Burning Board 2026, June 15-21
A warm and welcoming community of 61 Go players and supporters gathered in the woods near Raleigh, North Carolina this June, for the fifth annual Burning Board Festival. From the 15th through the 21st they played self-paired, 9x9 and paired tournament games as well as enjoying camaraderie and competition. New friends and old acquaintances arrived from Georgia, Florida, Missouri, New York, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, various locations throughout North Carolina and perhaps Alpha Centauri.
Evenings were illuminated by fireflies, Mah Jongg, poker and more Go, while mornings were brightened by tea ceremonies and hot coffee. Lectures, simuls and game reviews were provided by Yuan Zhou and Michael Chen 2P.
The repeat winner of the tournament was Toby Chen, followed closely by Sheng Huo and David Fang. Section A was won by Joshua Guarino with Austin Robinson taking 2nd. Matthew Pickard seized top honors in Section B slightly ahead of Paul Mendola. Mike Keith dominated section C, with Neal Siekierski taking 2nd. Section D saw Ursa Woodring winning 1st with Eric J. Sullivan 2nd. Joey Black clearly secured top rank in Section E, with Chue Vang right behind. Section F top honors fell to Colin Platt, and Chloe Boulange finished next. The recognized Future Champion was Eugenia Tong, and the most helpful award went to Xiaohua Dai. Thanks to players & parents! We hope to see everyone again next year.
A grid of all six rounds appears below. Results from the self paired games appear below the six rounds grid. A link to additional photos from the event will be posted soon.
Tournament Win/Loss Records | ||||
| Name | AGA-ID | Rating | Wins | Losses |
| David Fang | 25542 | 4D | 4 | 2 |
| Toby Chen | 30735 | 4D | 6 | 0 |
| David Edgar | 21218 | 4D | 3 | 3 |
| Benjamin Armitage | 10749 | 4D | 3 | 3 |
| Sheng Huo | 24076 | 4D | 4 | 2 |
| Zhumeng Ding | 32627 | 3D | 2 | 4 |
| Dalan Robertson | 18851 | 3D | 1 | 3 |
| Nianci Gan | 14403 | 3D | 3 | 3 |
| Joshua Guarino | 12197 | 2D | 3 | 3 |
| Frank Salantrie | 2014 | 2D | 1 | 3 |
| Devin Fraze | 20133 | 2D | 2 | 3 |
| Austin Robinson | 15343 | 1D | 3 | 3 |
| Iris Galko | 31448 | 1D | 1 | 5 |
| Thomas Bitonti | 3540 | 1D | 3 | 3 |
| Nathan Chan | 19395 | 1D | 1 | 2 |
| Anthony Garcia | 18800 | 1K | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Lambert | 22649 | 1K | 3 | 3 |
| Matthew Pickard | 31537 | 2K | 4 | 2 |
| Paul Celmer | 4910 | 2K | 2 | 4 |
| Adam Bridges | 9995 | 3K | 1 | 4 |
| Paul Mendola | 25871 | 3K | 4 | 2 |
| David Rodriguez | 31515 | 4K | 3 | 3 |
| Peter Armenia | 8489 | 4K | 4 | 2 |
| Ben Parrot | 22897 | 4K | 2 | 2 |
| Corey Chapman | 31597 | 4K | 1 | 5 |
| Matt Murray | 23788 | 5K | 1 | 1 |
| Neal Siekierski | 25939 | 5K | 5 | 1 |
| Michael Lash | 57 | 5K | 2 | 4 |
| Mike Keith | 26283 | 5K | 5 | 1 |
| Brockton Moore | 31977 | 5K | 3 | 3 |
| Yihui Shao | 25699 | 6K | 3 | 3 |
| Matthew Gregoire | 25500 | 6K | 4 | 2 |
| Pat Pettibone | 31035 | 6K | 2 | 4 |
| Bob Bacon | 11286 | 7K | 0 | 4 |
| Ursa Woodring | 25969 | 7K | 5 | 1 |
| Peter Standard | 13508 | 8K | 1 | 1 |
| Eric J Sullivan | 19980 | 8K | 3 | 3 |
| Joey Black | 25996 | 8K | 4 | 2 |
| Iraj Nelson | 30398 | 9K | 2 | 4 |
| Chue Vang | 31968 | 9K | 4 | 2 |
| David Whatley | 31587 | 9K | 3 | 3 |
| Maxim Razin | 20414 | 9K | 2 | 3 |
| Martin J Kelley | 12097 | 9K | 2 | 4 |
| Avin Newswanger | 30247 | 9K | 4 | 2 |
| Cecilia Carter | 25817 | 12K | 2 | 0 |
| Andrew Work | 32372 | 15K | 0 | 0 |
| Lawrence Tong | 31380 | 15K | 3 | 3 |
| Don Nonini | 15693 | 17K | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Platt | 31884 | 17K | 6 | 0 |
| Chloe Boulange | 32579 | 18K | 4 | 2 |
| Damon Carey | 32472 | 23K | 1 | 5 |
| Eugenia Tong | 32447 | 25K | 0 | 6 |
| Amanda Smith | 31877 | 27K | 2 | 4 |
Round One |
||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Joshua Guarino | David Fang | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Zhumeng Ding | David Edgar | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Nianci Gan | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Benjamin Armitage | Sheng Huo | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Iris Galko | Austin Robinson | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Devin Fraze | Thomas Bitonti | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Daniel Lambert | Matthew Pickard | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Paul Celmer | Paul Mendola | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Corey Chapman | Michael Lash | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Peter Armenia | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Mike Keith | Brockton Moore | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Ursa Woodring | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Neal Siekierski | Matthew Gregoire | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Bob Bacon | Yihui Shao | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Joey Black | Eric J Sullivan | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Avin Newswanger | David Whatley | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Maxim Razin | Iraj Nelson | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Martin J Kelley | Chue Vang | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Lawrence Tong | Colin Platt | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Chloe Boulange | Eugenia Tong | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Damon Carey | Amanda Smith | B | 6 | 0 .5 |
