The first-ever Mexican Go Congress was held November 15-17, 2014 at the Tlatelolco Cultural Center in Mexico City, Mexico. The 3-day Congress hosted several events, including the first Mexican Open Tournament, a 13×13 tournament for kids, and go and origami workshops. Hajin Lee 3P and Kim Sooyong 4P — both sent by the Korean Baduk Association – provided game reviews, lectures and simultaneous game exhibitions.

Organized by the Mexican Go Association and sponsored by UNAM, Mexico’s main public university and KABA, the inaugural Congress was a watershed momento not only for the development of go in Mexico, but in Latin America as well. With a 45-player field for the Open Tournament and a total of more than 300 attendees, the event turned out to be a huge success.

“This Congress was a multi-purpose event” said Mexican Go Association president Emil García, “The players not only had the chance to play in an official tournament and feel the seriousness of it, but also had the opportunity to gain insight of how professional players think of the game. It was also a great chance for the youngest players to share and learn. I was surprised by the amount of youngsters who participated in the 13×13 tournament and in the workshops. Kids are increasingly becoming a main actor in Mexican go.”

“European and American go are developing really fast, and they are getting a lot of international support; Mexican and Latin American go shouldn’t lag behind,” said Garcia. “That’s why we are working really hard to be catch up.” He added that “2015 will be a year full of surprises for Mexican go, so stay tuned!”
– reporting by Emil Garcia; click here for a Congress photo album.

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Enjoying Inseong Hwang’s School: “I signed up for January for Inseong Hwang’s school on KGS, the Yunguseng Dojang, and am much enjoying it,” Bob Gilman writes. “Inseong Hwang, Korean 8P, is an excellent teacher with a gift for explaining ideas and game situations clearly. There are now six leagues of six players each in the American section with strengths ranging from 4d to double digit kyu. I highly recommend this for players with a serious interest in developing their skills and enjoyment of the game.”

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by John Power, EJ Japan Correspondent

17-Year-Old Ke Wins Bailing Cup: The best-of-five final of the 2nd Bailing Cup was fought between two Chinese players, the 17-year-old Ke Jie 4P (left) and the 32-year-old Qiu Jun 9P. After splitting the first two games last year, the players resumed the match on January 11. Playing white, Qiu won the third game by resignation, but Ke won the fourth (Jan. 13) and fifth games (Jan 15), both by resignation and holding white, to take the match 3-2. The games were played in Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province. First prize is 1,800,000 yuan (about $293,000). This win earned Ke promotion to 9-dan. photo courtesy GoGameGuru

Kisei Title Match Starts with Half-point Win for Iyama: The first game of the 39th Kisei title match was played at the Westin Hotel Osaka in Osaka City on January 15 and 16. The game was a tense contest, with Yamashita Keigo 9P, the challenger for the second year running, launching a severe attack on a weak black group. Iyama countered with his usual aggressive play, but this group remained unsettled for quite a while, as the fight spread all over the board. Yamashita took the lead when he captured four black stones in the centre, so Iyama countered with a do-or-die attack on a white group that led to a ko and a large trade. At the time, Iyama thought that the game gave him the lead, but later conceded that this was not so. He did manage to take a narrow lead in the endgame contest that followed. After 282 moves, Black wonby half a point. After the game, Iyama commented that ‘ending up a half point ahead was justluck.’ If this game is any indication, it looks like being a very close-fought series. The second game is scheduled for January 29 and 30.

Ida Keeps Sole Lead in Honinbo League: Ida Atsushi 8P’s chances of a return match with Iyama Honinbo are looking better and better. In the second game in the fourth round, played on January 15, Ida beat Ryu Shikun 9P by resignation. That improved his record to 4-0; his closest rival is Yamashita Keigo on 2-1. Every other player has at least two losses. Yamashita has already lost to Ida in the league, so he will have to rely on other players to help him catch up.

Takao and Ko Share Lead in Meijin League: Two games in the 40th Meijin League were played on January 15. Ko Iso 8P  beat Cho U 9P by resignation. On 2-0, Ko shares the lead with Takao Shinji 9P, the only other undefeated player. In the other game, league newcomer Kanazawa Makoto 7P (B) beat So Yokoku 9P by half a point to pick up his first win.

Kobayashi Satoru Reaches Judan Play-Off: In the first semifinal of the 53rd Judan tournament, Kobayashi Satoru 9P, who had eliminated Iyama Yuta in the previous round, beat Yo Seiki 7P (B) by resignation. Ida Atsushi meets Shida Tatsuya 7P in the other semifinal, which will be played on January 22.

