All Good Things Come to an End!

The Last Game

All good things come to an end and the Congress is over :(
I think that this, the first Australian Congress, was a huge success. Everything ran very well. The facilities were good. Everyone was friendly and the all the players had a great time.

I can safely say that my brains are fried though! Trying to remain focused and concentrating, checking and re-checking every move, for a solid four days is tiring work (but heapso fun :). I must say I wasn't as "clicked" today as I was yesterday. Today I won one and lost one - so over all I won 4 and lost 3 - which is not too bad :)

I was lucky enough to get the first game I played today (and lost) reviewed by Dayhe Lee 4p. She was very good at demonstrating moves that would have worked better (and which were obvious once she pointed them out :^P) She was quite inspirational and enthusiastic about the game. The review was even more helpful later when I was playing my last game as there were some situations that cropped up again and I was able to handle them better.

After stretching my legs I returned to see people still playing Go after the tournament has finished :^O

Later Younggil An 8p and Dayhe Lee 4p gave a review of one of the top board games.

Younggil An 8p and Dayhe Lee 4p reviewing a game

And then it was time to award the prizes ... and the winners are:

Division A:
1st - Eunkuk Kim 7D (trophy + $5,000)
2nd - Dohyun Kwak 7D (trophy + $2,500)

Division B:
3rd - Yeongbae Choi 4D (trophy + $1,200)
4th - Kwangkoo Lee 4D (trophy + $600)

Division C:
5th - Yoko Ohashi 6K (trophy + $300)

Special mentions to Amy Song, who was the best placed Australian player (well done - definitely a rising Australian star), and to Tom Chen who was the youngest player :)

And to Eugene Lee for all his very hard work and dedication - without whom the Congress would not have run as smoothly as it did.

The Winners

I had a great time and all I can say is I can't wait for "Congress 2016!"

BTW - Many of the international guests are planning to come to the Club tomorrow night including Dayhe Lee 4p. So come along to the Club at 17 Brisbane Street Surry Hills (1st floor) and join in the fun.

Full Results:

Division A:
1 Eunkuk Kim 7D
2 Dohyun Kwak 7D
3 Juhyung Yoon 5D
4 Hannui Choi 7D
5 Jiyoung Park 6D
6 Nohuhisa Fujii 5D
7 Xin Lei 5D
8 Tungehun Ho 6D
9 Sejong Hwang 7D
10 William Qian 6D
11 Myongsoo Park 5D
12 Yoonkook Noll 5D
13 Tom Chen 5D
14 Kwanghoon Kim 5D
15 Daniel Putra. 5D
16 David Mitchell 5D

Division B:
1  Yeongbae Choi 4D
2  Kwangkoo Lee 4D
3  Amy Song 3D
4  Shuniehi Hyodo 4D
5  Masahiro Kawaguchi 4D
6  Tadahiro Sakao 4D
7  Akira Tamura 2D
8  Motoyoshi Makino 4D
9  ZJ Dai 1D
10 Toshio Nakanto 4D
11 Sang Yun Kim 2D
11 Kazumi Kondo 1D
13 Shoichi Sugita 1D
14 Hyanghee Kim 3D
15 Aeyeong Park 3D
16 Kunio Ohne 1D
17 Munjin Park 2D
18 Aaron Chen 1D
19 Jesse Savo 4D
19 Wonjoong Lee 4D

Division C:
1 Yoko Ohashi 6K 
2 Miyoko Miyama 5k
3 Yoshitomo Nakata 1K
4 Andrew Fischhof 6K
5 Kanami Hasegawa 5K
6 Rhys Malaria 2K
7 Gareth White 10K
8 Kiyo Tamura I7K

Thanks for reading.

Day 3

The first game of day 3 in each division was the top two players facing off! In division A it was Dohyun Kwak 7D (coming 1st) and Eunkuk Kim 7D (coming 2nd).

More on that later.

For me, my two opponents today were both 5k. In the first game I started brilliantly. I managed to surround my opponent's group which had approached my corner such that they couldn't escape. Wowow - off I went looking for the next area to conquer as those stones clearly had no chance and were going to be captured ... but alas the very next move proved otherwise. With that one move the tables were turned. Not only did the group of stones I had surrounded escape my clutches but now my entire corner was looking shaky. I managed to save the corner stones buy now my opponent was definitely ahead. I pushed on in the hope of catching up but eventually after 162 moves I had to resign. There was just no way for me to catch up :(

In general in a game of baduk/go there are around 200 - 250 moves and it's not uncommon for there to be a "winning" or "losing" move - that one move that seals the fate of the game. So you can imagine with substantial prize money up for grabs that one move could be worth $5,000! And if you think that's pressure - in Japan when Iyama Yuta is defending his Honinbo title this year any one of his moves could be worth over $300,000!!!

