Fairfield Go Club
contact: Duncan H. Brown (duncanbrown108[~~at~~]yahoo[~~dot~~]com

All-Iowa Go Tournament, Ames, IA, on Sept. 3rd

Results: Race for the Kaya All-Iowa Go Tournament, Iowa City on July 22

Results: All-Iowa (and Beyond!) Go Tournament, Des Moines, May 20th

Results: Spring Forward Iowa Go Tournament, Apr. 2nd, Iowa City

Waterloo Go Club Joins AGA; Ames Go Club Organized

Fairfield Go Club Announcements

Results: Des Moines All-Iowa Go Tournament, Feb. 26th

Iowa Players: Go Servers/Usernames

Visit the new Iowa Go Web site for Forums, News, and more.

Please visit Slate & Shell for fine books on go, and go equipment.
Slate and Shell has been a generous, ongoing sponsor of the go tournaments in Iowa.

Please visit the AGA Web Site to connect to the U.S. go scene.

Pictures from the first All-Iowa Go Tournament on Dec. 19th, 2005
 

All-Iowa Go Tournament, Ames, IA, Sept. 3rd

There will be an All-Iowa Go Tourney in Ames, Iowa on Sunday, September 3rd, all day. This is an American Go Association (AGA)-sanctioned tournament: game results will be forwarded to the AGA ratings folks.

Want to add fun to your Labor Day Weekend (which includes a Monday Holiday?). Come and play go with us. This tourney is hosted by the Cyclone Go Club, led by Ramon Mercado, Tournament Director, with help from Duncan Brown (Fairfield Go Club), Assistant Tournament Director.

The Cyclones have won the Iowa Cup the last three tournaments in a row. Due to a recent rules change, the Iowa Cup is now up for grabs by ANY club from ANY state. We'd love to see Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and other clubs (from anywhere) come to contend for the cup. The Cyclones have promised to polish up that silver bowl (of course, they say that's just so it will look prettier on their mantels.) Also, Ramon says that a 5-dan (almost-insei) will be at the tourney.

COST: $10
REQUIRED: AGA Membership (available the day of the tourney)
SPONSORS: Yellow Mountain Imports, and Slate & Shell
PRIZES:
Go Equipment from Yellow Mountain Imports, Books from Slate & Shell, and Cash Prizes. (Must play 4 games to qualify for prizes.)
LOCATION: Santa Fe Expresso, Ames, IA
ADDRESS: 2518 Lincoln Way, Ames IA 50014.  Phone: 515-268-1605
WHEN: REGISTRATION starts at 9:30 am, 1st game, 10:30 am
FOR DETAILS, CONTACT: Cyclonego <AT> iastate <dot> edu
OR E-MAIL: duncanbrown108 <AT> Yahoo <DOT> com
CYCLONE GO CLUB on the WEB: http://www.stuorg.iastate.edu/cygo/
 

 

 Results: July 22nd “Race for the Kaya” All-Iowa Go Tournament

Iowa Cup Swept Up by Cyclones a Third Time

The Iowa Cup stayed in Ames due to tournament action on July 22nd in Iowa City. The Cyclone Go Club (Ames) fielded nine players who accumulated 16 1/5 points. The Cedar Rapids Go Club brought six players and earned 8 points. The Fairfield Go Club had three players and scored 5 points. A single Waterloo Go Club player earned 1 point.

The overall individual tournament winner was Han Hong Lu (2k, Fairfield, 4 wins); he received the Kaya table board donated by Andras Kristof. Ian Barnard (19k, Ames, 4 wins) received the second prize, a set of Yunzi go stones, bowls and carrying case, also donated by Andras Kristof.

Among the runner-ups were Jitzhou Chen (11k, Ames, 3 wins), Zaida Marreno (25k, Ames, 2 ½ wins), Francois Torney (17k, Ames, 2 wins), Matt Pinkston (11k, Cedar Rapids, 2 wins), Ramon Mercado (16k, Ames, 2 wins) and Jacob Uptain (8k, Cedar Rapids, 2 wins). Prizes for winning players were books donated by Slate and Shell, or cash.
Three new members joined the AGA on the day of the tournament.

