Conclusion: Day 8I woke up refreshed, as I had gone to bed relatively early the night before. It was the last day of the US Go Congress. Sad in some ways, but I also missed my family. Some feeling of satisfaction remained after having studied my games the night before.
As usual, I cleaned up and headed to the dining area. Again as usual, after getting my breakfast and coffee, I scanned the dining area for somebody to sit next to.
I noticed off in the corner that Vincent, another AYD-er, seemed to be chatting with some of the older folks that are part of the group that has been coming every year from Japan. I'd been practicing Korean earlier in the week with all of the evenings I had spent with Korean pros, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to practice my Japanese.
So I headed over, and started a conversation. Aside from Vincent, there were four Go Congress attendees from Japan who I could talk with: a husband and wife, and also another man and woman who weren't married, but knew one another. They were all quite friendly, and seemed surprised that I could communicate with them in Japanese...
But I stumbled a lot more than I expected. I haven't used Japanese in a long time, and I could tell that I was making many mistakes. Periodically, in the middle of a sentence, I'd accidentally the Korean word for something, rather than the Japanese word. I caught myself doing this a few times, and I corrected myself, but there may have been times that I missed, too.
Nonetheless, the group was very kind. The woman there without her husband was married to a man who also happened to be American, and who also happened to be named Brian. We talked about Japan, and how I studied there for a year back in 2004~2005. I talked about aspects of Japanese culture that were interesting to me - the married woman there kept asking me about my Japanese cultural interests, and she seemed quite happy when I gave her examples. One of the men there was ranked as a 3d, but he was having a tough time in terms of his record. I wished him good luck in the upcoming game. We also talked about our kids; I explained how my younger son seemed more interested in go than my older son, but that my older son liked reading. One of the men there had a son that was very into shogi. I don't have much knowledge about shogi, but it was interesting to know, nonetheless.
At some point, I excused myself, because it was getting time to head over to the playing hall. We exchanged goodbyes, and I headed over to see the pairings. I didn't recognize the name of my opponent, so I didn't really know what to expect. But I'd be playing as white.
It got to be around 9am, and we were starting on time... But my opponent hadn't showed up, yet. The TD told us to start our clocks, and so I did. I wondered if my opponent had forgotten to wake up in time, or if he had perhaps dropped out of the tournament.
After about 5 minutes had elapsed, my opponent showed up. We exchanged quiet greetings, and began the game.
The game started out peacefully, and I felt things were somewhat balanced, until my opponent played the knight's move, below:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B Moves 21 to 27
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . W . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . 1 X . . |
$$ | . . 4 X . . . . . , . . . . O , O 2 . |
$$ | . . O 3 . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Normally, this would seem like a typical move to me, but with the marked white stones, I felt it was an overplay. So I pushed out and cut:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 28 to 30
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Later, I asked about this to Heyang Zhou 9p, and he thought that the cut seemed severe.
The game proceeded in a way that felt beneficial to me:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 32 to 41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 2 3 8 . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . 6 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O 1 . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
After the exchange on the bottom, I cut!
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 42 to 51
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X 0 . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X X 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X 9 4 6 8 . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O O 7 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . 1 X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
The game felt like it was going great, and I proceeded to capture his stones, giving me a thick group:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 52 to 61
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X X 3 . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . 5 X X O O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 9 X O X X X 2 . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O O O O 7 8 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X . 0 6 4 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
After discussing with Heyan Zhou, he recommended capturing the stones, but to add some aji, first, and exchange the moves below before playing 'a' and 'b':
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 52 to 61
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X X 3 . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . 5 X X O O 1 0 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . a X O X X X 2 9 . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O O O O 7 8 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X . b 6 4 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
But nonetheless, the game felt good. I felt very confident at this stage in the game, and was happy with the feeling that I'd end the US Go Congress on a good note, with a 4-2 record. I'd lost to Brady and Nick, but winning the rest wasn't all that bad.
Here's the game a few moves later:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 62 to 71
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . a . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . . , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . |
$$ | . O X O X X O . . , . . . . 9 , 7 . . |
$$ | . O X X O O O . . . . . . . 0 . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X X X X . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . 1 X O O O O O X . . . . . 8 5 6 . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . 2 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . 3 X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , 4 . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
It's questionable whether my shoulder hit at
, above, was good since black may not have answered, but nonetheless, black did. So I had points on the top right, I had a thick group on the left, and points in the corners.
Black had around 30 points on the bottom, but that was about it after I'd invade at 'a'.
And indeed, at this point of the game, during the review with Heyan Zhou 9p, he told me that, if white invades now, there is no way that white can lose the game. A quick look at LeelaZero put me at around 84% somewhere around here in the game.
But alas, my greed and confidence overtook me. I became worried about a peep around 'a', and black taking away side points around 'b'. So I wanted to make these stones just a little bit stronger before invading on the top. And I expected my opponent to answer.
