Aggregatore di feed

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Most wins
Shibano Toramaru, the youthful new Meijin, topped this list for the third year in a row. Considering the level of his competition now, as he’s playing top-flight opponents in leagues and title matches, that’s a significant achievement and testimony to his great form for most of the year. Also significant are the two best results ever attained by female players, with Ueno Asami and Fujisawa Rina coming third and fourth respectively. In particular, their good results against male players show that the level of women’s go is steadily rising. Here are the top 12.

1. Shibano Toramaru: 52 wins, 18 losses
2. Ichiriki Ryo 8P: 47-14
3. Ueno Asami, Women’s Honinbo: 44-25
4. Mutsuura Yuta: 38-20; Fujisawa Rina, Women’s Hollyhock Cup: 38-28
5. Otake Yu 3P: 36-12
6. Kono Rin 9P: 35-18
7. Iyama Yuta Kisei: 34-27
8. Suzuki Shinji 7P: 33-15; Son Makoto 7P: 33-19
9. Kyo Kagen 8P: 32-17
10. Xie Yimin 6P: 31-23

Most successive wins

1. Ichiriki Ryo, Fujita Akihiko 7P (twice): 16
2. Kono Rin: 13
3. Yokotsuka Riki 7P, Fujisawa Rina: 12
4. Hane Naoki Gosei: 11
5. Shibano Toramaru, Adachi Toshimasa 6P, Muramoto Wataru 2P (twice), Nyu Eiko 2P: 10

Best winning percentage

1. Ichiriki: 77.05
2. Otake Yu, Fujita Akihiko (30-10): 75
3. Shibano Toramaru: 74.29
4. Oomote Takuto 3P (20-7): 74.07

2019 Prize-money promotions
There are three ways to earn promotions. One is through cumulative wins, which is the slow way. The fast way is through a tournament success, which will enable a low-ranked player to skip some intervening ranks. The conditions are fairly complicated, so here is a summary. Promotion to 7-dan: challenging for one of the bottom four (Oza, Tengen, Gosei, Judan) of the top seven titles; winning the Agon Kiriyama Cup or the Ryusei tournament; winning a place in the Kisei S League or the Honinbo or Meijin League. To 8-dan: winning one of the bottom four of the top seven titles; challenging for one of the top three titles (Kisei, Meijin, Honinbo); coming second in an international tournament. To 9-dan: winning a top-three or an international title; winning one of the bottom four of the top seven titles a second time. In theory, a new 1-dan could go straight to 9-dan by this system. In practice, however, it’s unlikely because it would take close to two years to go from the first qualifying round to a top-three title match, during which time a player strong enough to do this would have already made 2-dan or 3-dan.
The third way to get promoted is by coming first or second in the prize-money list for each dan from 1-dan to 5-dan; the top 6-dan is also promoted. Only prize money won in the top seven titles is counted. These promotions take effect on January 1 and are based on the previous year. (Players who earn promotions through the cumulative-wins system are not considered.) The promotions for 2019 are given below.

To 7-dan: Adachi Toshimasa
To 6-dan: Terayama Rei, Yo Chito
To 5-dan: Onishi Ryuhei, Koike Yoshihiro
To 4-dan: Otake Yu, Hirose Yuichi
To 3-dan: Seki Kotaro, Torii Yuta
To 2-dan: Chotoku Tetsushi, Sakai Yuki

Top prize-money winners for 2019 (in yen)

1. Iyama Yuta: 108,259,237 (about $984,000)
2. Shibano Toramaru: 67,669,600
3. Ichiriki Ryo: 36,847,129
4. Cho U: 32,272,656
5. Fujisawa Rina: 26,593,572
6. Yamashita Keigo: 26,177,458
7. Kono Rin: 25,230,600
8. Hane Naoki: 21,004,400
9. Ueno Asami: 20,777,172
10. Kyo Kagen: 19,044,240

Top news of 2019
The readers of Go Weekly chose the following as the hottest news topics of the year.

1. Shibano Toramaru’s breakthrough
2. The blossoming of Nakamura Sumire
3. The rising dragon Ueno Asami
4. Iyama Yuta stays on top
5. The new Gosei Hane Naoki
6. Death of Ogawa Tomoko
7. Busy year for Fujisawa Rina
8. Retirement of Lee Sedol
9. Cho U’s win in China-Japan Agon Kiriyama Cup
10. Ichiriki’s success rapid-go titles
    Just missing the top ten was Sakai Hideyuki retiring from go to resume his medical career.