Tournament Director: Jacob Uptain
muchodelcrazy<at>yahoo<dot>com
Assistant Tournament Director: Duncan Brown
duncanbrown108<at>yahoo<dot>com
 

 

WINDY CITY NEARLY SWEEPS IOWA CUP;
CYCLONES HOLD THEM OFF

The All-Iowa (and Beyond) Go Tourney in Des Moines on May 20th featured 29 players in 4 divisions, the
largest number in the recent run of tournaments. The Iowa Cup was in play, and, though technically not in
competition for it, 5 visiting Chicago players brought their best game and racked up 11 points. The Cyclone
Go Club (Ames) won the cup for a second straight tournament with 12 points. Fairfield and Waterloo each
earned 8 points, Cedar Rapids got 7, host Des Moines scored 6, and Mt. Vernon, Iowa City, and Kansas
City (KS) each banked 2 points.

The tourney was held at the beautiful campus of Des Moines Area Community College West. It offered
generous space and comfortable facilities including projection on an overhead screen of featured games.

Winners received go books kindly donated by Slate and Shell, or cash. Due to the large turnout there were 4
prizes awarded in each of the four divisions.

Individual Winners:
Division 1
Han Hong Lu, Fairfield, 4 wins; Daniel Smith, Chicago, 3 wins
Division 2
Jizhou Chen, Ames 4 wins; Matthew Hart, Cedar Rapids 3 wins; Andras Kristof, Fairfield, 3 wins
Division 3
Andrew Dudzik, Chicago, 3 wins; Francois Torney, Ames, 3 wins
Division 4
Andrew Boody, Waterloo, 4 wins; Cameron Watts, Cedar Rapids, 3 wins; Robert Boody, Waterloo, 3 wins

Seven people joined the AGA on the day of the tourney, and one member renewed. This marks the sixth go
tournament in Iowa since November. The next tournament is planned for late June or early July, sponsored by the Cedar Rapids Go Club. Details will be announced as soon as they are available.

Mark Hommerding, Des Moines Go Club
Tournament Director
homer[~~at~~]jolesch[~~dot~~]com

Duncan H. Brown, Fairfield Go Club
Assistant Tournament Director
duncanbrown108[~~at~~]yahoo[~~dot~~]com

 

 

CYCLONES SWEEP IOWA CUP

The Iowa Cup was wrested from the Cedar Rapids Go Club by the sharp play of a newly-formed AGA chapter--the Cyclone Go Club from Iowa State University in Ames in the Spring Forward Iowa Go Tournament held in Iowa City on April 2nd.

The Cyclones dominated the high-kyu division, winning first, second, third and fourth places, and racking up a total of 11 points. Cedar Rapids had a player in fifth place in the high-kyu division and placed first and third in the low-kyu division for a total of 10 points. Iowa City garnered 5 points, Fairfield 4, and Waterloo, 2. (Waterloo was represented by only one player, 6th-grader Will Shirey 15k.)

Jizhou Chen 17k (Cyclone Go Club) conquered the high-kyu division by winning all four of his games; Ramon Mercado 17k (Cyclone Go Club) placed second with 3 wins.

Jacob Uptain 8k (Cedar Rapids) won the low-kyu division with 3 wins, while Matt Pinkston 12k (Iowa City) placed second, also with 3 wins.

Prizes for the top 5 players in each division were books kindly donated by Slate & Shell, and cash prizes. Five tournament attendees joined the AGA at the tournament, with one renewal.

The next Iowa Cup tournament is scheduled for May 20th in Des Moines.
 

