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By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Sumire’s progress

(Nov. 17) Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko, Senko Cup-holder, by resig. (26th Women’s Kisei, main tournament, round 2).

(Nov. 21) Sumire (B)  lost to Sakai Yuki 2-dan by resig. (prelim. round final, Teikei Young Stars).

(Nov. 26) Sumire (W) lost to Koike Yoshihiro (round 1, 17th Young Carp).

(Dec. 1). Sumire (B) beat Mukai Chiaki 6-dan by resig. (main tournament sf, 26th Women’s Kisei).

(Dec. 5). Sumire (W) beat Koyama Ryugo 7-dan by resig. (First Tournament, round 1, 48th Kisei)

 (Dec. 8) Sumire (B) beat Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo by resig. (play-off to decide the challenger, 26th Women’s Kisei).

(Dec. 15) Sumire (W) beat Okuda Aya 4-dan (prelim., round 2, 10th Women’s Hollyhock Cup).

(Dec. 22). Sumire (W) beat Nyu Eiko by resig. (34th Women’s Meijin League).

Promotions

To 9-dan: Cho Riyu (200 wins, as of Dec. 16)

To 6-dan: Yamamoto Kentaro (90 wins, as of Aug. 12). The go press missed this promotion at the time. 

To 2-dan: Mito Shuhei (30 wins, as of Nov. 25)

Retirement

Takamura Tetsuro 5-dan retired as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Born in Kumamoto Prefecture on Jan. 1, 1961, he became a disciple of the late Shimohira Akio 9-dan and qualified as a professional in 1979. He reached 4-dan in 1986 and was promoted to 5-dan on retirement. He was a member of the Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in.

Obituary

Aragaki Takeshi 9-dan died on November 28. He was born in Okinawa on June 4, 1956. He became a disciple of the late 23rd Honinbo Sakata Eio and made 1-dan in 1971. He reached 9-dan in 1994 and retired in 2020. He won the 4-dan, 5-dan, and two 6-dan championships in, respectively, the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 9th Kisei tournaments. 

My next report will be a statistical overview of 2022.

White has plenty of eye-space, but most white stones are short of liberties.

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

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By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Shibano & Ichiriki win leagues

Ichiriki and Shibano win Teikei Young Stars leagues

The final section of the Teikei Young Stars tournament consists of two six-player leagues. The winners meet in a play-off to decide the title. In a tournament labeled as for “young stars”, it was a little surprising to find holders big-three titles, namely, Shibano Toramaru Meijin in the A League and Ichiriki Ryo Kisei in the B League. All the games were played from December 17 to 22, and, not surprisingly, each won his league 5-0 (each was two wins clear of the field) and will meet in the best-of-three play-off scheduled for March. Actually, Seki Kotaro Tengen also played in the B League, though he did not do very well, scoring 2-3.

Konishi wins first title

Konishi Kazuko 8-dan

The three Teikei tournaments are now in their second terms. The first to be decided was the Female Legends tournament. In the final, held on December 24, Konishi Kazuko 8-dan (B) beat Kuwahara Yoko 6-dan by resignation. The game was played in the Ryusei Studio at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. In her fifth appearance in a tournament final, Konishi finally scored her first success. First prize is 2,000,000 yen ($15,564 at $1 = ¥128.5).

Women’s Meijin League

With three rounds completed, there are only two undefeated players in the 34th Women’s Meijin League:  Ueno Asami on 3-0 and Nakamura Sumire on 2-0.

Below are results since my previous report.

(Nov. 7) Ueno Asami, Women’s Hollyhock title-holder, (B) beat Ueno Risa 2-dan by resignation. This is the first official game between the sisters.

(Dec. 1) Ueno Asami (W) beat Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 5) Nyu Eiko (B) beat Xie Yimin 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 15) Ueno Asami (W) beat Kobayashi Izumi 7-dan by resig.

(Dec. 19) Ueno Risa (W) beat Suzuki by resig.

