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WAGC Go Players on Destiny, Predicting the Weather and Managing a Disco Bar

One of just two women players at this year's World Amateur Go Championship, Chile's Leslie Perez (top left) says it was "destiny" that she learned to play go, taught by a classmate at university in Valparaiso where she was studying for her bachelor’s degree in computer science. She's playing at 4k at the WAGC but had reached 1k on KGS a few years ago before her studies cut back her playing time. She's now studying for a Ph.D in Belgium, "but I’m still playing go" she tells James Davies in a Ranka Online interview. In other interviews, Norway's Pal Sannes (bottom right) reveals that he works for the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, predicting the weather...Yuan Zhou (US, top middle) talks about being "quite pleased" about losing to his student Josh Lee...Malaysia's Zaid Waqi (bottom left) discusses developments in Malaysian go...Kerem Karaerkek (Turkey, top right) talks about his work as a mountain guide, guitarist and disco bar manager...Japan's Nakazono Seizo (bottom middle) says that his go salon's 6-point komi, permitting drawn games, "works fine." 
- adapted from James Davies' report on Ranka Online; photos/collage by John Pinkerton