Fwd: American Go E-Journal for 01/29/2019

American Go E-Journal


Upcoming Go Events: Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco
Jan 28, 2019 05:10 pm | Roger Schrag
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/upcoming-go-events-sacramento/

February 3: Chicago, IL
2019 "Welcome Spring" Friendly Go Tournament
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/PakMz2jXzw4aenFP8)
Guo, Xinming (Simon) goandmath@gmail.com (mailto:goandmath@gmail.com)
312-361-0358

February 3: Seattle, WA
Seattle Go Center Monthly Ratings Tournament (http://www.seattlego.org/events/)
Mike Malveaux programs@seattlego.org (mailto:programs@seattlego.org)
206-545-1424

February 9: Seattle, WA
Seattle Speed League – February! (http://www.seattlego.org/events/)
Mike Malveaux programs@seattlego.org (mailto:programs@seattlego.org)
206-545-1424

February 10: San Francisco, CA
2019 Jujo Ing Cup
(https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-jujo-ing-cup-tickets-54079984690)
Ernest Brown indagoe49@gmail.com (mailto:indagoe49@gmail.com) 415-606-7641
Mike Bull bull@lmi.net (mailto:bull@lmi.net) 510-220-0760

Get the latest go events information (http://www.usgo.org/event-calendar) .

AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo; Game 27: That kind of a game
Jan 27, 2019 09:36 pm | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/alphago-vs-alphago-game-27-that-kind-of-a-game/

http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.27_AG-27-thumbnail.jpgMichael
Redmond 9p, hosted by the AGA E-Journal's Chris Garlock, continue
their popular series with a review of the 27th game
(https://youtu.be/z1JI4nwbdzY) of the AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo selfplay
games. The 50-game series was published by Deepmind after AlphaGo's
victory over world champion Ke Jie 9p in May 2017.

http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.27_AG-27-thumbnail-redmond.jpgThis
game features two of the AG 3-3 invasions, a symmetrical shape and
then "group after group appear on the upper side, right next to each
other, and we're going to have fun counting the number of groups,"
says Redmond. "So it's going to be that kind of a game."

"Simply astounding game," writes GerSHAK. "One of my favourites so
far. Incredible detective work from Michael. Thank you so much." Adds
Rory Mitchell: "Wow! Just…wow!"

These videos are made possible by the support of the American Go
Association; please consider joining today!

Video produced by Michael Wanek & Andrew Jackson.

download SGF file
(http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.25_AG-27annotated.sgf)

Strong players under 20 wanted for 6th GLOBIS
Jan 26, 2019 03:43 pm | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/strong-players-under-20-wanted-for-6th-globis/

The AGA is seeking a representative from North America to
participate in the 6th GLOBIS Cup U-20 World Go Championship to be
held in Tokyo, Japan between April 18-22. To be eligible, the player
must be under 20 years old as of Jan. 1, 2019. Food and lodging will
be paid for (including for a chaperone if the player is under 18), but
NOT the cost of getting to and from Japan. If you are interested in
participating or have any questions, please write to
tournaments@usgo.org (mailto:tournaments@usgo.org) no later than
Sunday, Feb. 3. Depending on the number of entries received there may
be a preliminary tournament sometime between Feb. 4 and Feb. 15 to
make the final selection.

- Jeff Shaevel, AGA National Tournament Coordinator

Multilingual Go Book Project launches
Jan 25, 2019 10:40 am | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/multilingual-go-book-project-launches/

The simplest ideas are often the most complex. For example: a basic
go book in multiple languages to spread the game around the world.
That's the idea behind the Multilingual Go Book Project
(https://www.gobook.eu/) . "The project came to be due to the
difficultieshttp://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.25_A-Go-Guide-cover.jpg
of promoting go in my home country, Greece," says H. Kapolos. "We
didn't have educational material in our language and there were young
people and adults who wanted to learn the game, but could not read
English."

When Kapolos participated in the European Go Championship, he noticed
"that some countries around our division and our region didn't have
too many young players in them either," and it occurred to him that
"maybe they need a book in their language as well. Something that
could circulate in libraries, schools, universities and game shops.
Places where young people with a passion for board games might be
found." So, he thought, "why should we stop at only English and Greek?
We should make the book in more languages and have it be free for
everyone."

So far, the project has two books of 192 pages of content — more than
700 diagrams each — in English and Greek, both completely free.
Kapolos is now looking for collaborators to translate it into other
languages, "especially in Spanish and Portuguese, whose translations
have already begun."