But of course, he didn't. And then he had the chance to protect the top, where an invasion would have been so simple:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 72 to 77
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . 6 , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X O . . , . . . 5 O , O . . |
$$ | . O . . O O O . . . . . . 3 X 1 . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X X X . . . . . . 4 2 X . . |
$$ | . O . O O O O O X . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , X . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
My positive feeling turned sour, and suddenly, I felt bad about this game... Why hadn't I simply invaded the top? Why did I think my weird moves on the right were sente?
I became depressed.
In review with Heyan Zhou 9p, he told me that things weren't yet lost for me, and that I still had a good position, given the capture on the left. Here's a sequence he suggested:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Heyan Zhou 9p suggestion
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . X , X . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X O . . , . . . O O , O . . |
$$ | . O . . O O O . . . . . . O X O . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X X X . . . . . . X X X . . |
$$ | . O . O O O O O X . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , X . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X 1 . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Yes, it's true that black has sizable points on the bottom, and with the defense on top, a lot of that is real territory. But white's capture and territory on the left was not small, and the right side was developing nicely for white. He told me that this way of playing would still give me a great shot at the game.
But I didn't see things so optimistically in the game. Due to my failure to invade, I felt a great loss - a loss that I needed to overcome. But I couldn't find a way to invade properly on the top.
Despite this...
I played there anyway!
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 78 to 87
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0 . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . 6 5 . 3 2 7 X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . X , X 1 9 . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X O . . , . . . O O , O . . |
$$ | . O . . O O O . . . . . . O X O . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X X X . . . . . . X X X . . |
$$ | . O . O O O O O X . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , X . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
I was looking for a chance for my opponent to screw up - a way to break into the top with a bad move on his part. I was putting the fate of the game into his hands, hoping that he'd make a mistake.
Continuing:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W What is this?!?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . X O . O X O X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . X , X O O 2 6 O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X 0 . 3 4 8 9 . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . 1 . 5 7 . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X O . . , . . . O O , O . . |
$$ | . O . . O O O . . . . . . O X O . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X X X . . . . . . X X X . . |
$$ | . O . O O O O O X . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , X . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Obviously, the result is bad for me: I didn't break into the top, and black destroyed potential territory that I could have had on the right. We played the game to the end, but I lost by 7.5 points. I have more recorded in the game, but it's less interesting to me.
The question that remained in my mind for quite some time was, "WHY did I play in this way?"
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W Moves 78 to 87
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0 . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . 6 5 . 3 2 7 X . . O . . |
$$ | . O . X . X . . X , X 1 9 . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X O . . , . . . O O , O . . |
$$ | . O . . O O O . . . . . . O X O . . . |
$$ | . O . O X X X X . . . . . . X X X . . |
$$ | . O . O O O O O X . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . O O X . X X X . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , X . . . O , O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
It wasn't a mistake in reading - I didn't read out a variation that worked, and then be surprised by a move that I didn't expect. The fact is, I didn't read out a variation that worked. But I wanted to play there anyway.
Why? The question is exceedingly interesting to me. Why did I want to play a sequence that I hadn't thought to work?
In the days that followed the US Go Congress, I came to an answer: I am not confident when the game becomes close - and in these cases, I succumb to overplay in hopes that my opponent will make a mistake.
Here I had a reasonably close game that I could very well have won if I had just played in a
normal way. I didn't require special moves. But my lack of confidence when the game is close led me to want to overplay - I wanted to break into the top, whether it worked or not! I had an expectation that my opponent could likely make a mistake, and then I could set the score such that the game wasn't close anymore.
More than the moves themselves in this sequence, the psychological state that I was in to decide on making these moves was, and remains, very fascinating to me.
To overcome this, I need to be more confident when the game is close. I need to be willing to play normal moves when I'm just a couple of points ahead - and not something weird to give my opponent a chance.
---
Anyway, after losing the game, I was pretty disappointed and confused - things had gone so well at the beginning, and I had thrown it away. For what? At this point in the day, I hadn't contemplated as much about *why* these things had happened - I was just confused and sad.
I wandered around the room and checked on games that my friends were playing. I overlooked dfan's game, again, and also a couple of others.
Then, since I was so confused about my game, I decided to get it reviewed. Inseong was already gone, but Heyan Zhou 9p was doing reviews on the 2nd floor. I headed over to the room, but it was still locked - I was about 15~20 minutes early. I saw some of the Tennessee go club folks - Anthony and Jake, and chat with them for a little while as we were waiting. I asked Jake more questions about BIBA, and found that he played against pros about once a day while he was in BIBA - Monday through Friday - yes, games against pros definitely seemed like something I needed more of.
Eventually, Heyan Zhou 9p got to the room, and my friend Vincent did live translation. I volunteered to have my game reviewed, and was the second one to get a review. I asked questions throughout the review, and some of the comments Heyan Zhou 9p had for me can be seen above. Near the end of the review, he asked if I lost the game. I acknowledged that I had, and he told me that it was a pity. I agreed.
