contact me now at sfcowling@bluemarble.net  (11/08/04)
KY: Louisville; I would like to start a go chapter in Louisville; I am a
total beginner, but I would still like to play with some actual human
beings. Interested folks should contact ed.hammerbeck@gmail.com
MA: Looking for players to meet on the South Shore, possibly at Thomas Crane Library or Panera's Bread in Quincy. E-mail Adam@polymathsblade.com
ME: Looking for players in the Southern Maine area; allenfr@waterboro.com
MT: Anyone in Missoula playing go? A beginner friend of mine
might like to meet up if you are willing to teach an eager, quick-learning
absolute beginner. Email chriskubica@yahoo.com
NC: Asheville: Looking for go players; contact Rodney Keaton ichliebedeinunderhosen@yahoo.com
NH: Hanover, Meets 2-5 PM Wed at Hopkins Center Cafeteria; efeustel@direcway.com
NV: Las Vegas; Looking for players a new, and I believe the first, area go club. Anyone interested should contact Aaron Thomas at avontron@gmail.com (11/29)
NV: Reno: The Reno Go Club ( http://www.renogo.org ) is looking for people interested in go. Email: info@renogo.org
NY: Syracuse; The Syracuse Go Club invites players who live anywhere near Utica, Geneva, Oswego, and  Cortland to join them on Monday nights. Visit the club's website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syracusegoclub
PA: Phoenixville; Looking for players to join a small bunch of go beginners each week in Phoenixville for Saturday afternoon Go.  Contact Craig at twosheds@netreach.net
PA: Philadelphia; the Penn Go Society meets Wednesday evenings 5:30P in Houston Hall on the University of Pennsylvania cam pus, 3417 Spruce Street.  Players of all levels welcome. Email either Matthew Bengtson mattbengtson@earthlink.net or Peter Nassar pnassar@vet.upenn.edu for details  (12/6)
SC: Charleston/Lowcountry area. Total beginner looking for teaching and friendly games. Contact Doug: dougsimpson@email.com
WA: Looking for players in Everett to establish regular go night, maybe at Library Coffee Shop or Bargreens. E-mail mike.mercer@attws.com
WI: Milwaukee: Beginner (about 27k on KGS) looking for friendly and thoughtful in-person games around the Milwaukee area. It would be great to someday be able to start a local AGA chapter as well. Email:
rhayes@wi.rr.com, or send message on KGS to "elefunt"


GOT GO STUFF TO SELL, SWAP OR WANT TO BUY? Do it here and reach over 5,000 Go players worldwide every week at Go Classified! Listings are free and run 4 weeks; send to us at journal@usgo.org

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

February 5:  Arlington, VA
May Madness
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676  mediate8@worldnet.att.net

February 6:  Seattle, WA
Monthly Ratings Tournament
Jon Boley 206-545-1424  jon@seattlegocenter.org
http://www.seattlegocenter.org/

February 26 & 27:  Princeton, NJ
New Jersey Open
Rick Mott 609-466-1602  rickmott@alumni.princeton.edu

March 5:  Sacramento, CA
Davis-Sacramento Go Club Quarterly Tournament
Fred Hopkins 916-548-8068  cfredhop@msn.com

March 17-20:  Germantown, MD
10th Annual Maryland Yang Workshop
Gordon Fraser 301-540-2640  gordon@wui.net

This is a digest of events for the next month only; for a complete listing see the Tournament Calendar on the AGA website: http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.asp
For the European Go Calendar see http://www.european-go.org/TOURNAMENTS/TListbyDate.htm

GET LISTED & BOOST TURN OUT! Got an upcoming event? Reach over 7,000 readers every week! List your Go event/news In the E Journal: email details to us at journal@usgo.org

Published by the American Go Association

Text material published in the AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that commented game record files MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the E-Journal. Please direct inquiries to journal@usgo.org

Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the American Go Association.
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
journal@usgo.org