February

This untitled bulletin is an experiment, aimed at publishing something monthly for the Irish Go community, to keep us informed of upcoming events and recent happenings.

There have been some excellent newsletters produced in the past, with articles, game reviews, publishing standards… This will not be joining their esteemed ranks. It is intended as a brief summary of the month ahead and recap of the month just gone. I hope the low-maintenance and content-light format will be flexible enough to allow its production at the end of each month, even when time is short or there is little to report.

Looking forward… February

Weekly Meetings
Dublin – Wednesdays 20:30 in Toners – http://www.irish-go.org/clubs-tournaments/dublin/
Cork – No meetings in the city this month. The aim is to resume in March.
Cobh – Most Tuesdays 20:00. Contact us if you are interested – https://www.corkgo.org/?page_id=9
Belfast – Mondays in the boat club in Stranmillis, though you may want to contact in advance to confirm – http://belfastgo.yolasite.com
Galway – No regular meetings currently. Stay tuned!

Looking back… January

January has been pretty busy. Makes me wish I had started this experiment a month earlier!

The Irish Women’s Championship final was decided in the third game, with Carol emerging victorious – https://www.corkgo.org/?p=689

The Top 8, opened with 7 players for the first time (that I can find mention of). Current standings – http://www.irish-go.org/national-international/top-8/

Belfast snuck in a one-day tournament right at the end. Results are available – http://www.irish-go.org/2016/01/31/tibi-wins-in-belfast/

The AGM was held. Minutes have been published – http://www.irish-go.org/2016-agm/

Registration opened for the annual Confucius Cup, which is scheduled to take place on March 4th-6th. Full details can be found on the tournament page – http://www.irish-go.org/2016-irish-confucius-cup/

Lastly, I’m sure everyone has read about AlphaGo’s 5-0 victory over Fan Hui, marking the first time that an AI has bested a professional in an even match, something not anticipated to happen this decade. Further reading – https://www.corkgo.org/?p=695

In closing, I’d like to thank anyone who has managed to skim this far. Comments and feedback, positive or negative, are appreciated. If I’ve missed anything, be sure to let me know during the month so that March’s issue can be all-inclusive! And I guess suggesting a name wouldn’t hurt if people deem the experiment worth continuing…

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Notes from the AGM

The IGA has posted minutes from the 2016 AGM.

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AlphaGo goes Pro?

processing power

Google Deepmind‘s AlphaGo has beaten Fan Hui 5-0. It seems they’re not done yet though, as they have issued a challenge to Lee Sedol for a match in March.

The BGA have posted a writeup with links to news posts and videos on Nature.
The AGA has an article which includes the game records.
Discover have a blog entry on why we should be playing poker instead.
And of course, Google themselves have provided some context.

*** update ***

The IGA has posted a video of RTE’s coverage, including guest appearances by two of the local Dublin players. Sure, ye’re famous now lads!

*** update ***

Cian recommended a synopsis of Myungwan Kim 9p’s analysis of the games on reddit

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AGM this weekend

The Irish Go Association’s AGM will take place this Saturday January 16th at 5pm in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin, after the last round of the Top 8 tournament. The current agenda items are:
1. New venue for Dublin Go club.
2. Executive positions.

source

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Carol Wins Irish Women’s Championship

The Irish Women’s Championship was been decided in a nail-bitingly close match between Carol Doyle and Michele Renaut over the weekend. In the end, Carol won out by just 6.5 points. Well done to all ladies who participated this year, and we look forward to rematches next year!

reposted from here and here

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Registration Open for 2016 Confucius Cup

Registration is now open for the 2016 Irish Confucius Cup occurring the weekend of March 4th-6th in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin. First prize for both the Go and Chinese Chess tournaments will be €1,000! Full details are available here.

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2016 Irish Correspondence Championship

The 2016 Irish Correspondence Championship is open for registration. The official start date will provisionally be the 1st of January 2016. Full details are posted on the IGA site.

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