 

WATERLOO GO CLUB JOINS AGA

One of the newest chapters of the AGA is in Waterloo, Iowa, home of Will Shirey and the Waterloo Go Club. Will Shirey has participated in two Iowa go tournaments. in the December, 2005 All-Iowa Go Tournament in Iowa City, Will placed first in the higher-kyu division by winning all four of his matches. In fact, his showing was so strong that the four points he earned in the tournament also made him, by himself, the third-placing go club in Iowa in the competition for the All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup. Will is a sixth-grader in Waterloo; the Waterloo Go Club meets at his school. At the January Snow Grade Go Tournament in Iowa City, Will brought along one of his fellow go players, Ashok Rao, who joined the AGA just before the tournament.

CYCLONE GO CLUB (AMES) BECOMES AGA CHAPTER

Ramon Mercado and other go players from Ames and from Iowa State University in Ames have formed the Cyclone Go Club. We're looking forward to seeing more Ames players at Iowa go tournaments. At the February tournament in Des Moines, Cyclone player Ning Sun won the entire tournament! And they've won the Iowa Cup in April and in May (and now July).
 

 

FAIRFIELD GO CLUB EXPANDS MEETINGS; NEWSPAPER STORY

The Fairfield Go Club has doubled its weekly meetings; it’s now gathering Friday nights (7-10 pm) at Revelations Bookstore and Café, and Sunday nights (7-9:30 pm) at the M.U.M. Student Union’s Cosmic Café. Everyone is invited to come to learn and to play this game.

There was a front-page story in The Fairfield Daily Ledger on Friday, February 3rd. It featured a photo of several Fairfield Go Club members, plus an in-depth interview with Duncan H. Brown, head of the club.

Go is a fascinating Oriental board game that is widely played in China (where it was invented), Japan, and Korea. It’s been compared to chess, but unlike chess, no computer program has ever been devised that can defeat even a talented amateur go player.

Go is a two-player game which uses a 19 by 19-lined board and flattened round “stones”; half are black and half are white. The two players place them alternately on the board in an effort to enclose territory and to capture enemy stones. The rules are very simple and can be learned in 5-10 minutes, but the game has levels of richness and complexity that can make it a lifetime endeavor to attain mastery. The hit Japanese anime series Hikaru No Go is all about the game.

The Fairfield Go Club has competed in six recent Iowa go tournaments, and has taken second place (individually and as a group) in four of them. At the last tournament in May, go clubs from all across the state competed for the “All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup”, which was won by the Cyclone Go Club. Fairfield and Waterloo placed second.

For further information, contact Duncan Brown
(duncanbrown108[~~at~~]yahoo[~~dot~~]com)
 

 

CEDAR RAPIDS WINS IOWA CUP;
NING SUN WINS DES MOINES ALL-IOWA GO TOURNAMENT

The Des Moines All-Iowa Go Tournament was a great success. 18 players competed all day in Des Moines at Java Joe's on Feb. 26th. Five players joined the AGA on the day of the tournament, and a member from a new AGA chapter (the Waterloo Go Club) competed as well. Three players attended from Kansas City. The overall tournament winner was Ning Sun (Ames), who was undefeated in four matches. 

The All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup was won by the Cedar Rapids Go Club with 12 wins among 5 players. The Des Moines Go Club (who had won the cup in the January tournament) placed second with 8 wins among 5 players. The ISU Go Club (Ames) placed third with 6 wins by 2 players. Waterloo was fourth with three wins by one player, Iowa City was fifth with one player and 2 wins, while Fairfield placed last with one win by one player. (Had the three Kansas City players been able to compete for the All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup, they would have placed fourth with 4 wins.)

Jacob Uptain savors the victory of the Cedar Rapids Go Club in the February competition for the All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup

Winners received go books (kindly provided by Slate & Shell) or cash prizes.

Individual Winners:
Lower-Kyu category: Ning Sun (Ames), 4 wins; Anthony Postert (Des Moines), 3 wins; Matthew Hart (Cedar Rapids), 3 wins; Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids), 3 wins.

