Number 154 Winter 2010-11 Price £3.50 PHOTO AND SCAN CREDITS Front Cover: Gerry by Jiri - portrait of Gerry Mills by Jiri Keller, photographed by Jon Diamond (see page 3). Above: Pagoda at Nara – Francis Roads, from his travels in Japan (see page 27). Inside Rear: Collecting VII – Japanese Go Postcards – Tony Atkins. Rear Cover: territory illustration – Jonathan Chetwynd (see www.honte.eu) The photos in the main body of the Journal were kindly provided by the article authors. British Go Journal 154 Winter 2010-11 CONTENTS EDITORIAL 2 VIEW FROM THE TOP Jon Diamond 3 UK NEWS Tony Atkins 4 WORLD NEWS Tony Atkins 9 DAVID WARD’S PROBLEM CORNER—PART 1 David Ward 10 THE MAN/MACHINE GO CHALLENGE Nick Wedd 11 BOOK REVIEW—WINNING GO Glynn Forsythe 16 SMALL GO TOURNAMENTS Colin Maclennan 17 EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Alexandre Dinerchtein 18 AGOPLAYERFOR50 YEARS Bob Hitchens 23 ELECTRIC PUMPKIN Francis Roads 27 SOLUTIONS TO THE NUMBERED PROBLEMS 32 DAVID WARD’S PROBLEM CORNER -ANSWERS David Ward 34 USEFUL WEB AND EMAIL ADDRESSES 34 UK CLUBS LIST 35 COLLECTING GO VII—JAPANESE GO POSTCARDS Tony Atkins—rear cover PROBLEM 1 Black to play and link up most of his stones Copyright c 2011 British Go Association. Articles may be reproduced for the purposes of promoting Go and ‘not for profit’, providing the British Go Journal is attributed as the source and the permission of the Editor and of the authors have been sought and obtained in writing. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the BGA, nor of the Editor. 1 EDITORIAL [email protected] Welcome to the 154th British Go Journal. Credits My grateful thanks to the many people who have helped by proof-reading the drafts, providing technical help, and most of all, by contributing articles: to our anonymous problemist and our anonymous cartoonist, to Tony Atkins, Brian Brunswick, Barry Chandler, Jon Diamond, Alexandre Dinerchtein, Glynn Forsythe, Martin Harvey, Bob Hitchens, Colin Maclennan, Isobel Ridley, Francis Roads, Edmund Stephen-Smith, David Ward and Nick Wedd. Pat Ridley SIDEWAYS LOOKING PERSONS The meaning of life and death ......... If I were you, I would start with the BGA Webpage. 2 VIEW FROM THE TOP Jon Diamond [email protected] Postage rates are rising in April, costing another 50p per member, per year, so to continue holding membership rates down we need to take action. One obvious area is the Newsletter, being posted to 240 of our 550 members and costing about £700 per annum. We have no plans to stop producing it, however my view is that we will cease to print it ultimately, partly to reduce our costs and partly because most of our membership will expect to receive information in an even more timely fashion, electronically. My suggestion is that we do two As I write this we’re sitting under things shortly (after the AGM?): more than 30cm of snow and it’s still change the opt-in by default for falling, so it’s just the right conditions posting to opt-out by default for for playing Go on the Internet! Lo, all members providing us with an and behold, we’ve just played our first email address, and additionally set an game against Poland in the European expectation that we’ll stop producing Team tournament—announcement a paper Newsletter when the number of this event came too late for us to posted is less than (say) 10% of the solicit widely for the team. Sadly, membership. What do you think? we lost 3–1, and one of the kibitzers thought I was playing for honour after Simon Mader and Geoff Kaniuk will the three other games had finished, be retiring from Council at the next but since I didn’t know the results I AGM, so we need some new blood. If was just playing to win1! you’re interesting in joining Council, please contact me or one of the other More about the Internet: we’ve Council members. moved our hosting service to a faster We’re still discussing the provision UK-based provider. This shouldn’t of a mail-order Book and Equipment have affected many people and will supply and possibly some kind provide better control for us. You of bookshop at tournaments, so I might notice a few subtle changes— can’t tell you now what’s definitely all improvements we hope. One of happening. Watch our website for these is a button for online payment updates. of membership fees by Paypal, Credit or Debit Cards, and an online Finally, I’d like to thank all of you for membership form; this should make the very generous contributions for joining and renewal a little easier, Gerry Mill’s retirement present. See without costing you anything more. our front cover! 