Croatia: Zoran Mutabzija 5d took the 2014 Croatian Open Go Championship on July 13 in Gorica. Daniel Zrno 2k was second and Mladen Smud 1k placed third. Germany: Also on July 13, the Deutsche Damen-Go-Meisterschaft finished in Kassel with Manja Marz 3d (left) in first, Kirsten Hartmann 1k in second, and Vivian Scheuplein 1k in third. Czech Republic: Ondrej Silt 6d bested Mateusz Surma 6d at the 13th Moyo Open Tournament in Pardubice while Remi Campagnie 5d came 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

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The European Go Federation, French Go Federation, and Go Seigen Club of Toulouse will host the 2014 European Student Go Championship on September 27 and 28 in Balma, France. Any university student under age 30 that is a citizen of an EGF country is welcome to enter free of charge. The champion will receive EGF sponsorship to participate in the Ing Foundation 2015 Student event at Shanghai including travel (750 EU for plane tickets) and all local costs. Players who register will also enjoy talks by 2013 European Go Champion Fan Hui 2d. To register or for more information including a full schedule and accommodations, visit the official European Student Go Championship website.
—Annalia Linnan; for complete listings, check out the European Tournament Calendar

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“I said for decades that I did not think I would ever be beaten by a computer playing go,” writes Phil Straus 2D in response to Go Spotting: IEEE Spectrum 7/16 EJ. “I was wrong. I was first beaten by a computer program on KGS sometime in the last two years. Laurence Sigmond and I watched Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov at the Philadelphia Convention Center in 1997. To pass the time between moves we, of course, brought a go board. I showed the go board to Hans Berliner, one of the iconic chess programmers. He looked at it, and just shook his head. He said ‘maybe in 20 years.’ I was even more pessimistic. Go looked impossible in 1997. We were both wrong.”
Straus is a former president of the American Go Association. photo: Rémi Coulom and Crazy Stone. Photo: Takashi Osato/WIRED

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With the American Go Association committed to establishing parallel AGA ratings for games played on-line, the AGA is seeking volunteers to implement the new system. “This is an exciting and historic development,” says Bob Gilman, AGA Director for the Central Region. AGA ratings now are limited to in-person games, and those ratings will not be affected. “This is a great project for an entry-level programmer looking for something to put on their resume,” says Andrew Jackson, AGA Operations Vice President, who estimates it will take “a few months of nights and/or weekends for an experienced python programmer.” Mentoring is available. Reply here if interested.

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Human go players will undoubtedly  find the graphic for “Go-bot, Go” annoying, but the article in the July issue of IEEE Spectrum is an excellent exploration of computer go-playing by Jonathan Schaeffer, Martin Müller and Akihiro Kishimoto, who developed Fuego, which in 2009 defeated a world-class human go player in a no-handicap game for the first time in history. In the online version, AIs Have Mastered Chess. Will Go Be Next?, the Schaffer, Muller and Kishimoto explain how “a know-nothing machine that based its decisions on random choices and statistics” triumphed.
IEEE photo: Dan Saelinger; Prop Stylist: Dominique Baynes

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“I am tentatively planning to attend the 16th Ibero-American Go Tournament in Quito, Ecuador this October and wonder whether there may be other AGA members who might also be interested in making the trip,” Bob Gilman writes. “There is information about the tournament here and a form to indicate interest and get additional information here. If your Spanish is as bad as mine, Google translate can help you understand these pages.” Email Gilman at bobgilman.aga@gmail.com if interested.
In a related note for our Spanish-language readers (or those interested in reaching them), our July 13 Prisoners in Cuba Learning Go post has been picked up by El Latino Digital – Reclusos en Cuba aprenden GO – thanks to Chris Uzal. 

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Nearly 30 professional go players are expected to attend this year’s US Go Congress, August 9-17 in New York City. Ranging in strength from 9-dan to 1-dan, the professionals come from Japan, Korea and China, as well as the United States; click here for the list, which does not yet include the Kansai Ki-in pros, Maeda Ryo 6P, Mariko Deguchi 1P, and newly-minted pro Francis Meyer 1P (right). A major attraction at the annual Congress, the professionals will give lectures and play simuls; the tentative Congress schedule has been posted here. Reminder that late fees for Congress registration will go up after July 15.

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July 20: St. Paul, MN
TCGO Summer Tournament
Aaron Broege aaron.broege@gmail.com 612-384-8789

Get the latest go events information.

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“At the request of the Cuban Sports Ministry we have started very interesting work in prisons,” reports Rafael Torres Miranda of the Academia Cubana de Go. “Hermes Rodriguez 1D is doing a tremendous job teaching go. The inmates have received it very well, have been highly motivated, and have very quickly grasped the techniques of go. The photo here is from the prison in the province of Guantanamo. Such go programs are also being implemented in other facilities.” In a related story, two of the three Cuban go players invited to attend this year’s US Go Congress (Cuban Delegation Invited to US Go Congress 1/20/2014) have had their applications for US visas rejected, while the third invitee’s application is still pending a decision.

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The first-ever Australian Go Congress is set for January 25-31, 2015 in Sydney. The new event is timed to coincide with Australia Day on January 26, when Sydney Harbour “will be transformed into a floating festival” with music, boats and fireworks, reports Sang-Dae Hahn, who’s chairing the Australian Baduk Organising Committee. “We’re definitely looking forward to our first Congress,” Australian Go Association vice president Neville Smyth told the E-Journal. Smyth, IGF director for Australia/New Zealand, is in Gyeongjiu, Korea for the World Amateur Go Championship. As at similar congresses in Europe and the U.S., the Australian Go Congress will feature tournaments, simuls with professionals and lessons. The delegation of professionals will be led by An Younggil 8P of the Korean Baduk Association and Go Game Guru. The Congress will be held at Dunmore Lang College, Macquarie University; registration is $200AU ($180 USD) and rooms run A$85 to $98, with hotels also available near the venue.

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