To demo and teach go at the Smithsonian Folk Festival on the National Mall in Washington DC on 6/28/14, 6/29/14, 7/5/14, and 7/6/14. This will be an open air venue and 200+ people a day are expected. Hours: 10a to 4p. Contact John Goon, spineyone@yahoo.com, for more details.
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Here are the weekly Go problems for week 118.
Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!
This problem looks suspiciously similar to last week’s easy problem. The key to solving it is to figure out where it differs.
[Embedded SGF File]
This situation has probably appeared in some of your games. It’s another joseki gone wrong. Do you know how Black should play?
Someone showed me this when I was a beginner and, until I was about 5 kyu, I used to win about 20% of my games because I knew how to play here. Maybe you can too!
[Embedded SGF File]
It looks like all roads lead to ko, but always remember that your opponent’s key point is your own.
[Embedded SGF File]
You can find Go books packed full of life and death problems, tesuji problems and other valuable Go knowledge at the Go Game Shop.
If you have any questions or want to discuss any of these problems, please leave a comment below at any time. You can use the coordinates on the problem images to discuss a move or sequence of moves.
You can also download the solutions as a PDF or SGF file by clicking the links below each problem.
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“The AGA Go Camp would like to extend a hearty thanks to both Slate and Shell and Kiseido for their donation of books to the 2014 camp,” says Camp Director Amanda Miller. “Every evening we run small tournaments or other fun Go-related activities, including 13 x 13, pair Go, and team tournaments, and we plan to use these books as prizes in those events. We’ve received some especially generous donations this year, and we have more than enough to go around, so we can promise that every camper will get at least one prize.” Donations include popular titles, such as books from Yuan Zhou’s Master Play series, Yilun Yang’s Workshop Lectures series, the Elementary Go Series, and many more!
This year’s camp will take place the week before the Go Congress from August 3 to August 9 and will be held at YMCA Camp Kresge in White Haven, PA, about 2 hours outside of New York City. Yilun Yang 7P is back as this summer’s professional teacher, after a successful run last year. Anyone who participated in the NAKC or the Redmond Cup is eligible for a $400 scholarship, and need-based scholarships are also available from the AGF. “Our registered campers are between the ages of 9 and 17, and within a strength range of 20-kyu to 3-kyu, so camp should be a lot of fun, regardless of age or rank,’ adds Miller. For more information, visit the camp website (www.gocampeast.org) or e-mail Amanda Miller at agagocampeast@gmail.com. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Amanda Miller: Pair Go Tourney at last year’s camp.
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Seattle 1 will play Canwa Vancouver 1 on Saturday, August 9th in the 2014 Pandanet-AGA City League finals at the US Go Congress in
New York City. In other A League results, Greater Washington won 3rd place and Boston was 4th. New York City took first place in the B League, and Chicago was second. Play is still ongoing in the C League, where Katy TX 1 is currently leading with an undefeated score. They are followed by Canwa Vancouver 2, Katy TX 2, and Brentwood/Nashville. Round 6 will be played on Saturday June 17th. The game at right is the one that put Seattle 1 into the finals, with Seattle’s Ho Son (B) defeating Greater Washington’s Jie Li 
in what turned out to be the tie-break game; as this game was played both cities had won a game (Board 1 – Seattle 1, Board 3 – Greater Washington).
– Steve Colburn, TD
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Now the summer vacation is coming, and many of you may travel. When you travel, please do not make a $100 mistake below in terms of Go. I’ll show you how to prevent that, too.
When you review my materials or study a Go book, you should not copy just sentences.
I’ve met many Japanese adult players who copy only commentaries (sentences) and don’t copy diagrams probably because copying sentences is faster and easier. They mistakenly assume that learning commentaries (sentences) will help them.
Unfortunately, many of them do not realize the fact that without understanding a shape, memorizing a sentence is not at all helpful, but can be harmful.
( I state “shape”. This can mean, a good shape, a tesuji, a life-and-death problem, etc. It can mean anything. )
Why is it harmful? Here is the reason.
There are so many diagrams that look the same or very similar to amateurs. But even if two different diagrams seem to show almost the same in the eyes of amateurs, they are often completely different in the eyes of pros or top amateurs.
In most case if there is a subtle difference, a correct move can be completely different, and the results are totally and utterly different.