1See the game review later in this issue—Ed. 3 UK NEWS Tony Atkins [email protected] Swindon final prize, a special prize for being The Swindon Tournament was held Pauline. on 19th September, again at the Even Swindon Community Centre. Alistair London International Wall (3d Wanstead) was the winner; Mannami Kana, 4p, helped the the only other of the 28 players Nippon Club team win the London to win all three was Xinyi Lu (4k International Teams Autumn edition Maidenhead). Two Swindon players, at the club on 17th October. Miss Aidan Putman (14k) and Michael Mannami was over from Japan to help Fotheringham (30k), received special the Nippon Club celebrate its 50th prizes for their jigo. anniversary; she was an honoured guest at the tournament. As well as Belfast helping Mr Tanaka and Mr Nao win The following weekend, the Belfast the event, she gave a commentary on Open saw a fair crowd of 18 players the previous week’s British Title game (and one ghost) turning out to do two (the first of three games in which battle at the Boat Club. The winner Matthew Macfadyen beat Vanessa was David Phillips (1d) from the Isle Wong). of Man. He won four, but generously lost his last round game to create a four-way tie for second. Galway’s Claas Roever (1k) and local James Hutchinson (1k) shared second place on tie-break, just ahead of Romania’s Daniel Paraschiv (1d) and Dublin’s Colin MacSweeny (2k). On four wins was Iulian Dragomir (7k), visiting from Romania, and Dundalk’s Costin Camarasu (15k). Shrewsbury The 32-player Shrewsbury Tournament, held on 2nd October next to the River Severn at the Gateway Mannami Kana 4p Centre, was the last with Gerry Mills as the organiser. Charles Fisher and The event was expanded to include his brother Freddie won half of the two new handicap sections, which prizes. Charles (1d London) was the were won by the St Albans team event winner, beating Gerry Mills and the South London/City team. (1k) in the final, and Freddie (10k Everyone won a prize as usual, Shropshire) was one of two players before some of the players and on 2.5. The other was Pat Ridley (11k the professional moved on to a Chester). Pauline Bailey won the celebratory Chinese meal. 4 Scottish Champion second time at the Commodore Inn, Four players each year are selected in the seaside location of Grange- from tournaments to play the two- over-Sands. Forty-eight players round Scottish Championship. The took part and Matthew Cocke (5d third game of the final was played Epsom) topped the results list for a th third time in a row. Brian Timmins online on KGS on 24 October. A (10k Shrewsbury) was the only other win on time gave David Lee the player to win all five games. Alex Championship, beating Matt Crosby Kent (1d), Ben Riddell (4k) from by two games to one. Durham and Adrian Abrahams (10k Lancaster) won four games each. Wessex Thirty-four players took part in the 41st Wessex on the last day of October. Smallboard It was held, as the last two years, at St. Mark’s Community Centre in Bath, The following Sunday, Whewell’s which is sufficiently near the centre of Court of Trinity College Cambridge the city to allow players to see some of was the venue for the British the shops and sights between games. Smallboard Championship. There The tournament was won by Andrew were 17 players, but not everybody Kay (4d Durham). Division 2 was won played all the rounds. In fact Nick by Christian Scarff (1d Swindon), Krempel (3d London) won his first Division 3 by Helen Harvey (2k four games and then, after a rushed Manchester) and Division 4 by Dick fifth game, had to withdraw. This Norton (7k Manchester). made the way clear for Andrew Simons (3d Cambridge) to claim the title, and 50 first prize, for six Coventry £ wins out of eight. The Cambridge The following Saturday, Matthew Youth Go Project donated the junior Macfadyen held on to his local title prizes, with Adan Mordcovich (5k by winning the Coventry Tournament, Wanstead) getting the £20 top prize run by the students at the University and local junior Roella Smith (13k) of Warwick. Andrew Kay was second getting the £10 prize for second. After and Nick Krempel was third. Winning elimination, players play handicap all three games were Mike Charles games, won equally by black and (1k St Albans), Jack Ley (4k Warwick), white this year, so everyone had a Ben Falconer (5k Warwick), Jonathan chance of winning something. Prizes Green (6k Leamington) and James for five wins went to West Surrey’s Brownrigg (9k Chester). Forty-four Steve Bailey (4k) and Pauline Bailey players took part, but more players (16k), Epsom’s Anna Griffiths (8k), were there, including Vanessa Wong, and Cambridge’s Peran Truscott (14k) who acted as sensei and helped and Langdon Truscott (18k).