My name is Chris Kirschner.
I have been a local organizer in Seattle since 1961, when I formed the University Washington Go Club. I have been active in national leadership capacities since 1986, when I directed the second US Go Congress in Seattle. I have been a director since 2012. See more in my Curriculum Vita (CV) below.
I am running for a 7th term on the AGA Board of Directors representing the Western Region. This time is different. There is some controversy, and I ask and hope for more than your vote.
I ask that you consider the issues I raise below and express your opinions about them to both the Administration at Contact@usgo.org and the Board at agaboard@usgo.org.
It is rather obvious that I am speaking for myself, and in no way represent the AGA here, But I state so explicitly as a matter of formality.
In conflicted situations, it is easy for folks to personalize and create a perception of conflict between people rather than their differing ideas. The people in the AGA administration and on the Board are all smart, dedicated, hardworking, honest, and well intentioned people who have contributed mightily to the advancement of the AGA. We are in disagreement on these issues but have continued to work together. The most important thing we do here is to find ways to continue doing so.
I welcome questions and comments. Email chris.kirschner@usgo.org Phone: 206-579-8071
In early 2024, noting an apparent dramatic increase of Covid infection at the 2023 Congress compared to the rate in 2022, I and local organizers urged the President to institute proactive measures to reduce the risk at the 2024 Congress. We were overruled and action was neither planned nor taken. There was a very significant outbreak, with an impromptu survey on a Congress established Discord channel indicating a 7% incidence (14 of 200 on the channel), and I subsequently pressed hard to do a comprehensive survey to get more accurate data, and to get expert advice on how to mitigate future risks. Again, I was unsuccessful. I decided to take the issue to the Board, and therefore resigned as Executive VP, as I saw my Board action as incompatible with remaining in that position. We continue to work together on other issues such as policy development and Code of Conduct management.
In September, 2024, I submitted a motion to the Board that we should institute a survey of Congress attendees to determine the scope of the problem suggested by the survey noted above. The President lobbied the Board to not take up the motion and it failed for lack of a second.
In early 2025, I submitted a blog noting the failure of the Board to act and asking people to contact the Board and President to express their opinion on this matter. It was rejected as being a complaint, which the administration does not permit. A similar message to chapter leaders received only a few responses, but generally in favor of the proposal. Most were private to me rather than to the Board, which received only 3, 2 of which supported obtaining more information. The matter was still not taken up.
More recently, I have moved to allow some publication of dissenting views, either as a blog or other venue on the website. This too has been rejected. I regard this as a suppression of what should be free expression. Here, I believe, my views cannot be censored or suppressed.
My goals if elected will include reversal of these decisions. My goal here is to stimulate the reader to express their opinions on these issues to the Administration and Board as noted above.
Historic positions
I have been sensitive to issues related to regional differences. The Major Tournament Support and State Championship programs provide funding with the goal of promoting more face to face competition and are designed to ensure that smaller states are subsidized similarly to larger ones. The President suspended the Tournament Support program early this year and has proposed that it be replaced by a regional tournament support system aimed at supporting events with 100 players or more that would not be usable in smaller regions because they by nature of geography cannot attract that many people. I have been active in designing such a system, supporting another Director, Paul Celmer, who is coordinating the project development.
I am proposing that a parallel system be available in smaller areas.
I have long supported the idea of having more direct involvement of Chapter leaders in national planning activities. The current meetings of chapter leaders on a quarterly basis is very much in line with my ideas about encouraging that involvement.
Long term Goals
In my mind, the board has three primary functions:
- To provide oversight and guidance to the administration with respect to current issues.
- To plan long term direction and strategy for future development
3. To formulate long-term strategy to manage issues foreseeable in form, but not in detail.
Numbers 1 & 2 are the usual duties of any Board, and I expect to participate fully and effectively in discharging them. I am also running for the AGA Board for reasons, addressed below, related to #3.
The long term issues below are the same as I identified when I ran for and served on the Board in2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and 2023 but significant progress has been made. Specifically, the bylaws changes passed in 2016 have worked out well, and in a new initiative, we are activating participation by Chapters.
