Go is mentioned while developing a friendship with the character named Yu Jin in the game “Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, Complete Edition,” reports Tyler Keithley.
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Your Move/Readers Write: Life-Lessons of Go; Did Go Save Edward Lasker’s Life?
Life-Lessons of Go: “If life is a game of go. I wish I (could) place my first move again.” (Go Spotting: “Go Stone” Tweet 2/22 EJ) “And that is the life-lesson of go,” writes Terry Benson. “We don’t get to play our first stone again. As in sports, we have to ‘suck it up’ and look for the next best move with our mistakes glaringly in full view. Go ‘is’ life.”
Did Go Save Edward Lasker’s Life? “What I find most remarkable about Lasker’s story (Go Spotting: Lasker’s “Chess Secrets I learned from the Masters” 2/23 EJ) is that one can argue that go saved Lasker’s life,” writes Vernon Leighton. “Out of college, Lasker worked for a multinational German corporation. He wanted to be transferred to the Japan unit so that he could study go. His company said that he had to be fluent in English to work in Japan. He got a transfer to England to work on his English. WWI broke out and he was jailed as an enemy national. He was transferred to the United States, where he settled and lived the rest of his life. Had he not been in England, he might have been drafted into the German army and killed in a trench in France. Therefore, go may have saved his life.”
photo from LIFE Magazine 18 May 1942
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The Power Report: Ida loses sole lead in Honinbo League; Yamashita keeps his Kisei challenge alive
by John Power, EJ Japan Correspondent
Ida loses sole lead in Honinbo League: Ida Atsushi 8P (right) seemed to be heading inexorably for a rematch with Iyama Yuta Honinbo, but he finally stumbled in the fifth round of the 70th Honinbo League. In a game played on February 19, Kono Rin 9P
beat him by resignation. Ida’s loss means that Yamashita Keigo 9P pulls even with him on 4-1; we might see another play-off between these two. Cho U 9P and Kono, both on 3-2, are also in contention. In another game played on the same day, Yo Seiki 7P picked up his second win when he beat Ryu Shikun 9P; playing white, he forced a resignation. Yo improves to 2-3 and has an outside chance of keeping his league place. Ryu and Takao Shinji 9P, both on 1-4, have lost their places.
Yamashita keeps his Kisei challenge alive: Yamashita Keigo (left) finally picked up his first win in the 39th Kisei title match and survived his first kadoban (a game that can lose a series). The fourth game was held at the Zagyoso. The Zagyoso (which literally means ‘fishing-while-seated-villa’) was the retirement villa of a famous statesman, Saionji Kinmochi, who led the Japanese delegation at the Versailles peace conference; it was moved from its original location in Shizuoka to Meiji Village, a theme park in Inuyama City in Aichi Prefecture that recreates traditional Japanese buildings. The game was played on February 19 and 20. Iyama (White) took the lead in the middle game when Yamashita made a misreading about a life-and-death position. His group didn’t die, but he had to add an extra stone and so fell behind. However, Iyama slipped up with an oversight of his own when he tried to wrap up the game. Yamashita played a brilliant atekomi tesuji and pulled off an upset. He won by 2.5 points after 224 moves. Yamashita will be greatly encouraged by this win, but, on 1-3, he is still in a tough position. The fifth game, to be played on February 25 and 26, will show whether he has really changed the flow of the match.
Promotion
To 2-dan: Komatsu Daiki (30 wins). Komatsu is the son of Komatsu Hideki 9P and Komatsu Hideko 4P. The promotion took effect on the 17th.
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Iwamoto Awards Go Global
The 2015 edition of the Iwamoto Awards has gone global. “Thanks to internet and social media, the world has become smaller, so we think it is time to invite people on a global scale to submit go promotion projects,” says Harry van der Krogt of the European Go Centre, which organizes the awards, supported by the European Go Federation and the Nihon Ki-in. “So many people are trying so many things these days,” says AGA president Andy Okun, who’s serving on the awards jury. “I think it is great we are giving them rewards, encouragement and incentives to keep to at it.” Now called the World Wide Iwamoto Awards, the contest – with €2,000 in prizes — is named in honor of Iwamoto Kaoru, who devoted much of his career to promoting go around the world. The goal is to motivate go players “to think about how go can be promoted,” organizers say, so that “through the gathering and exchange of ideas it can lead to a higher quality of popularization of go all over the world.” A top prize of €1,000 will be awarded, and two “encouragement” prizes of €500 each will also be awarded; click here to see examples of previous winners. Deadline for submitting proposals is June 1, 2015; click here for criteria/rules and to apply online.
