Hi there,

for those who don't know, this year the WAGC is scheduled to be May 26 to Jun 4 in Matsue City, Japan.
But given the lastest developments from there (earthquake, electrity and waters cuts, and specially the nuclear crisis...)
I think we can assume there's a good chance for it to be suspended... specially if there's a big problem there in Fukushima

Matsue City is in the southwestern part of Japan, around 500 miles (800 km) from Fukushima. Of course, depending on circumstances it might not be possible to hold the WAGC as planned but not because the site is close to the immediate area of the disaster.

Matsue seems to be quite a distance from the troubled areas of Japan.

There's room for lots of different views, and trying to continue normal life can be therapeutic, but personally I think that even if it went ahead, I'd find it hard to respect people who accepted a freebie while so many are homeless in Japan. Matsue is a long way from Fukushima, but I'd expect there still to be a lot of evidence of suffering on the ubiquitous televisions. And if any do still choose to go, I do so hope they don't take a side trip to gawp at the devastation. Ugh!

All that would apply to the Fujitsu Cup players, too, but on previous form I'd expect them, if they did play, to donate their prizes to an earthquake recovery fund, and for pros to organise various charity events, as happened with the Chengdu and Hanshin earthquakes. Amateurs can't donate their prizes so should stay away, though of course they should be able to carry their tickets over for a year.

Still, as far as I can see, the only pro event postponed so far is the Women's Meijin final.

Longer term, the economic effect on sponsoring companies may be an important factor.

EDIT
A small update. Apparently Game 6 of the Kisei, in which Cho U defended his title against Iyama Yuta, has been dubbed "The Earthquake Game". In a very small echo of the Atom-Bomb Game, Cho and Iyama were playing in Kofu, Yamanashi Pref., far away but near enough to be rocked. When tremors started, on move 133, Cho U took no notice but referee Hashimoto Yujiro ordered the players outside. Unaware of what was happening in East Japan, they soon continued, and went on to play a mammoth 346 moves (a tie for second place as the longest ever Kisei final game).

The tremors in Kofu were bad enough to interrupt the broadcast of the game, and Cho U's father, watching live in Taiwan, was startled when the screen went blank, and even more worried when he couldn't raise his son by telephone. he eventually got through to daughter-in-law Kobayashi Izumi and got reassurance.

Incidentally, the timing was fortuitous. Game 1 of the title match was actually held in Fukushima (on 13 January in Aizuwakamatsu).

It's not free to play in the WAGC anymore.
I imagine that the event could still take place, the power plants should be stabilised within the next week. It will certainly have a sombre tone. If the IGF decided to cancel the event it wouldn't be a big surprise, but it is taking place on the other side of Japan.

It's so terrible to watch the news right now.

I read John's post around 13:00 Wednesday, just before rushing off to a meeting. At that time my office, on the 25th floor of an office building in Tokyo, was shaking in the midst of one of the hundreds of aftershocks that we have experienced. I am still in Tokyo, currently watching the television news on Saturday morning. I did not have time to post a reply until now. But I would like to do so now.

I believe that the events of March 11 were a great tragedy for thousands of families in Japan and elsewhere, who lost family members to the earthquake and its aftermath. Those losses have yet to be fully measured and we should extend our sympathy both to all those who know what they have suffered and those who are still waiting for confirmation of the worst.

March 11 and its aftermath were also an economic and social disaster for Japan. It fell most directly on the residents of Northeastern Japan, hundreds of thousands of whom lost their homes and livelihoods and are struggling right at this moment to cope with winter weather, disrupted infrastructure, stress, and grief. As experience in Japan and elsewhere around the world has shown time and time again, it will take many years and great efforts to rebuild and recover to some (new) level of "normalcy".

Tokyo as well is facing long-term disruptions resulting from the damage to the Fukushima power plants and the subsequent shortage of electrical power generating capacity. We have had chaotic travel conditions all week with train lines running below capacity and at times some of them completely shut down. Various neighborhoods have had power cut in rolling black outs in order to match load to the available supply of power. This was particularly acute Thursday due to the cold temperatures. That is supposed to ease today as some warmer weather moves up from the south. However, the potential is high for similar, serious problems when summer arrives. It is possible that it will take years to repair Tokyo's power supply.

I believe that Japan is greatly in need of, let me call it, positive thinking. After a week of relentlessly serious coverage of the situation in the Tohoku region, local television has returned to at least a blend of normal programming (with news updates scrolling across the bottom of the screen). I never thought I could be so happy to see the return of Japan's utterly nonsensical variety shows, but I am! Grief is an intimate part of the human condition. At the same time, we should all realize that the rebuilding , both physical and psychological, will require positive acts. The necessary money will come from the creation of replacement wealth in daily life across Japanese society. That society will divert a larger than expected portion to the northeast. People and families will gradually come to terms with what has happened, though obviously those in the Tohoku will do so with much more effort and perhaps less success than those of us in places like Tokyo.

I believe that all the parts of art and culture that allow people to enjoy life and bond with those who share an interest are of great value in a situation like this. I very much hope that the WAGC is able to go ahead as planned (though I will support any decision that the sponsors make). I will welcome the participants and thank them for their support in these difficult times. I am similarly glad that the pro tournaments continue. I enjoyed watching the coverage of the baseball pre-season on television this morning. Various players were interviewed. Everyone is aware of events. Everyone is supportive of those currently suffering. At the same time, they are aware that their role is not to rush to Sendai and help clear the rubble. Society has assigned that task to others. Their role is to support an essential balance in Japanese daily life as a whole. Go also has that role.