Tomorrow: Sumire’s progress; Promotions & retirements

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Iyama saves Japan in Nongshim Cup

Iyama wins

The second round of the 24th Nongshim Cup was held on the net in late November. Japan did badly, but in the final game of the round, Iyama Yuta, who won four games in a row in the previous cup, once again saved their bacon, picking up the first Japanese win. Results follow.

Game 5 (Nov. 25). Kang Dongyun 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (Japan) by resig.

Game 6 (Nov. 26). Kang (W) beat Tuo Jiaxi 9-dan (China) by resig.

Game 7 (Nov. 27). Kang (B) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan (Japan) by half a point. (This was Kang’s fifth win in a row.)

Game 8 (Nov. 28). Lian Xiao 9-dan (China) (W) beat Kang by resig.

Game 9 (Nov. 29). Iyama Yuta 9-dan (Japan) (B) beat Lian by resig.

The third round is scheduled for February 20~24.

Shin wins Samsung Cup

The 27th Samsung Cup will always be remembered as the first tournament in which a woman player, Choi Jeong 9-dan, reached the final. In the best-of-three title match, however, she lost 0-2 to Shin Jinseo 9-dan, the world’s number one rated player. The first game was played on November 7; taking black, Shin won by resignation. The second game was played on the following day; taking white, Shin again won by resig. Shin finally won this title after coming second in the 25th and 26th cups. The first game was a convincing win for Shin, but in the second the lead switched back and forth. Shin seemed to prevail because of his greater powers of concentration.

Kawabata Yasunari inducted into Hall of Fame

Kawabata Yasunari, author of “Meijin” (Master of Go), was inducted into the Go Hall of Fame on November 11. He is the second literary figure inducted after the haiku poet Shiki. “Meijin” is a novel based on newspaper commentaries Kawabata wrote about the retirement game played by Shusai Meijin with Kitani Minoru and is the most famous literary work dealing with go.

Chinese players meet in LG Cup final

Two more rounds in the 27th LG Cup were played in mid-November. In the quarterfinals, the last remaining Japanese player was eliminated, then the world number one was eliminated in the semifinals. Details follow.

Quarterfinals (November 13 & 14). Shin Jinseo 9-dan (Korea) (W) beat Mi Yuting 9-dan (China) by resig.; Kang Dongyun 9-dan (Korea) (B) beat Ke Jie 9-dan (China) by resig.; Yang Dingxin 9-dan (China) (W) beat Shibano Toramaru 9-dan (Japan) by resig.; Ding Hao 9-dan (China) (W) beat Kim Myonghoon 9-dan (Korea) by 2.5 points.

Tomorrow: Ichiriki and Shibano win Teikei Young Stars leagues; Konishi wins first title; Women’s Meijin League

Redmond Cup and Girls Cup Finalists compete at the 2022 US Go Congress in Estes Park, Colorado

Registration is now open for the 30th Redmond Cup and 6th AGA Girls Cup, the AGA’s annual premier youth tournaments for North American youth under 18 and females under 16 respectively. Players must have an accredited rank of 1-dan or higher to participate in the Redmond Cup, and an accredited rank of 9-kyu or higher to participate in the AGA Girls Cup. The Redmond Cup features both a Junior (under 13) and a Senior (13-17) division, while the AGA Girls Cup will feature one division (under 16). Both tournaments are online preliminaries to determine two finalists in each division who will be invited to play in a best-of-three match at the 2023 US Go Congress. The American Go Foundation will cover all reasonable expenses for the finalists of both tournaments to travel to and compete at the 2023 USGC. Players who complete all rounds of either tournament will also be eligible for a $200 scholarship to the 2023 USGC.

The new tournament format that debuted last year was met with positive reception by many of the players, and will be used again for this year’s tournaments. This includes a multi-stage preliminary with proctored matches for the latter stages, and mandatory video calls with strict camera setup guidelines for all games.

Registration for the Redmond Cup will close on March 1st, with competition starting on March 6th. Registration for the AGA Girls Cup will close on March 8th, with competition starting on March 13th. Interested competitors can read about the rules for the Redmond Cup and rules for the AGA Girls Cup for more information, and email youth@usgo.org with any inquiries.

