U.S. INVITED TO CHINA TOURNEY: The U .S. has been invited to participate in an international go tournament in China this October. Sponsored by the Chinese Go association & Hongzhou Qi-yuan (Qi-yuan Ki-in), the tournament will feature a team tournament and an individual tournament, both with significant cash prizes. The tournament will run October 25 - 28 in Hong Zhou, China. Stay tuned for further updates.
COUNTING THE CONGRESS: With a whopping 439 already registered for this year's U.S. Go Congress next month, here's a chance to practice the counting skills that are so key to go: which country -- other than the United States - has the most Congress registrants? Which state? Send your answers to us at journal@usgo.org The winner - chosen at random from those answering correctly - will receive a copy of the brand-new second volume of Fujisawa Shuko's Dictionary of Basic Tesuji, just out from Slate & Shell (see below).
S&S PUBLISHES VOL 2 OF SHUKO'S TESUJI DICTIONARY: The second volume of Fujisaw a Shuko's Dictionary of Basic Tesuji has just been published by Slate & Shell. Tesuji are highly efficient plays, and knowing them is one of the keys to developing a stronger tactical sense. Volume II covers tesuji that are useful for defending; Fujisawa not only demonstrates how to deal with particular situations, but explores the problems with ineffective plays. One of the most famous Japanese go books, this is the first English translation of Shuko's Dictionary. Later volumes will cover tesuji for the opening, capturing races, and the endgame. Check out sample pages at http://www.slateandshell.com
LAKE WALKER JOINS: The Lake Walker Go Club in north Baltimore, MD recently became an official AGA chapter. For more info on the club, contact Jim Pickett at j.m.pickett@att.net
MEMBER REMINDER: Members of the American Go Association who are NOT currently receiving the Friday Member's Edition with game comm entaries and go reviews should email us at journal@usgo.org so we can make sure you receive this benefit of membership.
AGA SEEKING SECRETARY: The American Go Association is now seeking candidates for the position of Corporate Secretary, an appointed volunteer position serving the Board of Directors. The Secretary is responsible for certain activities related to membership and chapters as stated in the By-laws and additional tasks as assigned by the Board. Interested candidates should contact AGA President Michael Lash at president@usgo.org for a job description and other job info. Submissions are due no later than July 31; the AGA Board intends to make the formal appointment by the Congress and the new Secretary should be prepared to begin duties at the US Congress in Tacoma, Washington.
WORLD GO NEWS
REDMOND OUT OF JUDAN: Michael Redmond 9P, who went to Japan as a teenager from California and became a top pro in the Nihon Kiin, has lost his last chance in the 44th Judan. Redmond's earlier loss to Kobayashi Satoru 9P put him in the losers bracket of the tournament to determine the challenger for the title currently held by Cho Chikun 9P, where he was paired against Kono Rin 7P. In their match on July 7th, Kono won by resignation. The winner's prize in the Judan is about $140,000 US.
LEE HOLDING ON IN WANGWI: Lee Changho 9P now leads 2-1 in the title match against Ok Teukjin 2P for the 39th Wangwi in Korea. Lee has held this title for the last nine years. Readers will recall from previous reports that Ok is the player who recently returned from military service to take up his pro career again with a bang by becoming the challenger for this title. You can download the game records at http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/pg_allgames.php?termvalue=Wangwi&selectvalue=title&matchvalue=exact; gogameworld subscribers have access to commented versions.
YODA WINS FIRST GAME IN GOSEI DEFENSE: Yoda Norimoto 9P defeated Yuki Satoshi 9P in the first game of the best-of-five title match in the 30th Gosei on July 7th in Japan. This is Yoda's only title since he lost the Meijin to Cho U 9P earlier this year. This match is interesting because it pits against each other top players from the two main go associations in Japan; Yoda is a member of the Nihon Kiin and Yuki of the Kansai Kiin. Yoda is hoping for a third consecutive win of this title; he held it for three years from 1996 to 1998. Yuki was also the challenger for this title in 2002, but lost to Kobayashi Koichi 9P. You can download the game record from the go4go.net web site.
LEE CHANGHO TAKES LEAD IN KING OF KINGS: In the 2nd King of Kings tournament in Korea, Lee Changho 9P won the first game in the best-of-three title match against Choi Cheolhan 9P by a half point. The King of Kings is one of the largest tournaments in Korea a nd divides players by age in the early preliminaries, with the top eight from each category meeting for the final tournament. The categories are under 25, 26-50, and over 50. It is a fast-play contest, with ten minutes basic time followed by three periods of 40 seconds byoyomi. Choi took the Kuksu title from Lee last year, and in games between these two, Choi now leads by 10-9. Choi lost the international Fujitsu Cup finals to Lee Sedol 9P only a few days ago. You can download the game records from the go4go.net web site.
BGA KGS TOURNAMENT COMPLETED: Fifty-three players from more than ten countries competed in the BGA KGS Tournament that ran from January 6, 2005 through the end of June. Gunnar AAstrand Grimnes 12k of Aberdeen was the overall winner, just beating out Kiyohiko Tanaka 1k, while Jose Miguel Pasini 5k from Chile and Jesse Savo 3k from Finland held the lead at different points. All but two of the players were kyu level.
