Another game from the semi finals between Park JungHwan and WeiXing Tang in the Samsung cup. Tang had some chances but nature called and brought disaster.
via BadukMovies http://ift.tt/1IesGII
Author: Benson Lam
AGA Pro Qualification Tournament, Day One: Li, Lui & Lockhart Take Lead
Ryan Li, Eric Lui and Ben Lockhart won their first- and second-round games Sunday at the AGA Pro Qualification Tournament to take an early lead in the 7-round round-robin section of the two-part tournament. Click here for complete tournament results and game records. The tournament is being held at the Nantasket Beach Resort in Nantasket, MA, January 4-10. The games are being broadcast live on KGS by the E-Journal at 9:30a and 4:30p (EST).
Temperatures had risen overnight, melting the snow that had fallen Saturday night, and a few hardy surfers could be glimpsed in the waves just across the beach from the resort. The players posed for a group photo (right) before the first round and the tournament commenced shortly afterwards.
The seaside town is quiet this time of year, matching the silence in the playing room as the top-ranked players grappled on the boards. Hundreds watched online as fierce battles unfolded; three of the first-round games were decided by resignation. Jeremy Chiu was the first to fall, resigning his Board 1 game after just 89 moves after a bad start when he misplayed a joseki that allowed Ryan Li to capture a group in the corner and get outside thickness. Chiu mounted a creditable attack on one of Li’s groups but Li played calmly and when he settled his group Chiu gracefully gave up. On Board 2, Matthew Burrall started a complicated middle-board fight because he was behind on points against Eric Lui, but came up a couple of liberties short and had to resign. And on Board 4 Daniel Gourdreau and Ricky Zhao’s even bigger and more complicated fight ended when Gourdreau used an attack on Zhao’s center group to cut off and kill another group. The Board 3 game between Ben Lockhart and Yuan Zhou was the last to finish and the only one to be counted. Observers thought Zhou had a small lead coming out of the middle game but he was short on time and Lockhart played a very sharp endgame to win by a comfortable 10.5 points.
The town was completely fogged in by the time the players reconvened at 4:30p for the second round. What few sounds there were over the next few hours were distant and muffled as the players focused even more intently than they had in the morning round. At one point a loud argument between two hotel patrons erupted just outside the playing room but the players were so engrossed that no-one seemed to even notice. The Board 1 game between Matthew Burrall and Ryan Li was a classic territory vs. influence game involving some very fluid positions and deep reading. Though Burrall did manage to establish a fairly substantial central moyo in the end it wasn’t enough to compensate for Li’s bankable territory. On Board 2 Daniel Gourdreau’s slight joseki mistake gave Eric Lui an early cash lead; unable to recover, Gourdreau was the first to resign in the second round. Ben Lockhart and Ricky Zhou met on Board 3 in an exciting game that saw a number of daring trades but in the end Zhou came up short and had to resign as well. On Board 4, the youngest and the eldest player in the field faced off: Yuan Zhou, 40, has won many US titles and is an experienced teacher and author of go books, while 12-year-old Jeremy Chiu is one of the US’ strong youth players. Neither player made any blunders and the game stayed knife-edge close right through the end. It was the last to finish — fortunately, AGA President Andy Okun teamed up with Brian Lee to record the 4-hour game — and Chiu edged Zhou by just 1.5 points.
– report/photos by Chris Garlock; more photos on the AGA’s Facebook page
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AGA Pro Tourney Begins Sunday Morning; Live Broadcast on KGS
Snow fell steadily outside as top US go players gathered in the Nantasket Beach Resort just south of Boston on Saturday night. The third AGA Pro
Qualification Tournament, which will determine the next US professional, begins Sunday at 9:30a (EST) and TD Jeff Shaevel reviewed the tournament schedule and rules for the assembled players. AGA President Andy Okun thanked the players — Eric Lui 7d, Ryan Li 7d, Yuan Zhou 7d, Jeremy Chiu 6d, Daniel Gourdeau 7d, Ricky Zhao 7d and Ben Lockhart 7d (Matthew Burrall 6d was en route from California) – “for coming so far and for taking the time this week to compete at this high level. We’re looking forward to some great games.”
