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Annunciamo con piacere che sono ripresi ormai da qualche tempo i regolari incontri di gioco del Club, ci trovate tutti i giovedì alla birreria Keller in località Tre Olmi a Modena. (per info e conferma sulle serate scriveteci una mail, l’indirizzo lo trovate qui) Siete incuriositi e volete saperne di più sul gioco del Go? Sedetevi con noi e chiedete pure, saremo felici di spiegarvi le basi e di rispondere alla vostre domande. Sapete già giocare e volete passare la serata tra birra e Goban? Sedetevi con noi e.. buona partita! In ogni caso.. A presto!

By Keith L. Arnold, hka with Patrick Bannister

The Hon’inbo Title, held by Ishida Yoshio, was the big topic of the month. The Hon’inbo League ended in a tie between Rin Meijin and the veteran Sakata Eio, each with scores of 5-2. A playoff was held on May 3 and 4 and Rin was victorious, setting up a rematch of last year’s event. The first two games (on May 8 to 9 and May 17 to 18) resulted in wins for black, the first game to Ishida, the second to Rin. But in the third game, Rin scored a win with white on May 25 to 26 to take the lead in the best of seven contest. (Game records: playoff game, Game 1, Game 2, Game 3.)

Meanwhile, as the month closes, Fujisawa Shūkō remains unbeaten at 4-0 in the Meijin League, with Ōtake Hideo trailing him at 4-1.

Finally we share an amazing picture of two of the people most responsible for the spread of go in the world. Edward Lasker visited the Nihon Ki’in on May 9 and caught up with Iwamoto Kaoru. Lasker, who founded the New York Go Club which gave birth to the American Go Association, can be justly named the father of go in the United States. His book Go and Gomoku was a very early effort, and far more influential than its few predecessors. Iwamoto, who played in the famous “atom bomb game,” dedicated his life and his resources to spreading go throughout the world, funding go centers in North and South America as well as Europe.

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org]

Photos courtesy of Go Review, game records from SmartGo

Thirty players from across the country competed for $500 in prizes at the May 21 SF Go Club – ING Foundation Tournament.  The 3-round event, organized in recognition of the club’s longstanding support from the ING Foundation, was held at the San Francisco Go Club’s dojo in San Francisco’s Japantown.
Eric Lee (6D) came out victorious in Division 1 of the tournament, with Chao Xie (6D) and Christopher Kim (5D) in second and third place, respectively. In Division 2 the winner was Hyun Yong Jin (5 kyu) with Qilu Chen (1D) taking second and David Baran (6 kyu) taking third. And, from Division 3 Casey Dahlin (9 kyu) placed first with Adam Anaya (13 kyu) coming in second and Shuoyuan He (18 kyu) in third. All tournament attendees received a limited edition San Francisco Go Club mousepad.

The San Francisco Go Club will be hosting its next tournament on Saturday June 18th: register here. 

Report/photos by Matthew Barcus, SFGO Vice President.

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org]

We have received news that two longtime go players have passed, John Greiner (1947-2022) and Stephen Fawthrop (1953-2022). Fawthrop, a mathematics professor, was on the AGA rating committee which, in about 1990, set up the current rating system; read more about his go career here.
A celebration of Greiner’s life will be held Sunday, May 29, from 2 until 5 p.m. at The Rural Retreat Depot, 105 W. Railroad Avenue, Rural Retreat, VA.
In lieu of flowers or cards for Steve Fawthrop, send a donation in his name to the local Floyd County (Virginia) Humane Society, to the Best Friends animal charity, or your own local animal charity.

This is taken from the final game of the Japanese Women’s Meijin tournament where Nakamura Sumire (W) played against Kibe Natsuki (B). Sumire won this game and became the youngest female title challenger at 13 years old.

Besides the significance of the outcome, I also think this is an interesting game with a lot of positional judgement. A lot of readers are probably wondering how strong Sumire actually is aside from her sensational status as the rising star in the Japanese go scene. I will make some evaluations from what I see in this game.

Download SGF File

By Daniel ML

West MI State Championship Final Round

May 21st was a day of firsts for the West Michigan Go Club. It was our first time hosting a tournament. It was my first time as tournament director. It was the first time an AGA Michigan State Champion had ever been declared. Sixteen players gathered at Out Of The Box, a gaming store in the greater Grand Rapids area, to test their skills and have fun playing their best. Five of those players were there to determine who would be the first-ever Michigan State Champion. 

Go brings people together and we were excited to see a diverse group of players from all backgrounds, age groups and skill levels. For the handicap segment of our tournament, cash prizes were rewarded three deep, at $60, $40 and $20 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. 

Twenty kyu Johnson He wasn’t sure if he had played more than 100 games in his life, but he managed to take third place in the DDK division. Kalamazoo Go Club’s Claudio Mendoza (12k) took second and undefeated five-year-old Winston Yan (10k) took first place with a game record of 5-0. 