I sat down for my second game and something "clicked". I think all those years of stronger players giving advice had finally sunk in. Anyway, I played a good (and intense) game and won :) So I'm sitting on 3 wins and 2 losses. There are still 2 games to go tomorrow. I hope I'm "clicked" tomorrow as well :^P

I came back to the main tournament room to see a crowd of people standing around Dohyun and Eunkuk. They had finished their game (Eunkuk won) and they were reviewing it move by move. There were lots of discussion about what effect different moves would have had and so on. In the other room the two professionals were again playing simultaneous games against a room full of people.

Thus tomorrow all will be revealed. It's the last day of the Congress and with 2 games remaining it's still anyone's tournament. Bring it on!

Day 2

Day 2

It seems being an early-a-holic is a persistent condition! But only arrived an hour early today (despite the weather, the roadS and a broken umbrella's best efforts to keep me from the Congress!!!)

Before the commencement of play Lee Dahye 4p was introduced to the Congress. It's great that she could make it on such short notice :)

I didn't get a very good picture ... so here's one I found on the net :)

Kim Ilhwan 9p and Lee Dahye 4p will also be playing simultaneous games as well as being available for reviews!

I did better today winning two hard fought games. My second opponent in the tourney was also from Japan. She played very solid territorial moves which left me scrambling for territory. It was really only two errors towards  the end of the game that really let me back in. My third opponent gave me a real run for my money. It was a complicated game with many groups trying to surround each other. And despite my best efforts to kill all his corner groups I only managed to capture one ... but it was enough. Two exhilarating games today :)

I also was fortunate to arrange an interview with Hyang Hee Kim, Korea University Baduk Confederation Vice President. We arranged to meet after today's games.

K: My name is Hyanghee Kim. I teach Baduk to elementary school and middle school students in Korea.
A: And you’re the University Baduk Association Vice President?
K: Yes.
A: What does KABA stand for?
K: KABA stands for Korean Amateur Baduk Association.
A: Is that different from KBA?
K: KBA is the Korean Baduk Association – they take care of professional baduk players.
A: When did you start playing baduk?
K: I started playing baduk after I got married. My husband would watch baduk TV. At that time I did not know how to play baduk. So he said to me “Why don’t you learn baduk?” So I started to learn baduk.
A: And you liked the game?
K: Yes, it was very interesting. Actually when I started playing baduk I heard there were professional baduk players and I said to my husband, “I would like to become a professional.” He said, “You can't – it’s impossible.” I said, “Why is it impossible – I can play.” I tried to improve my baduk level but it is very difficult to become a professional. If I had started young I maybe could have become a professional. I started too late.
A: What do you like about baduk?
K: I think other hobbies are limited but baduk is not. It is always interesting, interesting. I am “middle level” player but I would like to improve and improve in baduk. I think all baduk players want to improve. And I think that when we learn baduk we improve our whole life.
A: Do you have other hobbies.
K: Yes. Bowling, mountain climbing, and skiing. But I don’t like skiing so much now. Also fishing.
A: What do you think of the Congress so far?
K: It is very interesting, but there are not so many players here. There are more players in the European and other Congresses. Also in Korean competitions the time is shorter – only 20 minutes per player not one hour each.
A: How does KABA promote baduk in Korea?
K: They run competitions. KABA supports the competitions.
A: Do they advertise on television or with posters?
K: There is Baduk TV run by the KBA.
A: So in Korea there is a television channel dedicated to baduk?
K: Yes – in Seoul.
A: Do you have any suggestions on how to spread the game of baduk in Australia?
K: I heard that in Thailand some baduk competitions are held in department stores. Many people are passing by and some stop and ask, “What is that game?” and they become interested. And in Korea some elementary schools teach baduk. They also teach it in computing, drawing, many areas of schooling.
A: Is there a baduk university?
K: Yes, in Myongji University has a baduk department.
A: Is that only for people who want to become professionals or is it open to everyone?
K: There are some students want to become professionals, but some are already professionals who want become better, and some want to learn baduk to get a job.
A: How have you enjoyed Australia so far?
K: Actually I came to Australia in 2006 and travelled to Canberra, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Sydney and even New Zealand. This time I have also enjoyed very much and have met an Indonesian friend who I first met at the Korean Prime Minister's Championship when I was a volunteer. I have also met many other friends here. So I am very happy.
A: Thank you very much for the interview. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Congress and your stay in Australia.
K: Thank you.