Tomorrow: Iyama close to defending Kisei title; Iyama ahead in international final; Park wins New Year’s Cup

download SGF file

Published in the February 18, 2020 edition of the American Go E-Journal.

In this game commentary between 1 kyu players Kaz recommends simple joseki to avoid having to know complex variations. Of course as usual, Kaz also covers numerous must-know shapes that regularly arise at all levels of play.

A longtime contributor to the American Go E-Journal, former insei Kazunari Furuyama has returned with his popular EJ column, now in sgf files and re-named “Lessons with Kaz”. Visit his newly improved website, including the advice column and example problems. Kaz also has room for offline teaching.

The AGA is looking for one male player and one female player to play as a pair in the new Pair Go Handicap Tournament at the Pair Go World Cup 2020 in Tokyo, Japan from July 1 to July 6, 2020. Both players must be American citizens and have been continuous members of the AGA for one year. Room and board are provided by the tournament, and 50% of the cost of airfare will also be covered, with players expected to bear 50% of airfare and other travel costs.

Eligible interested players (male, female, or pairs) should contact AGA Pair Go Coordinator Hajin Lee at hajin.lee@usgo.org no later than February 26.

February 22: Springfield, MA
Western Mass Go Club Winter 2020 Tournament
Trevor Morris gotrevor@gmail.com 413-548-6256
Neil Ritter ritter.neil@gmail.com

March 1: Seattle, WA
Seattle Monthly Ratings Tournament – March
Mike Malveaux programs@seattlego.org 206-545-1424

Get the latest go events information.

Go was part of the February 8-9 grand re-opening of the Seattle Asian Art Museum, following a $56 million renovation of the 1933 art-deco building.  On prominent display was a large Chinese decorative screen (artist uncertain) featuring the four classical arts required of aristocratic gentlemen: playing the guqin (a stringed zither-like instrument), calligraphy, painting, and playing go (right).  Thanks to Steve Jones, South Sound Go Club, Tacoma WA.

Evan Lin (B) beat Jeremy Chiu (W) by 11.5 points on Sunday, Feb. 16 in the final game of the 2020 Globis Cup Qualifier, to become the North American representative to the 2020 Globis Cup.

In Game #1, Jeremy Chiu (W) beat Willis Huang (B) by resignation. In Game #2, Evan Lin (B) beat Jeremy Chiu (W) by resignation. In Game #3 Jeremy Chiu (B) beat Willis Huang (W) by resignation. In Game #4 Jeremy Chiu (B) beat Evan Lin (W) by 7.5 points.

“Thanks to everyone who participated and to Justin and Paul for their assistance organizing and monitoring,” said TD Jeff Shaevel.

At the 2019 US Open; photo by Chris Garlock

by Steve Colburn
During last year’s U.S. Go Congress I heard the same question more than a few times. “Why does it take so long to get the tournament I last played in rated?” We’re always trying to get ratings updated more quickly but here’s why that’s often a challenge.

At the end of the tournament the Tournament Director (TD) sends a results file to the AGA, which processes the data. Two of the key things are active membership and game result probability.
An active AGA membership gives you many benefits, among the largest of which is being rated in our system. So the first major check is to see if all player’s AGA memberships are up to date, and expired memberships are the largest reason ratings are delayed. The AGA Membership Manager has been working very well since it was fixed in May 2019, and TDs are no longer able to submit tournament results without all players being AGA members.
The second check, which occurs less frequently but can also slow down updated ratings, is when game result probabilities are suspect, like when it’s reported that a significantly lower-ranked player defeated a stronger player. In such a case, we’ll check in with the TD to see if it’s an error, if someone just had a good — or a bad — day.

Once these two hurdles are cleared, the rest of the process moves fairly quickly and the updated ratings can be posted. Our ultimate goal is for every TD to be able to run tournaments with no issues so that we can process and post updated that same weekend.

Chocolates and flowers are popular Valentine’s Day gifts but what go players really want is another AlphaGo game commentary and Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock deliver with their latest AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo game commentary, Game 36 of the series, going up on the AGA’s YouTube Channel at noon today, a bit earlier than the usual 6p release time.

