American professional Andy Liu 1p has won his way into the final round of the Kansai Kiin’s 12th Sankei Cup pro preliminary in Osaka, Japan. Liu defeated Imayi Kazuhiro 6p by resignation in his first game and won against Takashima Yougo 1p by a half-point in the second round. He plays Ha Yonnyiru 6p on Monday, Nov. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Japanese time.

Fellow AGA pro Gansheng Shi lost in the first round to Mine Yasuhiro 3p, and the two EGF pros, Mateusz Surma 1p and Ali Jabarin 1p lost their matches as well. Shi and Liu will also play in an exchange match with young Kansai pros on Friday, Oct. 30, Liu at 10 a.m. Japanese time against Sinntani Yousuki 1p and Shi at 2 p.m. against Yinaba Karinn 1p. All matches will be broadcast on Pandanet. The EJ will update with photos and game records as soon as they are available.
– Andy Okun

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The recent 20th anniversary celebration at the Seattle Go Center attracted over 100 people, including two professionals from Japan, Hiroshi Yamashiro 9P, vice president of the Nihon Ki-in, and Yuma 6P, who is also known as Kuma-sensei in Seattle.  The October 3 evening reception and concert featured a short speech from Consul General Masahiro Omura from the Seattle Japanese Consulate, who noted that Kaoru Iwamoto’s purchase of the Go Center building for use by the U.S. go community was a good symbol of the continuing reconciliation between Japan and the United States since WWII.  Go Center Board President Lee Anne Bowie reported that the late Iwamoto-sensei’s vision to extend go internationally and promote mutual understanding and friendship through the game of go has been upheld at the Seattle Go Center.  Harry van der Krogt, Manager at the European Go Cultural Center, another Iwamoto-funded center, extended his congratulations to the Seattle Go Center, and hoped for increased international cooperation to promote go in the future.  Andy Okun, president of the AGA, noted that the Seattle Go Center has a strong base of volunteers.

While Mr. Yamashiro had to return to Japan the day after the party, Kuma-sensei gave lectures and played simultaneous games for the next four days at the Seattle Go Center.  This was his second visit to Seattle.  Sunday’s lecture consisted of reviews of games from the Saturday tournament (Seattle Go Center 2oth Anniversary Tournament Draws Big Crowd  10/20 EJ).  His Monday lecture was for the “Double Digit Kyu Class,” which is usually taught by Nick Sibicky.  Kuma-sensei explored the double low approach to the 4-4 stone, and did a very good job of keeping his explanations simple enough for kyu players.  On Tuesday, he played simultaneous games with eight players while others watched, and then gave short lessons as each game finished. As usual on Tuesdays, there were more than 30 players visiting the center. On Wednesday, Kuma taught the “Single Digit Kyu Class”, with Andrew Jackson hosting.  Kuma-sensei also had time to see more of Seattle, and to enjoy Northwest seafood.  Photos: (top) Hiroshi Yamashiro 9P giving greetings from the Nihon Ki-in, (left) Fumi Tagata soprano, (right) Kuma-sensei playing simultaneous games.   More photos here.
– Report/photos by Brian Allen

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Space is limited at the upcoming Gotham Go Tournament, so register soon. The November 14-15th event is really two tournaments, a one-day, 4-round AGA-rated tournament on Saturday, November 14, followed by a Pair Go tournament  on Sunday, November 15. Both events will be held at the Hostelling International New York, at 891 Amsterdam Ave (btw 103rd & 104th), which can only handle 84 players. “Breakfast, snacks, coffee and goodies both days!” promises organizer Peter Armenia, “And a Gotham Go surprise for all who participate!”
photo: January 2013 Gotham Tournament; photo by John Pinkerton

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Saki Fujita 5D was undefeated in four rounds against a field of 29 at the October 24 NOVA Pumpkin Classic in Arlington, VA.  Other division winners include Quinn Baranoski 1K (undefeated), Patrick Sun 6K, Jeff Martyn 10K, Sara Crites 11K, and Kurt Haldeman 15K.  Second place winners include Josh Lee 6D, Victor Kang 3D, Zhao Zhao 5K, Garrett Smith 9K, Deirdre Golash 11k (tie), Robert Cole 12K (tie), and Amber Boyden 20K.

