News / Articles

INTERNATIONAL LG CUP DOWN TO FINAL 16: The field contesting for the 10th LG Cup was reduced to 16 in the first round on May 16th. The North American representative, Yang Huiren 1P, was defeated by Chen Yaoye 4P of China, and the European representative, Alexandre Dinerchtein 1P, was defeated by Zhou Heyang 9P of China. In the second round on May 18th, all the remaining Japanese players were eliminated, leaving two Koreans and six Chinese for round three, which takes place in November. Details in Monday's issue.

CONGRESS UPDATES: Over 200 have now registered for this year US Go Congress, August 6-14 in Tacoma, WA. Zhang Wendong 9P, Vice Secretary General of Chinese Weiqi Association and Li Hai 5P have confirmed their attendance. Also confirmed is perennial favorite Maeda Ryo, 6P from the Kansai Kiin in Japan, as well as US pro Mingjiu Jiang 7P. In other Congress news, with burgeoning demand from rising strong Pair Go couples, the Pair Go Open Tournament at the Congress will be expanded to 8 pairs (double the usual 4); a preliminary round for the top 8 pairs will be held Thursday afternoon to decide the Final Four Pairs. The top Pair Go couples in the United States compete at the US Go Congress for the right to represent the US in the International Amateur Pair Go Championship in Japan. The only requirements are continuous AGA membership and US citizenship with an exclusion for the prior year champions. Last year the US was represented by Kristen Burrall and Yuan Zhou. More Congress info or sign up now at http://www.usgo.org/congress/index.asp
  
REVIEWERS WANTED: The E-Journal is looking for a few good reviews of the following books: Tricks in Joseki, Yilun Yang 7P, Yutopian; Power Builder, Wang RuNan 8P, Yutopian; The Second Book of Go, Richard Bozulich, Kiseido; Get Strong at the Endgame, Richard Bozulich, Kiseido; ABC's of Attack and Defense, Michael Redmond 9P, Slate & Shell; Keshi and Uchikomi: Reduction and Invasion in Go, Iwamoto Kaoru 9P, Slate & Shell. Reviewers earn $25 gift certificates for the go vendor of your choice. Reviews must be 200-250 words and explain what's useful/not useful about the book. Send them to us at journal@usgo.org The EJ reserves the right to accept, reject and/or edit all reviews.

ONLINE UPDATING: E-Journal readers and AGA members can now instantly update their contact information online! Just click on http://www.listlynx.com/MailUser1.asp and you'll not only be able to update your email address, but your mailing address and other contact info as well. The first time you access the online list manager, you'll have to have a password emailed to you, which you can change once you're logged in. NOTE: If you have multiple members sharing one email address (or if you're a member who doesn't have an email address at all), you'll need to contact us at journal@usgo.org to get your password. We hope you find this new service useful, and welcome comments or suggestions on how we can continue to improve. Send them to us at journal@usgo.org

MCGUIGAN WINS ALERT READER: Robert McGuigan is this week's Alert Reader winner, winning a $10 go vendor gift certificates for spotting our Alert hidden in last week's game commentary. Winners are drawn at random from those who correctly report the Alerts. Keep a sharp eye out in all our game attachments; you could be a winner too!

UPCOMING GO EVENTS: No tourneys this weekend but look for these events on Memorial Day Weekend: May 27-30 Guo Juan Workshop in Round Top, NY; May 28 Colorado Open; May 28 & 29 32nd Maryland Open in Baltimore, MD and May 27-30, French Go Camp in Belmont, France. For details click on http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.asp

GAME COMMENTARY: A Famous Game, Necessary and Unnecessary Moves
        Cho U's very first move as White in today's game, a kakari against Lee Changho, shows Cho's "active attitude in the opening," according to Rui Naiwei 9P, who provides the commentary. "Lee Changho's play is relatively brave and unyielding," Rui says, and this game will have you on the edge of your seat right up until the surprise end proves Rui's claim that "This should become a famous game by Lee Changho." The game is taken by permission from www.gogameworld.com, a general site about go, with many pro game records, much information about tournaments and players, and pro game commentaries.
        Our kyu game this week is from Paul Tabor 3k, a British player who has joined the 2005 Shodan Challenge. The commentary is by Yilun Yang 7P, whose favorite comment seems to be "(this move) isn't necessary."
        A move is necessary in today's bonus problem is from Go Review, the English language go magazine published by the Nihon Kiin from 1961 to 1974, and is used by permission.
        To view the attached .sgf file(s), simply save the file(s) to your computer and then open using an .sgf reader such as Many Faces of Go or SmartGo. Readers who need .sgf readers can get them for most platforms at Jan van der Steen's http://gobase.org/sgfeditors.html