Grand Rapids city bus driver Chad Gessner (3k) took third place in the SDK division. Kalamazoo Go Club’s Zachariah Boumediene (5k) took second place and nine-year-old David Fang (5k) took first place with a game record of 3-1. David is very excited to attend the upcoming US Go Congress. Not only is he looking forward to meeting other go players, but he is excited about riding in an airplane and seeing the Colorado Rocky Mountains. 

The Michigan State Championship was a single-elimination tournament using a seeded bracket based on player strength. West Michigan Go Club had good representation with three of five of the competitors being current or former members of our club. Former W MI Go Club member and Kim Yoonyoung’s student Justin Johnson (3 Dan) took bronze and a cash prize of $60. Current W MI Go Club member Andrew Esther (2 Dan) took silver and a cash prize of $80. His daughter Carolyn Esther (18k) also competed in our DDK division. Lansing resident Mani Sanford (3 Dan) remained undefeated and took home the title of AGA MI State Champion for 2022. He also received a trophy and $120 for his excellent performance. Since Mani met fellow championship competitor and Lansing resident Michael Sullivan at this tournament, he is beginning to plan future go meetups in the Lansing area and to possibly create a new Go Club to build our community!

We are so proud to have brought this day of firsts to our region and are anticipating many great events in the months and years to come. Let’s continue to grow this positive and diverse community of people who have fallen in love with the game of go!

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Ichiriki wins 1st New Ryusei
This is a new tournament with an unfamiliar (to me) time system known as Fischer Time, after its inventor the late Bobby Fischer, a world chess champion. In the format used in this tournament, players have a time allowance of one minute, but receive an extra five seconds every time they play a move. First prize is 2,000,000 yen (about $15,500). It is separate from the existing Ryusei title, which is now in its 31st term.
The tournament was telecast on the Igo Shogi channel. It culminated in a best-of-three final, in which Ichiriki Ryo defeated Kyo Kagen 2-0. The second game was telecast on May 7. The results in the final, with the dates of actual play, follow.
Game 1 (Jan. 29). Ichiriki (W) by 22.5 points.
Game 2 (Feb. 5). Ichiriki (B) by resig.

Ichiriki to challenge for Gosei
The play-off to decide the challenger for the 47th Gosei title was held at the Nihon Ki-in on May 16. Ichiriki Ryo Kisei (B) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan by resignation after 219 moves. Ichiriki gets a return match with Iyama Yuta, who took the title from him last year. This will be the third title clash this year between these two. The match starts on June 24. Yo has now lost two play-offs in a row to Ichiriki.

47th Meijin League
After five rounds, Shibano Toramaru, former Meijin, holds the sole lead on 4-1, but there are three players on 3-2. Of these, his main rival will probably be Ichiriki Ryo, who has the advantage of being ranked number one in the league. To counterbalance that, Shibano has won their individual encounter. Results since my last report follow.
(March 26) Shibano Toramaru (B) beat Shida Tatsuya 8-dan by resig.
(April 7) Motoki Katsuya 8-dan (B) beat Shibano by resig.
(April 11) Kyo Kagen Judan (W) beat Shida Tatsuya 8-dan by half a point.
(April 14) Ida Atsushi 8-dan (W) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan by resig.
(April 21) Ichiriki (B) beat Yamashita by resig.
(May 2) Shibano (B) beat Yo by resig.
(May 5) Shida (W) beat Hane by resig.

Kisei S League
The 47th Kisei S League got off to a start on April 28. Paying in his first league since the 37th tournament, Iyama Yuta got off to a bad start. Taking black, Takao Shinji 9-dan beat him by resig. This is a short league, with only five rounds, so the other players in the league will be encouraged by Iyama’s initial setback. Other results in the first round follow.
(May 9) Kyo Kagen Judan (W) beat Yo Seiki 8-dran by resig.
(May 12) Shibano Toramaru (W) beat Murakawa Daisuke 9-dan by resig.

Sumire’s progress
Sumire may have suffered a setback in her first title challenge, but overall she is having another good year. As of May 17, her results are 18-9, giving her an excellent winning percentage, and she is again near the top in the most-wins list (see article below). Her cumulative record as a pro is 99 wins to 51 losses (exactly 66%, which is in line with her results this year).
(March 24) Sumire beat Mukai Chiaki (see Women’s Meijin item above)
(March 26) Sumire (W) lost to Kubo Hideo 7-dan by resig. (Prelim. A, Agon 29th Kiriyama Cup).
(March 29) Sumire beat Jo Bun’en 1-dan and Takeshita Ryoya 1-dan (3rd Discovery Cup).
(March 31) Sumire (W) beat Kibe Natsuki 2-dan by resig. (prelim., 41st Women’s Honinbo).
(April 4) Sumire (W) beat Tsuji Hana 2-dan by half a point (Prelim., 7th Senko Cup).
(April 8) Sumire lost to Fujisawa (International Senko Cup – see article aabove)
(April 14 & 16) Sumire lost 0-2 in the Women’s Meijin title match—see above.
(April 18) Sumire lost to Fujii Koki 1-dan (9th Globis Cup). At this point, she had lost four games in a row.
(April 25) Sumire (B) beat Hoshiai Shiho 3-dan by resig. (prelim., 7th Senko Cup). This win secured Sumire a seat in the main tournament. 
(April 28) Sumire (W) beat Yamada Shinji 6-dan by 3.5 (Prelim. C, 48th Meijin).
(May 2). Sumire (B) lost to Kono Rin 9-dan by 6.5. (Prelim. A, 78th Honinbo).
(May 5) Sumire (W) beat Omori Ran 1-dan by resig. (round 1, main tournament, 41st Women’s Honinbo).
(May 12) Sumire (B) beat Takao Mari 1-dan by resig. (round 1, main section, 7th Senko Cup).

