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Kai Fugami wins 22nd Anniversary Tournament in Seattle

The Seattle Go Center 22nd Anniversary Tournament attracted 40 players on Oct. 1.  They used newly refinished go boards, and enjoyed pizza provided by the AGA Rewards program. The tournament went smoothly, despite the good-sized crowd, and it has already been rated by the AGA. The Open Section filled up with eight players. The winner was Kai Fugami, playing his first tournament at the Go Center. Kai grew up in Japan, and for a while he was an insei with the Kansai Ki-in. He is a 8-dan amateur in Japan. Kai’s dad grew up in Seattle, and Kai’s family has now moved to Bellingham.  Kai is in college now. Second place in the Open Section went to Alex (Xinlei) Liu. He is currently an AGA 7 dan. Alex won the Go Center Spring Tournament this year, and placed second to Yue Zhang last year in the Anniversary Tournament. Third place went to Yichen Li, who currently has an AGA 6 dan rating. The Children’s Prize went to Austen Li, who won all his games in the Handicapped Section. He also placed first in the Double Digit Kyu Player Group. Young Amy Ling placed second in this group. Go Center Instructor Larry Eclipse won the Middle Group of the Handicapped Section, with volunteer Christian De Oro taking second, and Thursday afternoon manager Nathan Saritzky taking third. The Upper Group of the Handicapped Section extended up to 2 dan. It was won by Brendan Roof, who selected both volumes of Cho Chikun’s “All About Life and Death” for his prize.  The books were donated to the Go Center. Former Board member Dan (Denga) Tang placed second. Friends of the Seattle Go Center should note that the Anniversary Party will held on Sunday, October 15, starting at 4 p.m. photo: Kai Fugami during one of his games.  Photo/Report by Brian Allen