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Moscow Team Championship 47-2013
Gladiatore 2013
10th Folka go-tournament 46-2013
Trofeo Milano 2013 - settima tappa
Fredericia Open 46-2013
This Week’s Go Calendar: Syracuse
November 23: Syracuse, NY
Syracuse Fall Self-Paired Tourney
Richard Moseson rmoseson@gmail.com 315-682-7720
Jim Gonnella jim_g_o@yahoo.com
Get the latest go events information.
Spain to Host 38th Kisei Final Opener and Side Tournament
The first game of the 38th Kisei title match will be hosted in Alcalá de Henares by the Nam Ban Madrid Go Club on January 11-12, in accordance with the tradition that this title’s first game is played outside Japan.
Iyama Yuta 9P (left), current holder of six of the seven major Japanese titles including this most prestigious of them all (see the Power Report (Part 1): Iyama’s New Records, EJ 10/3), will be challenged by Yamashita Keigo 9P. Yamashita, who won this year’s Kisei A-league, beat B-league winner Murakawa Daisuke 7P on November 14 in a decider for the Kisei challenger.. The game in Spain will be played over two days, with eight hours main time each, and is the first of a best-of-seven series to decide the title.
In addition, there will be a 4-round amateur open side tournament, scheduled so that participants can easily keep up with developments in the Kisei. The top prize, amongst many others, is €1200 and scholarships (not including travel to Madrid) are available for under-20s.
The events will take place in the conference rooms of the Parador de Alcalá de Henares (right), a renovated C17th building which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Click here for full details and application form. US citizens can visit Spain for up to three months without a visa; click here for further info.
Report by Tony Collman. Photos: Iyama Yuta from his Nihon Ki-in player card; Parador courtesy of their website.
Wisonet Go Club Organizing “Slow-Play” Tourney in NJ
The Wisonet Go Club in New Jersey is organizing a slow-game tournament November 28-29 in central New Jersey. Unlike most weekend tournaments, the time limits will be two hours per player, two rounds per day and winners will qualify to advance to rounds that will be played in subsequent months. Organizer Ronghao Chen expects the whole event to last “three or four months” and says it’s intended to give dan players a chance to play higher quality games. Kyu level players can join the tournament by special approval only. The tournament will be held at the Madison Suites Hotel in Somerset, NJ. Contact Chen at chenronghao@yahoo.com or call him at 908-872-6202 for more information.
The Finnish Championship League 2013
Lee Sedol’s Commented Games, Volume II: Another Triumph
Book Review of Lee Sedol’s Commented Games: Volume II (Baduktopia)
by Fritz Balwit
The arrival of the English version of Lee Sedol’s Commented Games Volume I in 2011 fulfilled a dream of our go study group: a high-quality, detailed view into the highest levels of the art of go as practiced by the Korean super-talents. We had worked our way through stacks of old Go Worlds, graduated Slate and Shell’s magnificent Fairbairn volumes on Go Seigen’s famous Jubangos. But here was something new and different: Lee Sedol, the world’s number one player famed for games of staggering complexity, uncompromising fighting spirit, quadruple ko and half-point wins. I was immediately struck by the superb quality of the books. Everything from the paper to the layout and its large diagrams made for a most enjoyable reading experience. There are just three games in each volume, but the depth of the commentary more than compensates.
Lee actually wrote three books during a six-month hiatus in his tournament schedule while he worked out some kinks in his relationship with the Korea Baduk Association. Volume Two, now available from GoGameGuru, begins with Lee’s fantastic triumph in Game 3 of the LG Cup against Lee Changho 9P. Lee devotes 100 pages to this game alone. Large diagrams head the chapters and typically include a general point of strategic advice or an insight into the psychology of the game. Indeed, the book abounds in the latter sorts of reflections, both in Lee’s own words and those of the writer, his sister, Lee Sena, who glowingly covers aspects of Sedol’s personal development and the ups and downs of his career. Game Two, against Chang Hao 9P, similarly runs to more than 100 pages and includes commentary and annotated variations at a depth I have never seen before. However, the last game is the best of all. Again, the opponent is the Lee Changho 9P. This time, the occasion is the World Oza 2006. Whereas the first two games will surely repay careful study and help players of all levels to improve their understanding of whole-board vision, deep reading, modern joseki and the like, the last game is best approached as a lesson in humility. I suggest you play through this game with a 6-dan, as we did at our club. He was utterly flummoxed by it and unable to predict the moves or discern the flow of the game. Lee’s avowed dislike of being “coerced” by his opponent manifests itself in a taut duel of nerves in which each player defiantly shifts the location of the battle in what appears, even to strong amateurs, to be chaotic mayhem. The strangeness of this game has its own beauty and excitement, but don’t expect to pick up any tips.
Baduktopia deserves high praise for putting out these splendid books on one of the most exciting players of our generation. (Click here for a review of Volume 1.) The editorial decision to include few but thoroughly commented games with a limited number of moves per diagram results in a book that you can read anywhere, even without a board. The biographical materials add a nice dimension to our appreciation of the life of a professional Go player. All in all, I recommend Lee Sedol’s Commented Games: Volumes I and II without reservation. We await with eagerness the arrival of the promised third volume.
— Balwit (in cap at right in photo above) was The American Go Foundation’s 2011 teacher of the Year
Portland Go Club Seeking Volunteers for Mochitsuki
The Portland Go Club is looking for volunteers to help them staff a booth at Mochitsuki, a traditional Japanese New Year’s celebration scheduled for Sunday, January 26, 2014 (the Year of the Horse) from 11am to 4 pm.”We’ll have a booth and are looking for 2-4 volunteers to man/woman it and teach interested people how to play,” says Peter Freedman. “Volunteers will be able to attend Mochitsuki for free. It’s a great holiday and if you like Japanese food you are in for a treat.” The event will be held at the Scottish Rite Center – 1512 SW Morrison Street, Portland, Oregon; contact Freedman at peter.freedman@comcast.net.
14 Nov – New Irish Champion
The Irish Championship came to a close at the Dublin Club on Wednesday night. The defending champion, Roman Pszonka, had an early gain in the opening, but Noel Mitchell came out on top in the end, winning by 1.5 points. Noel thus won the match by 2 games to 0, meaning that this living legend has now won the title 16 times in all, no mean feat! Read on to see the game
[Embedded SGF File: IGA Final Game 2]
New home for the Cape Town club (again)
2013 Cape Town Blitz Date Announced
3rd SAWMG – Go Competitions Schedule
15:00-18:00 Round 1 (4 tables)
Fri 13 09:30-12:30 Round 2 (4 tables) 12:30-18:00 Round 2 (9 tables)
15:00-18:00 Round 3 (6 tables)
Sat 14 12:30-18:00 Round 3 (9 tables)
15:00-18:00 Round 4 (4 tables)
Sun 15 09:30-12:30
Round 5 (2 tables) 12:30-18:00 Round 4 (9 tables) 15:00-18:00
Round 6 (2 tables) Mon 16 12:30-18:00 Round 5 (9 tables)
15:00-18:00 Round 7 (1 table)
19:00 Prize Giving Ceremony
Tue 17 09:30-12:30 Round 1 14:00 School visiting
15:00-18:00 Round 2 Wed 18 09:30-12:30 Round 3 17:00 Prize Giving Ceremony evening Closing Ceremony Thu 19 daytime Departure