After my review was finished, I left the room, and looked for a lecture. I saw that there was one going on in the basement by some Korean pro (I forgot his name). He was just reviewing one of the games he had played against Park Junghwan, where he had lost by a couple of points. The review was mildly amusing, but he didn't do much of an actual lecture. He kind of just expressed his thoughts. I don't think he's an experienced go teacher - just some kid that recently turned pro in Korea. After he finished going over his game, he wanted a picture of the lecture hall, so he could send it as proof to the Hanguk Kiwon that he did a lecture :-p
After the lecture, not much else was scheduled. Things were somewhat boring - the boards in the playing area were being cleaned up, and the congress was generally wrapping up. At some point - maybe on that day, I sat out on the terrace with dfan and chat about the week, and also a little bit about chess - comparing chess to go, and how chess has some different classes of problems that could be useful in go - but maybe aren't there, yet (e.g. whole board problems where there's one solution).
I tried to find something to do, and saw my friend Chanseok from the Seattle area. My wife knows his mom, so we've kind of gotten to know one another. At one point Chanseok was in the AYD, but since then, he went to Korea for about a year just to study go. He got to about 5d, and then returned to school.
Chanseok said that there were still boards in the youth room, so we headed over there. I hadn't been to the youth room, yet, so I had to figure out how to get there. Once we were there, some go players were hanging out. I saw my friend, Benjamin, from the AYD, and also Tyler Okawa. I saw Yoonyoung Kim, and showed her my blunder from today's game. She seemed disappointed, but there was nothing I could really say to excuse myself for screwing the game up.
I hung around the youth room for awhile, and basically waited for the end-of-congress banquet to start - things were so boring with all of the boards taken away, and a lot of people had already left the building.
Eventually, it got close to time for the banquet, so I headed to the dorms to change into slightly nicer clothes (i.e. polo shirt + shorts instead of t-shirt and shorts). On the way, I saw Jennie Shen and chat with her a little bit. I told her about blah record of 3-3 in the open, and expressed how I wish I had done less remodelling, and more studying before the tournament. She replied bluntly, "That's what you say every year, huh?" I didn't have a good reply.
As we approached the dorm, Jennie continued to the banquet area, and I went to the dorms to change into my polo shirt. Christian had already left for LA, so I had the room to myself, now. After getting ready, I headed to the banquet hall.
When I got there, several go players were hanging out, waiting for the doors to open. I wandered about until the doors unlocked, and then everyone started to flood in.
I tried to find a spot to sit, but wasn't sure where. I saw Chanseok sitting at a table with a bunch of teenagers, and asked him if the spot next to him was taken. He said no, and I started to sit down, but then some girl told me someone else was coming, and that I couldn't sit there.
So I wandered off to find another spot to sit. I saw my friend Jack, and sat next to him - he was one of the only ones at the table. And after I sat down, I was joined by my friend Solomon, Benjamin, and also Kim Yoonyoung came to sit. So as it turned out, there were several folks to talk to.
We chat about various things as the banquet proceeded. The food was good, and there were also drinks and cake. Everything was nice. The annual go board auction seemed to go quite well - the board sold for over $2000, which I think, they said was a record. Proceeds would go to the American Go Foundation, which does various things, including go scholarships for kids.
The banquet proceeded with awards - of course, I didn't get one with my blah performance. The book vendors were also there, but I had already checked: there were no books that I wanted. Finally, the banquet came to a close, and I wondered what other folks were doing.
It seems that my friend Satoru, who lives in the Chicago area, had a similar idea. When I chat with him and Yoonyoung Kim after the banquet, he invited us both to join him, his wife, and Nakano Yasuhiro 9p + family for drinks on the terrace. We both agreed, and once Nakano and his family were ready, we all headed together back to the terrace to enjoy the evening.
As we approached the terrace, it became clear that I had misunderstood a little bit - Nakano and his family weren't joining - they were just walking with us back to the campus area near the dorms. So we parted ways with Nakano heading off to wherever they were staying, and the rest of us heading back to the terrace.
We got some drinks and found a table, and before long, other go players who had stayed this long joined us. There was some sort of pictionary-like game that a lot of folks were playing at the table, that was through the computer, but it required a smartphone, so I couldn't really play.
I just chat with friends like Kim Yoonyoung, Andy Olsen, Satoru, and others, until it got rather late. At some point in the night, Terry Benson showed up and sat next to me. I chat with him a little bit, and asked about Bill Spight, since I know they knew one another. Upon hearing his name, Terry began chatting about button go and AGA rules - it was a topic he seemed very enthusiastic about.
I began to get tired, and at some point, without giving others much noticed, I decided to head back to the dorms. I packed my things up - the US Go Congress was coming to a close. After packing up, I set my alarm to go off in the morning, and I went to bed.
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The next day: I woke up to my alarm, checked out of the dorms, and ordered an Uber to the airport. I arrived early, because the airport was closer than I expected, and had breakfast at the airport. Others probably had similar plans, and now and then, I'd spot a US Go Congress attendee in the airport. I saw an AYD friend who was on his way to Chicago, and then to New Mexico, and I chat with him a little bit about next year.
Then I headed to my gate, waited for boarding to begin, and got on the plane for the brief flight home to Michigan.
And that was it. The 2019 US Go Congress was over.
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This concludes my summary of the week.