Morning rounds will begin at 9:30a and afternoon rounds at 4:30p and the games will be broadcast live on KGS; watch the AGA website, Twitter @theaga and Facebook feeds for regular updates.
– report/photos by Chris Garlock. Photos: (left) Okun delivering the tournament’s go stones and bowls; (right) Shaevel reviews rules with players.
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I can’t helping thinking about a move for a long time! Well, pls read this!
Recently a student asked me about how he should manage the time
because he loves to think of a move for a long time. In fact
since he likes to think each move for a long time, he likes to play offline.
I answered as follows:
To be honest with you, since I was a child, I always couldn’t
play quickly. I had to think, think, and think…
Even if I became an insei, and even if I had 4 hours in the final insei
tournament, I couldn’t stop thinking. I spent 4 hours in 100 moves or so.
It was a terrible habit.
Interestingly, after I quit an insei (Go apprentice), I could start playing fast.
Over the years I have also observed many people, teenagers and adults who couldn’t stop thinking.
Based on my experiences, I’d like to tell you what I have discovered and learned over the years.
1. Thinking a move for a long time does not necessarily help you play a better game.
2. Thinking a move for a long time in a game does not necessarily make you strong.
3. When you play a game, there are points at which you have to think; that is a life-and-death situation and a capturing race.
But there are many situations where you will never know the best moves.
Let me elaborate on these.
With regard to 1. and 2., I need more explanations.
The reason thinking a move will not help you is that
without solidifying the strong basic foundations, you may not be thinking
correctly. If your thoughts were incorrect from the beginning, you may very well
end up with an incorrect result.
( My definition of basic foundations is that there are basic foundations for 10 kyu players, for
5 kyu players, for 1 dan players, and so on. I believe that you should learn various levels of
basics as you improve. )
This happens often because you still have to learn a lot about tesuji,
life-and-death, shape, etc. at your level. It takes time to learn one tesuji.
This is why I always emphasize learning basics.
With regard to 3., there were interesting Go articles in Japan, asking top pros to play where in the middle of a game.
Almost always every top pros play different moves. This means that even top pros may not know what’s the best.
Go is that deep, I guess.
Cho U 9dan wrote in his book that he always intentionally plays fast. He’s been
doing that since he was an insei and even now. The reason is that when there
is a crucial moment in a game, he needs time. When he has time, he could find
the best move or a winning move. His opponent often doesn’t have time and makes a mistake.
Of course, he is one of the strongest Go players, and that’s why he has won
lots of titles in Japan. But even for him, how to manage the time is strategically important.
I do understand that it can be very frustrating not to have time in an online game
when you need time. I send the following advice to those who play tournaments.
But I’m pretty sure that these are also helpful to you, too, when you play online.
☆ Go advice ☆
★ The time ★
When you play a tournament, you have only limited amount of time. You shouldn’t spend time on the opening. You should use your time in the middle game, especially fight and life-and-death.
And in the endgame if you don’t have time, you often end up miserably. Even if you are 20 points or 30 points ahead, your opponent could turn around the situation if you don’t have time to think. I have experienced this so many times when I was an insei. So use your time wisely.
When I play a game, as soon as I play a move, I try to think of possible opponent moves and come up with a response. So when an opponent plays a move, I can immediately respond to it without spending the time.
When I made a mistake and was way behind in the middle of a game, this strategy really worked well because towards the end of a game, my opponent had little time left, and I had more time, and I managed to find a move to turn around a game.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. But that may be something to think about.
★ The openinge ★
In order not to spend time in the opening, I think the following advice helps.
When you’re Black, you should certainly play your favorite opening.
The problem is White. When you are White, you should try to prevent your opponent from playing her / his favorite opening such as the Chinese opening (fuseki).
The Chinese fuseki is really hard to tackle unless you have studied it extensively. Even if you have studied the Chinese fuseki, new patterns come up often, and it’s very hard to keep up with everything.
Later on when I played a tournament in Tokyo, and when my opponent played the first move at Q16 and the third move at Q3, I played my fourth move at Q5 immediately (for kyu players, I recommend Q5 and not R5 because R5 has far more variations). After this, he and I had to face a new fuseki. So whoever strong was likely to win (and I won).