– Story and photo by Justin Teng, AGA Youth Coordinator

The San Francisco Go Club’s Lunar New Year Go tournament was a vibrant celebration of the Chinese New Year. On a sunny but brisk Saturday, January 21, 37 players gathered to compete in three divisions. The tournament was a lively event that included a roast pig lunch. After three rounds of intense competition, the winners of each division were announced: Jonathan Ketner (1st place), Eric Lee (2nd place), and Christopher Kim (3rd place) in Division 1; Dash Zhang (1st place), Andrew Li (2nd place), and Joey Chou (3rd place) in Division 2; and Reid Byron (1st place), Patrick Vincent O’Melveny (2nd place), and Syd Shafer (3rd place) in Division 3. “Congratulations to all the winners!” said club President Matthew  Barcus.

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Ida sets new record in Crown

Ida Atsushi 9-dan

The Crown title is a regional title, open only to the members of the Central Japan (Nagoya) branch of the Nihon Ki-in. The one-game final of the 63rd title was held on November 22. Ida Atsushi 9-dan (B) beat Mutsuura Yuta 7-dan by resignation. This was his seventh successive Crown title, a new record (though other players have won it more often). First prize is 1,700,000 yen.

China wins 23rd Agon Kiriyama Play-off

Li Qincheng 9-dan

The annual Japan-China Agon Kiriyama Cup Play-off was held on the net on December 17. Li Qincheng 9-dan of China, who held white, beat Hirata Tomoya 7-dan of Japan by resignation. Actually, the Chinese go world has apparently been in a chaotic state because of covid-related restrictions, and there were repeated changes in the arrangements for this play-off. In the end, the Chinese managed to hold their Agon-Kiriyama Cup the day before this play-off (Li beat Xie Erhao 9-dan in the final). The chaos didn’t seem to affect Li’s play. 

Iyama wins Ryusei title after life-and-death hallucination

The final of the 31st Ryusei title was telecast on December 26. Iyama Yuta (B) beat Yuki Satoshi 9-dan of the Kansai Ki-in by resignation after 111 moves. This is his fourth Ryusei title, but his first for ten years. Most title matches in 2022 featured at least one young player, but this was an exception: Iyama is 33 and Yuki 50. This is Iyama’s 71st title, so he is just four behind Cho Chikun. His pace has slowed considerably, so it no longer seems so certain that he will reach three digits.

There’s a strange story attached to this triumph, though. In his quarterfinal game with Kato Atsushi 9-dan, both Iyama and Kato hallucinated that one of Kato’s groups was dead when it could live with one move. As a life-and-death problem, it could easily be solved by an average amateur. Having assumed it was dead, neither player took another look at it. At the end of the game, Iyama took this group of six stones off the board and counted the score. He and Kato had agreed the game was over and the latter made no objection when the former took the group off the board (it needed another move to live). The result was a 3.5-point win for Iyama. Kato accepted this result, so there was no problem as far as the rules were concerned. Takao Shinji 9-dan, who did the commentary for the TV program, said that in 30 years as a professional he had never seen anything like it.

Iyama confided to Cho U, who later became the commentator for the final, that he was deeply upset by his oversight and felt that he had lost the trust of go fans. He told Cho that he was determined to win the final while playing a good game to regain the trust of fans.

Should Black rescue the marked stone?

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

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Round 2 of Pandanet AGA City League happens this weekend. Watch teams from almost 40 teams and among 150 players from across the US and Canada. You can best find the games this Sunday January 29th @ 3pm EST/12pm PST in the AGA City League Rooms. Root for your local squad or your favorite national players and friends. Any schedule changes will be noted on the round pages:

A League – B League – C League – D League – E League

Registration for the 2023 Chicago Open is now available on Baduk Club.

The tournament will take place over Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-28, in Evanston, Illinois. It will consist of eight rounds played over two days, with one-day options available. A departure from previous tournaments in Evanston, the 2023 Chicago Open will switch to McMahon pairing instead of the self-paired format. Co-organizers Cheuk To Tsui and Albert Yen anticipate a more intense tournament experience using the McMahon style. “The tournament will be more fast-paced, and players can experience a weekend packed with Go,” Yen said. “With eight rounds, winners will have to clear the field, and everyone will get a chance to prove themselves against more opponents than before.”