For example, for native English speakers, the words “memo” and “nemo” are completely different. But for English speaking beginners, they look very similar.
The words “evidence” and “evince” do not the same meaning. The word “basic” and “basis” are not exactly the same. The words “different” and “deferred” are not the same. ( I wish I could come up with better examples in terms of English words.)
For some Americans, Cambodia and Laos may look the same. For some Asians, Canada and the U.S.A may look the same. (Maybe these are extreme examples… But Go beginners make that kind of mistakes. )
There are so many misunderstandings in Go because of similar shapes.
Every game is different, and every situation can be different. The stronger you become, the more you will sharpen your ability to see the differences. To do so, you must understand shapes and differences of shapes. (BTW, this is why I try to make problems that show differences sometimes.)
Many talented children can become very strong very quickly. In less than a year, a 1dan talented child becomes a 7dan amateur and then becomes a pro because they never forget shapes.
But adults cannot remember many diagrams at once. So some adults try to rely on words, but that’s not a good idea because of the reason above. So please be careful.
Now the summer vacation is coming, and many of you may travel. When you travel, please do not make a $100 mistake by copying only sentences. You must copy your diagrams, too.
If you have iPad, all you have to do is to transfer my texts to the iPad.
One of my students sent me the following info. I don’t have iPad, nor have I ever used it, so all I can do is just copy his sentence below…
Here’s the process in case you wanted to share it with other students:
1. Create a zip file of all problems on computer
2. Buy Easygo app
3. Connect iPad to computer, open iTunes in computer, go to “iPad -> Apps -> EasyGo” and Add.. to EasyGo the zip file you created in 1.
4. Open EasyGo on iPad
5. Create new folder (“Kaz Problems”) and click on Import button – this should open the File Manager and you should see the zip file from 3.
6. Last note – view problems in Edit mode otherwise you will miss some comments on some moves.
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June 03, 2014 at 01:36PM
This position comes from Go World #15 in a game between Kato Masao 9P and Rin Kaiho 9P.
Black’s play in this position is just one example of how pros think strategically, while most amateurs think locally.
Click here to see the solution.
A new problem appears every Monday morning. And for archived problems click here.
– Myron Souris, POTW Editor
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Players in the top section of the upcoming fourth annual Young Kwon National Online Tournament (YKNOT) will be eligible to win points towards NAMT qualification, which this year means eligibility for the 9-round US Invitational tournament at this year’s US Go Congress; NAMT qualifiers in the US Invitational will be eligible for $2,000 more in prizes reserved for the NAMT players.
“We also encourage kyu players to register for the YKNOT,” says AGA Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. “We want good strong competition at all levels! Every single player, including kyu players, can win part of the nearly $3,000 in prizes that the tournament offers.”
The Young Kwon National Online Tournament is the largest annual online tournament in North America. Registration is free and open to all levels, with nearly $3,000 in total prizes, which will be awarded to all levels. The tournament will take place on June 21, 22, and 28th. Click here to see the tournament webpage with registration details and rules and click here to register. Players have until Friday, June 20th to register. There are no citizen or permanent residency requirements; AGA members living in the US or AGA life members living anywhere are eligible, and even players who join the AGA the day before the start of the tournament are welcome to participate.
The YKNOT is the second online qualifier; the first is the June 7-8 Age of the Fabulist tournament, which is limited to players 4D+; register here.
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Two more professional go players have just been confirmed for this year’s US Go Congress, bringing the total so far to 14 (click here for the complete list). Shinichi Aoki 9P won the 3rd NEC Shun-Ei Tournament in 1988; his sister is Aoki Kikuyo 8P. Korean professional Dahye Lee 4P, who specializes in teaching non-professional players how to teach youth in Korea, was a big hit at the Go Congress Teachers’ Workshop last year and will be returning this year. The workshop will again offer the opportunity for players interested in teaching go to earn certification as an AGA-recognized go teacher. The first workshop last year graduated 40 teachers, “far more than expected,” says Chris Kirschner, who is organizing the event this year. The curriculum has been expanded this year and with more than 50 already registered, “We are far above the 23 we had at this time last year” says Kirschner. The certificate program requires attendance of at least 8 hours including core topics, but those interested in only a few topics are welcome to attend those only. The Congress website allows you to sign up for just those sessions in which you have the most interest. The curriculum is still subject to change, so anyone interested in presenting their ideas at a session, or creating a new session is invited to contact Kirscher at planning@usgo.org.