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Amy Su & Leon Lei Win 2014 AGF Scholarships, Topping Record Field
The 2014 American Go Foundation College Scholarship winners are Amy Su of Bridgewater, New Jersey and Leon Lei of Bardonia, New York, AGF President Terry Benson announced. “We had nine applicants this year, more than ever, and all of them worthy candidates,” Benson said. “For the first time, students included school-related assignments as part of their applications; one winner’s paper was favorably received at a regional competition. Another applicant tried to measure the impact of go instruction on school performance. It’s great to see students exploring the mathematical, psychological and other intricacies of go in their schoolwork.”
The AGF awards two scholarships of $1000 each year to ” high school students who have served as important youth organizers and promoters for the Go community,” according to the AGF website. College-bound US citizens are encouraged to apply in the fall by submitting an application form and an essay; the scholarships are awarded in November.
Amy Su 5D of Bridgewater NJ was already an experienced tournament competitor when at age 12 she “decided to change my relationship with go. Instead of playing for my own satisfaction, I chose to devote my time to teaching others about the game, to give them a chance to discover the art, and for me to pass on my enthusiasm for the game. I learned to teach by watching my mother [Feng Yun 9P] teach at her go school.” After starting go classes in two different Chinese schools, Amy became active in The American Go Honor Society, where she is now serving as Promotion Head. “Teaching Go [has] given me leadership, mentoring, and speaking skills,” Amy wrote in her essay. “It taught me patience, and how to encourage others to learn. As a student, it taught me how to think and use logic. It changed me as a thinker, a dreamer, an artist.”
Leon Lei 10K learned go at the The Huaxia Chinese School in White Plains, NY from Ms. Tang Jie 4D. After bitterly grieving his early losses, Leon “realized that much more can be gained from a lost game than an excess pile of teardrops,” going on to win his school’s tournament two years in a row. ” When he graduated from Chinese school, which had grown to more than 40 students, he stayed on as an assistant teacher, while also starting a club at his high school. He also submitted a paper, “Go and Mathematics”, to The Greater New York Math Fair, where it gained entry into the second round of competition. Leon explored the question of how to calculate the number of possible go games, noting that it is far larger than commonly thought. Many calculations only consider the number of possible arrangements of stones on the board, but he noted that the stones can also appear in any order; any single ending position accounts for thousands of possible games. Leon’s paper and other school-friendly resources are available on the AGF’s Lesson Plan Cooperative.
The AGF College Scholarship recognizes high school students who have served as important youth organizers and promoters for the Go community. Juniors and seniors who plan to attend college and believe they meet the criteria are encouraged to apply by November 1 of each year. Scholarships may be awarded to one male and one female applicant based on merit. “If we continue receiving so many applications of such high quality, we may need to increase the budget for scholarships,” Benson said. — reprinted from SENSEI: The American Go Foundation Newsletter. Click here to read other issues of Sensei. Subscribe for free at the bottom of this page.
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Go Spotting: Lasker’s “Chess Secrets I learned from the Masters”
“When I was reading the book ‘Chess Secrets I learned from the Masters,’ Edward Lasker’s semi-autobiographical book, I found that weiqi/go is mentioned in the introduction and in the middle of the book,” writes Xinming Simon Guo. “To my surprise, his go story covers two and half pages in the 6-page introduction.” Lasker and a friend had learned go’s rules from a magazine. “To our amusement, the game was called a ‘competitor’ of chess,” Lasker writes. “But on closer examination we found the statement was well-founded, and we played Go at the slightest provocation.”
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(PRO) The gentlemen’s club
On tuesdays members of the gentlemen’s club are invited to tell about their hobbys. This evening a rather peculiar board game will be presented.
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This Week’s Go Calendar: Arlington, Minneapolis, Monterey Park, Princeton
February 28: Arlington, VA
NOVA Chinese New Year Tournament
Gary Smith gary@novagoclub.org 703-254-6429
February 28: Minneapolis, MN
Twin Cities Go Club Winter Open Tournament
Aaron Broege aaron.broege@gmail.com 612-384-8789
February 28 to March 1: Monterey Park, CA
Southern California Go Championship
Kevin Chao ocgoclub@aaace.us 949-616-4423
Jay Zheng jayzheng@aaace.us
February 28 to March 1: Princeton, NJ
New Jersey Open
Rick Mott rickmott@alumni.princeton.edu 609-466-3306
Paul Matthews paul@accelrat.com
Get the latest go events information.
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Tuo Jiaxi won the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
Tuo Jiaxi 9p defeated Kim Jiseok 9p to win the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup.
The 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup was held on February 20 to 22 in Beijing, China.
Tuo Jiaxi 9 dan (left) and Kim Jiseok 9 dan at the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
This is exhibition match between top players from China, Japan and Korea, and the players were invited by Chinese Weiqi Association.
The three invited players in 2015 were Tuo Jiaxi, Kim Jiseok and Murakawa Daisuke 8p. Murakawa was also invited last year.
Tuo Jiaxi and Murakawa Daisuke
Murakawa Daisuke 8 dan at the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
Game 1 was played between Tuo Jiaxi and Murakawa Daisuke.