“The most interesting thing to me about this game is the way AlphaGo handles ladders,” says Redmond. “Earlier versions seemed to have some trouble with them, but not AG and in this game, AlphaGo devises some original ways to handle them.” Redmond poses a number of problems for Garlock to solve, and the Twitch audience — the commentary was originally streamed live on the AGA’s Twitch channel — gets involved. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams.

download SGF file

The AGA Board is meeting on Sunday, February 23rd at 8pm EST.  Topics of discussion include: updates on several on-going projects as well as new domestic and international tournaments, the creation of two new commissions, U.S. Go Congress, staff re-appointments, teaching, the accessibility of board meetings, and access to go clubs.  For more information, you can find the detailed agenda here.
Are you an AGA member interested in listening in to the meeting?  Please contact the Chairperson at lisa.scott@usgo.org for call-in information.
Are you interested in commenting on past board meeting minutes?  You can submit your comments here, and they’ll be available to entire board and relevant officers. Past minutes are available here.

Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT to catch Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock with their latest live game commentary on the AlphaGo vs AlphaGo series. “This is amazing content,” says viewer Funaru, “like the Go TV channel we never got in the West.” Viewers will be able to ask Redmond and Garlock questions during the liver commentary.

On Saturday Feb 8, Xinming Simon Guo – assisted by his wife Joy – Greg Kulevich and Mark Rubenstein taught over 350 new-comers how to play Go at the Chicago Art Institute’s Lunar New Year event. This is the second year that Simon has been invited to teach Go to museum visitors. In addition to Go, the event included Chinese chess, paper cutting, taiko drumming and other activities. 

“Simon has a unique way of teaching Go which enables newcomers of all ages to start playing real Go right away, without any complicated explanations or terminology,” says Rubenstein. “I had known about his method for a long time, but hadn’t tried it myself. I used his method all day, and found that it really simplifies the game for first-timers.”  

“This unique method has been used in many math classrooms in the Chicago area, and it is compatible with different rule sets, which means there is little conflict when players visit a local club and count the score by territory,” says Guo.

Simon Guo is the founder of the Go and Math Academy, and was the AGA’s Teacher of the Year in 2015. He teaches thousands of school students to play Go every year. Visit their local wiki page to find out more information about the Go and Math Academy or check them out on Facebook.

report and photos provided by Mark Rubenstein

Proseguono regolarmente i nostri incontri di studio e gioco.

L’appuntamento è per giovedì 13 febbraio alle ore 20:30 presso la birreria Keller in località Tre Olmi a Modena in strada Barchetta 411/A.

Trovate la posizione sulla cartina cliccando qui.

Ricordiamo che siamo sempre disponibili a spiegare il gioco a tutti gli interessati, sedetevi con noi e chiedete pure!

Come sempre fate cosa gradita lasciando un commento a questo post per segnalare la vostra presenza o meno. A giovedì!

download SGF file

Black to play. White has plenty of eye shape, but the gap is big.
Published in the February 11, 2020 edition of the American Go E-Journal.

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

Commentary: Guo Juan 5P
Game Editor: Myron Souris
Published in the February 11, 2020 edition of the American Go E-Journal

In this game between kyu players, Guo Juan repeatedly shows how the simple concept of strengthening your stones with connections (or weakening your opponent’s stones with cuts) can make drastic changes in the strategic balance.

Guo Juan 5P is a popular go teacher based in Amsterdam. Check out her online go school, featuring recorded lectures and problems presented in a Spaced Repetition System. Here you will learn and remember correct play. And there’s a one month free trial!

The AGA Board is meeting on Sunday, February 23rd at 8pm EST.  Topics of discussion include: updates on several on-going projects as well as new domestic and international tournaments, the creation of two new commissions, congress, staff reappointments, teaching, the accessibility of board meetings, and access to go clubs.  For more information, you can find the detailed agenda here.

Are you an AGA member interested in listening in to the meeting?  Please contact the Chairperson at lisa.scott@usgo.org for call-in information.
Are you interested in commenting on past board meeting minutes?  You can submit your comments using this form, and they will be available to board members and relevant officers. Past board meeting minutes are available on usgo.org.

Need some fresh life-and-death Go problems for inspiration? Check out Spindrift: Leon Chen 4p’s Original Tsumego, featuring 136 original tsumego puzzles of various levels written in both traditional Chinese and English. It is available for purchase electronically for 10 USD, and accessible after purchase through the buyer’s OGS account. 