As part of the tournament experience, players can purchase lunch plans on both days and join the dinner party on Saturday. For lunch plans, the 2023 Chicago Open has partnered with Tealicious Bubble Tea, which will provide bentos and drinks. On Saturday evening, Dengeo’s will cater a Mediterranean buffet. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available. 

“We hope to see more young people and travelers in our event to facilitate interaction between Go players from different areas,” said Mark Rubenstein, long-time leader of the Evanston Go Club. 

Due to the success of the 2022 Chicago Open, Evanston Holiday Inn will serve as the tournament venue. Evanston Holiday Inn is offering discounted accommodations and parking. Participants are encouraged to register for the tournament by May 6 for early bird pricing and to book the discounted accommodations before they sell out.  

– by Jamie Tang

The American Go Association is converting to new software in February. There will be a new website and added functionality for members and chapters that you will be hearing more about soon. The implementation team is preparing to convert the existing records to the new system and need your help in making sure the records are clean and up to date. Here is what you can do:

AGA MEMBERS

Go to the usgo.org website and log in (select ‘Member/Chapter Login’ under ‘Membership’ in the menu on the left-hand side).

If you have trouble logging in, just send a note to database@usgo.org. Include your full name, AGA ID (if you know it), and your date of birth. After verification, the AGA will send you a temporary password. (The existing ‘Forgot My Password’ option does not always work properly; just email to database@usgo.org instead.)

Once logged in, check and update your data to make sure it is current. If your membership has expired or will be expiring soon, this would be a great time to renew!

If you have any questions at all, just send them to database@usgo.org.

AGA CHAPTERS

If you are listed as the Chapter Representative for an AGA Chapter, you will be given a choice to also manage that Chapter when you individually log in. Please update your Chapter information, with special attention to the ‘Public Contact Info’, ‘Meeting Place and Time’ and ‘Website’ (if you have one) fields. These are how people seeking to meet up and play will find you.

For Chapters it is especially important to bring your chapter membership up to date if it has expired. Only chapters that are current in their membership will be able to participate in chapter benefits. This includes having your listing being findable for people looking to play or by members seeking to affiliate and be members of your chapter. If you have earned Chapter Rewards points (and most recently expired Chapter have) you can use those points to renew your chapter membership. Just send an email requesting to be updated with points to rewards@usgo.org and it will be taken care of.

If you are no longer the Chapter Representative or have assumed the role from someone else, send us the information and it will get verified and updated.

Again, if you have any questions at all, just send them to database@usgo.org.

Ueno Asami

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Ueno repeats as Young Carp champion

The main section (for the best 16) of the 17th Hiroshima Aluminum Cup Young Carp Tournament was held in the Central Japan Newspaper Headquarters Building on November 26 and 27. For the third year in a row it was won by a woman player and for the second year in a row that woman player was Ueno Asami. In the final, Ueno (W) defeated Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan by resignation. (The winner of the 15th Cup was Fujisawa Rina.)

This tournament is open to players 30 and younger and 7-dan and under. First prize is 3,000,000 yen.

New members of the Meijin league

The play-offs for the new seats in the 48th Meijin League were held on November 18. Cho U 9-dan (B) beat Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan by resignation. Cho, who has won the Meijin title five times, is making a return after missing two leagues. Fujita Akihiko 7-dan (W) beat  Kono Rin 9-dan by half a point. Sada Atsushi 7-dan beat Ida Atsushi 9-dan by resig. Both Fujita and Sada are making their debuts in the league.

48th Meijin League

The first round was completed during December. Results follow.

(Dec. 8) Cho U (B) beat Kyo Kagen Judan by resignation.
(Dec. 15) Shida Tatsuya 7-dan (B) beat Fujita Akihiko by half a point.
(Dec. 19) Iyama Yuta (B) beat Yamashita Keigo 9-dan by resignation.
(Dec. 24) Sada Atsushi (W) beat Yo Seiki 8-dan by 2.5 points.