- reported by BGA News< /P>
GO LONDON: Go players planning to be in London in August will want to drop in on a 4-day go event at the Imperial War Museum. "The centre-piece will be a contemporary goban with the famous game set up as at the moment of detonation of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima with photos kindly supplied by the Nihon Ki-in and a dan certificate signed by Iwamoto," reports Peter Wendes, Education Officer of the British Go Association. "There will be workshops for beginners and stronger players. Yuki Shigeno 2P and Hiroko Shinkai 5P will be visiting." Just a five-minute walk from Big Ben, the event runs from August 5-8; admission is free. The week before, the British Go Association's 50th Anniversary Picnic in Green Park, London will be held on July 31 from 10A-4P. Players who want to experience virtual British go can check out the live webcam of the Purbrook Go Club on Thursday nights and other selected events at http://zenmac hine.ww.com
YOUR MOVE: Readers Write
VANISHING TRICK REVEALED: "No doubt loads of readers have already followed the new links on the Yokimuri site to Rob van Zeijst's go column The Magic of Go," writes European Go Federation President Tony Atkins ("Vanishing Trick," 7/5 EJ). The new link is: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/columns/0001/
CZECH THIS: "There hasn't been a country called Czechoslovakia since the Velvet Divorce of 1992," writes Michael Brago ("Calendar Of Events," 7/5). "The name used now in the West for the country whose capital is Prague is 'Czech Republic,' and that's where this year's European Go Congress is being held."
BEGINNER'S MIND: So Far, So Close
by Aria von Elbe
From 36,000 feet Japan looks like anywhere else, but by t he time you can see individual cars it's obvious that nothing in the world looks like this. From the picture-perfect view of islands on calm waters, forests and mountains, to bridges, theme parks and high-rises, Japan is a mix of modern and ancient, industrialization and nature; the perfect combination of elegance and establishment.
The full impact of actually being in Japan is still sinking in. After an exhausted night's sleep I awoke at 4-thirty something local time to washoku asagohan, a traditional Japanese breakfast. Walking through the Japanese crowds in downtown Kyoto, my groupmates and I played Spot the Gaijin; our tally was higher than komi, but I assure you not by much.
Visiting three pre-Restoration temples in the pouring rain, the idea that I'm in a place I've dreamed about visiting for years slowly settles in. It's so gradual that the epiphany never actually comes. A week l ater and the biggest light bulb moment I've had wasn't when I finally understood what's going on in class, but when I discovered that the inn I'm staying in has a goban ripe for the playing. I'm in Japan, where they actually play the game but you wouldn't know it by the way the native Japanese sensei who are teaching me Japanese get confused when I talk about "go." I have yet to hear "my grandfather played that game," but I'm waiting for it.
Just like I'm waiting for the next free time so I can run down the inn and ask if I can kariru mo ii the goban. It would only be for an hour or so, I just need to get my fix and give some lessons. I have people interested, and not just because they want to know what I was yelling about insanely on the bus the night we arrived. We had stopped at a red light, I looked out the window and there's the kanji for "igo" in big bronze kanji. What do you honestly expect me to do? Sit there quietly and nod knowingly? Aa, naruhodou. I may not be writing every other week like I know I should be, but you all should at least know me better than that.
So though I have yet to visit a go salon, play a game with actual stones, pray at Honinbo Shuusaku's grave, meet Toya Akira and/or Shindo Hikaru, visit the Kansai and/or Nihon Ki-in, or find a way to convince my parents to let me stay here indefinitely, Japan is all that I imagined it would be and more. Where else can you sit at a bus stop, a group of two dozen gaijin, and hear taiko drumming beating down from an open window above? Only in a country that practices nightly for the upcoming tanabata matsuri.
Who knows, maybe I'll walk down the street and run into Maeda Ryo-sensei by accident. Maybe I'll get inhabited by a ghostly go master from the inn's goban and actually do well at this year's U.S. Go Congress. Or maybe, and this most unlike ly of all, I'll pass this course but never go home to claim the credit. I've still got another three weeks.it could happen.
- Assuming she doesn't stay in Japan, 17-year-old Aria von Elbe will be a high school senior in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this Fall.
GO CLASSIFIED
NOTE: classified ads appear once in the E-Journal and are then posted on the AGA website at http://www.usgo.org/resources/classified.asp
FOR SALE: "The Breakthrough to Shodan." There's a lot of buzz about this out-of-print book; I have a perfect copy which I am willing to part with. I will attend the Go Congress in Tacoma, so easy transfer might be possible. Robert Barber, komoku@earthlink.net
BUY, SELL, OR TRADE equipment, books and go materials, find a go teacher, find someone to play go with! Complete go classifieds online at http://www.usgo.org/resources/classified.asp
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
July 16: Arlington, VA
Congress Tune-up
Allan Abramson 703-684-7676 mediate8@worldnet.att.net
July 16-23: Oakland, CA
West Coast Youth Go Camp
westagagocamp@usgo.org
July 17: Somerville, MA
MGA Summer Handicap Tournament
Zack Grossbart 617-497-1232 zack@grossbart.com
July 23: Austin, TX
Austin Summer Go Tournament
Michael Heinich 512-505-0055 mheinich@yahoo.com
July 23-August 6: Prague, Czechoslovakia
European Go Congress
http://www.goweb.cz/egc2005/
August 2-22: Hoi-An, Vietnam
Vietnam Go Camp
http://dragonindigo.free.fr/home.htm
August 6-14: Tacoma, WA
21st US Go Congress
Steve Stringfellow 253-761-9466 congress@usgo.org
This is a digest of events for the next month only; for a complete listing see the Tournament Calendar on the AGA website: http://www.usgo.org/usa/tournaments.asp
For the European Go Calendar see http://www.european-go.org/TOURNAMENTS/TListbyDate.htm
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Editor: Chris Garlock
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