Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3

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A m e ri ca n Go H o n o r So c i e t y
First Round Concludes to Some Major Wins and Some Upset Results
Center was the only team in
the top open division to sweep
their matches. These four
teams will square off in the
second round in which only
two of them can remain unscathed. The other divisions
also showed some close
matches, especially in the Intermediate Division in which 7
of the 8 matches ended with a
2-1 decision, meaning almost
This week we finished the first all the teams won at least one
round of the ING Team Tour- match in round 1.
nament with some exciting
matches and some unexpected In the States Cup, California is
results. Top seeded Mission defending their 2008 win with
San Jose, Stuyvesant, and a commanding 75 point lead
Orange County GC all won over second place New York,
their team matches, but dark but the two face each other in
horse candidate New York Go many matches in round two
Go in the Media
that could lead to a possible
upset victory. The Pasadena
Central Library GC leads the
School cup standings in only
their second appearance in the
competition, and rookies East
Meadow HS also cracked the
top three, becoming the first
team since 2001’s Clear Lake
HS to be a rookie team and finish in the medal podium for the
School Cup. The only difference is that 2001 was the first
year of competition, so all the
schools were rookies, making
East Meadows’ achievement
that much stronger, good luck!
Check out www.aghs.cc to see
all the latest standings in the
States Cup, School Cup, and the
individual Divisions. Fight for
by Christopher Vu
movie dwells on the importance in
unifying the tribes into the one nation China, and why all the tribes
need to regain a national identity in
the face of foreign threats. The best
scene is when two assassins fight in
a Weiqi (go) parlor. The gigantic
boards and the falling rains add intrinsic environmental effects to
make a memorable scene..
In 2002, “Hero” starring Jet Li,
Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and
Zhang Ziyi is released. It is about
assassins seeking vengeance
against the king of Qin Dynasty
conquest of their .tribes This
This movie was what created the
Clear Lake HS Go Club Former
member Frank Wang recalls that
after the 2003 National Championships, the thirty-some members of
the club went to his house to celebrate the end of the school year with
a party and a screening of this film.
Christopher Vu was a member of the
Clear Lake HS club from 2003-05.
Volume 1, Issue 3
6 March 2009
Inside this issue:
Game of the Week
Cherry Shen vs. Tony Su
2
Blast from the Past
Past winners
3
Kristen’s College Corner
Usurped by Cynthia!
3
Fireside Chat
Talks with Matt Mallory
4
Advisor’s Corner
Starting from Scratch
4
Go in the Real World
5
Page 2
Rising Star
Game of the Week
Hwang Moo Ryong
Today’s game of the week features two of our top competitors in the open division, with
Cherry Shen, representing Orange County GC and Anthony Su from Saratoga HS. Enjoy!
153 at 116
180 at 169
252 at 222
254 at 249 260 pass
Black wins by 20
Hwang Moo-Ryong is a staff reporter for the Rising Star
and helps out in the International Affairs Division.
Volume 1, Issue 3
Page 3
Blast from the Past—Winners of the ING Team Tournament (ex RSC Cup)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
2001
2002
2003
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Clear Lake HS (TX)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
VARSITY DIVISION
not held
not held
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
JV DIVISION
not held
not held
not held
2004
Riverview HS (MI)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
2005
2006
Clear Lake HS (TX)
Horace Mann HS (NY)
Thomas Jefferson HS (VA)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
John Ward ES (TX)
Dobie HS (TX)
not held
2007
2008
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Mission San Jose HS (CA)
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Punahou School (HI)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
Manlius Pebble Hill (NY)
“If you give a mouse a
2007
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
NOVICE DIVISION
Hilo HS (HI)
BEGINNER DIVISION
not held
2008
Milpitas Christian (CA)
Jackson Junior High (WV)
Cary Chinese School (NC)
NATIONAL FINALISTS
2001
2002
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Monta Vista HS (CA)
Monta Vista HS (CA)
2003
2004
2005
JV DIVISION
not held
not held
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Santa Fe Central HS (NM)
New York Consolidated (NY)
not held
not held
Texas Math/Science (TX)
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Lincoln MS (CA)
2006
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
Lowell HS (CA)
Clear Lake HS (TX)
2007
2008
MacDonald HS (ONT)
Orange County GC (CA)
Lowell HS (CA)
Monta Vista HS (CA)
Maggie Walker HS (VA)
Lowell HS (CA)
2007
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION
Vestavia Hills HS (AL)
NOVICE DIVISION
Stuyvesant HS (NY)
2008
Cary Chinese School (NC)
Berressa Chinese School
One major worry that you
should learn about in college
is the development of the
“frienemy”. In high school, it
was very easy to have your
close knit circle of friends
because these were the people that you had grown up
with your entire life. However, college is a whole different ball games. Cliques
are not as prevalent and
you have to relate to all
BEGINNER DIVISION
not held
John Adams MS (NJ)
by Cynthia Yuen
varieties of people besides
with those whom you form an
immediate bond with. This is
the beginning of the
“frienemy” relationship. In
college, having connections
and networking reigns paramount. If you do not have
connections, then you will
lose out in the long run. So
those who have connections,
you want to become close
with, but it may be hard
of milk to go with it.”