If I had let him play the Chinese fuseki, he would have played the fuseki just like top pros play. So all his moves were as wonderful as top pros up to a certain moves. But when I played the fourth move at Q5, he had to play his own moves rather than top pros’ moves. So it’s much harder for him to good moves.
In addition, if you let your opponents play their favorite fuseki, it’s very likely that they don’t spend time because they know what to do, but you probably have to spend time on finding out how to tackle an unfamiliar fuseki. So you may lose your time very fast in the opening.
To prevent your opponents from play their favorite fuseki may also be helpful psychologically. If you prevent that, they can be discouraged.
I’m sorry that this is getting too long.
I really hope this helps.
via Go, Igo, Weiqi, Baduk. Kaz’s original Igo-advice & fundamentals of Igo http://ift.tt/1I3RTWv
January 02, 2015 at 04:42PM
AGA Institutes New Chapter Rewards Program
Saying that “Our chapters are the foundation of the AGA,” American Go Association Board Chair Gurujeet Khalsa today announced the start of a new rewards program for AGA chapters. Similar to an airline or credit card rewards program, AGA chapters can now accumulate points when they get new or renewing members or when their members play AGA-rated games. Points can then be used to get reimbursed for expenses incurred in activities that promote American go. “We want to support chapter activities that grow American go and do it in a way that encourages new ideas and sharing of best practices,” said Khalsa. Click here for details on how the new program works.
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UK Go Updates: Chi-Min Oh 7d Wins 41st London Open Go Congress
41st London Open Go Congress: Chi-Min Oh 7d won the 2014 London Open, which ran December 28-31. Chi-Min Oh 7d had seven wins; prizes were also awarded to Young Sam Kim 7d in second, Mateusz Surma 7d in third, and Xiao Ma 7d in fourth. The first David Ward Cup was awarded in memory of long-standing UK player David Ward, who passed away in 2013. It was donated by his widow, Helen Ward, and presented by Korean professional — and IGF Secretary General — Hajin Lee to Matthew Cocke, who was the highest-placed UK player in the tournament.
– edited by Amy Su from reports on the BGA website.
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EuroGoTV Update: Russia, Austria, Serbia
Russia: Andrej Cheburakhov 5d (left) bested Anton Chernykh 3d at the Cup of Moscow on December 21 while Andrej Kashaev 5d placed third. Austria: Also on December 21, Viktor Lin 6d took the Austrian Championship Finals in Vienna. Behind him were Schayan Hamrah 5d second and Lothar Spiegel 5d in third. Serbia: The Serbian Women’s Championship finished on December 21 in Belgrade with Natasa Bosnjak 2k in first, Ivana Stojanovik 3k in second, and Marta Jorgacevic 2k in third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV
via American Go E-Journal http://www.usgo.org/news/2014/12/eurogotv-update-russia-austria-serbia/
The Power Report (Part 4): Takao Takes Tengen Title From Iyama; Promotions; Konishi To Challenge For Women’s Kisei; Good Year For Fujisawa Rina; Cho U Eliminated From Chunlan Cup
by John Power, EJ Japan Correspondent
Takao Takes Tengen Title From Iyama: The second game of the 40th Tengen title match was held at the Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo in 
Sapporo City, Hokkaido, on November 11. Playing white, Takao Shinji 9P (right) beat Iyama Yuta Tengen (left) by resignation after 164 moves. The game was the reverse of the first game: this time Takao held the initiative throughout. 
