American Go E-Journal
March 5, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Takemiya wins 1200 games On Jan. 14, Takemiya Masaki 9P (W) beat Hara Sachiko 4P by resig. in a game in the First Tournament (= preliminary) of the 46th Kisei tournament. This made…
March 4, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Meijin League After three rounds of the 46th Meijin League, Ichiriki Ryo holds the provisional lead on 3-0, but Hane Naoki, on 2-0, is also undefeated. Shibano, the previous Meijin,…
March 3, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Kyo to challenge for Judan title Kyo Kagen The play-off to decide the challenger for the 59th Judan title, held by Shibano Toramaru, was held at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo on Jan. 28.…
March 1, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Ueno wins Women’s Kisei Ueno Asami Ueno Asami, who is still a teenager (she turned 19 on October 26) has confirmed her ranking as the number two woman player in Japan by becoming a…
February 27, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Legends Yoda (l) & Kobayashi (r) Korea wins Go Legends National Competition This is a special event that was held in January in conjunction with the 22nd Nong Shim Cup. It pitted…
February 25, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal New restrictions on players As of Jan. 1, new rules came in effect at all three branches of the Nihon Ki-in limiting the freedom of players in order to insure no one resorts to help…
February 21, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal This reports focuses on the players with the best performances in various categories last year. Most wins Because of a multiple tie for 9th place, the top ten is actually the top…
February 14, 2021
by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister Hashimoto On February 2 Ishida Yoshio finally played his third game – picking up his second win -- in the Honinbo League, over Sakata Eio. By the end of the month, Kato Masao had played…
February 13, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Sumire’s progress First of all, some good news for Nakamura Sumire fans. On August 15, she scored a commendable win over Takao Shinji in a practice game played on the net. Takao was…
February 12, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Ichiriki wins Tengen Ichiriki (r) beats Iyama After failing in five challenges to Iyama Yuta for top-seven titles, Ichiriki Ryo finally prevailed in his sixth challenge, which was for…
February 11, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Kono to challenge for Kisei title Kono Rin After the fourth round of the S League in the 45th Kisei tournament, Takao Shinji 9P was in the sole lead, but he slipped up in the final…
February 9, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Seki wins 45th King of New Stars title Seki Kotaro 3P This year’s title match was fought between Sada Atsushi 7P (aged 25) of the Kansai Ki-in and Seki Kotaro 3P (aged 18) of the…
February 8, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Fujisawa wins 1st Hakata Kamachi Cup Fujisawa Rina The Hakata Kamachi Cup is a new tournament with a first prize of 7,000,000 yen (about $67,300), which ranks it with the Women’s…
February 7, 2021
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Iyama regains Meijin title and triple crown With both the challenger, Iyama Yuta, and the champion, Shibano Toramaru, holding three of the top-seven titles, the 45th Meijin title…
December 1, 2020
Hsiang with former IGF Secretary General Yuki Shigeno. Thomas Hsiang has been selected to receive a 2020 Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation , after being recommended by the Nihon Ki-in for his dedication to the promotion of Go…
November 13, 2020
After two months of successful operation, the Osaka Go School staff is excited to welcome new teacher Michael Redmond 9P, who joined the school in November. The Osaka Go School opened in September with 25 students, including 10 American…
September 16, 2020
Ryo Maeda 6P reports that his new online Osaka Go School has opened with 25 students, 10 of whom are Americans, with levels ranging from 15k to 6d. "I hope to have more students in the future!" says Maeda. "Our setup allows even busy…
August 27, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Kataoka wins 1100 games A win former titleholder Kataoka Satoshi 9P picked up on July 23 was his 1100th in the 48 years three months of his career (12th fastest). He is the 16th…
August 26, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Moon wins Globis Cup The 7th Globis Cup, an international tournament for players under 20, was originally scheduled for May 8 to 10, but was delayed by the virus. It was finally held…
August 25, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal 13th Chunlan Cup The Chunlan (literally, Spring Orchid) Cup is a Chinese-sponsored international tournament that is held every two years. First prize is $150,000, and the current…
August 14, 2020
After the popular Osaka Go Camp was cancelled for the 2020 year due to COVID-19, organizer Maeda Ryo 6P has decided to organize and open a new online Go school for players of all levels. The International Osaka Go School will allow…
August 4, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Iyama defends Honinbo, matches Takagawa : The fifth game of the 75th Honinbo title match was held at the Todaya hotel in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, on July 8 and 9. Taking white,…
July 7, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Shibano starts fightback in Honinbo The fourth game of the 75th Honinbo title match was played at the Imai Villa, Kawatsu Town, Shizuoka Prefecture on June 30 and July 1. For the…
July 1, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Ichiriki to challenge for Gosei The play-off to decide the challenger for the 45th Gosei title was held at the Nihon Ki-in on June 29. Taking white, Ichiriki Ryo 8P beat Cho U 9P by…
June 30, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Iyama extends lead in Meijin League With Iyama maintainaing his unbeaten record in the 45th Meijin League, it’s looking more and more as if he will be the one to challenge the new…
June 29, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Shibano takes Judan title, sets new records Even though professional go resumed on June 1, it took over two weeks for the 58th Judan title match, which had been interrupted with the…
June 25, 2020
Keith Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister On June 4 the Nihon Kiin Igo Festival was held. There were a variety of events, but the greatest excitement was created by the 2nd place finish in the All-Japan Ladies Amateur Championship of…
June 22, 2020
by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal Korea dominates opening rounds of 25th LG Cup After a gap of two months caused by the shutdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19, professional go activity resumed in…
June 5, 2020
If you missed last Sunday’s Golden Panda Cup live game commentary on Twitch , it’s now been posted on the AGA’s YouTube channel . Michael Redmond 9P – hosted by E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock — reviews Pandanet’s “Golden Panda…
May 30, 2020
by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister May was dominated by Rin Kaiho's defense of the Honinbo Title against challenger Sakata Eio. Already down a game, Sakata lost a bitter half pointer in the second game (top right) on May…