Honinbo League

The following games have been played since my last report.
(Nov. 7) Yo Seiki (B) beat Otake Yu 7-dan by 1.5 points.
(Nov. 10) Shibano Toramaru  (W) beat Fujita Akihiko by resig.
(Nov. 17) Kyo Kagen (B) beat Tsuruyama Atsushi 8-dan by resig.
(Nov. 24) Ichiriki Ryo Kisei (W) beat Motoki Katsuya 8-dan by resig.
(Dec. 8) Yo Seiki (W) beat Tsuruyama by resign. 
(Dec. 12) Shibano (B) beat Otake by resig.
(Dec. 15) Ichiriki (B) beat Kyo Kagen by resig.
(Dec. 22) Motoki (W) beat Fujita by resignation.

As of the end of 2022, Ichiriki, Yo, and Shibano were tied on 3-0. (In my previous report, I wrote that I would present the league this time, but a software malfunction prevents me from keeping my promise.)

Tomorrow: Ida sets new record in Crown; China wins 23rd Agon Kiriyama Play-off; Iyama wins Ryusei title after life-and-death hallucination

Could your chapter use some free books? Perhaps to stock or replenish your club’s library and/or to offer as tournament prizes? When Yutopian went out of business, it gave its stock of 32,000 books to the American Go Foundation, which teamed up with the AGA to offer free books to AGA chapters. More than two dozen AGA chapters responded to a direct mailing last Fall and now other chapters, libraries, and school programs can participate, but you must act now. 

The books are expected to ship in mid-February; if you have an existing request that you’d like to revise or want to make a request, you can do so now by completing this Google Form. You may submit as many forms as necessary to complete your request. You’ll find a listing of the available books here. If you have any questions about how to order, please address them to rewards@usgo.org. The deadline for all requests is February 6.

There is also a “Library Set” box – with one copy of every title – as a starter collection for a club or for placement in a local library.  (Please make sure the local library will accept the donation.)

The books are free. Shipping and handling to AGA Chapters will be paid with Chapter Rewards points. (Chapters without enough points will receive points that have been generously donated.) All chapters can receive books and no cash payments are required. There will be a flat charge of $60 (60,000 rewards points) for each box of books. We may reduce some requested amounts to distribute some titles more widely.

The AGF will pay for books sent to AGF programs or libraries. Any club that can get a vehicle to the storage container (in Los Angeles) on Feb 12th or 13th can take boxes at zero cost. (San Diego took a carful and may get more.) 

This is a once-in-a-decade chance, don’t miss it!

By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Seki defends Tengen

48th Tengen; Ida vs. Seki (right)

The 48th Tengen title match started off with Black winning both games (see my report of October 24). There was a gap of over three weeks before the next game, which was played at the Hotel Marital Sosei Kurume in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, on November 14. Taking white, Ida Atsushi 9-dan, the challenger, beat Seki Kotaro Tengen by resignation after 202 moves. This gave Ida a 2-1 lead, so Seki’s grip on the title seemed to have been loosened.

The fourth game was played at the Hotel New Awaji in Sumoto City on the island of Awaji in Hyogo Prefecture. Seki (B) fought strongly and evened the series.

The final game was played at the Tokushima Grandvrio Hotel in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku  (not far south of the venue for the fourth game) on December 15. Seki drew black when they redid the nigiri. The initial fighting seemed good for White, but when the dust settled, Seki had the lead. After that, however, he made a series of small mistakes, so the game became very close. At a crucial point in the endgame, Ida made a mistake, miscalculating the value of a move: he played a one-point move because he thought it was worth two points. That was his last chance to pull off an upset. Seki managed to hold on for a half-point win.

At 21 years zero months and 18 days of age, Seki set a new record for the youngest player to defend a top-seven title. (When Shibano Toramaru defended the Oza title in 2020, he was seven days older.)

Winning his second top-seven title earned Seki promotion to 9-dan.