GO REVIEW: Hikarunix CD
http://www.hikarunix.org/   
Reviewed by JC Chetrit
        After hearing through the French Go Federation that there was a free go player's CD that boots Linux, I tried it recently and am very impressed. I downloaded the ISO image from the website (see above) and burned a CD with that. I then rebooted my computer, letting it boot from the CD. The Linux operating system loaded itself in RAM (non-permanent memory) and discovered all my hardware, including the internet connection. The Operating System treats the hard disk as read-only, which means that you cannot harm your PC.
        The desktop is very attractive and the applications available are all free and contain almost anything a go player would ever need: introduction to the game, learn to play, go encyclopedias, software to surf the web (with prominent links to the best go websites), 5000 go problems, 14,000 professional games, Gnu Go which will play go against you, an sgf editor, 6 clients to play go on the internet, your own go server, Kombilo (a database to organize your sgf files), etc.
        Should you have a slow connection to the Net, or not want to burn a CD from an ISO image, or want a CD with a very attractive logo, your cost will be an enormous $5 + $1.50 for shipping from Hikarunix. Did I mention that this could also be used to learn about Linux, since you have a perfectly good operating system that may work on your PC even if your hard disk dies. Power users actually use such CDs to repair broken Windows machines (see article in Tom's Hardware).
        For more details, contact Jean-Claude Chetrit at jc@BrooklynGoClub.org

MY MOVE: Latest AGA Updates
By Mike Lash, AGA President
        It's mid-May and the 2005 go calendar is already jammed with activity. The last month alone SAW the annual Cotsen Tournament in LA as another huge success; young Jie Li 9d, one of very strongest amateur players in the US, conducted free game reviews before packed audiences at two DC-area clubs; with registration for the 2005 Congress already high, it continues to climb fast and head for record territory, with plans heating up about the 2006 Congress. Meanwhile, local tournaments are scheduled every weekend!
        This time of year is budget time and I am working closely with interested parties on the new 2006 budget. Meanwhile, I'm working hard to support the programs generated by the Board, membership and myself, and I am pleased to report that we will resume funding the ING programs starting June 1. This year will see an increase in funding for programs that promote membership and education. Since these programs will be implemented largely at the local level, chapters and activist members can apply for funding support. This marks the beginning of the AGA's long-term plan to recruit and retain more members. Stay tuned for more about this in the near future. June 1 also marks the official transition date for our new Treasurer, Ulo Tamm. Ulo and outgoing Treasurer Ben Bernstein have worked closely over the last 60 days to ensure a smooth transition with new bank accounts in Colorado. Ulo is establishing an additional post office box addr ess for to use for mailing in membership dues, invoices, donations and receipts to streamline and speed up our administrative tasks.
        The AGA has now implemented its policy on vendors, which has been published at
http://www.usgo.org/Board/ApprovedDocuments/  Chris Kirschner is the Vendor Liaison for the 2005 Congress; any Congress-related vendor questions should be directed to him at chrisk.aga@comcast.net I am the AGA Vendor Liaison and more general questions can be directed to me at president@usgo.org
        And now my two favorite subjects: Internet Teams League and new volunteers!
        The very first AGA internet season is still going strong with a while to go yet before the closing bell. League Director Bill Saltman can proudly declare the year a success with 14 teams registered and playing. Check the stats on the AGA webpage: http://www.usgo.org/usa/teamleague.asp  Top teams and various players will take home prize money and the unique honor of winning in the inaugural season of the internet league. Well done, Bill!
        New opportunities continue to arise every time I hear another bright idea or want to extend a successful program. Keep in mind that not every position is at the national level: volunteers can make meaningful contributions to promote go locally, connect and support players in remote areas, engage in fund raising, teach go in school programs and more. Step forward and let me know what you would like to do; email me at president@usgo.org
        On the international front, Thomas Hsiang, our representative to the International Go Federation (IGF), and a member of the IGF Executive Council in his own right, is attending the next IGF Board of Directors meeting in Nagoya, Japan, on May 23 (his expenses are paid courtesy of the IGF). The agenda includes go in the Olympics, an international player rating system, a proposed new organization called the "World Mind Sports Federation", and new affiliations of go associations from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
        A final note, also on the international scene. Not long ago I received an email from a young African boy in Rwanda seeking information and support to play go. I was able to direct him to our website, which he found very helpful. This was a very gratifying experience, proving that the game has reached very remote places, well beyond the major western and Asian centers. In addition, the AGA's website is clearly one of the best English-language sources of go information on the internet. Moreover, the AGA not only now has a new friend in Africa, but just maybe this exchange will lead to one more AGA member someday!

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Published by the American Go Association; text material published in the AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL may be reproduced by any recipient: please credit the AGEJ as the source. PLEASE NOTE that commented game record files MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed, or made available on the web without the explicit written permission of the Editor of the E-Journal. Please direct inquiries to journal@usgo.org

Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the American Go Association. To make name or address corrections, notify us at the email address below. Story suggestions, event announcements, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:
Editor: Chris Garlock
journal@usgo.org