~ Laura Joffe Numeroff
VARSITY DIVISION
not held
not held
Kristen’s College Corner
cookie, he will want a glass
when your personalities
clash. Thus, it becomes important for you to have cordial relations even if you are
not able to internally tolerate a person. Good manners
helps you overcome any
displeasure if you look at
the mutual gains the two of
you will have in the long run.
Cynthia Yuen is notoriously a
frienemy with Kristen, and
stole this week’s column spot.
Page 4
Rising Star
Fireside Chat
In order to win the tournament, a team must fight
against the odds. The more
you win the tougher it is to
continue. Only one team in
each bracket will be
crowned national champions. Thus, if you want the
title to be yours, you must
have an indomitable spirit
and continue to press on
even if the odds look stacked
against you. Everyone is
playing against strong and
intelligent players. You have
to come in and play at your
best each and every game.
Think before you play each
move. Ask yourself: What is
your opponent's purpose
behind each move and how
can you best defeat his strat-
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by Matthew Mallory
egy? If you are able to focus
and concentrate, you increase your chances to understanding your opponent’s
tactics and snatch victory
even if a defeat looms over
you.
Also, never give up too
early. The old proverb
"when life gives you lemons
make lemonade," adheres
very well to go. Even if you
make a large error in a
game, look to see what kind
of benefit you may have
from the position that is
played out. You may be left
with a great opportunity to
turn the whole situation
around. I recall the professional game in which one
player seemed to have a hard
Advisor’s Corner: Starting from Scratch
Schools, libraries, recreation
centers, bookstores, and
even coffee shops can be
great places to host a go
club. Try to pick a high traffic area for potential go
players. Before jumping the
train, check with your desired venue to make sure it
is okay to hold the meetings
there before putting up any
flyers or advertisements.
When asked about the topic,
Paul Barchilon, VP of the
American Go Foundation
said, “The public library was
the only place I considered. I
knew I wanted a kids club,
so I talked to the kids and
teens librarian. I brought
Hikaru no Go comics, a go
board, and a poster when I
went to talk to them. They
were very excited from the
beginning and wanted to do
it immediately.” After being
confirmed by the venue,
posters and information
should be spread to as wide
of a circulation as possible.
Getting a close-knit group of
friends to join can be vital to
ensure the club’s survival.
“If no one can be drafted
into the duty, don’t sweat it,
it is not the end of the
world”. Paul continues, “It is
important to have another
teacher, so that if one of you
can't be there the other can
time coming back from a
large deficit, but he played
his hand carefully in yose
(endgame) and managed to
win by half a point. Decide
how to fix your problem by
looking at the full length of
the board rather than just a
single fight. Go, in this manner, is much like a war – in
which the winner is not decided by one single skirmish, but the victor of the
total battlefield. Use the adversity you face as a spark to
ignite your mind and your
spirit to fight back.
Matthew Mallory is known
as a go legend.
by Kristofer Taylor
cover for you.” Try going to
http://usgo.org/promotion/
PromotionalKit.html.
On
that page, there are many
tools that can be used, such
as posters, guides, and grant
requests. Barchilon commented that he and his coteacher “put posters up in
the library, and also included
us in the monthly library
magazine. They ran a picture
with Hikaru, and a brief
blurb
describing
the
club.”
Kristofer Taylor is president
of Jasper HS GC(Plano, TX)
and is the new junior editor
to the Rising Star.
Calendar Watch: CONGRESS COUNTDOWN
This year symbolizes the 25th Anniversary of American Go Association’s Go Congress.
The lucky recipients of the honor goes to the nation’s capitol of Washington DC. If you’re going
to go, give us a shout out at eternalesnow@gmail.com !
Volume 1, Issue 3
Page 5
Go in the Real World
It is said that studying Go
improves one’s analytical
abilities, memory, and
abstract abilities.