Most wins
There are six women in the top ten in this list, the most that I can remember. It’s generally agreed that the current top group of women players is the strongest ever. On top of that, the increase in the number of women’s tournaments gives them plenty of competition and, of course, chances to improve their win records. (Results are as of May 17.)
1. Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei: 22-4; Ichiriki Ryo Kisei: 22-8
3. Nakamura Sumire 2-dan, Nyu Eiko 4-dan: both 18-9
5. Kyo Kagen Judan: 17-4; Ida Atsushi 8-dan: 17-5
7. Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo: 15-5
8. Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan: 14-2; Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan: 14-12
10. Mukai Chiaki 5-dan: 13-12

Most successive wins
10: Koike Yoshihiro
7: Hikosaka Naoto 9-dan
5: O Rissei 9-dan, Son Makoto 7-dan, Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo, Konishi Yoshiakira 1-dan

Recently ended streaks
11: Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei
10: Ichiriki Ryo Kisei
8: Fujita Akihiko 7-dan
7: Yokotsuka Riki,
6: Otake Yu 6-dan, Byan Wonkei 3-dan

Promotion
To 4-dan: Kikkawa Hajime (30 wins, as of March 29)

Decorations for Iyama and Ishida
Two go-players were awarded decorations by the government in the spring honors list. These awards honor persons who have made outstanding contributions in their own fields and, by extension, to Japanese society and culture. The players were Iyama Yuta and Ishida Yoshio. Ishida has won 24 titles and his main achievement was to set an unbroken youth record by winning the Honinbo title at the age of 22. He held this title for five years, earning him the title of 24th Honinbo Shuho. He is now 73 and is still an active player. He is also a popular teacher and commentator. In 2016, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon; this time he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. At a press conference, he said that his targets as a player are to reach 1200 wins and to play 2000 official games. He is optimistic about reaching the first target, but is not so sanguine about the latter. As of May 17, his record was 1144 wins, 725 losses, 1 no-result, for a total of 1700 games.

Iyama Yuta, holder of the Meijin, Honinbo, Oza, and Gosei titles, was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon. At 32, he is the youngest go player to have received an award. At a press conference, he referred to how arduous professional go was, the constant pressure from his rivals, especially the new generation, the consequent need to keep developing, and the importance of studying AI. He also commented that the joy from achieving a successful result was only momentary and that not only was the summit of go not visible, but that one didn’t even know where it was. On the plus side, he cited the profundity and limitless fascination of the game. Twenty-nine go players have received awards, eight of them more than once.

Chicago Open winner Albert Yen 8d (center) with TD Mark Rubenstein (right) and Co-TD Devin Fraze (left)

The Evanston Go Club’s 2022 Chicago Open tournament on May 14 saw a record-breaking 84 players. “This turnout was double our highest-ever, and nearly three times our usual size.” said TD Mark Rubenstein. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of Albert Yen, who brought this tournament to a whole new level. With 16 players ranked 5 dan and above, including a professional player, this was by far the most competitive tournament we’ve ever run.” 

“The energy in the room was special. We had players ranging from elementary schoolers to retirees, beginners to professionals, and travelers from 11 states. The best part is, I know the next time will be even better! Stay tuned for what Chicago has to offer!” said Albert Yen. Simon Guo taught first-time youngsters to play in the free Youth section. “Watch out for these kids next year!” said Rubenstein, adding “Special thanks go to Devin Fraze for running the Open section and bringing his awesome tournament software, 30 Go sets and three players from Ohio!” 

“This tournament really put the program through its paces, and we have a lot of ideas for making the next iteration even better! It will eventually be made available to clubs through the baduk.club website.” said Co-Director Fraze.

Tournament photos can be found here. The top board was streamed live on Twitch, and the recordings can be seen here: Rounds 1 & 2; Rounds 3-5.

