Bay Area Go Players Association is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization serving the Northern California Go community by organizing and operating tournaments, lectures, pro workshops, and other educational events. Please learn more about us, support us, and visit our photo gallery.

• Next monthly ratings tournament: March 6 in Palo Alto. Registration is now open.
• Next Janice Kim lecture: March 5 in San Francisco.

Upcoming Events

Following is a list of events coming up in the Go community. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest scoop. If you know about an event that you don't see listed here—or if you have updated information—please let us know.

This calendar was last updated 2/9/2010.

Date	Location	Event
February 20	Oakland	Free Go Demonstration and Lesson at the Lunar New Year Festival Bay Area Go Players Association will be demonstrating the game of Go and teaching children and adults how to play the game at the Lunar New Year Festival in Oakland's Chinatown. Organized by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, this free event will feature all sorts of exciting performances and fun participatory activities ranging from a Lion Dance to Japanese paper craft demonstrations and a Chinese Guzheng musical performance. Learn more about the event here.
March 5	San Francisco	Monthly Go Lecture with Janice Kim 3P Janice Kim visits the San Francisco Go Club on the first Friday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring your Go questions and a game record to have your game reviewed by a professional 3 dan player. Janice typically brings a game record of her own, as well as topics to discuss and activities for group participation. This event is free, and players of all levels are welcome. Pizza and soft drinks provided. ($5 contribution for food requested.) The San Francisco Go Club is located at 500 8th Avenue in San Francisco. Get additional details on the event flier or check the San Francisco Go Club website.
March 6	Palo Alto	Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament This will be a one-day AGA-rated tournament held at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Palo Alto just off of University Avenue. All levels are welcome. Most players will get to play four tournament games if they wish. There will be Go book prizes for four game winners and those playing in their first AGA-rated Go tournament. One winner will also receive a copy of Many Faces of Go. Read the tournament flier for more information. Register by 11:00 pm on March 3 and save $5 on your entry fee. If you have already registered but not yet paid your entry fee, you may pay now with a credit card or PayPal. Send an email to the Tournament Organizer with your questions or comments.
March 6	Alameda	Free Go Lessons at the Alameda Library Charley Weiland 2d offers free Go instruction at the Alameda main library, 1550 Oak Street in Alameda. The lessons are open to players of all ages and all levels of experience from beginners to advanced. Lessons take place the first Saturday of the month at 3:00 pm. Contact the library at 510-747-7705 for more information.
March 6	San Jose	Youth Go Program at the Evergreen Library The Evergreen Branch Library in San Jose hosts a youth Go program sponsored by the American Go Foundation from 3:00-4:30 pm. The library is located at 2635 Aborn Road in San Jose. 408-808-3060. Contact Joy Kim with questions or for more information.
March 13	Sacramento	Davis/Sacramento Go Club Quarterly Tournament This will be a one-day, four-round, AGA-rated tournament held at the Arcade Library, 2443 Marconi, in Sacramento. Admission is free for AGA members. Registration opens at 9:00 am and play begins at 10:00 am. There is no pre-registration—just show up, sign in, and play! Additional details are available on the Davis/Sacramento Go Club website.
April 2	San Francisco	Monthly Go Lecture with Janice Kim 3P Janice Kim visits the San Francisco Go Club on the first Friday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring your Go questions and a game record to have your game reviewed by a professional 3 dan player. Janice typically brings a game record of her own, as well as topics to discuss and activities for group participation. This event is free, and players of all levels are welcome. Pizza and soft drinks provided. ($5 contribution for food requested.) The San Francisco Go Club is located at 500 8th Avenue in San Francisco. Get additional details on the event flier or check the San Francisco Go Club website.
April 3	San Jose	Youth Go Program at the Evergreen Library The Evergreen Branch Library in San Jose hosts a youth Go program sponsored by the American Go Foundation from 3:00-4:30 pm. The library is located at 2635 Aborn Road in San Jose. 408-808-3060. Contact Joy Kim with questions or for more information.
April 10	Palo Alto	Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament This will be a one-day AGA-rated tournament held at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Palo Alto just off of University Avenue. All levels are welcome. Most players will get to play four tournament games if they wish. There will be Go book prizes for four game winners and those playing in their first AGA-rated Go tournament. One winner will also receive a copy of Many Faces of Go. Read the tournament flier for more information. Registration for this tournament will open in early March. Send an email to the Tournament Organizer with your questions or comments.
May 7	San Francisco	Monthly Go Lecture with Janice Kim 3P Janice Kim visits the San Francisco Go Club on the first Friday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring your Go questions and a game record to have your game reviewed by a professional 3 dan player. Janice typically brings a game record of her own, as well as topics to discuss and activities for group participation. This event is free, and players of all levels are welcome. Pizza and soft drinks provided. ($5 contribution for food requested.) The San Francisco Go Club is located at 500 8th Avenue in San Francisco. Get additional details on the event flier or check the San Francisco Go Club website.
June 4	San Francisco	Monthly Go Lecture with Janice Kim 3P Janice Kim visits the San Francisco Go Club on the first Friday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring your Go questions and a game record to have your game reviewed by a professional 3 dan player. Janice typically brings a game record of her own, as well as topics to discuss and activities for group participation. This event is free, and players of all levels are welcome. Pizza and soft drinks provided. ($5 contribution for food requested.) The San Francisco Go Club is located at 500 8th Avenue in San Francisco. Get additional details on the event flier or check the San Francisco Go Club website.
Wednesdays and Sundays	Menlo Park	Mingjiu Jiang 7P Visits Palo Alto Go Club Mingjiu Jiang, professional 7 dan, visits the Palo Alto Go Club and gives a lesson on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 1:00 pm.

