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24th Anniversary Tournament Report

October 6, 2019, Seattle Go Center held a Go tournament to celebrate our 24th anniversary. AGA Chapter Rep Nick Wilmes officiated with aplomb.

Forty Go players signed in to compete — including ten Youth players, younger than 18 — and the first round was delayed several minutes while AGA memberships were initiated or renewed, pairings were tweaked, and extra clocks were brought out. The players didn’t seem to mind, chatting with friends old and new.

Go players gaze seriously at their games in progress.

Seattle Go Center 24th Anniversary Tournament – Open Section

Young girls take the white stones, elder men take the black stones.

Seattle Go Center 24th Anniversary Tournament – Handicap Section

After the first games, pizza lunch from Pudge Bros. was quickly demolished by the hungry Go players and their support staff (a.k.a. families).

Go players display their winning certificates.

When the dust settled after the third round, Haichen Zhu 7 Dan had won the Open Section (and the $150 prize).

Three men discuss a table full of books about Go.
Seattle Go Center 24th Anniversary Go Tournament. Prize table for Handicap Section.

In the Handicap Section, 3-game winners were Brendan Roof 1 Dan, Lucy Lu Wang 2 Kyu, David Snow 5 Kyu, Emma Huang 12 Kyu, and Derek Wisher 14 Kyu, and they got to select a prize from a table loaded down with books about Go. Ms. Huang also won the Youth Prize.

One advantage of having such a large field of competitors is that nearly everyone had someone near their strength to play against. In the Handicap Section, all but two of the games were played at a handicap of 3 or less.

Join us at the Go Center for the next tournament, Sunday November 3. There’s no entry fee (and no prizes), and AGA membership is required. The next tournament with prizes (and entry fees) is the Jin Chen, scheduled for January 5, 2020.

–Mike M.

Party and Silent Auction

This October marks the Go Center’s 23rd year.  To celebrate, we’re throwing a party this upcoming Saturday, October 13!  The monthly “Second Saturday Speed League” tournament will run as usual.  (Register in person, 1:15 – 1:45; three rounds; first round starts at 2:00; relatively short time limits mean we finish around 4:15 or 4:30.  Come join the frenzy!)

The party will be 5:00 – 7:30 PM.  There will be Thai vegetarian food and Korean barbecue.  There also will be several uncommon donated items at a silent auction fundraiser — two sets of Go postcards from the Nihon Ki-in, a set of Go stones in boxes marked with something that looks like Mickey Mouse, a “Picnic Magnetic Baduk” set with ornate decoration, and a few other items.  Be sure to tell your friends who collect Go stuff!

Here are some of the items that will be up for auction.

Shell and slate Go stones with wooden bowls.

Silent auction — thin slate and shell stones

White and black Go stones in cardboard box decorated with an iconic rodent.

Silent auction — Go stones in original boxes

Black plastic Go case with intricate decoration.

Silent auction — Picnic Magnetic Baduk

 

See you Saturday!