Iyama played unreasonably in an attempt to catch up and had to resign when he lost two groups. The third game was played at the Kameyama-Tei Hotel in Hita City, Oita Prefecture, on November 25. The opening was peaceful, but the game soon turned into a fierce fight between opposing groups. In the end, Iyama, playing white, brought down a large black group, forcing Takao to resign after 146 moves. With a 2-1 lead, Iyama’s chances of winning the Tengen title for the fourth year in a row looked very good. The fourth game was played at the Arima Grand Hotel in Kobe City on December 11. It featured three spectacular trades; Takao (white) seized the lead through his clever use of thickness. At the end, Iyama, realizing that he couldn’t give the komi, launched a do-or-die attack. Takao survived it safely, so Iyama resigned after move 288. The final game was held at the Hotel Clement Tokushima in Tokushima City on December 19. This was just three days after Iyama had lost the Oza title to Murakawa Daisuke. Takao drew white in the nigiri. Iyama’s fatigue perhaps showed in the fact that he played very fast. Early in the middle game,Takao made a trade of territory for central thickness and then skillfully erased the centre. From around move 64, Takao seized the initiative and held on to it throughout. In most games, the lead fluctuates, but Iyama was never ahead. Takao did give him a chance to create complications, but Iyama failed to take it. He resigned after move 212. Some observers commented that the game was a masterly win for Takao. He now has two titles (he also holds the Judan) and Iyama is reduced to four. First prize is 14 million yen, ranking the Tengen fifth among the top seven titles.
Promotions
To 8-dan: Murakawa Daisuke (for winning the Oza title; promotion as of Dec. 17)
To 7-dan: Kanazawa Makoto (for entering the Meijin League; as of Nov. 14), Anzai Nobuaki (120 wins; as of Nov. 28)
To 4-dan: Tamai Shin (50 wins; as of Nov. 28)
To 3-dan: Kumamoto Shusei (40 wins; as of Nov. 21)
To 2-dan: Kikkawa Hajime (30 wins; as of Dec. 5)
Konishi To Challenge For Women’s Kisei: In the play-off to decide the challenger for the 18th Women’s Kisei title, Konishi Kazuko 8P (B) defeated Aoba Kaori 4P by resignation. The game was played on December 8. Konishi was born on October 28, 1972. She took second place in the 19th Women’s Kakusei title (1997), the 7th and 8th Women’s Strongest Player titles (2005 and 2006).
Good Year For Fujisawa Rina: The sixteen-year-old Fujisawa Rin had a breakthrough year this year, winning two titles. On the last day of professional play this year, December 25, she scored her 40th win of the year, beating Koyama Hideo 5P in the First Tournament of the Kisei tournament (the first section of the revamped Kisei is called “fasuto tonamento”). Forty wins is a significant number for a professional,
as you need to win about two-thirds of your games to achieve it, and only two male players made it this year. Fujisawa is only the third female player ever to reach this landmark. Her record was 40 wins to 14 losses; Xie Yimin scored 40-16 in 2007, and the record is held by Kobayashi Izumi with 41-18 in 2001.
Cho U Eliminated From Chunlan Cup: The quarterfinals of the 10th Chunlan Cup were held on Christmas Day. Gu Li 9P (China) defeated Japan’s sole remaining representative, Cho U 9P; Gu had white and won by 1.5 points. Results in the other games were: Zhou Weiyang 9P 
(China) beat Shi Yue 9P (China) by resig.; Chen Yaoye 9P (China) beat Pak Jung-hwan 9P (Korea) by resig.; Kim Je-seok 9P (Korea) (B) beat Mi Yuting 9P (China) by resig. Pairings in the semifinals, to be held on December 27, are: Gu vs. Kim and Zhou vs. Chen.
via American Go E-Journal http://www.usgo.org/news/2014/12/the-power-report-part-4-takao-takes-tengen-title-from-iyama-promotions-konishi-to-challenge-for-womens-kisei-good-year-for-fujisawa-rina-cho-u-eliminated-from-chunlan-cup/
This Week’s Go Calendar: San Diego and Seattle
January 3: San Diego, CA
San Diego Go Club Winter Soiree
Ted Terpstra ted.terpstra@gmail.com 619-384-3454
January 4: Seattle, WA
Jin Chen Memorial Tournament
Brian Allen manager@seattlego.org 206-632-1122 206-545-1424
Get the latest go events information.
via American Go E-Journal http://www.usgo.org/news/2014/12/this-weeks-go-calendar-san-diego-and-seattle-2/
The Power Report (Part 3): Takao Scores 900th Win; China Leads In Nong Shim Cup; Hane Wins Crown Title; Gu Wins Japan-China Ryusei Play-Off; Murakawa Takes Oza From Iyama
by John Power, EJ Japan Correspondent
Takao Scores 900th Win: Takao Shinji’s win in the Meijin League was his 900th as a professional. He is the 21st Nihon Ki-in player to reach this landmark. His record is 900 wins, 385 losses, 2 jigo, 2 no result. photo: Shinji
China Leads In Nong Shim Cup: The second round of the Nong Shim Cup, held in Busan, Korea, was dominated by Wang Xi 9P of China, who won four games in a row, but both Korea and Japan have hung on, each getting one player into the final round.