Murakawa had a nice opening, and he maintained his lead before the endgame stage.
However, Tuo caught up with sacrifice strategy and aggressive endgame moves, and eventually won the game by a minimum margin.
Tuo proceeded to the final, and Murakawa had to play one more game against Kim Jiseok.
Murakawa Daisuke and Kim Jiseok
Game 2 was played between Murakawa Daisuke and Kim Jiseok.
Kim Jiseok 9 dan (left) and Murakawa Daisuke 8 dan at the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
The game was peaceful and Kim took the lead while they were fighting a ko in the bottom right corner.
When the long ko fight was finished, the game was already decided, and Murakawa soon resigned.
Final Game: Kim Jiseok and Tuo Jiaxi
The final game was played between Kim Jiseok and Tuo Jiaxi. Their head to head record before this game was 4-0 for Kim’s favor.
Furthermore, Kim’s results in international matches throughout 2014 were incredible, so many go fans expected that Kim would win.
However, Tuo’s play in the opening was active and lively, and his moves were strong and powerful. There were also long ko fights on the left side and in the center, but it was hard for Kim to win.
When the ko fights were all finished, Kim resigned.
Tuo Jiaxi won the 2015 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup
First final in 2015 between Chinese and Korean players
The Chinese media was happy to say that it was Tuo Jiaxi’s first win against Kim Jiseok, and it was also the first win in a final between top Chinese and Korean players for 2015.
Last Year, Shi Yue 9p won the 2014 CCTV Chinese New Year Cup, defeating Murakawa Daisuke in the final, and Lee Sedol 9p took 3rd place.
Even though it’s an exhibition tournament, the prize money isn’t small.
The prize of the winner is 800,000 RMB (approximately $127,000 USD), and runner up and 3rd place are 400,000 RMB and 200,000 RMB respectively.
Brief Game Commentary
Game 1
Tuo Jiaxi and Murakawa Daisuke
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White 24 was a nice move, and the opening was smooth for White up to 48.
White 98 was a brilliant move, and White took the lead at move 110.
Black 127 and 139 were aggressive, but White responded gently, and he was still in the lead up to White 148.
White 152 was a mistake, and Black’s play from 153 were very sharp and sophisticated. Eventually, Black reduced White’s territory greatly up to Black 193, and the game became very close.
White 200, 210 and 216 were mistakes and Black 219 was a very good endgame move, and the game was reversed up to Black 233.
White had so many chances to win the game, but Murakawa missed them all.
Game 2
Murakawa Daisuke and Kim Jiseok
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The opening was peaceful up to Black 29, and White 30 was the first fighting move.
White 36 and 38 were interesting, and White got a satisfactory result up to 44.
Black started to attack White from 45, but White 54 was a nice counter, and White took the lead up to 68.
Black 81 and 83 were a good time to start a ko, but Black 97 was questionable.
White 98 was sharp, and Black became very thin up to White 114.
Black couldn’t keep fighting the ko because of his thinness, and the game was decided when White eliminated the ko with 132.
Final Game
Kim Jiseok and Tuo Jiaxi
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White 14 and 16 were interesting, and the result up to White 26 seems to be favorable for White.
White 30 and 32 were light and gentle, and White 40 and 42 were creative.
The opening up to White 54 was satisfactory and promising for White.
White 64 and 66 were strong defense, and White was happy to capture Black’s two stones with 76.
White 78 was a well timed, and White maintained his lead up to 88.
White 96, 100 and 112 were a nice combination, and it was another success for White up to 116.
Black started to attack White’s center stones, but White 134, 136 and 144 were nice moves to save them.
White 180 was the finishing blow, and the game was practically over there.
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RIP Chris Greene – Founder of Hinoki Press
Hinoki Press founder Chris Greene passed away last Friday.
Greene, who had cancer, died at home in Libertyville, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Vicky, and his daughters, Melissa and Elizabeth.
“I was lucky enough to work with Chris doing a little copy editing on some of Hinoki’s books, and found him to be a gentleman and a friend to the Go community,” said AGA president Andy Okun. “The books he published represent a lasting contribution to the game and its enjoyment.”
A long-time Go player, Greene started the Go book publishing company in 2006, after retiring from his career as a programmer, and published 18 Go books before selling it late last year to Go Game Guru.
Chris made an immense contribution to the body of English language Go literature in a relatively short time.
He was incredibly modest about his achievements and stoic about his illness.
When I last spoke to him, on Thursday, he was primarily concerned that the material that he’d worked hard to have translated and published in English remain available to future generations of Go players.
His motto for Hinoki Press was, “always carry a Go book in your hand.”
We will miss our friend and fellow Go player and will do everything we can to honor his wishes.
Rest in peace Chris.
(This article was published in collaboration with the American Go Association E-Journal)
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Weiqi To Go 