Round Two |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| David Fang | Sheng Huo | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Toby Chen | Zhumeng Ding | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Edgar | Benjamin Armitage | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Nianci Gan | Devin Fraze | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Joshua Guarino | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Thomas Bitonti | Iris Galko | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Daniel Lambert | Paul Mendola | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Pickard | Paul Celmer | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Peter Armenia | Corey Chapman | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Mike Keith | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Brockton Moore | Pat Pettibone | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Gregoire | Ursa Woodring | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Adam Bridges | Eric J Sullivan | W | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Yihui Shao | Iraj Nelson | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Joey Black | Chue Vang | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Maxim Razin | Avin Newswanger | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Whatley | Martin J Kelley | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Lawrence Tong | Amanda Smith | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Colin Platt | Chloe Boulange | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Damon Carey | Eugenia Tong | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
Round Three |
||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Sheng Huo | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Fang | Benjamin Armitage | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Zhumeng Ding | Dalan Robertson | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Frank Salantrie | Nianci Gan | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Edgar | Austin Robinson | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Thomas Bitonti | Joshua Guarino | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Iris Galko | Daniel Lambert | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Paul Celmer | Adam Bridges | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Pickard | Paul Mendola | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Peter Armenia | Mike Keith | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Ben Parrot | Brockton Moore | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Michael Lash | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Corey Chapman | Neal Siekierski | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Ursa Woodring | Yihui Shao | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Gregoire | Pat Pettibone | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | David Whatley | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Joey Black | Avin Newswanger | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Chue Vang | Iraj Nelson | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Martin J Kelley | Maxim Razin | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Lawrence Tong | Chloe Boulange | B | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Colin Platt | Damon Carey | W | 6 | 0 .5 |
| Eugenia Tong | Amanda Smith | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
Round Four |
||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Toby Chen | David Fang | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Sheng Huo | Nianci Gan | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Dalan Robertson | David Edgar | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Benjamin Armitage | Zhumeng Ding | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Joshua Guarino | Nathan Chan | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Frank Salantrie | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Thomas Bitonti | Paul Mendola | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Iris Galko | Matthew Pickard | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Daniel Lambert | Paul Celmer | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Adam Bridges | Peter Armenia | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Ben Parrot | Mike Keith | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Corey Chapman | David Rodriguez | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Brockton Moore | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Devin Fraze | Michael Lash | B | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Gregoire | Yihui Shao | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Bob Bacon | Ursa Woodring | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Joey Black | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | Avin Newswanger | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Whatley | Chue Vang | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Iraj Nelson | Martin J Kelley | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Lawrence Tong | Damon Carey | W | 8 | 0 .5 |
| Colin Platt | Eugenia Tong | W | 8 | 0 .5 |
| Chloe Boulange | Amanda Smith | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
Round Five |
||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Toby Chen | Benjamin Armitage | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Sheng Huo | Dalan Robertson | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Nianci Gan | David Fang | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Edgar | Joshua Guarino | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Zhumeng Ding | Frank Salantrie | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Thomas Bitonti | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Nathan Chan | Iris Galko | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Devin Fraze | Daniel Lambert | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Paul Celmer | Mike Keith | B | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Paul Mendola | Peter Armenia | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Matthew Pickard | Ben Parrot | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Adam Bridges | Neal Siekierski | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Corey Chapman | Brockton Moore | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Yihui Shao | W | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Ursa Woodring | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Matt Murray | Matthew Gregoire | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Chue Vang | B | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Bob Bacon | Avin Newswanger | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Joey Black | Iraj Nelson | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | Peter Standard | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Whatley | Maxim Razin | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Martin J Kelley | Lawrence Tong | B | 6 | 0 .5 |