Winners:

Open: 1 – Albert Yen 8d (5-0); 2 – Xingke Sun 5d (4-1); 3 – Zirui Song 1p (3-2)
Dan: 1 – Stephanie Tan 1d (3-3); 2 – Xiaodong Tan 1d (3-1); 3 – Daniel Puzan 2d (3-1)
High Kyu: 1 – Sean Gibbons 2k (5-2); 2 – Samuel Kennedy 2k (4-1); 3 – Huanzhou Yang 4k (4-2)
Mid Kyu: 1 – Winston Yan 9k (5-2); 2 – David Rohde 5k (4-4); 3 – Robert Qi 5k (4-1)
Low Kyu: 1 – Jeffrey Jiao 15k (6-1); 2 – Grant Song 18k (6-0); 3 – Alicia Seifrid 12k (5-1)
Youth 9×9: 1 – Belle Chao; 2 – Katherine Chen; 3 – Valerie Huang; 4 – Evan Pan

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org]

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Teikei Cup Shibano (left) & Kyo

Kyo wins Teikei New Stars
The second game of the 1st Teikei New Stars title match was held in the Ryusei Studio at the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya, Tokyo, on April 2. Taking white, Kyo Kagen beat Shibano Toramaru by resignation after 238 moves. Kyo took the lead in the opening. Things became perilous when Shibano made a deep invasion, but Kyo managed to hang on to his lead. This was his second win, so he won the inaugural title. First prize is 10,000,000 yen (about $77,500).

Kyo defends Judan
The third game of the Daiwa House Cup 60th Judan title match was held at the ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano Omachi Kuroyon in Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture, on April 7. Taking black, Kyo Kagen Judan (photo) outplayed Yo Seiki 8-dan, the challenger, in the middle game and secured a resignation after 205 moves. This was Kyo’s third win, so he defended his title. First prize is 7,000,000 yen. This is Kyo’s sixth title.

Ueno wins 4th international Senko Cup
The Senko Cup World Go Strongest Woman Player tournament was held on the Net from April 8 to 10. In net tournaments, the venue for Japanese players is usually the Nihon Ki-in, but in this tournament they play at the Hotel Kaie in Koto Ward, which is one of the sponsors of the tournament. Ueno Asami won three games straight and secured her first victory in an international tournament. This was, in fact, the first victory by a Japanese woman in an international tournament. Ueno beat Yu Zhiying of China, winner of the first three Senko Cups, in the first round and her fellow Japanese representative Xie Yimin helped her out by beating Cho Jeong, the world’s top-rated woman player, also in the first round. Second place was taken by Lu Yuhua 4-dan of Chinese Taipei. First prize is 5,000,000 yen.

Round 1 (April 8). Fujisawa Rina 5-dan (Japan) (W) beat Nakamura Sumire 2-dan (Japan) by 2.5 points; Ueno Asami 4-dan (Japan) (W) beat Yu Zhiying 7-dan (China) by resig.; Lu Yuhua 3-dan (Chinese Taipei) (W) beat Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan (Japan) by resig.; Xie Yimin 7-dan (Japan) beat Choi Jeong 9-dan (Korea) by resig.
Round 2 (April 9). Ueno (W) beat Fujisawa by resig.; Lu (B) beat Xie by resig.
Round 3 (April 10). Ueno (B) beat Lu by resig.
Playoff for 3rd place (April 10). Fujisawa (B) beat Xie by resig.

Fujisawa reaches best eight in Tengen
On April 4, Fujisawa Rina (W) beat Cho Riyu 8-dan by resignation in the main section the 48th Tengen tournament. This earned her a seat in the quarterfinals. This is only the second time a woman player has made the best-eight in a top-seven tournament. The first player to do so was the same Fujisawa – in last year’s Judan tournament. Incidentally, in the first round of the main section, Fujisawa beats Cho Chikun, Hon. Meijin.

Tomorrow: Ichiriki wins 1st New Ryusei; Ichiriki to challenge for Gosei; Meijin & Kisei S League reports; Sumire’s progress; Most wins, Most successive wins, Recently ended streaks & promotion

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

KBA and University of Seoul Sign Agreement on Digital Go Education and Go Globalization
The Korean Baduk Association (KBA) and the University of Seoul have agreed to cooperate with the aim of creating a metaverse and an A.I.-based platform for Go education. The business agreement focuses on the development of Go contents using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), research on Go educational methods to vitalize Go education, and the implementation of a Go meta world using metaverse space. The president of the University of Seoul, Seo Soontaek commented, “We expect that the A.I.-based Go education platform to be developed through the business agreement will play a leading role in the domestic and overseas Go education market and contribute to the expansion and globalization of Go.” KBA Secretary-General Yang Jaeho added, “We have tried to spread Go globally, such as the United States, Europe, and South East Asia, but we faced difficulties due to the lack of a Go educational system. I hope we can develop together with the University of Seoul a great Go educational program and spread Go around the world.” 

