BGJ40: News

British Go Journal No. 40. February 1978. Page 8.

Seminar

David Mitchell, 4–dan, attended the first teaching seminar for foreign go players held at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo in November. The seminar was sponsored by Japan Air Lines and the 1971 Japan Exposition Fund, to whom many thanks are due.

The purpose of the two week seminar was to impart methods of teaching go and also to improve the other players' individual strengths. Other countries represented were Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

The first week was spent at the Nihon Ki-in, where the students listened to lectures by Izumatani, professional 5–Dan, who has been teaching for ten years, and a lecture by Kano, pro 9 Dan. They also played a number of professonals, including Iwamoto, Kano, Magari, Kajiwara, Sasakibara and Kobayashi. The second week the whole group spent at Fujishawa Hosai's house.

David noticed many obvious differences in attitude to Go in Japan. All newspapers have Go columns and the major games etx., in their sports pages. TV shows weekly Go programmes between 7 am. to 9am. every Sunday, as well as other Go programmes. Most Japanese know the game, They were very suprised to hear that Europeans played and even more suprised that we had Dan players. The Japanese gradings are a little lower in strength than ours, although amateur grades vary tremendously, due to the idea that amateurs are comparatively weak, even when they reach amateur dan strength. All kyu players consider themselves to be beginners and almost never play at the Nihon Ki-in, which is the main centre for Go in Japan.

Celebration

The 10th Aniversary of the Ishi Press is marked by a bumper 84 page issue of GO WORLD, which is itself already entering its second year. Dan players who baulk at the steep price of £8.10 + p&p £1.20 for just four issues, will have to beg and borrow or steal a copy if they want to find out how Kato Honibo masters fuseki, and other good things.

Summer Camp

A new idea in holidays for go players, (and their families) has been dreamt up by the Gothenburg Go Club, Sweden. A Go Summer Camp.

This will be held from June 26th to July 2nd at the Ekenas Skargardshotel on the island of Koster off Sweden's west coast. The cost is £150 per adult for the week. Rates for children who sleep with their parents will be the cost of food only. Under 3's can come free.

At least one Japanese professional player, Nagahara, 6–dan, will be giving teaching sessions and it is possible that Kayo Tsutsumi will also attend. Stuart Dowsey, amateur 3–dan will teach and act as interpreter.

There are only 30 rooms available so applications should be made as soon as possible to: Christer Linstedt, Gothenburg Go Club, Sweden. (Registration fee of £30 or 200 swedish Kroner should be enclosed.)

Promotions

Congratulations to Tony Goddard who has been promoted to 5–dan folowing his 1st place at the recent Berlin Tournament, above Jurgen Mattern, 6–dan.

Following the London Open, David Mitchell becomes 4–dan, Adam Pirani, 3–dan (both LGC) , Jim Barty (LGC, St Andrews) becomes 1–dan, as do Harry Fearnley (Oxford), Peter Smith (Cambridge) and Nick Weber (Cranfield).

Round the Clubs

The Southampton Technical College Go Club is now simply the Southampton Go Club, the free use of a technical college room no longer being required.

Fifteen months ago Keith Seaman, Andrew Harrison (Portsmouth), Steve Welch (Edinburgh) and Alan Dean started simultaneous postal go against each other. The 12 games are sentin a circuit and have so far reached about 30 moves each. Steve is improving faster than the others, so his 6–stone handicaps will be out of date before the middle game is under way.

Keith Seaman and Alan Dean are busy converting tiddlywinking friends to the game of Go – but not through dislike of tidddlywinking. They hold 8 national Tiddlywink titles between them.

Last year Southampton snatched the Jubilee Trophy from South Cotswolds, using four 1–kyus, but it was soon wrested from them. See next item.

Jubilee

The Jubilee Trophy was won from Southampton by the London Go Centre last December. Challenges should be sent to Frank Pratt, London Go Centre. This new tournament, run one game per month and named after the Japanese professonal spring and autumn series, has got off to a flying start. February sees 42 players of 1–kyu and above competing, headed by three 5–dans and two 4–dans. The leisurely time–limits of 2 hours per player, plus the chance to play at the players convenience, obviously have a wide appeal.

Champion Retires

Jon Diamond 5–dan, British Go Champion for 12 of the last 13 years, has announced that he will not defent his title next year. Would he ever contest the championship again ? "Probably not – certainly not for another four or five years – but I'll still be playing in other tournaments."

(Issue 41 will contain an appreciation of Jon as well as a full report on the British Go Congress.)

New Appointment

Toby Manning has been appointed 'Tournament Coordinator' for the BGA. He will oversee all tournaments run by the BGA – the British Congress, the Leagues and so on – and he will offer assistance to other tournament organisers. To this end, two broadsheets have been produced. The first is on organising a tournament – booking rooms etc., and the second is an explanation of the MacMahon system, the most popular method of running a tournament. Any ideas for further broadsheets would be gratefully received.