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Mark Lee fended off a last-round challenge to clinch the 2015 Cotsen Open with a perfect 5-0 record. Lee uncharacteristically misread in a capturing race against Ho Son 7D of Seattle but fought back and then pulled ahead decisively in the endgame to win by more than 20 points. Large audiences watched the top-board matches, broadcast by the E-Journal team on both KGS and the AGA’s YouTube channel — where Myungwan Kim 9P and Jennie Shen 2P commented the games live — and Lee’s sharp focus throughout the tournament was impressive. “I was the runner-up last year and really wanted to win this year,” he told the E-Journal. “The games were tough but when I got ahead I tried to stay ahead and when things got complicated I just focused on the immediate problem.” Lee (second from right) donated his $1,000 winnings to the American Go Foundation to support their work with young go players; the donation was gratefully accepted by AGF board member Larry Gross (right), along with AGA President Andy Okun (second from left, next to Eric Cotsen at far left).

The Cotsen drew a large field of nearly 150, mostly from Southern California but also from other West Coast  and Western states. After several years at the LA Korean Cultural Center, the Cotsen returned this year to the LA Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles. Players feasted on free food truck tacos from Komodo Food on Saturday and Kogi BBQ  on Sunday, and two experienced masseuses massaged out sore muscles (left) as the players sweated out their moves over the go boards. 

Tournament sponsor Eric Cotsen said he was “Really happy with the way the tournament went; everyone seemed to have a good time.” Although he didn’t win as many games as he would have liked, a beaming Cotsen said that “I think the game is awesome! The challenge, the people, everything about it. Figuring out a battle and winning the game, it’s just an awesome feeling.”
– report/photos by Chris Garlock

2015 Cotsen Winner’s Report (CLICK HERE FOR FINAL CROSSTAB)
Open: 1. Mark Lee (7d)  5 – 0; 2. Jeremy Chiu (7d)  4 – 1; 3. Beomgeun Cho (9d)  4 – 1; 4. Aaron Ye (7d)  3 – 2; 5. Xaiocheng Hu (5d)  3- 2; 6. Ho Son (7d)  3 – 2

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(2o PST) The second round of the 2015 Cotsen Open is underway now in Los Angeles, California. Top boards are being broadcast live on KGS, with live-streaming of Board 1 on the AGA’s YouTube channel. We’ll post updates as the day progresses.
photo: awaiting Round 1 pairings Saturday morning on the patio at the LA Center, just outside the Strong Players Room; photo by Chris Garlock

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Andy Liu 1p and Gansheng Shi 1p will play in a Kansai Kiin pro tournament this coming week; their games will be broadcast on Pandanet. The game will take place starting at 10 a.m. on Oct. 26, Japanese time, or 9P EST in the US. Liu will play against Imayi Kazuhiro 6p and Shi will play against Mine Yasuhiro 3p.

The Sankei tournament is a Kansai Kiin knock-out tournament, created in 2005, with 16 pros and 16 amateurs competing in two separate preliminaries. The current title holder is Daisuke Murakawa Oza 8p. This year, in addition to the two AGA pros, two European Go Federation pros will play, Mateusz Surma 1p of Poland against Kurahashi Masayuki 9p and Ali Jabarin of Israel against Yo Seiki 7p. There is also an exchange match scheduled for Oct. 30th, with Liu playing Sinntani Yousuke 1p at 10 a.m and Shi playing Yinaba Karinn 1p at 2 p.m. Japanese time.

Last year, two EGF pros played the pro preliminaries, Pavol Lisy 1p of Slovakia lost to Yuki Satoshi 9p, but Ali Jabarin beat Saito Tadashi 8p, advancing to the second round, where he lost to Nakano Yasuhiro 9p. While American pros have played many times in Japan, and a number of Americans, including Michael Redmond 9p, James Kerwin 1p (retired) and Francis Meyer 1p, received professional status from the Kansai Kiin or Nihon Kiin, this will be the first time AGA-certified pros will play in Japan as professionals.

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The American Go Honor Society (AGHS) will be hosting the 2015 Young Lions Tournament in November. “This is the premier competition for North American youth under 18, and has been one of our longest running tournaments,” says AGHS Promotion Head Stephen Hu.  “There will be 4 rounds in the tournament. The first round starts at 1pm EST, and the second at 4pm EST on November 14th. The third and fourth rounds  rounds will follow the same schedule on November 15. There will be great prizes, as well as trophies and medals for the top three places in each rank division,” adds Hu. The  tournament will be held on KGS, with games broadcast on Twitch.   The registration form is here, the deadline will be Saturday, November 7, so sign up today.  -Paul Barchilon, E- J Youth Editor

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