27th LG Cup Qualifications
The 24 participants of the 27th LG Cup were determined via seeds, qualifiers, and a wild card. Among them, 13 Korean players were selected which included five seeds (Shin Jinseo, Park Jeonghwan, Byun Sangil, Shin Minjun, and Kim Myeonghoon), seven qualifiers (Cho Hanseung, Kim Jiseok, Won Seongjin, Park Hamin, Park Jinsol, Seol Hyunjun, and Park Geonho), and one wild card (Kang Dongyun). Kang Dongyun, currently ranked 8 in the Korean ranking list, was the highest ranked player among the eliminated players of the Korean qualifiers and has won the 20th LG Cup in 2016. Veteran Cho Hanseung (40) qualified for the first time in nine years. His best achievement in the LG Cup was reaching the semifinals in the 7th, 9th, and 11th editions.Meanwhile, seven players from China will participate, namely: Yang Dingxin, Ke Jie, and Mi Yuting (seeded), while Shi Yue, Ding Hao, Gu Zihao, and Zhao Chenyu qualified. Furthermore, Shibano Toramaru and Yu Zhengqi were seeded, while Sada Atsushi qualified from Japan. In addition, Wang Yuanjun from Chinese Taipei will also join, completing the round of 24. The main tournament will begin on May 29th and 30th, followed by the round of 16 on June 1st. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place in November, and the finals are set for February next year.

Open section winners

The only player to go 3-0 in a strong 10-player Open section, King Bi 5d won the 2022 San Diego Go Championship last weekend. In a four-way tie for second place were Yifan Qu 4d, Aiyang Lu 7d, Yingxu Zhu 6d, and Yixian Zhou 6d, all with 2-1 records. Yifan Qu and Aiyang Lu were declared second and third respectively in the Open based on tiebreakers and took home trophies and cash awards.

Prize money for all sections totaled more than $800.

There was a three-way tie at 3-1 for the leaders of the Handicap Section. By tie-breakers, the results were:
1st: Roxin Cao 1d; 2nd: Isaiah Bird 1d; 3rd: Pasco Kwok 2d.

The single-digit kyu section had 27-single-digit kyu players, so it was divided into two divisions. The top three finishers in both divisions were awarded cash prizes.

Youngest Player Ken Lin, 5

1st Division: 1st: Les Lanphear 2k, AGA Board member (it was his first trophy in more than 50-years of playing go!); 2nd: Angel Zhou 2k, and Pete Schumer 2k, who was recognized for coming the furthest: from Vermont.

2nd division: 1st: David Baran 6k, the only player to go 4-0 & just moved to SD; 2nd: Lucia Moscola 9k;  and 3rd: Jackson Hranek 7k.

Double-Digit Section:

1st: David Saponara 16k, president of the host San Diego Chess Club; 2nd: Donovan Chen 20k; and Rain Zhang 25k.

Nine-year-old Roxin took home a second trophy for becoming the U16 2022 Boys San Diego Go Champion. Angel – also 9 – won her second trophy of the day for being the U16 2022 Girls San Diego Go Champion.

Prizes for the youngsters included those from Yellow Mountain Imports (magnetic go boards, traveling boards, go stones, wooden bowls…). Rubio’s Coastal Grill also provided a meal voucher for it’s famous fish tacos for every youth in attendance.

Five-year-old Ken Lin collected a prize for being the youngest player in the tournament, a SDGC tradition. And “Yes, he did win a game,” reports TD Ted Terpstra.

Covid precautions were followed, with all players and spectators asked to wear masks (except when posing for an E-Journal picture) and be vaccinated. Most go tables had only one game on them and players could take the boards and stones outside to play on picnic tables on a perfect 72-degree San Diego May day.

“SDGC thanks its sponsors, Yellow Mountain Imports, Rubio’s Coast Grill, and State Farm Insurance,” Terpstra says.

SDGC will be hosting the fifth annual California Go Championship on the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, again at the San Diego Chess Club.

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org]

in Fiera a Modena, il 21 e 22 Maggio

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

Team Korea (l-r): Oh Yujin, Heo Seohyun, Choi Jeong, Lee Seulju & Kim Chaeyoung.
Photo courtesy Cyberoro.
The Hoban Cup starts May 22nd, with one game at 2pm (KST) every day until 28th.

First Hoban Women’s Team Cup Kicks off
The opening ceremony of the 1st Hoban Seoul Newspapers International Women’s Paewang Cup was held in the Riverside Hotel in Seoul on May 12th. In this new tournament, three female teams compete in the win-and-continue format. Team Korea consists of Choi Jeong 9p and Oh Yujin 9p (ranking seeds), Kim Chaeyoung 7p (sponsor’s wild card), as well as teenagers Heo Seohyun 3p (19) and Lee Seulju 1p (16) who won the qualifiers. They will compete against Yu Zhiying 7p, Zhou Hongyu 6p, Lu Minquan 6p, Le He 5p, and Wu Yiming 3p from China, and Xie Yimin 7p, Suzuki Ayumi 7p, Fujisawa Rina 5p, Ueno Asami 4p, and Nakamura Sumire 2p from Japan.
After Ueno Asami’s recent victory in the 2022 Senko Cup World Women Championship in April, she commented that the difference in strength between the female players of the strongest Go nations has reduced. In an interview, Choi Jeong agreed with her assessment, adding that she is eagerly looking forward to fierce competition in the new Hoban Cup. The first stage of seven games will be played from 22nd to 28th of May, one game a day. Maybe some fans want to cheer their favorite female players during the live broadcasts. In round 1, Wu Yiming 3p (15) from China will face the youngest participant, 13-year-old Nakamura Sumire 2p from Japan. The winner of that match will play against Lee Seulju 1p (16) from Korea.

