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.

• Read this month's newsletter.
• Next monthly ratings tournament: February 11 in Menlo Park. Register by February 8 to save $5 on your entry fee and be entered into a raffle to win a free copy of Many Faces of Go.

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 1/26/2012.

Date	Location	Event
February 11	Menlo Park	Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament This will be a one-day AGA-rated tournament held at the Ing Goe Center in Menlo Park. All levels are welcome. Most players will get to play four or more 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. Read the tournament flier for more information. Register by 11:00 pm on February 8 to save $5 on your entry fee and be entered into a raffle to win a free copy of Many Faces of Go. 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.
February 11	Berkeley	Mingjiu Jiang 7P Visits Berkeley Go Club Mingjiu Jiang, professional 7 dan, will be visiting the Berkeley Go Club on Saturday, February 11, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. Players of all levels are welcome, and this event is free. Bring a game record and have your opening reviewed by a professional! Check the Berkeley Go Club website for additional information.
February 16	San Francisco	Free Go Lecture with Joey Hung 8 dan Joey Hung will be at the San Francisco Go Club from 6 to 8 pm. Come to the club for a free lecture from one of the strongest go players in the Bay Area, a player who also has 17 years experience teaching go players at all levels. Stick around after the lecture to play some face-to-face go. Bring a game record with you just in case Joey wants to review your game. Have fun learning with fellow go players and make some new friends.
March 11	Oakland	Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament This will be a one-day AGA-rated tournament held at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in the heart of Oakland's Chinatown. All levels are welcome. Most players will get to play four or more 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. This location is easily accessible by BART and bus, and there is an onsite parking garage. Please note this tournament is being held on a Sunday. Read the tournament flier for more information. Registration for this tournament will open in mid-February. Send an email to the Tournament Organizer with your questions or comments.
March 11	Oakland	Go Expo Day: Free Introduction to the Game of Go Come to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm and learn how to play go, the world's oldest board game still played in its original form. Volunteers will be on hand to demonstrate the game and give individual lessons. We will be giving out free starter go sets and books to everyone who drops by (while supplies last). Please help us spread the word so that we can teach go to as many people as possible. Print a poster (in English or Chinese) and put it up at your school, library, or community bulletin board.
March 31	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 14	Palo Alto	Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament This will be a one-day, three-round AGA-rated tournament held at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Palo Alto just off of University Avenue. This tournament will feature three rounds beginning at 10 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. There will be no elimination, so all players get to play all three rounds. At noon Joey Hung 8 dan will give a lecture—bring your lunch or pick up something to go, so that you can learn from one of the strongest players in the Bay Area. All levels are welcome. There will be go book prizes for three game winners and those playing in their first AGA-rated go tournament. Read the tournament flier for more information. Registration for this tournament will open in mid-March. Send an email to the Tournament Organizer with your questions or comments.

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.davissacramentogoclub.org	Round Table Pizza 2151 Cowell Boulevard Davis, CA   Thursdays: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Market Square at Arden Fair in the food court near Barnes and Noble 1725 Arden Way Sacramento, CA   Mondays: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm   Last updated 9/2/2011
Livermore Go Club	Panama Red Coffee Co. 2115 1st Street Livermore, CA 94550   First and third Saturdays: 2:00 pm onward   Contact Lynda L. LoDestro for more information.   Last updated 09/02/2011
Mayfield Go Club www.mayfieldgoclub.com/	Antonio's Nut House 321 S. California Avenue Palo Alto, CA   Wednesdays: 7:30 pm onward   Last updated 02/02/2011
Palo Alto Go Club	Ing Goe Foundation 887 Oak Grove Road, Suite 203 Menlo Park, CA 94205 The club is open Saturday afternoons, approximately 1:00 to 4:00 pm.   Last updated 11/8/2010
San Francisco Go Club www.sfgoclub.com	500 8th Avenue (at Anza) San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 386-9565 The club is generally open daily from 2 pm until 9 pm, but the hours vary depending on activity, so it never hurts to call first if you are coming a long distance. Beginners should come to "Tuesday Nights for Neophytes" each Tuesday from about 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm. Check the "New and Ongoing Events" page on the club website for an up-to-date schedule of lessons, pro visits, etc.   Last updated 10/31/2010
Santa Clara Youth Go Club www.gohappycup.com/club-when-where.shtml	Santa Clara, near Stevens Creek Blvd. and Lawrence Expressway (Contact Yan Zhao for address)   Saturdays: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm   Last updated 01/17/2011
Santa Cruz Go Association	Cafe Pergolesi 418 Cedar Street Santa Cruz, CA   Tuesdays: 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm Visit the club's Yahoo group.   Last updated 11/14/2011
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 12/20/2011

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. igolocal.net is a website where go players can find other players who live or work nearby and schedule face to face games. Joey's Go School offers Summer Go Camp and other learning opportunities for go players of all ages and ranks. The Kiseido Go Server and Internet Go Server are two places you can play go online.

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.