U.S. Go Congress

The U.S. Go Congress is the largest annual Go event in the United States. It is organized by the American Go Association, and is a week-long tournament and learning opportunity for Go players. Several hundred people generally attend, including a number of professional players. A few major tournaments are incorporated into the week, including the U.S. Open and the North American Ing Masters tournament.

The 22nd Congress was held from August 12-20, 2006 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The 23rd was held from July 28 to August 5, 2007 in Millersville, Pennsylvania. The 24th will be held from August 2 to 9, 2008 in Portland, Oregon.

U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is a six round Swiss-McMahon Go tournament with the longest time limits of any North American tournament. The Open is the largest Go tournament in North America. In 2006 and 2007, the tournament's top prize was $2000. The prizes for the 2008 tournament have not yet been announced.

Players are grouped by strength into different sections. These range from beginners (33kyu - 30kyu) to the advanced open section (7 dan and above).

High dan players (4 dan and above) receive a base time of 120 minutes with 5 - 30 second byo-yomi periods. All other players receive a base time of 90 minutes with 5 - 30 second byo-yomi periods.

In 2006 Andy Liu won the tournament, going 6-0 in the open section.In 2007 Yongfei Ge won the tournament, going 6-0 in the open section.

Other Events

Other events include: [ {http://congress.usgo.org/events.php#uso}]

- The Redmond Cup

- Self-paired, play anytime, handicap tournament

- Private Lessons from Professionals

- Professional Game Review and Analysis

- Simultaneous Games

- Pro Clinics

- Lightning Go Tournament

- Pair Go

- Die Hard Tournament

- Midnight Madness

- 9x9 and 13x13 Tournaments

- Special Events

- Crazy Go

- Lots of onsite Go publications, equipment and materials

- The Chuck Robbins Challenge

External links

* [http://www.gocongress08.org/ 2008 US Go Congress webpage]
* [http://congress.usgo.org/ 2007 US Go Congress webpage]
* [http://www.usgo.org/congress/index.html General US Go Congress webpage]

References