Games

Dear Members,

Halloween (Oct. 31) comes on a Tuesday this year, so Frank Lam and Andrew Jackson have agreed to devise a Halloween contest for the Go Center using "Life and Death" problems (Tsumego).   The contest will run between 7 and 8 pm., and there will be prizes for the survivors.  Costumes are encouraged, because they provide great photo opportunities.

Cheers,

Brian

manager@seattlego.org 

Dear Members,

This year, Halloween falls on a Tuesday, and so we thought there would no better way to celebrate than to have a Contest in Life and Death, hosted by Frank Lam and Andrew Jackson.  They are devising a contest using Go problems (Tsumego) and prizes.  Halloween outfits are encouraged!  The contest will run between 7 and 8 pm.  As usual,  we will have informal lessons, especially for beginners, and plenty of opportunities for games with a wide range of players.

Cheers,

Brian

Dear Members,

Here is a friendly reminder that our 22nd Anniversary Party will be today Sunday, Oct. 15, starting around 4 pm.  We will have spaghetti, sauce and sausage from Lee Anne, plus catered food, at 5 pm.  Yes, you can come even if you hadn’t responded earlier!  Feel free to bring beer or wine or more food.  Nick Sibicky will be leading a round of “Beat the Kyu” at some point.  We hope to see you!

Cheers,

Brian

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office

Dear Members,

Our Anniversary Party this Sunday, Oct. 15, will include a round of “Beat the Kyu”, with famous Youtube Go instructor Nick Sibicky as host! “Beat the Kyu”  features a game show format. The group reviews a kyu level game together. After each move is made, players will have the opportunity to score points by finding a better move.  “It’s similar to Desert Island Go, but is a bit easier for all parties involved”, reports Nick.

The Anniversary Party starts at 4:00 p.m., and we will serve catered food around 5:00 p.m.   We will have a banquet permit for this event, so you may bring wine, sake, cider or beer to share.  The party is free, but please send me an email if you are coming, with your food preferences (omnivore, vegan, no pork, etc.), so I can plan the food.

Cheers,

Brian Allen

manager@seattlego.org

206 545-1424 Go center phone

206 632-1122 home office phone

Dear Members,

We have many opportunities to receive free Go instruction at the Go Center, with our evening classes on Monday and Thursday, and our informal lessons on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  But it you are looking for regular individual lessons, tailored to your needs, we have another option: the Paid Private Instruction (PPI) program.  These are paid lessons with approved instructors, held when the Go Center is closed.  This is a great way for adults to address a particular topic that is troubling them, or for a youth to get individual, sequenced instruction. 

Yue (Vincent) Zhang is now available to teach strong players, both adults and children, in either Chinese or English.  He is a great addition to our team. Yue is an AGA 7 dan, who won our Anniversary Tournament in 2016.  He has also done very well in international tournaments, placing 2nd in the 17th Pandanet Cup Internet World Amateur Go Tournament (2012), and in the top 8 in the 21th Pandanet Cup Internet World Amateur Go Tournament (2017), among other accomplishments.  In addition, Yue is a paleontologist with a PhD from Ohio State University, and he has extensive college teaching experience.  His specialty is early mammals, but he knows a lot about dinosaurs too!

Our second new instructor is Cullen Mott.  He has been a guest teacher for a number of Double Digit Kyu classes at the Go Center, and he has provided individual lessons on many Thursdays.  He is currently playing at a 2 dan level, and he is open to teaching adults and children from beginner to 4 kyu.  Cullen is willing to write up a lesson plan with homework for students with a specific goal, such as gaining two ranks.  He is also open to more impromptu lessons for students who don't have the time for rigorous study.

We have three other teachers who are continuing with the Paid Private Instructor (PPI) program.   Larry Eclipse is great for students from beginner to 15 kyu, and he has a flexible schedule.  Also a math tutor, he has had the most students in the PPI program.  John Richards really enjoys teaching children from beginner to 15 kyu.  Many of our members know him from Tuesdays, when he teaches informal lessons for free.  Peter Nelson is a 5 dan, who can teach stronger students. He taught the Single Digit Kyu class last year.  He has teaching videos on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/longstridebaduk

Please contact me if you want to learn more about private lessons.