Park Jeonghwan wins 23rd Maxim Coffee Cup

Extra caffeine, please: Park Jeonghwan celebrates Maxim Coffee Cup win

The Maxim Coffee Cup is a domestic tournament restricted to 9 dan players, it is sponsored by the Korean instant coffee giant Maxim Coffee. The main tournament started with the round of 32 which included strong players such as last year’s winner Kim Jiseok, and the runner-up Lee Jihyun. Also present were Lee Changho who received one of the sponsor’s wild cards and the top-ranked players Shin Jinseo, Park Jeonghwan, Lee Donghoon, Byun Sangil, Shin Minjun, Won Seongjin. 

Shin Jinseo surprisingly was knocked out in the round of 16 by Yoon Yunsang. The final was a repeat of the Wooseul-Bongju title match held in March between Park Jeonghwan and Lee Donghoon. On the way to the finals, Park Jeonghwan defeated Choi Jeong, Park Seunghwa, Kim Jiseok, and Shin Minjun, while Lee Donghoon defeated Kim Hyemin, Choi Cheolhan, Yoon Junsang, and Lee Younggu. The allotted time was 10 minutes, followed by a byoyomi of 40 seconds three times. Park Jeonghwan defeated Lee Donghoon 2:0 in the best-of-three final match. In a post-match interview Park said, “I think it worked well for me to put my mind at ease and do my best in each game. I’m weak at fast games, so I prepared more this time. Before the final, Kang Dongyun 9p sparred with me, and thanks to that, I was able to win.” The winner’s purse was 50 million KRW ($39,000) and the runner-up took home 20 million KRW ($15,500). Park Jeonghwan has now won the Maxim title for the fourth time following his victories in the 13th, 14th, and 18th editions. Coincidently, the Maxim Coffee title is also the fourth title he is holding currently.

Tomorrow: KBA and University of Seoul Sign Agreement on Digital Go Education and Go Globalization; 27th LG Cup Qualifications

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Ichiriki (right) becomes challenger in Honinbo

Ichiriki challenging for Honinbo title, Iyama makes good start
All the games in the final round of the 77th Honinbo League were played on March 31. Yo Seiki had held the lead all the way in the league, including the sole lead from the third round on, but he slipped up in the final round, coming out on the wrong side of a half-pointer. Ichiriki, who had been in the sole second place from the fourth round on, won his game, so he finally caught up with Yo. In the play-off, Ichiriki was victorious, enabling him to make his first challenge for the Honinbo title. This is also his second successive challenge to Iyama Yuta in a best-of-seven. If Yo had won, he would have been the first Honinbo challenger from the Kansai Ki-in for 60 years. Actually, Shibano, who beat him in the final round, has been his nemesis, and he has won only one of 13 games with him. Results since my last report follow.
(March 26) Ichiriki (B) beat Hane Naoki by resig.
(March 31) Ichiriki (B) beat Sada Atsushi 7-dan by resig.
Kyo Kagen Judan (W) beat Hane Naoki by resig.
Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (B) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan by half a point.
Motoki Katsuya 8-dan (B) beat Tsuruyama Atsushi by resig.
Play-off to decide the challenger (April 4). Ichiriki (W) beat Yo by resig.

The title match has started. Iyama is aiming at setting a new record by winning a big-three title 11 years in a row. Ichiriki is seeking what would be only his third victory in his tenth title match with Iyama. His record versus Iyama before the match began was 21 wins to 33 losses, which actually represents a recovery by Ichiriki. From late 2016 to early 2018, he suffered 13 successive losses to Iyama, at which point his record was 3-15.

Iyama starts with a narrow win
The first game in the best-of-seven was played in the Kinkeikaku (Golden Valley Pavillion) in the Oyama Shrine, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, on May 10 and 11. To review the game conditions: the time allowance is eight hours per player and the final ten minutes are used for byo-yomi.

Iyama drew black in the nigiri. Because of a number of ko fights, the game was the longest in a Honinbo title match: 357 moves. It finished at 9:34 p.m. on the second day, and Iyama won by half a point. From start to finish, the game was marked by relentless fighting. In the early part of the game, Ichiriki seemed to have an edge, but in the latter part Iyama played a clever move that enable him to manipulate the multiple ko fights to his advantage. More than half the game was fought with both players in the final minute of byo-yomi.