Local Go Clubs

Northern California is privileged to have many active Go clubs. Following is a list of some of the local clubs. Be sure to check club websites for the most up-to-date information. If you don't see your club listed here, please let us know.

Club	Meeting Location and Hours
Berkeley Campus Go Club www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~goclub/	This club meets on the UC Berkeley campus one night each week when school is in session. Check the club website for the current meeting place and time.   Last updated 02/12/2008
Berkeley Go Club www.berkeleygoclub.org	3051 Adeline Street (at Essex) Berkeley, CA 94703 Club hours:   Fridays: 7:00 pm to midnight   Saturdays:  3:00 pm to midnight   Sundays: 2:00 pm to midnight   Last updated 12/20/2007
Davis/Sacramento Go Club www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~jdnewmil/go/	Borders Books 500 1st Street Davis, CA   Thursdays: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Sacramento Food Co-Op 1900 Alhambra Blvd. Sacramento, CA   Mondays: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm   Last updated 10/13/2008
Palo Alto Go Club	Ing Goe Foundation 887 Oak Grove Road, Suite 203 Menlo Park, CA 94205   Wednesdays:  7:00 pm to 10:00 pm   Saturdays:  1:00 pm to 6:00 pm   Sundays:  1:00 pm to 3:00 pm   Last updated 01/25/2008
San Francisco Go Club www.sfgoclub.com	500 8th Avenue (at Anza) San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 386-9565 Club hours:   Mondays: Varies—call first   Tuesdays: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm   Wednesdays:  6:00 pm to 10:00 pm   Thursdays: 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm   Fridays: Varies—call first   Saturdays:  4:00 pm to 8:00 pm   Sundays: 2:00 pm onward Drop by Sundays at 2:00 for a lazy Sunday afternoon of Go!   Last updated 12/1/2009
Santa Cruz Go Association www.kennknowles.com/go	Cafe Pergolesi 418 Cedar Street Santa Cruz, CA   Tuesdays: 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm   Last updated 01/10/2008
Sonoma County Go Club   Contact Joanne and Ned Phipps   707-585-0669	Sonoma Valley Bagel & Cafe 350 Rohnert Park Expressway Rohnert Park, CA   Sundays: 10:30 am to 4:00 pm   Last updated 02/21/2008
Stanford University Cardinal Go Club goclub.stanford.edu	Tresidder Union (map)   Sundays: 2:00 to 4:00 pm when school is in session Contact the club for details. Subscribe to the club newsletter.   Last updated 02/23/2009
Sunnyvale Go Club www.sunnyvalegoclub.org	Jean DeMaiffe's home in Sunnyvale (Contact Jean for address)   Tuesdays: 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm   Last updated 01/07/2008

KGS Club Room

We've got our own club room on KGS, the Kiseido Go Server. There you can play Go, chat, and network online with other players in Northern California. Did you meet somebody at a recent tournament or pro lecture and you'd like to play them again online? Meet them in the Bay Area GPA room on KGS.

Not familiar with how rooms work on KGS? Simply log in, click on the Rooms menu and select Room List. Next click on Clubs and find the room called, "Bay Area GPA." Click on this room and then click on Join. You are now all set. You will now have a Bay Area GPA tab in your main KGS window, and clicking on this tab will take you into the Bay Area Go Players Association club room.

Go Links

Here are a few resources for Go players:

The American Go Association is the national organization of Go players in the United States. Lots of information about the game, ratings, and events can be found on this website. The Way to Go is a wonderful introduction to the game of Go written by Karl Baker. This easy to read booklet discusses the history of the game, the rules, and introductory concepts such as eyes and ladders. GoProblems.com has a collection of interactive Go problems at all skill levels—good for beginners and dans alike. The Kiseido Go Server and Internet Go Server are two places you can play Go online. Joey's Go School offers Summer Go Camp and other learning opportunities for Go players of all ages and ranks.

Email List

Enter your name and email address in the form on this page in order to be added to our email announcement list. We'll send you an email roughly twice each month with updates on upcoming Go events in the San Francisco Bay Area. We will not share your information with anyone, and we will not overwhelm your email box. This is the easy way to keep informed of tournaments, lessons, pro appearences, and other educational events in your area.

Contact Us

If you have a question about an upcoming Go event, information about an event or club that you would like to share with other Go players in Northern California, or if you have suggestions for how we can improve this website, we'd like to hear from you! Please fill out the form below and click the Send Message button. We'll respond to you just as fast as we can.

About Bay Area Go Players Association

Bay Area Go Players Association is a nonprofit organization created to serve the Go community by sponsoring and publicizing tournaments, lessons, and educational events in Northern California. Check out our photo gallery to see pictures from past events.

The Bay Area Go Players Association runs monthly ratings tournaments at various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area in order to ensure that Go players of all abilities have the opportunity to participate in official games on a regular basis. We also organize lectures and game review sessions in order to help players at all levels improve their game. To bring new people to the game of Go, we perform community outreach in the form of Go demonstrations and introductory lectures. For intensive learning opportunities, we organize workshops with professional players a few times each year.