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Il 17 e 18 giugno 2023 si svolgerà a Macerata - e per la prima volta nelle Marche! - un Torneo Tappa FIGG. Il torneo si svolgerà presso i locali dell'associazione LABS - Laboratorio Sociale di Macerata, nel centro storico, in via Luigi Monachesi 9. Informazioni più dettagliate sono reperibili sul sito del club.

Il torneo fa parte del circuito tappe FIGG, valido per l'assegnazione dei Punti Viaggio. Non mancate!

Si segnala Il Memorial Mirco Fanti – 13° Torneo di Bologna che si terrà Sabato 27 maggio e Domenica 28 maggio 2023, presso il “Circolo Barbanera” in via Ranzani 12/C a Bologna.
Grazie alla sponsorizzazione di GoMagic.org i primi 40 iscritti riceverenno un buono di 10$ da spendere su Go Magic. Più unformazioni al sito del club.

Il torneo fa parte del circuito tappe FIGG, valido per i Punti Viaggio. Vi aspettiamo numerosi!

Organizers of this year’s U.S. Go Congress are searching for a Registrar. Registrars receive a full comp to the event, which runs July 8-16 in Kent, Ohio. “The ideal candidate would be a veteran of at least one Congress, and comfortable with using spreadsheets and web apps such as ClubExpress,” says Congress Director Steve Zilber. The Registrar’s job begins as soon as registration is launched and continues until a few weeks after the Congress ends. If interested – and for more details on what’s involved – email Zilber at steve.zilber@gocongress.org

Calling it “One of the more exciting and fun events of the year,” local organizers are inviting go players to join them in Columbus, Ohio from March 25-26th for the 2023 Midwest Open. “It’s a terrific place to see old friends across the board and if you’re new to in-person tournaments, this is the ultimate place to make new friends!” says Devin Fraze.

The Midwest Open features an Ultra Strong Master Division — 6 rounds for 16 players — and a large Main Division with players from all over the country. It’s hosted by the Go Club at Ohio State in partnership with the Columbus Go Club, sponsored by BadukClub, and features “rare and unique high value prizes.”

The Barrington (IL) Chinese Immersion Council (BCIC) recently granted approval to a proposal to introduce the game of go to Chinese immersion classrooms in Barrington’s District 220 school district. “I hope that this game-based learning program will not only teach students how to play go,” said Xinming “Simon” Guo, the founder of Go and Math Academy in Chicago, who made the proposal, “but also spark their creativity, imagination, and critical thinking skills, as well as enhance their math abilities”

Xiaoyan Anderson and Zimin Mineo, members of the BCIC Board of Directors, say they hope that through the program, “more families will become involved in our organization, fostering cultural exchange and understanding, and ultimately helping our students become future leaders with an open mind and a global perspective.”

BCIC is a nonprofit organization created in 2014 to support students and families involved in the local school district’s Chinese Immersion Program. The go-related program was scheduled to begin for all third- and fourth-grade Chinese Immersion classroom students with support from teachers Mrs. Zander and Ms. Du during the 2022-2023 school year. 

By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

On March 15, Hashimoto Ūtarō 9d defeated Rin Kaihō Meijin in the first game of the Pro Best Ten Final. Rin took the second game on March 22, and the third on March 28. (Game Records: Game One, Game Two, Game Three)

Adachi Tadashi (pictured), President of the Nihon Ki’in, passed away on March 29.

The March issue of Kidō Magazine featured a lengthy interview with Ishida Yoshio Hon’inbo. He patiently dealt with the usual “who do you like among the classic players” questions. He stated he liked Shūho when he was a new pro. Ishida opined that the classical players would quickly catch on to komi and be very competitive. The vaunted opinion of him as “The Computer” was discussed – he denied he makes constant calculations every move. “Frankly, I have no confidence in my ability to calculate in a large-scale situation but in a localized engagement I seldom make a mistake.” He also altered the perception of his nickname, suggesting it referred to his poise and calmness as opposed to calculation. There was a lot of discussion of his main rival Rin Meijin and there seemed a perceptible bias against Rin from the questioning. Kidō remarked “Strangely enough, you are the first player to say that Rin’s technique is quite good.” Ishida pushed back against this apparent bias against the young players, and particularly Rin – forcing Kidō to concede – if Rin was not strong he would not be Meijin. Ishida previewed the youth dominated future, suggesting that while players like Fujisawa Shūkō were still superior in large scale fights, over a seven game match, Rin’s consistency, and his own, would win out.

Photos from Go Review, game records from SmartGoOne

Sometime this coming Monday, March 13, the AGA is moving to an all-new website. The link will still be usgo.org but with a whole new look and feel. The current site will still be available through an ‘Archive’ link but all membership registration and logins will be through the new site. AGA members will be receiving an email with instructions on how to log into the new system.

“The new system represents some great work by a lot of volunteers,” says AGA President Gurujeet Khalsa. “There is still work to be done on some pages, but we wanted to get the new site up and running so we can open this year’s US Go Congress registration later in the week. We will also be rolling out a lot of new functionality for chapters over the months leading up to the Go Congress and conducting training at Congress as well. It is an exciting time for the AGA and I look forward to hearing what you think!”