The second game will be played on May 24 and 25.

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org] Sumire challenges

Nakamura Sumire makes first challenge, Fujisawa defends Women’s Meijin
As mentioned in my previous report (March 30), Sumire finished the 33rd Women’s Meijin League with the sole lead of 5-1 on March 24. However, if Xie Yimin 7-dan won her final game, she would catch up and force a play-off. That game was played on March 28. Ueno Asami helped her out by beating Xie; taking black, she won by resig., so Sumire became the challenger.

No one will be surprised to hear that Sumire set yet another record. Previously, the youngest challenger for a women’s title was Fujisawa Rina, who was 16 when she challenged for the 33rd Women’s Honinbo. Sumire was 13 years one month when the Women’s Meijin title match started, so she lowered the record by nearly three years.

Other league results since my previous report follow.
(March 24) Sumire (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by half a point.
(April 4) Ueno Asami Women’s Kisei (W) beat Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan by resig.

The title match, the Hakata Kamachi Cup 33rd Women’s Meijin Best-of-Three, to give it its full name, is sponsored by what seems to be a related group of organizations, namely,  the Kyoju-no-kai (an incorporated body that runs a hospital), the Total Medical Service Inc., and Medical Tender Inc.

In the title match, Sumire fell short. In the first game, played at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on April 14, she drew black in the nigiri. She fought strongly, but Fujisawa took the lead in the middle game. However, she made a blunder that let Sumire catch up. The game became very close, but Sumire also made a mistake. Fujisawa outplayed Sumire in the endgame and steadily expanded her lead. The game became even on the board, so Sumire resigned after move 248.

Fujisawa Rina

The second game was played at the same venue on April 16. Playing with black, Fujisawa dominated the game and held the lead throughout. Sumire resigned after 203 moves. Fujisawa won this title for her fifth year in a row, so she qualified for the title of Honorary Women’s Meijin. First prize is worth 7,000,000 yen (about $54,200 at $1 = 129 yen). This is her 21st title.

Despite her loss, Sumire can be proud of beating a high-level field in the league and of setting a record for challenging at the age of 13. One of her ambitions is to win a title while in middle school, so she still has almost two years to reach this goal.

Tomorrow: Kyo wins Teikei New Stars; Kyo defends Judan; Ueno wins 4th international Senko Cup; Fujisawa reaches best eight in Tengen.

Poster by Victoria Xie

“Get ready for the summer with some quick and casual go!” says AGHS Co-President Sophia Wang. “New this year, the AGHS Blitz Charity Tournament will consist of 5 ultra-blitz rounds of fun and frenzy. All players are welcome. Join us on June 5th at the KGS’s AGHS Tournament Room. This year, the AGHS Team has chosen to donate to those in Ukraine affected by the serious ongoing crisis. We are hosting this tournament to encourage donations to this cause (details in the registration form).”

Registration deadline: May 29th 11:59 pm PT.

To register, click here.

For more information about rules and regulations, click here.

The proposed exhibition “A Contemporary Art Experiment, From Go Seigen to AlphaGo” has been selected as the winning exhibition for the 2021 OCAT Research-Based Curatorial Project, “ at the OCAT Research Center in Beijing. The selection “means we get to stage another, bigger exhibition for the next stage with the entire museum space at our disposal later this year,” reports Zhiyan Yang, who will curate the show with Chen Jiayi.

“We were happy to be one of the ‘Artists’ providing materials,” says AGF President Terry Benson, who along with longtime AGAers Roy Laird and Barbara Calhoun recorded some Silly Go Songs showing the broader cultural of Go in the west. Some of the old covers of the American Go Journal (below) were also included.

A total of 29 proposals were initially made, with a resulting shortlist of five, including “The Flow of Broken Mirrors: Rewriting ‘Modernity’ in Perception of Boundaries,” “Why Everything Has Not Disappeared,” “The Fragile and Dangerous Domain of Optimism – Redefinition and Reproduction of Failure,” “Algorithms: The Magician of Exhibition Knowledge Production” and the winner, “Go, A Contemporary Art Research Experiment – From Wu Qingyuan to AlphaGo” which “explores how go, as an ‘old media’ and a rearguard culture in the contemporary context, transcends its own attributes as a game, and produces more diversity in the process of blending with cultural practice and artistic creation.” CLICK HERE for a walk-through of the exhibit featuring the five finalist projects.

An expanded exhibition – with more materials from the AGA – will be mounted in Beijing later this year.