Iyama defends Oza

Iyama Yuta made a good start in the 70th Oza title match, beating the challenger, Yo Seiki 8-dan of the Kansai Ki-in, in the first game, played on October 21, by the narrow margin of 1.5 points. The second game was played at the Westin Miyako Hotel Kyoto on November 11. The game featured a struggle between large groups, but it ended up even closer than the first game, with Iyama (B) winning by just half a point.

The third game was played at the Hotel Okura Kobe in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, on November 18. Like the first two games, this one was also very closely contested, but Yo (B) made a blunder while attacking a white group. He resigned after 180 moves.

Iyama thus defended his title with straight wins. He maintained his triple crown with the Honinbo and Gosei titles. This is also his 70th title. He commented that, what with losing the Kisei and Meijin titles, 2022 was not a great year for him, so he was relieved to have ended it with a success.

Shibano wins 47th Kisei play-off

The first game of the “best-of-three” play-off to decide the Kisei challenger was held on November 18. Taking black, Yamashita Keigo 9-dan, the winner of the A League, defeated Shibano Toramaru Meijin, the winner of the S League by resignation. However, the S League winner is gifted a win in this play-off, so Yamashita couldn’t afford to drop a game. The second game was played on November 21. Taking black, Shibano beat Yamashita by resignation, so he became the challenger. 

Incidentally, since the current Kisei tournament system came into effect in the 40th term, the S League winner has always become the challenger. (In this report, I am focusing on 2022, but I can reveal that Ichiriki Ryo Kisei won the first game of the title match.)

Tomorrow: New members of the Meijin league; Meijin & Honinbo League updates; Ueno repeats as Young Carp champion

By Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister

Ceremonial game for the Uchizomeshiki at Nihon Ki’in

We begin the New Year with the Uchizomeshiki, a ceremony held at the Nihon Ki’in in Ichigaya on January 5. The event, which Go Review compared to a “purification ceremony,” is an essential kick off for the tournament year. Pictured is a ceremonial game. Your editor recognizes some of the faces of the “old guard” of Japanese go at the time.

The action began promptly on January 7 with the Nihon Ki’in Championship. The title holder, Ōhira Shūzō 9d, entered the New Year one game down after losing Game One in December. Ōhira had dominated this title since winning it from Sakata Eio in 1966, winning it every year except one. However, faced once again with an in-form Sakata, Ōhira had to summon all his fighting strength to kill shinogi expert Sakata’s huge group to even the series in Game Two. (Game record: Game Two.) We see Sakata during the third game on January 16, once again going ahead. (Game record: Game Three.) Finally, Sakata ended his eight year drought in this title on January 25-26 by a 3-1 score. (Game record: Game Four.)

As of January 10, we note that Ishida Hon’inbo was leading the Meijin League with a 2-0 record.

On January 11, Ōtake Hideo 9d began his defense of the All Japan 1st Place Tournament which he had defended five times in a row. Here we see him react to the confident play of Kajiwara Takeo. He sorted out the problem and won this first game. (Game record: Ōtake vs. Kajiwara.)

On the same day, Takagi Shōichi 7d defeated Takagawa to win the “losers bracket” and went on to defeat Rin Meijin for the right to challenge Sakata for the Jūdan title. Pictured during the match against Takagawa, Takagi was the author of Beyond Forcing Moves and attended the 1993 U.S. Go Congress. (Game records: Takagi vs. Takagawa, Takagi vs. Rin.)

Sakata was presented with the 9th Shūsai Prize as the past year’s outstanding player on January 16. With the Meijin and Hon’inbo titles divided between Rin and Ishida, Sakata’s dominance of the lesser titles made him a unanimous choice for the third time.

Finally, on January 26, Honda Sachiko 4d defeated Kitani Reiko two straight in the Ladies’ Hon’inbo Title. (Game record: Honda vs. Kitani.)

[See image gallery at www.usgo.org]

Photos from Go Review, game records from SmartGoOne

Competition at the New York Institute of Go in Midtown Manhattan, NY

Registration for the 2023 New York State Championships is open to all players of all levels. The event will be held on February 25 and 26 at the New York Institute of Go in Midtown Manhattan, New York. 