Send your feedback and suggestions to president@usgo.org.

The San Francisco Go Club hosted a 3-round tournament on Saturday, February 25th, in memory of longtime club member Guy Moreau. The tournament was held in the SF Go Club’s dojo in San Francisco’s Japantown, with all games being played on new go sets imported from Japan. Lunch was provided by Andersen Bakery.

“The tournament was spirited and lively with participants and supporters filling the dojo to capacity,” reports San Francisco Go Club President Matthew Barcus. In Division 1, Chao Xie was the first-place winner, with Weiming Guo in second and Amy Guo in third. In Division 2, Max (Zeyuan) Zhang took first place, with Ricky Dira taking second and Yiran Shu in third. In Division 3, Andrew Shi was the first-place winner, Igor Pisarev came in second, and Benjamin Lam in third. Prizes included certificates and cash for the first-place winners of each division.

“The tournament was a great success and a fitting tribute to Guy Moreau,” says Barcus. “The San Francisco Go Club would like to thank all participants and supporters who made the tournament a vibrant and memorable event.”

The Glory of go?
“I haven’t watched it yet, but the Korean show The Glory now streaming on Netflix has go as a major element,” reports Peter Armenia. If anyone has more info, please let us know!

AlphaGo’s “Sputnik moment”
Former U.S. Go Congress Director Dave Weimer’s wife Melanie Manion spotted this mention of AlphaGo’s win over humans as a “Sputnik moment” for Chinese leaders in AI thinking in Susan L. Shirk’s Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise. (Oxford University Press, 2022).

The Austin Go Club will be holding a Spring Fling Go Tournament on April 22nd/23rd in Austin, TX. The tournament will consist of 5 rounds held over two days. There will be both Open and Handicap sections. Registration is open now at GoClubs.org.

Please contact co-tournament directors Gilbert Garza and/or Bart Jacob for more information.

The venue will be near downtown with easy access to Lady Bird Lake and its popular hike and bike trail. “We hope to see you in Austin for a fun weekend of go!” says Jacob.

On February 19, 2023, the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) hosted its online Blitz Tournament. The tournament consisted of five rounds and eight divisions consisting of players of all strengths from 20K to 9D. The division winners included Shang Zhou 7D, Al Tang 2D, Jason Liu 2D, Ryan Huang 1K, David Rohlfing 4K, Phillip Briz 5K, Anna Zhou 7K, Brett Li 8K, Roger Ni 13K, and Royal Ni 18K.

Albert Yen 8D, an AGHS alumni, played in division A and described the tournament as a “very well-organized” and “low-stress” event. “My games were rife with mistakes since we only have 10 seconds per move, but I feel lucky that my sole loss wasn’t due to a single blunder,” Yen said, “I am happy I got to play five strong players in just three hours.”

In the future, Yen hopes to see more integration of AGHS events with the American Go Association. “For example, maybe participants in AGHS events can get discounts to go to the Congress to entice participants to attend more Go events,” Yen said. The AGHS hopes to continue hosting engaging events for all Go players. Players may visit aghs.us to stay up-to-date for future tournaments.

Report by Jamie Tang

“Are you part of a Go school (or a club at school) and would like to play in a team-styled tournament? Well, you’re in luck!” says AGHS President Jenny Li, “AGHS is excited to announce our upcoming tournament: STT (School Team Tournament). This tournament will occur on Saturday, March 25th, and Sunday, March 26th. The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 22nd, 11:59 pm PST. We welcome all youth players (19 and under or currently enrolled in K-12).”

Round Schedule:
Round 1: March 25th, 10 AM PST (1 PM EST)
Round 2: March 25th, 1 PM PST (4 PM EST)
Round 3: March 26th, 10 AM PST (1 PM EST)
Round 4: March 26th, 1 PM PST (4 PM EST)

Registration form

Rules and regulations

Sign-up is now open for the second season of the North American Online League (NAOL). NAOL is an online league funded by the North American Go Federation in collaboration with the American, Canadian, and Mexican go associations. It is intended to be a primary driver of an online rating connected to your go association ID.

Click here to sign up for the League; sign ups end March 14th, and pairings will be posted March 15th. Anyone with an active American, Canadian, or Mexican go association member is eligible to play in the NAOL, and you do not have to live in one of these countries to be a member of their go associations.

The league runs for five weeks. On March 15th, participants will have their pairings for all five weeks, and can choose to play them at the recommended start time or contact opponents to reschedule. Tuesday night 8pm Eastern time is the standard scheduled time to play. The MGA hosts a Zoom meeting during Tuesday nights, so you can reach out to the other players of the league. Wednesday night 6:00 pm – 10:45 pm eastern, a certain number of games, played on time, will be reviewed. Games will be played on OGS with a 45 min byo-yomi 3 x 30 second timer, no handicap, AGA rules.

To register sign up here; questions refer to the FAQ. OGS page; Discord. Email: naol@usgo.org

Registration for the 2023 Chicago Open on May 27-28 in Evanston, Illinois, has started, with eight out-of-state players already registered, including five high-dan players. See the Who’s Coming List to view the current registrants. Co-organizers Cheuk To Tsui and Albert Yen expect a high turnout. 