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Two fine probes undergo thorough examination.
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by John Power, EJ Japan Correspondent
Iyama Extends Lead in Honinbo Title Match: Ida Atsushi is an aggressive player and Iyama Yuta’s philosophy is to always look for the strongest move, so the 69th Honinbo best-of-seven is proving to be an exciting title match. The second game was held in the Old Inn Kaneyu, a traditional building that is nationally registered as a Tangible Cultural Asset, on May 25 and 26. Taking black, Ida set the tone of the game early when he chose an attacking move with Black 39 rather than a defensive one. If his move worked, he would swallow up a white group that was trying to reduce his main potential territory, but if it failed that territory would be ruined. Ida followed up with more attacking moves, so his play was consistent, but his 45th move was “probably an overplay,” according to Takao Shinji. Iyama (right) needed to secure a second eye for a cut-off group, but he counterattacked for over 50 moves before doing so. By the end of the fight, he had split Black into two weak groups in the centre while he had only one weak group. The pressure finally got to Ida on move 91, a mistake that overlooked a brilliant counter by White. Thereafter, Iyama took control of the game and, as usual, ratcheted up the pressure instead of coasting to a win on territory. Ida resigned after White 182. This game is full of brilliant tesujis accessible to players of all levels, so if you have access to it on the Net we recommend you play through it. Perhaps the highlight is a three-step hane by Iyama that gives Black a double atari, but ironically one that helps White more than Black. After the game, Ida consoled himself with the reflection that he was at least getting more used to two-day games. However, I can’t help wondering if he is using his time allowance effectively. In both games, Iyama was in byo-yomi, being down to his final three minutes, whereas Ida had 70 minutes left in this game and 55 minutes left in the first game.Two sidelights: This was the first time a Honinbo game was held in Aizu Wakamatsu for nearly half a century, the predecessor being the second game of the 20th title match between Sakata Eio Honinbo and Yamabe Toshiro. At the party held on eve of the game, Iyama was presented with a cake in a surprise celebration of his 25th birthday. He looked after his present himself. The third game, scheduled for June 4 and 5, is going to be a test of Ida’s mettle. To avoid being forced to a kadoban, he will have to beat Iyama with White, not an easy task.
Fujisawa and Okuda Reach Final of New Women’s Tournament: Few things would make Japanese go fans happier than to see Fujisawa Shuko’s granddaughter Rina (left) develop into a top player. She is already showing signs of potential, having reached the final of a new women’s tournament, the Aizu Central Hospital Cup. As the name shows, this tournament is sponsored by a hospital in Aizu Wakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture, the region which suffered the heaviest earthquake damage three years ago. The director of the hospital is a keen go player, and in an interview he said that at one time 20 of the doctors on the staff were go players who often held their own tournaments. His aim in sponsoring the tournament is to help raise the level of Japanese women so that they can compete better internationally. Most of the tournaments with regional sponsors that we report on are minor events, without substantial prize money, but this tournament is a serious affair. First prize is seven million yen, the top prize for a women’s tournament, and the final will be a two-day game June 26 and 27, which is a first for a women’s tournament. All 62 women players at the Nihon Ki-in and the Kansai Ki-in took part in preliminary rounds held during late January and early February to select seven finalists for the main tournament. Dual title-holder Xie Yimin was seeded in the eighth place. The quarterfinals and semifinals were held at the Konjakutei Inn in Higashiyama Hot Spring in Aizu Wakamatsu City on May 24 and 25. Results follow.
Quarterfinals (May 24): Fujisawa Rina 2P (B) defeated Xie Yimin, Women’s Meijin & Kisei, by 2.5 points; Mannami Nao 3P (B) d. O Keii 2P by resig.; Okuda Aya 3P (B) d. Koyama Terumi 6P by 5.5 points; Ishii Akane 2P (B) d. Kato Keiko 6P by resig.
Semifinals (May 25): Fujisawa d. Mannami by resig.; Okuda (B) d. Ishii by resig.
Promotions: To 4-dan: Terayama Rei (50 wins); To 3-dan: Ito Masashi (40 wins); To 2: dan: Takagi Junpei (30 wins)
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Weiqi To Go 