The American Go Association (AGA) was founded in 1935, to promote the

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

of Go in the United States. Founded by chess master Edward Lasker and some friends at Chumley's restaurant in New York City, the AGA is one of the oldest Western Go associations. The AGA publishes a weekly online newsletter that reaches more than 13,000 subscribers worldwide
The American Go E-Journal
and an annual ''Yearbook''; maintains a national rating system; organizes an annual national event, The US Go Congress; selects North American representatives in international tournaments; and provides support to its members and chapters as they promote Go in their communities. Events for youth have also been established, including tournaments and an annual AGA youth summer camp that features instruction from professional players. The AGA has developed a set of rules that attempts to reconcile difference between "area"-based rule sets and "territory"-based rule sets, and participates actively in an international committee, trying to establish a unified worldwide set of rules. As a member of the International Go Federation, which in turn belongs to

SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

, the AGA is the official organization responsible for managing and promoting Go in the United States.

Publicity and exposure

President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's administration contacted the AGA for an American-made Go board etched with the presidential seal and signature, the gift given on November 17, 2009 to China's President

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, and ...

. Whilst the US go community were buzzing about getting exposure, and the BBC covered the event on its

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

programme, the US press did not really pick up the story, except the Chapel Hill Herald, the local paper where the board was made. The association and its aim of finding the first professional American Go player were heavily featured in the 2018 movie '' The Surrounding Game''.

Professional system

In December 2011, The AGA partnered with the Korea Baduk Association and the Korean go server

Tygem Tygem ( ko, 타이젬바둑) is an internet go server owned by South Korean company TongYang Online. Popular in Asia, their website states that over 500 professional Go players use their service. Tygem was founded as ICBL by Cho Hun-hyun in 200 ...

to promote a new professional players system for the US. Tygem agreed to sponsor and be the broadcaster for the 2012 professional certification tournament. In addition, several Asian professional tournaments have invited AGA professionals to compete. In 2021, the AGA transferred its professional system to a new governing organization, the

North American Go Federation North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, formed by the AGA and the

Canadian Go Association Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

. The certification system is open to both US citizens and Canadian citizens via invitation pending the residency requirement and qualifying as a finalist.

Professional players

Professional status in Go is customarily for life. The dates below indicate when the players were granted professional status. *2012: Andy Liu 1p and Gansheng Shi 1p *2014: Calvin Sun 2p *2015: Ryan Li 3p *2016: Eric Lui 1p *2022 Kevin Yang 1p and Alexander Qi 1p

AGA City League

The City League is an AGA tournament where teams from different cities play each other in a league system, on the

Pandanet Pandanet (originally and sometimes called IGS, short for Internet Go Server), located in Tokyo, Japan, is a server that allows players of the game of Go to observe and play against others over the Internet. Started February 2, 1992, by Tim Casey, C ...

server in the AGA room. The teams consist of up to five players, out of whom three are selected to play in each round. The current rules are listed on Pandanet.

References

External links