Some
even claim that Go improves
grades. Of course, most of
us play Go simply because it
is fun and challenging – not
necessarily because we want
to improve our minds. Any
enhancement of our mental
skills comes automatically –
a pleasant side effect, like
looking more buff after
playing sports. There is,
however, a further benefit
that one can reap from playing Go that takes more conscious effort.
A Go game is a reflection of
the personality of the two
combatants. Indeed, a game
can tell you a great deal
about the temperaments of
the players. The stones are a
simple visual expression, but
a language nonetheless,
reflecting our feelings as
well as our ideas. A single
move can exhibit greed,
fear, aggressiveness, respect,
co nte mp t, i mp atience,
by Shai Simonson
compromise, contentment,
optimism, wistfulness, flexibility, or intimidation.
One of the greatest potential
benefits of playing Go is
using your game as selfreflection. Play a game and
record it. Let it sit for a few
weeks and then review it.
Watch the moves and try to
judge the temperaments of
the players. Ideally, you
may even forget what color
you held, which allows you
to self-reflect more effectively.
Be your own toughest
critic. What kind of player/
person are you? Do you play
a move hoping the opponent
will answer a certain
way? Do you invade every
single time the opponent
makes any shape resembling
a framework? Do you try to
kill every invasion your opponent makes? Can you hear
the voice in your head that
led you to consider your
next move? Do you bully
your opponent, or let him
bully you? Do you have
fighting spirit? Do you get
over-confident?
Do you
worry about things you cannot read out completely? Do
you defend when you aren’t
sure? Do you attack without
a plan?
Everyone wants to improve
at Go, but Go can also be
used to improve one’s personality. By reviewing your
games, you learn to respect
your opponent, respect yourself, accept victory and defeat with equal nonchalance,
and develop a calmer more
balanced view of the
world.
Reviewing your
games with a detached and
open attitude can bring insight and self-awareness
usually associated with
meditation, psychoanalysis,
and maturity.
Go… it’s
good for the soul..
Shad Simonson is an advisor
for the SASSDS team in
Massachusetts.
Retraction from Last Week’s Issue
In last week’s issue we accidentally included two moves further in the problem
then we should have. Special thanks to Shai Simonson for pointing this out to us!
Here is the actual sequence of the problem set.
This is what the real world looks like...
Did you know that…
go is one of the four mind sports
recognized by the International
Olympic Committee?
Our President,
rocking the hat.
Mission Statement
(Editorial Board Opinion:
too much pink)
American Go Honor Society
Because we’re awesome like that.
A prediction once stated that it would take the Western nations one century to
catch up to the strength of Asian countries. The American Go Honor Society
was established to break this prediction and help the go players of the world
rival the players from the Orient.
Brief History
400 South Orange Avenue
Suite 0479
South Orange, NJ 07079
aghsregister@gmail.com
In 2000, a manga scanlation team brought Hikaru no Go into the Englishspeaking world for the first time. It became such a hit, that the team created
an online go club to play with each other. But in 2002, when the manga had
been completed, the members dwindled. Three high school students from
different parts of North America decided to create the Sea Otters Go club in
order to promote go among youth. Their programs became so popular and the
now-known American Go Honor Society was founded to help develop leardership abilities in the American youth to become the next leaders in go and
the community.
We’re on the Web!
Www.aghs.cc
EDITORIAL STAFF
Senior Editor:
Christopher Vu
Junior Editor:
Kristofer Taylor
Staff Reporters:
Ashley Allen
Kristen Arce
Hwang Moo-Ryong
Matt Mallory
Shai Simonson
Cynthia Yuen
Want your name here?
Volunteer to join the
Editorial Staff!
American Go Honor Society Wants You!
This American Go Honor
Society is an organization
dedicated to providing only
the best support and the
resources for the youth in
America, not only for go, but
also for promoting leader
potential. But we can’t do
this without your help! The
American Go Honor Society
needs you to enter the ranks
and become the next leaders
for the American Go Honor
Society and its members.
CLASS 2009 AGHS YOUTH
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Select participants will work
with past and current national officers on what it
takes to successfully organize
a national program.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
- Seminars from past and
present officers
- Internship with different
departments of AGHS
- Networking opportunities
- International opportunities
We are also looking for
people to help:
- Officiate games
- Edit games for public view
- Help plan tournaments
- Work with international
organizations
- Join fundraising committees
to help us run programs
- Work in program development to come up with new
ideas to benefit everyone
- Join PR and write articles
and contribute stories for
publication.
For an application or for
more information, contact
Christopher.h.vu@gmail.com