Development of leadership in the AGA
Here, we have made a great leap forward in the last year with is the institution of quarterly Chapter Leader meetings between the required annual assembly meetings. I have long advocated this, and when it was considered at the 2024 Assembly, on the suggestion of our Board chair, Trevor Morris, I worked with him to get it organized. I hope that these meetings will present resolutions to direct the interest of the Board, to be presented at the annual meeting at the Go Congress. The success – or failure – of the Board to respond effectively to such resolutions would presumably influence future elections, which would be a good thing. But even more important, it would be natural for leadership in that venue to become more active in the national administration and/or Board. Creating a larger pool of national level organizers is a primary goal for us. I believe this is a good way to accomplish that.
I am a firm believer in the idea that an institution grows most effectively by designing its policies, functions and governance to serve the needs of what it wants to be, not what it is. This can be time consuming and sometimes a bit painful. The activation of the Code of Conduct is an example. Permitting public dissent is another. Moving from one major event per year to more is also an idea I have long supported. Each of these is a work in progress. Each requires additional attention and work Curriculum Vita
I have served in the following AGA positions:
I acquired sponsorship for and directed the first American Professional match in 1988. (Jimmy Cha 4P Vs Janice Kim 1P). (Mr. Cha was the winner with a 2-0 score.)
Congress Director 1986
NW coordinator 1989 – 2000
Congress Director 1995
Congress Liaison 1996 – 2014
Congress IT 1998 (Santa Fe)
Ranking Committee Chair 1999 – 2000
President 2002 – 2004
VP Operations – Executive VP 2006 – 2008
Congress Registrar 2005
VP Planning 2008 – present
Board of Directors September 2012 – present
Congress Director 2013
Activities as Director
In 2013, with the support of both the AGA and AGF Boards, I initiated the establishment of a Go Teacher certification program based on completion of a specific training program and an accumulation of actual experience.
In late 2013, I proposed an update of the AGA Tournament Regulations. Fellow Board member Steve Burrall, Tournament Coordinator Karoline Li and I wrote new regulations, which are now in place. See here. Note: A minor revision was passed by the Board in April 2025 but has not been published yet.
In 2015, I proposed a review of our by-laws and chaired the committee to propose changes. The recommendations of the committee were passed in 2016.
Following a proposal to review the bylaws again I am chairing a committee to revise again in 2023.
I have been an active participant in the development of the AGA Code of Conduct, which was instituted at the Congress in 2019; and continue to serve on the committee that manages those issues.
In 2018, with Ted Terpstra taking lead, we presented a TD workshop at the Congress.
In 2018, after a suggestion from Edward Zhang and Board approval, I developed and implemented a system of AGA sanctioned State Championships.
In 2019, I led a group to develop a system to provide financial subsidy to “larger events”.
Both the above were suspended during the Covid crisis and resumed in 2022 but reinstituted in 2022.
In 2020, I developed a policy regarding competition in the age of covid and wrote the web page describing AGA recommendations for organizing and running tournaments. At the Go Congress, this included organizing the testing program to ensure all were tested on arrival and as indicated during the Congress. This page was dropped when the website was moved to the Clubs Express system in 2023.
In late 2021, I was appointed executive VP.
Regulations with respect to managing issues related to the improper use of AI have been developed over the last several years, and I have participated in that by providing comments and occasional suggestions to those writing them. Though they were in use prior years in the City League, they were formally passed by the Board in 2023. I have adapted all regulatory policies to ensure that there are no conflicts between them, and those revisions have also been passed by the Board. I also recruited a committee to administer that policy and am a member.
I am also a member of the Code of Conduct Committee, which was formed in 2018. It has had a low profile for a while but recently has seen more activity. Expect more visibility soon.
Other Go related activities
Director – American Go Foundation 2000 – present
Director – Seattle Go Center 1995 – present
Director – Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival 1980 – present
Director – Iwamoto Go Foundation 2022 – present