The Power Report (4/4): Ishida Yoshio scores 1100th win; 2018 stats
and recent promotions
Jan 23, 2019 12:00 pm | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/the-power-report-44-ishida-yoshio-scores-1100th-win-2018-stats-and-recent-promotions/

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

Ishida Yoshio scores 1100^th win: In a game in Preliminary C of the
45^th Gosei tournament, Ishida Yoshio 9P (also known as 24^th Honinbo
Shuho) (W) beat Tsurumaru Keiichi 7P by resignation. This was his
1100th official win (to 692 losses and one no-result). He is the 15^th
player to reach this landmark.

Promotion: To 4-dan: (Ms.) Okuda Aya (50 wins, as of January 18)

2018 statistics: Here are some of the statistics for last year.
Most wins: 1. Shibano Toramaru 7P (second year in a row): 46 wins, 23
losses; 2. Ichiriki Ryo 8P, (Ms.) Fujisawa Rina 4P: 43-23; 4. Fujita
Akihiko 6P: 41-8; Onishi Ryuhei 3P: 41-11; 6. Yamashita Keigo 9P:
40-23
7. Mutsuura Yuta 7P: 37-18; 8. Koike Yoshihiro 3P: 36-12; 9. Seki
Kotaro 2P: 35-15; (Ms.) Ueno Asami 2P: 35-20; (Ms.) Nyu Eiko 2P:
35-23; Iyama Yuta: 35-26; 13. Kyo Kagen Gosei: 32-13; Kono Rin 9P:
32-16; 15. Hane Naoki 9P: 30-17
Best winning percentage: 1. Fujita Akihiko: 83.67%; 2. Onishi Ryuhei:
78.85%; 3. Koike Yoshihiro: 75%
Most successive wins: 1. Koike Yoshihiro: 19; 2. Seki Kotaro: 15; 3.
Onishi Ruhei: 14

Promotions based on 2018 prize-winnings
These promotions are based on the prize-winnings list, but note that
there may be players who won more but were promoted by other means,
that is, cumulative wins or entering a league, etc. Only prize money
for the top seven titles is counted. One 6-dan is promoted,
accompanied by two each from the lower ranks. Promotions take effect
as of January 1, 2019.
To 7-dan: Fujita Akihiko
To 6-dan: Tsuruta Kazushi, Adachi Toshimasa
To 5-dan: Yo Chito, Ito Masashi
To 4-dan: Onishi Ryuhei, Koike Yoshihiro
To 3-dan: Otake Yu, Hirose Yuichi
To 2-dan: Shibano Ryunosuke (older brother of Toramaru), (Ms.) Kaneko Maki

World Collegiate Weichi Championship set for July 7-13 in Australia
Jan 23, 2019 09:00 am | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/world-collegiate-weichi-championship-set-for-july-7-13-in-australia/

The 2019 International Collegiate Go Tournament, hosted by the Ing
Foundation, will be held at the University of Sydney, in
http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.20-collegiate-tourney.jpgAustralia
this summer. The event runs July 7-13 and is open to any current,
future, or recently graduated college (both undergraduate and
graduate) student who will, or has attended school in the year 2019.
All costs related to room, board, tours, and travel during the event
will be covered by the Ing foundation. The student is responsible for
getting to and from the tournament site (both international and
domestic travel costs), and for any personal expenses.

Links for more info and to register: Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/events/381140682654318/) ; schedule
(http://www.ycqweiqi.com/Content.aspx?Type=2&CId=705) ; regulations
(http://www.ycqweiqi.com/Content.aspx?Type=2&CId=700) ; registration
form (http://www.ycqweiqi.com/Content.aspx?Type=2&CId=707) .

Players of all skill levels are welcome to participate. There will be
five divisions this year: a high dan, low dan, single digit kyu,
double digit kyu and women's division. "There is currently no deadline
for applying, but please apply early as there are a limited number of
spots available," says Mike Fodera, who notes that "The selection
process will be on a first come first serve basis." You can send your
registration forms directly to him at mdf116@gmail.com.

Go in the News/Go Spotting (the catch-up edition)
Jan 22, 2019 09:42 pm | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/go-in-the-newsgo-spotting-the-catch-up-edition/

Go in Cuba: Chinese board game GO experiences wide popularity in
Cuba (https://america.cgtn.com/2019/01/17/chinese-board-game-go-experiences-wide-popularity-in-cuba)
: The Chinese board-game GO has been played
http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.22_Go-in-Cuba.pngsince
ancient times, but it remains popular around the world even today. One
country with a large GO following is Cuba. CGTN's Luis Chirino took a
look at the rise of the game in Havana.

