The 12th Virginia Open, hosted by the Annandale Go Club from November 25-26, saw players from five states participate and compete. In the championship division, six out of seven players engaged in 5 rounds, featuring substantial deliberation time (45-minute basic, followed by 5 periods of 30-second byo-yomi). Collectively holding ranks of 36 dans, the six players average 6.2D.
Adding an interesting dimension, some strong players coincidentally are 14, nearly 24, 44, 54, 64 and 74 years of age-- perhaps a unique dynamics of the competition.
Competition resumed on Monday Nov. 27 with a special visit from Yang Shuang 2P at the DC suburb venue. Top players took the opportunity to play two friendlies with her.
Looking forward to the New Year, the northern Virginia club aims continuing to foster a vibrant Go community, and invites enthusiasts to free Go classes (details link) and a rated tournament ($15) on Saturday, December 30. Interested participants are required to register via email. The club intends to offer biweekly classes and host monthly rated tournaments.
Winners Report (prizes):
1st: Xinyu Tu 6D ($300)
2nd: Leshan Feng 7D ($200)
3rd: Samuel Lee 7D ($100)
The prize pool received partial sponsorship from AGA’s Capital Go chapter.
Division A:
1st: Richard Duan (2022, 2023 Virginia Youth State Champion)
2nd: Raymond Kim
Division B:
1st: Fangwu Yu
2nd: Andrew Liu
3rd: Fangyi Wu
Acknowledgement:
Special thanks to Bin Duan for sharing the 12/30 event information with the Hope Chinese Schools.
We appreciate Yuan Zhou for assisting the tournament director.