Higher-Kyu category; Will Shirey (Waterloo), 3 wins; Scott Wiley (Cedar Rapids), 3 wins; Jane Hommerding (Des Moines), 3 wins; Ramon Mercado (Ames), 2 wins.


Brigid Strait, Tournament Director
(veggie1[~~at~~]gmail[~~dot~~]com)
Duncan H. Brown, Assistant Tournament Director
(duncanbrown108[~~at~~]yahoo[~~dot~~]com)
 


Pictures from the All-Iowa Go Tournament, Dec. 18th in Iowa City
Thanks to Alice Shirey, Waterloo, for taking them

Note: click on images to see the full-sized picture.

Will Shirey (Waterloo) in action. Will Shirey (Waterloo) strikes again.

From left: Mark Hommerding (Des Moines), Andras Kristof (Fairfield), Will Shirey (Waterloo), Duncan H. Brown (Fairfield), Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids).

Ryan Unash (Cedar Rapids) vs. Jane Hommerding (Des Moines); in the Background Scott (Cedar Rapids) and Jim Ehrhardt (Iowa City)

Scott Wiley (Cedar Rapids) learns to play Go from Jim Ehrhardt 1d (Iowa City).

From left: Mark Hommerding (Des Moines), Andras Kristof (Fairfield), Will Shirey (Waterloo), Vaughn Hommerding (Des Moines), Duncan H. Brown (Fairfield), Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids).

Vaughn Hommerding (Des Moines) and Will Shirey play; Jim Ehrhardt (Iowa City) in background.

From Left: Mark Hommerding (Des Moines), Judit Kristof (Fairfield), Duncan H. Brown (Fairfield), Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids).

Jim Ehrhardt 1d (Iowa City).

Vaughn Hommerding (Des Moines) in a game.
Jim Ehrhardt 1d (Iowa City).

 

Andras Kristof (Fairfield) ponders a move.

Will Shirey (Waterloo) Jane Hommerding (Des Moines) and Vaughn Hommerding (Des Moines).

The winner of the All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup is announced by Tournament Director Duncan H. Brown  (Fairfield).

Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids) accepts the All-Iowa Go Tournament Cup from Tournament Director Duncan H. Brown (Fairfield) on behalf of his club, the Cedar Rapids Go Club.

Jacob Uptain (Cedar Rapids) wins the Division I competition, and select his prize from the books donated by Slate & Shell to the tournament.

Will Shirey (Waterloo) wins the Division II competition and selects his prize from the books donated by Slate & Shell.

Selection of prizes (books donated by Slate & Shell) by the winners of the two divisions.

Comparing notes at the end of the Tournament.

 


Iowa Players: Go Servers/User Names

Player Name, City, Rating (if known) Go Server User Name
Andras Kristof, Fairfield, 13k (AGA) KGS kanagawa
Brigid Strait, Des Moines, 13k (AGA)

www.kiseido.com

Rutabaga &/or MrsKibbles

Duncan H. Brown, Fairfield, 11k (AGA) Yahoo games harpno_mapcase
Duncan H. Brown, Fairfield, 11k (AGA) www.Kiseido.com HarpnoMarx
Eric Swaney, Waterloo, 10k, KGS

KGS and IGS

Reepicheep

Jacob Uptain, Cedar Rapids, 10k (AGA)

www.Kiseido.com

juptain

Jacob Uptain, Cedar Rapids, 10k (AGA)

http://igo.cc/club/enter-e.php

foot_ofgod

Ramon Mercado, 22k (IGS)

IGS

rmercado

Ramon Mercado, 22k (IGS)

KGS

TheKid

Will Shirey, Waterloo, 15k (AGA) www.pandanet.co.jp/English/ crazyguy
Will Shirey, Waterloo, 15k (AGA) Playgo.ti sai
Tristan Webb, Fairfield, 11k (AGA) KGS dubhdara
[Add Your Name Here: e-mail: duncanbrown108[~~at~~]yahoo[~~dot~~]com with name, rank, server, user name(s).

last updated: 08/24/06, DHB