This is Hsi “Leon” Chen (陳禧) 4P’s first published tsumego collection of many more to come. Chen – one of Taiwan’s top professional players – has crafted thousands of puzzles and is excited to share his work with Go fans all over the world. “To me, every life-and-death puzzle is a condensed gem discovered by the tsumego creator,” says Chen, “like a precious cloud of spindrift resting on top of a reef rock. Puzzles encapsulate memories; but more importantly, they tell the stories of our times. I can’t call this a valuable gift, but it’s a little something from my heart!”

In addition to the tsumego variations, each puzzle includes a short story written by frequent E-Journal contributor Stephen Hu, who designed the cover and wrote the English language text. “Every original tsumego reminds me of a painting, a song, or perhaps a certain story,” says Hu. “It is the imagination that breaks all bounds; despite the simplicity of Go stones on the wooden board, they are capable of composing melodies that mesmerize. I just wish I could look through the artist’s kaleidoscope, and capture all the vibrance beyond the black and white.”

Interested players can order a copy today or start with a free preview of 5 puzzles.

Winners in the various sections: Aaron Jones, Evan Tan, Yixian Zhou, Ted Terpstra (President, SDGC), Angel Zhou (Yixian’s daughter)

On Sunday, January 19, 2020, twenty-six players braved the Southern California sunshine and warmth on a “winter’s day” to compete in the San Diego Go Club / Yellow Mountain Imports Go Rating Tournament. Competitors aged from 4 to 74. Yixian Zhou 6d, who bested the handicapped field with a 3-0 record, won a YMI board, stones and bowls. Aaron Jones 9k, Evan Tan 14k, and Angel Zhou 20, all won magnetic go boards furnished by Yellow Mountain Imports for winning their sections.  

After a break for free pizza, most of the players remained at the San Diego Chess Club to hear well-known go lecturer Yilun Yang 7P give the last of his fall/winter classes for the San Diego Go Club.

report and photos by Ted Terpstra

Competitors in the SDGC Rating Tournament

The 28th Jiang ZhuJiu Ing Cup was held in San Francisco at the Hotel Kabuki on Sunday February 2, the second year the tournament has been held on Super Bowl Sunday – players were able to watch the game between rounds on a large screen display set up in the hotel lounge. Jiang ZhuJiu 9P and Rui Naiwei 9P made the trip from China to host the event, where 63 players competed in 5 divisions for a total of $3,000 in prizes. The tournament was sponsored by the Ing Foundation of California, and Hajin Lee 4P, who won all four rounds in the Open section, won the grand prize. The tournament was directed by Karoline Li and Julie Burrall. Click Complete results can be found online for both the open and handicap sections. Click here for more tournament photos.

photos by C.O. Armistad
report by Ernest Brown

The qualifier for the 2020 Globis Cup will take place as a double-elimination tournament over the next two weekends. Spectators can tune in on KGS for the following scheduled rounds:

Round 1: Saturday 2/8, 12 Noon EST
Round 2: Saturday 2/8, 5 PM EST
Round 3: Sunday 2/9, 5 PM EST
Round 4, FINAL #1: Saturday 2/15, 12 Noon EST
If after Round 4 both players have only one loss there is an additional game
Round 5: FINAL #2: Sunday 2/16, 12 Noon EST

The player with no more than one loss after Game #6 or #7 will be selected as the representative to the 7th annual GLOBIS Cup, a U-20 world championship for professional and amateur players under 20 years of age.

Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return with their latest Redmond’s Review, Episode 19, posted on the AGA’s YouTube Channel.

Kudo is a seasoned 9-dan professional in his late 70s. Though not as well-known in the West as some other players, he’s posted good records throughout his career and was a contender for titles from the 1970s through the 1990s, including taking the Oza from Cho Chikun and the Tengen from Rin Kaiho. “He’s a very steady player,” says Redmond. “As a younger player he had an attacking style, and doesn’t bother so much about territory. Still what you might call a very thick player, he likes to build strong positions and doesn’t like to be under attack. He’s got a well-balanced game with a solid opening. And interestingly for a player of his age, he’s been integrating a lot of AI stuff too.” Redmond also discusses how he prepares for matches like these, although he warns viewers at the outset that “This is not a well-played game on my part, so you can probably learn more” from his opponent’s play.

The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries in the weeks ahead on the AGA’s Twitch channel, which you can follow to get notified of live streams.

Video produced by Stephen Hu, Allen Moy, Chris Garlock and Andrew Jackson.

download SGF file