News

New (and Familiar) Classes Starting Jan. 2019

The Go Center schedule is settling down after the holidays, with exciting new additions to our educational offerings.  Here are our regularly scheduled weekly classes:

(Note – informal instruction for beginners is also available Tuesdays and Saturdays.)
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Tournament Report: 6th Pair Go Gala

Saturday, December 8, 2018 was the Go Center’s 6th annual Pair Go Tournament — the Gala Night of Pair Go!  Thirty Go players teamed up in pairs, seeking to beat the other pairs at their table.

Go players smiling and laughing in the middle of their games.

Table 3 players express their mirth. (Catherine Ozols Photography)

Each table had four teams — so, two games going at once. The winners of Round 1 faced each other in Round 2. At the end of Round 2, each table had one undefeated pair.

Final results – 2018 Pair Go Table Winners:
Table 1 – Lee Anne Bowie, 4k and Bill Chiles, 3k
Table 2 – Xiangnan Chen, 3k and Brian Dai, 7k
Table 3 – Monique Nickerson, 15k and Rick Campbell, 14k
Table 4 – Ann Thompson, 18k and Bill Thompson, 13k

Go players pose in a group, displaying prize folding fans.

Seattle 2018 Pair Go Table Winners. (Catherine Ozols Photography)

Fun fact: Hajin Lee, professional 4 dan, and her partner defeated popular Go Center lecturer Nick Sibicky and his partner, in Round 1. Here’s Nick’s review of his Pair Go match vs Hajin Lee.

Go players gaze fiercely at the board in the early midgame.

Hajin Lee and Dan Maas vs. Nick Sibicky and Sonny Cho (Table 1, Round 1). (Catherine Ozols Photography)

–Mike M.

Schedule Change – Closed Wednesdays until January 2019

Beginning December 12, 2018, the Go Center is closed on Wednesdays (due to recent low turnout, expected to be exacerbated by the winter holidays).  Regularly scheduled Wednesday operations will resume January 16, 2019, with interesting new classes — announcement coming soon.

–Mike M.

Lending Library

Shelves of books about the game of Go / Baduk / Weiqi

Seattle Go Center’s lending library

Seattle Go Center has library of books, magazines, and other media available for members to use.  There are materials in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.  Some of these items (the ones for which we have duplicates) can be checked out for a period of a month by any youth member or any paying member.

Frank Brown has recently completed a volunteer project to catalogue the portion of the library available for lending.  See sgc-lending-library for the catalogue.

–Mike M.

Fall Youth Tournament Nov. 18

Sunday November 18, 2018, Seattle Go Center held our annual Fall Youth Tournament. It was a fun event where the kids could choose whether to play their games on 19×19 or 13×13. Eight kids played three rounds on 19×19, and thirteen played four rounds on 13×13.

A girl and a boy studying their game of Go moves

Intent 13×13 players

For most of them, it was their first tournament ever. The youngest player was in preschool! The oldest players were in 7th grade.

All participants got to choose a prize from a pool of Go equipment, toys, and interesting items, awarded in order of results. Players with more wins and higher SODOS statistics got to choose their prize sooner. The Go sets went very quickly! (Go equipment prizes were donated, so if you have a board in good condition that you just don’t use anymore, consider donating it to the Go Center.)

Smiling boy holds game of Go equipment

Go equipment – most popular prize

Deep thanks go to Sonny Cho, Peter Kron, and Brian Allen for making it smooth and satisfying; also to the families who make it possible for their kids to play!

Kids and an adult observe a Go game in progress

Competitors and onlookers

–Mike M.

Thanksgiving Week Hours

We have a few changes at the Go Center this week to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday.

  • – Open as usual Monday (6:30-8:30 PM) and Tuesday (1:00-10:00 PM).
  • – Open a little later Wednesday (6:30-9:00 this week), and Drew Barnett’s “Basics” class is canceled this week. (Larry Eclipse will cover for Drew.)
  • – Closed Thursday (which is Thanksgiving).
  • – Closed as usual Friday.
  • – Regular hours Saturday (Michael Brown will cover for Dennis Wheeler).

As of Monday evening, I don’t yet have a full picture of our outreach locations. I will update this when I have more info. For now:

  • – Wednesday Uwajimaya Go meetup is canceled ahead of Thanksgiving.
  • – Thursday Go meetup at Hurry Curry is canceled, because the restaurant is closed for Thanksgiving.
  • – Thursday Go meetup at Couth Buzzard is canceled, because they are closed for Thanksgiving.
  • – Zoka Coffee / Greenlake will be open, and at least one or two Go players will be meeting there, 9:00 AM – 12:00 noon. (They’re closing early — 1:00 PM.)

–Mike M.

Lending Library Literature Listed

Thanks to the volunteer efforts of Frank Brown, the items in the Go Center’s lending library are now listed online! Paying members (Lifetime, Annual, Quarterly, or Ten-Visits Card) members may borrow up to two books at a time, for up to a month. Check with the Day Manager to sign a book out.

To see the items currently available:
www.seattlego.org/books-in-sgcs-lending-library

Click the top of a column to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the order.

The lending library catalogue is a work in progress. There are plans to add keywords like “tsumego” and “beginner” to roughly group books by subject.

–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!

23rd Anniversary Tournament

Sunday, October 7, 2018, the Go Center held a three-rounds tournament to celebrate our 23rd anniversary.  32 players attended, a quarter of whom have Youth memberships in the AGA!  The “Open” section was limited to eight players maximum, all vying for the First Prize of $150 cash.  It was won by Alex Xinlei Liu 7 dan with a 3-0 record, who has been a strong contender here, even winning the Seattle Go Center Spring Tournament Open in 2017.

Go players focused on their games

23rd Anniversary Tournament, Round 1

Tournament Director Bill Chiles handled clock malfunctions and consequent pairing delays with aplomb, and Daniel Top stepped in smoothly to render assistance.

The twenty-four players in the “Handicap” section all had games with handicaps of 3 stones or less, and all but two games were at 2 stones or less.  “Handicap” players who won all three of their games were awarded prizes of Go books and equipment.  In addition, there was a cash prize for the Youth (under 18) player with the best win-loss record, which was divided among three Youth who went undefeated!

Open Section 3-game winner:  Alex Xinlei Liu 7 dan

Handicap Section 3-game winners: Yao, Zhihong (2 dan), Chen, Xiangnan (3 kyu), Brown, Frank (6 kyu), Lu, Lucas Wu (9 kyu), Schmitten, George (9 kyu), Lu, Yulissa Wu (10 kyu), Ling, Amy (15 kyu).

 

Introducing Go at Bellevue College Japan Week

Saturday, October 6, 2018, several volunteers from Seattle Go Center attended the Bellevue College Japan Week final day to demonstrate Go to attendees.  From 10 AM to 5 PM, volunteers engaged with approximately sixty people, furthering appreciation of this great game.

Volunteers teaching Go to children and adults

Teaching and Learning Go at Bellevue College Japan Week

Thanks to the great volunteers — Rodney Deacon, Bert Ortiz, Yulissa Lu Wu, Keyi Zhou, and Kyle Burg!

Game of Go Inside, Taiko Drums Outside