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Sarah Yu: Memories of the Go Seigen tournament and his dreams of peace

by Sarah Yu 6D

 Recently I was lucky to attend the first Wu Qingyuan (Go Seigen) Women's Tournament in Fuzhou, China. It was like a dream come true. I was one of four North American representatives; the other three were Feng Yun 9P, Stephanie Yin 1P, Gaby Su 6D. A qualifier game was held for the eight North American and European players to determine which four would proceed to the main tournament. After the draw, each North American player would play against a European. Feng Yun, Stephanie Yin, and I won the qualifier (click here for details). Then at the main, we respectively lost to Qu Yin, Yu Zhiying, and Ueno Asami. I enjoyed playing with Ueno Asami very much and had a good game, and it was a pleasure to be participating in this memorable event with Feng Yun, Stephanie and Gabby. I especially appreciated those who worked so hard to make this tournament happen, and to acknowledge Go Seigen’s milestone contributions to go. Thanks to the tournament, I was able to meet players who had known Go Seigen, and to get a glimpse of his passion for go and peace. I remember that during the opening ceremony, I felt strongly that Go Seigen had "sacrificed" his life for go. That moment was when children singing "coming towards home," while photographs of Go Seigen were playing on the screen behind them. We also had the chance to visit the cemetery where Go is buried (photo), where Chang Hao 9P, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Go Association, gave an inspiring speech. As the children sang and danced, I saw that the future belongs to the next generation. Go Seigen said that the 21st century will be about the harmony of go -- North, South, East, West, Heaven and Earth -- he dreamed of promoting peace through go, and I hope that with the help of AlphaGo, we will further comprehend both. photo (l-r): Feng Yun 9P, Rin Kaihō (Lin Haifeng 9P - Go Seigen's disciple), Sarah Yu 6D, Stephanie Yin 1P, Gabby Su 6D