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The players in last week’s AGA Pro Qualification Tournament were of course the stars of the event – click here for the final results and game records — but there was an entire team of volunteers who made it possible for the tournament to happen and for it to be broadcast around the world.

AGA President Andy Okun coordinated with local Boston-area organizers including David Kahn of the Massachusetts Go Association to put on the event at the Nantasket Beach Resort. TD Jeff Shaevel not only devised the tournament’s format, which proved popular with players and viewers alike, but made sure the event ran smoothly and on time.  Myungwan Kim 9P worked with Okun and Shaevel and also provided live game commentary on KGS.

The E-Journal team included game recorders Andrew Jackson, William Luff, Daniel Steinbrook and Brian Lee, as well as AGA president Andy Okun and former Korean insei Mark Lee, who generously pitched in to help out. Akane Negishi and her team of KGS admins helped bring the games to the world, and Dennis Wheeler and Steve Colburn kept the results page updated, including posting each round’s game records. In addition to coordinating the recording team, E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock took his turn at game recording and provided comprehensive daily coverage, including updates on Facebook, Twitter and the AGA’s website.

Volunteers are needed at a number of such events around the country during the course of the year; if you’d like to be considered, email journal@usgo.org.

photos: (left): TD Jeff Shaevel (in suit) observes game counting; (top right): Game recorder William Luff (right) enjoys one of the perks of game recording; a casual game with pro tournament player Daniel Gourdeau; photos by Chris Garlock

Chris Garlock

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SmartGo’s Go Books is no longer limited to the iPad and iPhone: you can now also read your books on the Mac. “And more importantly, the infrastructure is in place for a future Android version,” says SmartGo’s Anders Kierulf. You can continue to buy books using in-app purchase on iOS, “or you can buy books directly, avoiding Apple’s 30% cut, thus leaving more money for go writers and publishers.” Go Books on the Mac can also open SGF files and display them in book view. You can then save and edit the resulting gobook file to create your own annotated games. Click here to download the Mac version of Go Books. Two more books will be added soon, for a total of 99 books: “Invasions” by Iwamoto Kaoru 9 dan, and “Honinbo Tournament — The Early Years” by John Fairbairn. “Invincible is a treat on the iPad, but full-screen on your Mac takes it to a new level. Enjoy!” says Kierulf.

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Where are the AGA Pro Game Records? “Isn’t it great having these Qualification tournaments?” writes Jean de Maiffe. “I love seeing our young go players battling it out for the honors and opportunities these tournaments provide. One disappointment, though: the text says ‘Click here for results and game records’ but clicking there only provides results. The results are thrilling and all that, and I wouldn’t want to miss them, but I am yearning for the game records.”
To see the games on the tournament results page, just click on the underlined result (e.g. “B+7.5” under Eric Lui) and an sgf viewer will open up with the game record.  

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Young players, in the US, Canada, and Mexico have until Feb. 3rd to register for the North American Kyu Championships (NAKC). The tourney will be held on KGS, on Saturday Feb. 7th. Brackets in the NAKC will be divided by rank, with a new bracket formed approximately every 5 ranks or so depending on the range of participants. Within brackets, all games will be played even.  Dan level players will be able to compete in the Redmond Cup (including players from Canada and Mexico).  Youth who compete in either event will also be eligible for $400 scholarships to the AGA Go Camp, or $200 scholarships to the US Go Congress, courtesy of the AGF, on a first come first served basis.   Registration is now open for both the NAKC and the Redmond Cup, and more information can be found on the AGA webpage for youth events.  The deadline for the NAKC is Feb. 3rd to register, click here.  – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. 

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The San Diego Go Club started out the New Year with more than 30 players gathering on January 3 at its Winter Go Soiree at club president Ted Terpstra’s home. The event featured an 8-player simultaneous exhibition with Jong-Hoon Na, a 7-dan professional from the Korean Baduk Association. “Those not fortunate enough to get to play the pro played AGA-rated games,” Terpstra reports. Pizza and beverages were served after the simul for those interested in socializing. “It was a wonderful mix of players from beginners to 5-dans, from 10-year-olds to 70+-year-old, all enjoying the world’s oldest continuously played game,” said Terpstra. This was one of the first events to occur under the new AGA chapter rewards program (AGA Institutes New Chapter Rewards Program 12/31/14), in which chapters will be rewarded with points for new members and rated games played.
photo by Ted Terpstra 

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