When Bob Bacon received notice recently about being selected as the “Winner for the 2022 Best of Manhattan Awards,” he got that tingly feeling you get when you sense a trick play coming on the go board. Although the stated purpose of the award was “to support and offer public recognition of the contributions of businesses and organizations in and around Manhattan,” Bacon was suspicious, since he’s a local organizer with the Triangle Go Group in North Carolina, some 500 miles from Manhattan. “Looks like a scam to tempt go players into buying a trophy,” says Bacon, who shared a link to You Won!!! How Small Businesses are Scammed into Purchasing Awards. “The point of the scam is to get businesses to buy an award, which is ultimately worthless,” the site warns, adding that “If you didn’t apply for an award, or the group cannot tell you how you were nominated, chances are the award is not legitimate.” Number three on the list of warning signs is that most legitimate awards do not come with costs for the recipient; the Manhattan Awards email says “We just ask each Award recipient to pay the cost of their awards.” Forewarned is forearmed; don’t put yourself in atari!

Black’s position is flat and lacks eye-space.

Yilun Yang 7P is one of the most popular go teachers in the US. You can reach him at yly_go@yahoo.com.

Download SGF File

by Daniela Trinks, Korea correspondent for the E-Journal

The Pair Go World Cup 2022 was held in Japan under the auspices of the Japan Pair Go Association and the World Pair Go Association. It consisted of three main events: the Pair Go Friendship Dream Match, the International Pair Go Online Tournament, and the Japanese Professional Pair Go Championship 2022 which were held both in-person and online.
In the Pair Go Friendship Dream Match, 16 pairs of players- Japan (7), China (4), South Korea (4), and Chinese Taipei (1)- made up of top-ranked pros, legends, and young pros participated. The organizers came up with the refreshing idea of hybrid matches – while the players placed their moves on the board in their respective countries, they faced two amateurs who placed the opponent’s moves. In addition, videos of the players were broadcast live, so they could see each other (see photo). For the fans, it was a special experience because they could watch the pros playing on the board and see the opponents’ reactions concurrently – just like in an in-person match. In the pictures, you can see Japan’s Yoshihara Yukari 6p and Cho Chikun 9p playing South Korea’s Park Jieun 9p and Cho Hoonhyun 9p. After a spectacular roller-coaster match, Yoshihara & Cho emerged as victors. Since it was a friendship event, most pairs played only one game regardless of the outcome and no overall winner was declared. The players, results, and game records can be found here.

Pair Go Friendship Dream Match 2022. Photo courtesy of Nihon Kiin and KBaduk.

Pair Go Friendship Dream Match 2022
In the International Pair Go Online Tournament, two teams from Japan, Europe, and North America together with a team each from Africa, China, Oceania, South America, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, competed on Pandanet IGS. The South Korean team, made up of Lee Rubee 6d & Heo Youngrak 2p (photo below left), won the tournament undefeated followed by the team China. They repeated the success they had in the 30th International Amateur Pair Go Championship held in 2020. Heo Youngrak became a pro in July 2021 but had qualified prior for the 2021 Amateur Pair Go Championship which was postponed due to the pandemic. The third-fourth place match between Japan and Thailand was won by Japan, placing Japan third and Thailand fourth. For further information, check the link here.

19th Asian Games Postponed, Top Go Nations’ Player Selections Nearly Complete
The Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled for September 2022 was postponed to 2023 due to Covid-19. On the day of this announcement, the months-long qualification process to select six male and four female players to represent Korea came to an end. The successful male candidates are Shin Jinseo 9p, Park Jeonghwan 9p, Byun Sangil 9p, Kim Myunghoon 8p, Shin Minjun 9p, and Lee Jihyun 9p. Meanwhile, the female team consists of Choi Jeong 9p, Oh Yujin 9p, Kim Chaeyoung 7p, and Kim Eunji 2p. The male team consists of the 1-3, 7, 10, and 12th national-ranked players, whereas the female team has the four strongest players (as of May). The players’ age ranges from 14-year-old (Kim Eunji) to 29-year-old (Lee Jihyun and Park Jeonghwan). The selected players will compete with other Asian teams in three competitions: the 5-player male team event, the 3-player female team event, and the male individual event (2 players).
Meanwhile, the player selections for the Chinese, Japanese, and Chinese Taipei teams are almost complete, as shown in the table below. The line-up for each country is impressive, and fierce competition can be expected. It will also be interesting to see how the teams from fast-growing amateur Go nations Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore fare against the “Big-4”. Furthermore, Indonesia and Malaysia now have pros affiliated with the Nihon Kiin (as reported here) who might partake in the games. So, we can await exciting match-ups next year.

Table: Selected players for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. * Nihon Kiin affiliated Taiwanese player

If you’re in, near or passing by Rosendale, NY, the Rosendale Library has started a go club on Saturdays to service the go community in Ulster and Dutchess counties in the Hudson Valley of New York.  An introduction and demonstration to the game will be given by Nathan Borggren AGA 2d from 12 pm to 1:30 pm this Saturday, May 21. Games can be started and played all afternoon for experienced players. CLICK HERE for more details. Go boards and chess boards are also available at the Rosendale Library during library hours for patron’s enjoyment. “Come and play!” Borggren urges.