(Nov. 28) Wang Xi 9P (China) (B) beat Kang Tong-yun 9P (Korea) by resig.
(Nov. 29) Wang beat Murakawa Daisuke 7P (Japan) by resig.
(Nov. 30) Wang beat An Song-jun 5P (Korea) resig.
(Dec. 1) Wang (B) beat Kono Rin 9P (Japan) by resig.
(Dec. 2) Pak Jung-hwan 9P (Korea) beat Wang by resig.
(Dec. 3) Iyama Yuta 9P (Japan) (B) beat Pak by resig.
Hane Wins Crown Title: The 55th Crown title, which is open only to Nagoya Nihon Ki-in players, was won by Hane Naoki 9P. In the final, played on November 29, Hane beat Yamashiro Hiroshi 9P by resignation, thus winning his fourth Crown title in a row and 11th overall. He is within striking distance of Yamashiro’s record of 15 Cr
own titles.
Gu Wins Japan-China Ryusei Play-Off: In the inaugural Japan-China Ryusei Play-off, Go Li 9P of China showed that he had recovered from his loss in his jubango (ten-game match) with Lee Se-tol by defeating Kono Rin 9P of Japan. Taking black, Gu won by resignation. The game was played on December 6.
Murakawa Takes Oza from Iyama: The second and third games of the 62nd Oza title match were played at the Westin Miyako Hotel Kyoto on November 18 and 20. Having just one rest day between games feels in go terms almost like a doubleheader in baseball.
In Game Two, the challenger Murakawa Daisuke 7P beat Iyama by 1.5 points playing black. The game was close, but Iyama made an attack that was a little over-aggressive. Murakawa erased potential white territory while settling his group and took the lead. The game later became close because of some slack play by Murakawa in the endgame.
In Game Three the titleholder Iyama Yuta pulled off an upset victory by 2.5 points. Murakawa had secured a slight edge with skillful play in a centre fight, but he let himself down with a couple of slack moves later. Once the game turned in his favor, Iyama gave his opponent no chance to stage another upset.
Game Four was played at the Sendai Royal Park Hotel in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, on December 8. Playing black, Murakawa seized the initiative in the opening and this time managed to hang on to it, despite a difficult middle game.
The final game was played at the Todaya inn in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, on December 16. The first part of the game featured two ko fights, both of which Murakawa won, though Iyama took reasonable compensation. The game went wrong for Iyama in a large capturing race in the center. Iyama made a miscalculation and thought he could win it; when he realized he couldn’t, he sacrificed his group, but in the meantime he had played some extra moves that became a loss without compensation. That decided the game. It ended after 249 moves, and Murakawa won by 1.5 points. (Other details about the game are given in the E-journal’s report of December 21.)
At 24, Murakawa is one year younger than Iyama. The two are good friends and often meet in the same study groups. It’s easy to imagine Murakawa’s feelings as he witnessed the extraordinary success of his friend over recent years. At the same time, Iyama was a good target to aim at, of course, but Murakawa confessed that it was a little disturbing to see an even younger player in Ida Atsushi (aged 20) emerge in this year’s Honinbo title match as the first younger challenger to Iyama. The flow of the match, as described above, shows that Murakawa’s win was not a fluke. His goal now is to do better in international tournaments.
Tomorrow, Part 4: Takao Takes Tengen Title from Iyama; Promotions; Konishi to Challenge for Women’s Kisei; Good Year for Fujisawa Rina; Cho U Eliminated from Chunlan Cup
via American Go E-Journal http://www.usgo.org/news/2014/12/the-power-report-part-3-takao-scores-900th-win-china-leads-in-nong-shim-cup-hane-wins-crown-title-gu-wins-japan-china-ryusei-play-off-murakawa-takes-oza-from-iyama/
Weiqi To Go 