| Cecilia Carter | Eugenia Tong | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Colin Platt | Amanda Smith | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Chloe Boulange | Damon Carey | W | 5 | 0 .5 |
Round Six |
||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Dalan Robertson | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Sheng Huo | David Edgar | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Fang | Zhumeng Ding | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Benjamin Armitage | Austin Robinson | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Joshua Guarino | Nianci Gan | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Frank Salantrie | Devin Fraze | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Thomas Bitonti | Daniel Lambert | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Nathan Chan | Matthew Pickard | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Iris Galko | Paul Mendola | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Paul Celmer | Peter Armenia | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Mike Keith | Neal Siekierski | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Adam Bridges | Ben Parrot | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Brockton Moore | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Corey Chapman | Ursa Woodring | B | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Matthew Gregoire | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Matt Murray | Yihui Shao | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Cecilia Carter | Lawrence Tong | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Avin Newswanger | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Peter Standard | Joey Black | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | Chue Vang | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Bob Bacon | Colin Platt | B | 9 | 0 .5 |
| David Whatley | Chloe Boulange | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Iraj Nelson | Eugenia Tong | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Martin J Kelley | Amanda Smith | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| Maxim Razin | Damon Carey | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
Self Paired Tournament Win/Loss Records | ||||
| Name | AGA-ID | Rating | Wins | Losses |
| David Edgar | 21218 | 4D | 2 | 0 |
| Austin Robinson | 15343 | 1K | 3 | 0 |
| David Rodriguez | 31515 | 4K | 0 | 2 |
| Corey Chapman | 31597 | 4K | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Parrot | 22897 | 4K | 0 | 1 |
| Brockton Moore | 31977 | 5K | 3 | 1 |
| Matt Murray | 23788 | 5K | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Lash | 57 | 5K | 1 | 2 |
| Pat Pettibone | 31035 | 6K | 5 | 6 |
| Eric J Sullivan | 19980 | 8K | 1 | 3 |
| Joey Black | 25996 | 8K | 3 | 2 |
| Yihui Shao | 25699 | 8K | 4 | 1 |
| Peter Standard | 13508 | 8K | 1 | 0 |
| Chue Vang | 31968 | 9K | 0 | 1 |
| David Whatley | 31587 | 9K | 2 | 3 |
| Avin Newswanger | 30247 | 9K | 0 | 1 |
| Martin J Kelley | 12097 | 9K | 2 | 2 |
| Lawrence Tong | 31380 | 15K | 0 | 1 |
| Colin Platt | 31884 | 17K | 1 | 0 |
| Chloe Boulange | 32579 | 22K | 0 | 1 |
Games |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Martin J Kelley | Joey Black | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Lawrence Tong | Colin Platt | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Yihui Shao | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Brockton Moore | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | Avin Newswanger | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| David Whatley | Chloe Boulange | W | 9 | 0 .5 |
| David Edgar | Corey Chapman | W | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Ben Parrot | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| David Whatley | Eric J Sullivan | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Martin J Kelley | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Brockton Moore | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Yihui Shao | B | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Eric J Sullivan | Joey Black | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Edgar | Yihui Shao | W | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Martin J Kelley | David Whatley | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| David Rodriguez | Pat Pettibone | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Yihui Shao | Eric J Sullivan | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Martin J Kelley | W | 4 | 0 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Matt Murray | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Brockton Moore | Joey Black | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Joey Black | W | 0 | 0 .5 |
| Yihui Shao | Corey Chapman | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Austin Robinson | Pat Pettibone | W | 5 | 0 .5 |
| Joey Black | David Whatley | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Chue Vang | W | 3 | 0 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | David Whatley | W | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Brockton Moore | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
| Pat Pettibone | Peter Standard | B | 2 | 0 .5 |
| Michael Lash | Pat Pettibone | B | 0 | 7 .5 |
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