2012 U.S. Go Congress

The U.S. Open

Game Reviews
Round 2
Board 1 - Feng Yun
Round 3
Board 3 - Shirley Lin
Round 4
Board 1 - Ching-Yu Chen
Round 5
Board 1 - Mingjiu Jiang

The US Open Tournament is a six-round, Swiss-McMahon Tournament, one round per day. The player with the highest score will be declared the new US Open Champion.

Registration. Players in the US Open should confirm their participation upon check-in to the Congress. If you change your mind about participating, or if you did not confirm your registration, you must see one of the TDs (Tournament Directors) by 10:00 pm Saturday, August 4th. Late registrations will be NOT be accepted.

Entry Level. All players who have an AGA rating are REQUIRED to enter at a rank consistent with their latest AGA rating. Exceptions to this rule will be allowed only with the explicit approval of the TD. Players who do not have AGA ratings must enter at a rank approved by the TD.

Byes. If you are registered to play but wish to skip any game of the tournament, be sure to request a “bye” from the tournament directors before 8:00 pm the day before the round you will miss. Every year, it happens that unexpected events cause players to miss one or more rounds. If you must miss a round, or leave the tournament before Round 6, please tell the TD as soon as you can. If you forget, or just leave, your opponent will have no game to play and would be justified in being upset with you. And you will automatically lose the game.

Time Limits. For high Dan players (4 Dan and above), the basic time limit is 120 minutes. For all other players, the basic time limit is 90 minutes. If players with differing time limits meet, the longer allowance is used for both players. The overtime allotment will be 5 periods of 30 seconds each. <!– See the “General Tournament Information” section for a further explanation of overtime. –>

Sealed Moves. Sealed Moves can be used for Lunch breaks, see the “General Tournament Information” section.

Handicaps. Most games are even; compensation to white (“komi”) is 7.5 points. In the lower Kyu sections, the TD will assign handicaps as appropriate to compensate players for being matched “out of band”; these will be based on band difference, not rank difference. Compensation to white in handicap games is 0.5 points.

Winners. First place in each section goes to the player with the highest McMahon score. Ties will be broken in the manner described in the “General Tournament Information” section. There will be several prizes per section. The player with the highest McMahon score will be the new US Open Champion.

Sections. Players who wish to play in the Open Section must have an AGA rating of 7.0 or better, or the permission of the directors. The directors reserve the right to change the minimum entry rating of the Open Section based on the size of the tournament field.

Award Sections. There are 18 Award Sections:

Open Section (7 Dan and Above)
6 Dan Section
5 Dan Section
4 Dan Section
3 Dan Section
2 Dan Section
1 Dan Section
1 Kyu Section
2 Kyu Section
3 Kyu Section
4 Kyu Section
5 Kyu Section
6 - 7 Kyu Section
8 - 10 Kyu Section
11 - 13 Kyu Section
14 - 16 Kyu Section
17 - 23 Kyu Section
24 - 35 Kyu Section

Sections may vary depending on the number of players of each rank participating. Placement in a section depends on one’s entering rank.

Prizes. Prizes will be announced soon.