I'd like to thank Hyang Hee again for agreeing to take time out after playing baduk/go all day to participate in the interview :)

After the interview I hurried down to the lecture room to play in some of the simultaneous games but the tables were full :(

... and so that was Day 2. For tomorrow, it will be crunch time in terms of games. In the Swiss format it is usually these games which decide the top order. Everyone will be eagerly watching the top tables as the players sweat each and every move! Can't wait :^D

Day 1

Hello again.

Well, day 1 of the Congress was brilliant!

Of course being an "early-a-holic" I arrived about an hour and a half early :^P The place was easy to find, but the doors were locked. Went for coffee. The weather was perfect though, slight drizzle and a bit cool - great Go playing weather :)

After coffee I register and received a really cool rego kit consisting of a t-shirt, cap and key ring!

I spoke to the Tournament Director, Neville Symthe (Vice President of the AGA). He said that along with our resident professional, An Younggil 8p (tournament referee), two other Korean professionals were also attending the tournament - Kim Ilhwan 9p and Lee Dahye 4p - both of whom would be available for game reviews and would also be giving lectures during the week.

All up more than 40 players had registered for the tournament of which quite a few were from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan ranging from 17kyu to 7dan. I also got a glimpse at the trophies:

There are three divisions A, B and C (I'm in C :) The winner of division A would receive not only the cool trophy (big one far left) but also $5,000 while the runner up gets a trophy and $2,500 (the first prize for my division is a trophy and $300 ;). There is also to be a Hahn scoring side tournament which begins tomorrow ... not sure if I have the brain space to play both tourneys but I'll give it a try.

Then it was time for the Opening Ceremony. The MC, the wonderful Ms Cindy Xu (University of Sydney Go Club) made everyone feel welcome and excited to be a part of the tournament. Raphael Shin (AGA President and sponsor of the congress) expressed his dream of promoting Go in Australia and to have Australia seen as an international and competitive Go community much as the US and Europe are. Sang-Dae Hahn (Organizing Committee Chairman) likewise spoke of his enthusiasm to raise the awareness of Go in Australia and treated everyone to a recital of the song Largo from Handel's opera Xerces (accompanied by the very talented Younggil on the piano).

After Neville ran through the tournament structure and rules it was time to meet our match!

I was impressed by the draw being projected on to the wall showing the pairings, players' colour, handicap (for division C only) and the table number as well! My first opponent was a 1kyu player from Japan. It was a great game with lots of fighting. Even though I lost a corner group early I mostly managed to hold my own, keeping the game reasonably close ... until we were approaching end game. He then approached and reduce my last remaining corner and from that point I would not have been able to catch up - so I resigned. After the game we had a game review. Learnt a valuable lesson today - if your group looks to be in serious trouble and you have the opportunity to run away - RUN!!!

And that was round 1. So after the first round half players in each division are coming 1st the rest coming 2nd :^P

In the afternoon there was a free tour of Sydney.

Overall everything ran very smoothly and professionally (even after the projector broke!) I think I can say that a great time was had by all. I'm certainly looking forward to tomorrow.

Welcome

Hello.

I thought for this auspicious occasion that I would try my hand at blogging my experience at the first ever Go congress in Australia.

A bit about Australia - Australia is a relatively small country considering its population but a very large one considering its size (it’s roughly the same size as Europe with about one twentieth the population). This makes finding other players of Go in Australia a bit tricky - we are thinly spread - a tyranny of distance as they say. Thus you can imagine my excitement when I heard there was to be a Congress. The possibility of bringing together players from all around Australia and the world in one place for the sole purpose of playing and celebrating Go was intoxicating! I hope that it will be the first of many.

A bit about myself - I've been playing Go for many years (I'm not going to tell you how long as it would be embarrassing - I have only recently broken the 10kyu barrier!) I could not honestly say I play seriously (more an avid dabbler if you will). I love the game though. I really love the game. I live in Sydney and play at the Sydney Go Club on Friday nights. I occasionally travel around Australia to compete in tournaments. The nearest other centre for Go from Sydney is Canberra which is a three hour drive south and a little bit inland. Or I can fly for an hour and a half south to Melbourne in Victoria or north to Brisbane or the Gold Coast in Queensland. As I said, thinly spread.

One other thing I must say about Go in Australia - we are incredibly fortunate to have Younggil An 8p from Korea decide to come and live in Sydney. It certainly has been a great boon for Australian Go.

The Congress itself will run for four days from tomorrow (wowow). The main tournament will be seven rounds and have a 1st prize of $5,000!!! There will also be a free tour of Sydney on the 1st day :)

I hope you enjoy this blog of the Congress. There are some links below to find out more about the Congress, Australian Go and other links to find out more about Go generally. Feel free to send me comments, criticisms, questions and the like. I can't promise I'll be able to answer them but I'll try :)