Mecha Samurai Empire: "Found a short reference to go in Mecha Samurai
Empire (https://www.amazon.com/Mecha-Samurai-Empire-United-States/dp/0451490991)
by Peter Tieryas," reports Michael Goerss. "Protagonist is a mecha
pilot in a world where Japan and Germany won World War 2 a la The Man
In The High Castle. Page 304, 'I've become all too aware of how we are
just numbers to those in charge, go pieces on the field that help them
on their march to glory. We're young and disposable.'"

The New Yorker (1): How the Artificial-intelligence Program Alphazero
Mastered its Games;
(https://portside.org/2018-12-30/how-artificial-intelligence-program-alphazero-mastered-its-games)
"What may be most surprising is that we humans have done as well as we
have in games that seem, now, to have been made for machines," James
Somers reports in the 12/30/18 New Yorker.

The New Yorker (2): "It may be that references to go are becoming
common enough to make go-spotting too easy," writes Fred D. Baldwin.
"But I liked this passage from The New Yorker (December 24 & 31),
'China's Bizarre Program to Keep Activists in Check.'" The focus is
on government surveillance of Zha Jianguo, "a veteran democracy
activist." The article's author includes this quote from an interview
with Jianguo: Jianguo views these developments soberly. He has long
since shed any illusions of fast social change or enduring media
attention. "If I'm sentenced for another nine years, or twelve or
thirteen years," he told me calmly, "I'll just forget about the
outside world and focus on my life inside prison. Family and loved
ones—well, those thoughts will be there for a while. It will take
time. I'll read some books, play some Go, get on with my cellmates.
I'll try to make the best out of each day. I'll think about nothing
else, nobody else."

"Pine Gap": In Netflix's episode 6 of the new 6-part
shhttp://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.22_Blindspot.pngow
'Pine Gap,' a show about US/ Australian/ Chinese
military/political/economic relationships, there is a brief monologue
by a Chinese character talking to an American about how Chess v.s. Go
thinking affects how each country responds to the other, reports David
Doshay. "And to drive home the point, a few scenes later the same
Chinese guy compliments another person on how well they played 'the
long game.'"

Georg Jellinek: "In a recent Amazon search for the works of German
political theorist Georg Jellinek, I discovered that the cover design
for the Spanish translation
(https://www.amazon.com/Teor%C3%ADa-general-Politica-Derecho-Spanish/dp/9681659503/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544194669&sr=8-2&keywords=Georg+Jellinek)
of his Allgemeine Staatslehre (General theory of the state) features
go," writes Colin Grant. "I am not familiar with the text, so I can't
vouch for the felicity of the match."

Sandra and Woo; Blindspot: "Saw and heard about two different go
sightings today, reports Steve Colburn. "One is from a webcomic I read
about a young girl and her talking raccoon, Sandra and Woo
(http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2018/10/15/1030-dating-tips-for-boys-part-4-of-4/)
. The other is from the season premiere of Blindspot (left) which was
told to me by my boss. I've included a screenshot from the show from
Hulu."

The Power Report (3/4): Ueno makes good start in Women's Kisei; Xie
to challenge for Women's Meijin
Jan 22, 2019 12:00 pm | Chris Garlock
http://www.usgo.org/news/2019/01/the-power-report-34-ueno-makes-good-start-in-womens-kisei-xie-to-challenge-for-womens-meijin/

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the
E-Journalhttp://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.20-Ueno-left.jpg

Ueno makes good start in Women's Kisei: The first game in the 22^nd
Women's Kisei title match was held at the Hotel Sunlife Garden in
Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on January 17. The defending
champion Ueno Asami (W, at left in photo) beat Fujisawa Rina by 2.5
points after a marathon 310 moves. The challenger took the lead in
territory early on, but
http://www.usgo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019.01.20-Xie-WMeijin.jpgUeno
attacked tenaciously and finally overhauled Fujisawa in the endgame.
The second game will be held on January 28.

Xie to challenge for Women's Meijin: Xie Yimin 6P (left) may be
titleless for the first time in over a decade, but you can't keep her
out of the action. In the play-off to decide the challenger for the
31stWomen's Meijin title, she beat Koyama Terumi 6P by resignation
after 179 moves. She will challenge Fujisawa Rina for the title.
Koyama, who has won this title four times, was hoping to play in her
first title match for 13 years.
Tomorrow: Ishida Yoshio scores 1100^th win; 2018 stats and recent promotions


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