By Kent1956
The Ft. Myers Go Club had its first Go tournament of the school year Saturday September 8th. 29 Go players gathered to test their strength and enjoy a day of the ancient Chinese game of Go.
They gathered in an upper room of the Covenant Presbyterian Church in historic Ft. Myers, just a few paces from the Edison / Ford estate. Like sentry guards at the Moon Palace of the Emperor, the royal palms lining McGregor Blvd. led the contestants to the Church.
At precisely 9 am, give or take an hour, the contest of will and intellect began. Play was set up in pairs with the strongest players at the head of the room. Pairing was set by the tournament software, PyTD v.1.0, with handicaps. Five rounds were played with most players able to play all five rounds. Play ended around 5 pm.
There was a mixed age group from 10 to 60, with most of the players being under 16.
Players came from Orlando, West Palm, Sarasota and Naples to join with the local players.
From Orlando Mr. Joshua Lee, 1 dan joined us.
Representing the West Palm Go Club we had Shaun Sullivan, 2 kyu, and Joshua Fallon, 5kyu.
Representing the Sarasota Go Club we had Larry Rabinowitz, 1 kyu and Don Colladay, 5 kyu.
From Naples Nathan Slider, 15 kyu, one of our own club members.
Joshua Lee, 1 dan
Thanks to these guys for traveling so far to make this tournament extra special.
The local players were (by rank) single kyus: James Shenko, 5 kyu; Rob Cheney, 8 kyu; Joshua Frye, 9 kyu.
Kent Secor, 11 kyu; Cory Cunningham, 12 kyu; Alex Bonham, 12 kyu; Jordan Winters, 12 kyu; Alex DeSouza, 12 kyu; Blaine Talbot, 13 kyu; Jake King, 14 kyu; Zachery Wilson, 15 kyu; Jesse Crowel, 15 kyu; Aaron Ruster-Mack, 16 kyu; Conner Allison, 16 kyu; Nikolaus Ponader, 16 kyu; Leandro Singh, 16 kyu; Tariqa Liebermann, 18 kyu; Steven Brosy, 20 kyu; Sam Ponader, 20 kyu; Miguel Azcuy, 21 kyu; Diego Azcuy, 21 kyu; Chris Ponader, 22 kyu; Derek Pinto, 25 kyu.
(List according to ranking results from the tournament.)
We had five new members sign up for the AGA at this tournament. Zachary Wilson, Derek Pinto, Miguel Azcuy, Diego Azcuy, and Cory Cunningham. Welcome all.
Game sets were available for sale. Profits from the sales will be used to promote Go in the community. Donations of $20 were given to support the club, thanks all for your support.
The tournament was sponsored by the Ponader family, who secured the room and provided snacks for the players. They also ran to get the pizzas for the lunch. Thanks Linda and Jonathan for your support.
The tournament director, Joshua Frye and tournament organizer, Kent Secor want to thank everyone for participating and making this, second tournament of the Ft. Myers Go club a success. Special thanks to the stronger players that traveled so far to join us, your participation was inspiring to all the lower kyu players.
Next tournament is planned for November 3rd. We are looking to use the Lexington Middle School cafeteria or gym, thanks to Mr. Frye. Tournament fee will be $5 and an AGA membership is required (membership may be paid at the door). Lunch will be included, with a lunch break.
Contact this reporter for more information. If you want to be on the tournament email list, write me at mailto:kent1956_go@yahoo.com