“The Chicago tournaments have seen steady growth, and we hope to see this trend continue,” Tsui said. “Our goal is to make the 2023 Chicago Open a mainstay event on the calendar.”

Register before May 6 to seize the early bird discounts, customized name tags, and limited Evanston Holiday Inn discounts. Groups are encouraged to register together for both days of the tournament to be eligible for the club discounts: Groups of 5-6: $3 off per person; Groups of 7-8: $5 off per person; Groups of 9+: $7 off per person.

New updates have been made to the registration form to support travelers. Firstly, the Chicago Open now offers an optional $10 breakfast plan for Saturday on top of the pre-existing lunch plans and Saturday dinner. Secondly, registrants may indicate on the registration form if they need help finding a roommate or carpool to have their contact added to the public Open Room/Carpool Spreadsheet. The registrants are responsible for contacting others on the spreadsheet to arrange room sharing and carpooling. Feel free to send questions or concerns to Evanston Go Club President Mark Rubenstein at 
mark@evanstongoclub.org.

Lastly, the Chicago Open organization team welcomes AGHS website manager Jamie Tang, who is grateful for the support of the co-organizers. “We’re very excited that Jamie has joined the Chicago Open organization team,” Yen said. “She has been invaluable in heading our outreach efforts, being responsible for everything from E-Journal reports to club contact.”

The New York Institute of Go’s new Manhattan location celebrated its grand opening the weekend of February 24-26 with over 100 players from around the country. To mark the occasion, Will Lockhart, director of the Surrounding Game documentary, donated a treasured ING board to the center. Players were also treated to some passionate Hikaru No Go karaoke, sung by Edward Zhang in honor of the many years of Japanese support for the community.

Saturday night’s activities consisted of Crazy Go, hosted of course by Terry Benson, half a dozen tables of PairGo organized by Devin Fraze, and lots of drinks and snacks. In addition, they celebrated four youth birthdays with song and cake.

The tournament featured 44 youth players, with awards being split by youth and adults into a total of 10 award sections. The top three youth players in each section were awarded trophies with places 4-6 receiving a certificate. Adults in each section were awarded $100, $75, and $50 in order of place, with the top division earning far more.

Championship Division 1st-6th places (left to right in the above photo):

1. Ninghan Duan (FL)
2. Michael Chen (PA)
3. Tianhao Li (NJ)
4. Xiaodi Huang (MA)
5. Haoran Wang (NY State Champion)
6. Alan Huang (NY)

Apparently the final Board 1 game was decided by half a point. Duan’s endgame skill got him a comeback and $1,200 prize, making it perhaps is the most expensive point in 2023 even in Manhattan’s standard.

• reported by Devin Fraze; click here to see more photos.

The Gotham Go Group of New York City has teamed up with the New York University Game Center to host the next Gotham Go Tournament on Saturday, April 1. The tournament will be held in NYU’s Brooklyn location. “A relationship between the Gotham Go Group and the NYU Game Center is a natural fit” says local organizer Peter Armenia, who only recently discovered the center’s existence. Frank Lantz, an expert on games, is one of the center’s founders and is a go player himself; you may have seen him interviewed in The Surrounding Game movie. 

The first Gotham Go Tournament was held 10 years ago in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This year’s tournament, known for the large strong field of players, tasty treats, generous and unique prizes, is expected to be the largest yet.

The tournament will be held on Saturday, April 1st at the NYU Game Center, 370 Jay Street in downtown Brooklyn. 

Guo analyzes a common joseki mistake and give advice about middle game fighting
technique.

Guo Juan 5P is a popular go teacher based in Amsterdam. Her online go school features a Spaced Repetition System with over 13,000 custom-made problems covering specific subjects plus short focused lectures that explain WHY. And there is a new feature that lets you make and upload your own problems into the SRS. Try it for two weeks for free. www.internetgoschool.com.

Download SGF File

March 11: Urbandale, IA
Central Iowa Go Tournament
Jacob Upland jaupland@gmail.com 319-412-4621

March 18: San Francisco, CA
Spring Tournament and Dojo Anniversary
Matthew Barcus matt@sfgo.club 415-316-2953

Get the latest go events information.

Ryo Maeda 6p, who has attended the US Go Congress for the past 19 years, reports that the Kansai Kiin will be organizing the 8th Osaka Go Camp June 25- July 13. “During the camp, we have league games in the mornings and full teaching programs in the afternoons by professional players every day,” says Maeda. The teaching programs will be in English. “On holidays, we will also organize some day trips to places like downtown Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and a two-day trip to Himeji and Kobe, attending an official tournament in Himeji and sightseeing includes Hmeji castle and Kobe. I promise that everyone can improve quite a lot through the Camp and the Congress and will have a lot of fun; We are looking forward to seeing you in Osaka!”

“We are back!” says longtime Maryland Open organizer Keith Arnold. The 47th Maryland Open will take place Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 and May 28 at the same great location in Catonsville. “Details and Registration coming soon!” Arnold promises.