News

Tuesdays Are Big For Little Players

we have verbal permission from familes to publish

Playing Go in the Tatami Room

We have five young players coming to the Go Center on Tuesdays in the early evening.  All of them will be starting kindergarten in the fall.  This is a great age for one-on-one learning of the game.  Many of the parents play Go, and they are rotating the pairings so that the children get a variety of opponents.  We also have three grade school students and two high school students coming on Tuesdays.  Our recent Tuesday attendance has been over 40 players, ranging from beginner to about 4 dan.  We also have children coming on Saturday afternoons.

Another Epic Battle for YouTube

Andrew and Nick on a Tuesday NightInstructors Andrew Jackson (left) and Nick Sibicky (right) will be playing a friendly but intense game during Nick’s DDK class on Monday, June 27, starting at 6:30 p.m.   This will be Nick’s last Double Digit Kyu Player class for the summer, but he will probably be teaching again in the fall.  During July, we will have guest instructors Brian Kirby, Jonathan (Chin Jung) Chen and Maeda Ryo 6P.  There will be no classes on July 4, and in August.  Nick’s lectures are recorded and posted on YouTube.  Many of Andrew’s Single Digit Kyu Player classes are posted here.

Best Times for Beginners

We are ready to teach complete beginners informally on Tuesdays from 3 – 9 PM, and on Saturdays from 1 – 5 PM.   We also have the Beginners Class on Thursday evening, starting at 6:30, with Larry Eclipse.

Beginners on Tuesdays and Saturdays don’t need an appointment, and we arrange individual or small group lessons with volunteers who are ready to teach when you walk in.  This spring, we have about 25 – 40  players coming sometime on Tuesdays, including about 4 children.  Saturdays are smaller, about 20 players, but we have volunteers available to teach then as well.  The day manager, usually Dennis Wheeler 7K,  is also available to teach beginners from 1-5 PM.

If you prefer to learn in a class setting, we recommend the Thursday evening class for those who are starting out.  Complete beginners can start at any time. This is also a good night for more advanced beginners, so if Thursdays are good for you, come on by.

Sibicky to do AlphaGo – Lee Sedol Pregame Lesson

In advance of the 5th game of the Google AlphaGo – Lee Sedol match,  Nick Sibicky will devote his Monday March 14 SDK Class to the first 4 games of the match.  (AlphaGo won the first 3 games, while Sedol won the last one.)  We look forward to Nick’s extra-special lesson at 6:30 pm.  [ Read more… ]

AlphaGo – Sedol Game 3 on Friday Night at 8 pm

The next game between Google Deepmind AlphaGo and Lee Sedol will begin at 8 pm, Seattle time, on Friday, March 11.  We will have another watch party at the Seattle Go Center, with pizza and fresh bread.  AlphaGo can win the best of five match with this game, since Sedol has lost the first two games.  Photo: playing out variations during game 2.

AlphaGo 2nd game

Lee Sedol aka “John Henry” vs. Google AlphaGo

The first game between the Alphabet (Google Deepmind) AlphaGo Program and Lee Sedol 9P will happen in Korea on March 9; that will be Tuesday, March 8 Seattle time. We plan to watch it at the Go Center with our video projector. The game starts at 8 p.m., and is expected to run 4 or 5 hours. Dennis Wheeler will be the host.

[ Read more… ]

Play at Crossroads on Thursdays at 6

Thane Solomon Ilan Crossroads copyIf you are on the Eastside of Lake Washington, don’t forget the Crossroads group that meets every Thursday, starting at 6 p.m.  When I visited on Jan. 21, they had a full range of players, from beginners to a six dan.  Everybody found a game.  They are located at Crossroads Bellevue next to the giant chessboard, Uncle’s Games, and a branch of the King County Library.  They also have a page on Facebookphoto/report by Brian Allen

Andrew Jackson Will Explain the Google vs. Human Pro Go Games Tonight

Andrew Jackson video

Our regular Wednesday Instructor will take on the topic of the day, and discuss the recent win by a computer program (Google AlphaGo)  over a professional player, Fan Hui 2p.  The computer won the match 5-0.  The class is at 7:00 p.m. tonight, Jan. 27, 2016.  The class is designed for players in the single digit kyu range (1-9 kyu), but anyone may attend, especially tonight.  The class is free, and your first ten visits to the Seattle Go Center are also free.  More information about the match is at the AGA website.  Many of Andrew’s lectures are recorded and posted later on YouTube.