The main events include the Open Tournament, New York State Open Championship, and New York Youth Championship with a maximum of 140 seats. Besides the main tournament games, there will also be evening events like Pair Go, Crazy Go, 9X9 and 13X13 Tournaments. The event is located in the center of Hell’s Kitchen with a variety of delicious food.

Thanks to a parent donor, all divisions from the double-digit kyu to the open division will be awarded cash prizes. Youth divisions will be awarded with trophies and certificates. Additionally, the two champions in open and youth state championships tournaments will receive specially designed trophies.

“After the New York Go Center permanently shut down 10 years ago, we lost not only a place for Go players to play Go, but also a big family for us to laugh and share stories with, forget about pressure and unhappiness, and just enjoy some Go time. We welcome everyone to the 10-year reunion tournament in Manhattan!” says NYIG founder Stephanie Yin.

 

Young players competing at the 2022 US Go Congress in Estes Park, Colorado

The 10th annual North American Kyu Championships (NAKC) is now open for registration. The tournament will be held online on the KGS Go Server on Saturday, February 18th and consist of four rounds over the course of one day. Players must be under the age of 18, reside in North America, and be members of their country’s national Go organization to compete. The top junior (under 13 years old) and senior (13-17 years old) player in each of the top two divisions as well as the top two general finishers in each of the lower divisions will win personalized crystal trophies, and the junior and senior champions of the top division will receive an invitation to play in the Redmond Cup, which is traditionally only open to dan-level players. Players who complete all rounds of the tournament will also be eligible for a $200 scholarship to the next US Go Congress, courtesy of the American Go Foundation. Attendance has been strong over the past several years for this tournament with over 100 players each time, and all young kyu players are encouraged to participate!

Registration for the NAKC will close on February 12th, and interested players can read the rules and additional details for more information.

– Story by Justin Teng, AGA Youth Coordinator, Photo by Paul Barchilon.

Published in the January 17, 2023, edition of the American Go Journal

Commentary by Kazunari Furuyama 8d

Edited by Gordon Fraser

In this lesson he emphasizes common amateur mistakes, especially kyu players. He makes comments for kyu players, from 25 kyu to 1 kyu, and dan players, from 1 dan to 5 dan. This is a game between 5 kyu players.

Kaz has been examining more than 120 or 150 amateur games every month for many years. Based on that, he can state common adult mistakes in his commentary.

There has been a worldwide inflation. However, he decided to reduce the lesson fees for new students for 2 months to help the Go community. For 2 dan or weaker players, he is offering a half price lesson. He also has a three lesson special. See his website, kazsensei.com/teaching/offline-lessons“, for details.

Former insei Kazunari Furuyama 8d is a longtime contributor to the American Go E-Journal. Visit his website at kazsensei.com.

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Ryan Li’s recent win at the 2022 North American Professional Go Championship in Toronto (Toronto Go Spectacular lives up to its name 1/6/23) not only netted him the $6,000 top prize, but a promotion to Professional 4 dan, after he reached 60 points in the North American Go Federation’s Professional Rank Promotion System.

“It was a tough tournament,” Li told the EJ, “especially after unluckily drawing Alex in the semi-finals. The three games in the finals were unpredictable yet exciting. Having our own professional tournament means a lot to the pros and we look forward to the next one!” Added American Go Association President and North American Go Federation board member Gurujeet Khalsa (at left in photo), “I was honored to be in Toronto to watch the game that Ryan played to secure the championship and then present the trophy. He is a terrific representative for North American Go.”

Commentary: Albert Yen
Game Editor: Gordon Fraser
Published in the January 10, 2023 edition of the American Go Journal

This game was taken from the final round of the 2022 Chicago Rapid Championship, which took place on November 12th in Evanston, IL. Alex and I are no strangers to each other, as we have played three times in the past year and half, and this is actually our third time playing in the Evanston tournaments. While I did have a 3-0 record against him going into this game, Alex recently achieved pro status in the 2022 North America Pro Qualifier, so he’s also on a roll this year.

Whoever wins this game will be the 2022 Chicago Rapid Champion and take home a $500 cash prize.

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