Cheers

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office

Dear Go Players,

As part of Japan Week at Bellevue College, there is a free “matsuri” this Saturday, Oct. 7 on campus.  This will include a wide range of Japanese cultural activities, including instruction in the game of Go from the Seattle Go Center.  We will be in the Café, in building C, from 10 – 6 pm.  Parking is also free.  Come on by!

https://studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu/japan-week/

Cheers,

Brian

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office

Dear Members,

Our 22^nd Anniversary Tournament on Oct. 1 had a good crowd: 40 players.    The tournament went smoothly, despite the large size, and it has already been rated by the AGA.  We put our newly refinished boards to good use, and broke out some of our new “Leap” game clocks after we put out all of our older “Excalibur” clocks.

The Open Section filled up with 8 players, all of them 3 dan or stronger.  The winner was Kai Fugami, playing his first tournament at the Go Center.  Kai grew up in Japan, and he was an insei for a while with the Kansai Ki-in.  He is a 8-dan amateur in Japan. Kai’s dad grew up in Seattle, and Kai’s family has now moved to Bellingham.  We hope to see more of Kai! 

Second place in the Open Section went to Alex (Xinlei) Liu.  He is currently an AGA 7 dan.  Alex won our Spring Tournament this year, and placed second to Yue Zhang last year in the Anniversary Tournament.  Third place went to Yichen Li, who currently has an AGA 6 dan rating.

The Children’s Prize went to Austen Li, who won all his games in the Handicapped Section.  He also placed first in the DDK Group.  Young Amy Ling placed second in this group.

The Middle Group of the Handicapped Section had six 9 kyu players, with other players up to 4 kyu.  Go Center Instructor Larry Eclipse won this section, with volunteer Christian De Oro taking second, and Thursday afternoon manager Nathan Saritzky taking third.

The Upper Group of the Handicapped Section extended up to 2 dan.  It was won by Brendan Roof, who selected both volumes of Cho Chikun’s “All About Life and Death” for his prize.  Former Board member Dan (Denga) Tang placed second.  He selected a complete set of Hikaru No Go manga.  He said that he would donate them back to the Go Center when he was done with them.

Cheers,

Brian

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office

Dear Members,

I looking for a Go Center volunteer to take charge of the take out and delivered food for our monthly tournaments and other events, such as our Anniversary Party Oct. 15.  In some cases, the job is simple: just order some cheese pizza.  But for other occasions, there is room for more diverse and perhaps more expensive fare, which would involve advance orders, and trips to pick up prepared food.  Our members have a wide range of preferences, so I am looking for a volunteer who is prepared to find several options for our bigger events.  The ideal candidate could keep to a budget and charge the food to his/her credit card.  We would quickly reimburse them by check or Paypal.

Any volunteers for Catering Czar?

Cheers,

Brian

Dear Members,

We have some special events scheduled.  Time to mark your calendars!  As usual, these are also posted at:

www.seattlego.org/events

Sunday, Oct 15: Anniversary Party.  Casual games (including Pair Go), catered food and good conversation.  Doors open at 4, food at 5.  We will have a banquet permit, so you may bring wine, sake, cider and beer to share.

Sunday, Nov. 12, 1-5 pm.  Fun Youth Tournament (done with Sonny Cho).  Everybody gets book and equipment prizes.  19x19 open, 19x19 handicapped, and 13x13 sections.  Not AGA rated.

Saturday, Dec. 16, 6:00 p.m.  Gala Pair Go Tournament.   Dress up and eat cake!

Cheers,

Brian

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office

Dear Go Center Members,

We will be starting up the Single Digit Kyu Players group on Wednesday evenings, but the first session has been postponed until Oct. 11.   (Not Oct 4, as listed earlier on our calendar.)  Part study group, part class, the first event will be organized by Drew Barnett.  We’ll tell you more as the date approaches.

Regards,

Brian

Brian Allen

General Manager

Seattle Go Center

www.seattlego.org  web

manager@seattlego.org email

206 545-1424 phone Go Center

206 632-1122 phone home office