This is true for me personally as well. This last week included daily meetings at my company on efforts to first find (happily yesterday we were able to finally establish contact with the last of those employees that had been unaccounted for) and now support our 800-some employees in the Tohoku area. That is an ongoing effort that will last for months. My company has assigned me no further work over this weekend (absent a new emergency arising). So in about an hour, I will leave for the Nihon Kiin in Ichigaya. After closing the building for a week, its activities will resume today. I will take the opportunity to reestablish contact with various friends, doubtlessly exchange stories of our experiences this last week, and play Go. I feel that this is an appropriate use of my time. I will find relief for myself from the stresses of the last week and hope that my presence can offer the same to my friends. It will be our shared interest in Go that makes that possible. I welcome all Go players who come to Japan to support this country and our great game under all circumstances.

_________________
Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

Eloquent post Dave!

All right, you have the moral high ground. But what gives you the right to "expect" professionals to refuse their salary? What are they then supposed to live from? Charity and regular tournament activities are not mutually exclusive. And, if the WAGC organisation decides to let the tournament happen (gradually restoring some positive activity in the midst of difficulties), what sense is there asserting that participants "should" refuse the hospitality?

As far as I know, WAGC tickets can not be carried over to other years.

I take it that you are donating all 2011 revenue from translations of Japanese authors to earthquake recovery funds?

_________________
My name is Gijs, from Utrecht, NL.

When in doubt, play the most aggressive move

You are being silly, misquoting and showing your lack of understanding of English. I said, "on previous form I'd expect them, if they did play, to donate their prizes". What this means is that previous experience has shown that pros do make large donations, and so it is likely to happen again. For example, Ryu Shikun gave his Tengen prize at the time of the Hanshin earthquake. Yi Se-tol and Ch'oe Ch'eol-han both gave their titlematch money (I forget which title) to the Chengdu earthquake fund. There were, of course, many other gestures. I expect that pros will be equally generous this time round.

I claim no moral high ground, other than being a native speaker of English.

Incidentally, the Nihon Ki-in has announced that normal schedules for pro games will resume on 21 March.

Stating that "amateurs can't donate their prizes so should stay away" implies that you believe there is a moral expectation for the prize money to be donated. As I am a native speaker of the English language you will have to find some other way to refute me.

Given the terrible loss of life, I don't think we should be starting arguments in this thread.


Peace ut dude.

Your implication is imagined. My own "moral expectation" - "hope" would be better - in such cases is simply for anyone to stay away, pro or amateur, until the time is clearly right to try to return to normal. Assessments of the right time will vary, of course, though I'd always prefer waiting. However, the pros are in a special position. Many live there anyway. Those from Korea and China may feel they are in a position where they can go to Japan soon and make a generous donation as a satisfactory way of showing sympathy and support. Or they may just feel that attending is a way of showing support for thev livelihoods of fellow Japanese pros, many of whom will be their friends, or for sponsors who need to keep businesses going.

But an amateur go player, a stranger from overseas, usually can't make the same sort of obvious gestures of support that a successful pro can, and his presence is unlikely to have much economic impact. I really can't see what immediate benefits his presence would bring if he goes too soon. I already said that attempts to resume normal life can be therapeutic, and so I accept that resuming cultural exchanges is a worthy target. But is it an urgent need?

If the WAGC went ahead on schedule, I would wonder whether the Japanese organisers were perhaps doing this only because they felt it was expected of them, and not really because they felt it was the right time. I simply hope we make sure that they don't allow themselves feel under that sort of pressure. After all, postponing the WAGC for a while is hardly going to affect the life, livelihood or dreams of many people.

I said there is room for many opinions. That includes room for my opinion, too, don't forget. For those who can pick up the long-ago reference, my own views were shaped when young by the Aberfan colliery disaster when a slag heap collapsed on a school full of children, and above all by the subsequent "Aberfan donkeys" - the daytrippers who went to gawp. Over the years, affected parents were re-interviewed several times. As far as I can judge, they expected colliery (i.e. proper economic) work in the region to continue, but the "amateur" gawpers (and journalists, I have to admit) left lingering resentment. I therefore sense the possibility that homeless people in Sendai may likewise resent a badly timed "cultural exchange" that is aimed almost entirely at giving foreigners a good time.

I just received confirmation that the WAGC will go ahead as scheduled, the mail was sent to the national organisation so I feel it is OK to quote it directly:


... Regarding Mr. Fairbairn's comment, I respectfully disagree and I think it would be very impolite to turn down the invitation from the Nihon Ki-in.

any official news about this ?

"hey we received a confirmation for the WAGC... they suggest to get to Osaka instead of Tokyo if there's doubt about security"

Source: http://twitter.com/dankenzon/status/54187972521771009

Yes, there's official confirmation.

the tournament goes on.. we will have the Go World Celebration going on!

and also they are asking the participants for a final confirmation of their arrival time and dates.

Anyway they are also suggesting not to stay after June 3rd... some people usually stays few days more, but when asked they softly suggested Costa Rica's representative for not to do it.