North Carolina State Championship
September 21, 2024, at Umstead State Park in Raleigh, NC
| The Triangle Go Group | Staying Connected for Over 50 Years |
Enthusiastic players and observers were abundant, and the weather was perfect in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prompt pairings and challenging competition made for another wonderful tournament, as beloved teacher and long-time Go player Jeff Kuang soared to new heights, winning the North Carolina State Go Championship with a perfect 4-0 record. His sharp tactical play and deep knowledge of the game proved unstoppable. 37 players participated, with an especially strong open section of 7 ranging from 5 Dan to 3 Dan. Second place in the champion's section was solidly secured by Toby Chen, with a 3-1 record. Section A had 2 winners with 3-1 performances, with Joshua Guarino awarded first place and John Moore second, based on SOS scores. Results in section B continued to illustrate the finely tuned matches as the winners each had 2-2 records, first place going to Xiaoping Wu and second to Mengyuan Zhu. The trend continued in section C, with 3-1 Olivia Jian awarded 1st place, and 3-1 Inho Kang taking 2nd. Section D was clearly won by rising star Neal Siekierski followed closely by Matthew Gregoire in second. Martin Kelly was top of the pack in Section E with the only other perfect 4-0 performance of the day, with Clay Westman achieving 2nd with an impressive 3-1 record. Lunch was again provided by the Triangle Go Group’s Arlene Bridges, and Jeff Kuang performed TD duties, skillfully taking care of business in addition to winning the Championship. We had a number of new players and were delighted to meet each one. Special recognition is due to supportive parents who provided encouragement, transportation and support, some traveling hundreds of miles to attend the event. Great folks, great fun, and a great day.
A grid of all players, their records and results of each round appear below. Additional photos will be posted soon.
| Entrants | AGA Rating | AGA ID | Wins | Losses |
| Xingjian Xia | 5D | 31228 | 1 | 3 |
| Sheng Huo | 4D | 24076 | 2 | 2 |
| Lilya Wang | 4D | 30693 | 2 | 2 |
| Toby Chen | 3D | 30735 | 3 | 1 |
| Jeff Kuang | 3D | 13845 | 4 | 0 |
| Suyoung Yoon | 3D | 23325 | 2 | 2 |
| Nianci Gan | 3D | 14403 | 1 | 3 |
| Ji Wen | 2D | 24602 | 2 | 2 |
| Vyna Han | 2D | 31229 | 0 | 2 |
| Joshua Guarino | 2D | 12197 | 3 | 1 |
| John Moore | 2D | 13828 | 3 | 1 |
| Frank Salantrie | 2D | 2014 | 1 | 1 |
| Bingyue Su | 1D | 31164 | 1 | 3 |
| Xiaoping Wu | 1D | 13472 | 2 | 2 |
| Mengyuan Zhu | 1D | 31235 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Kaiser | 1D | 24257 | 2 | 2 |
| Tao Ma | 1K | 23534 | 2 | 2 |
| Paul Celmer | 1K | 4910 | 1 | 3 |
| Olivia Jian | 3K | 31192 | 3 | 1 |
| David Jakab | 4K | 30309 | 2 | 2 |
| Inho Kang | 5K | 31238 | 3 | 1 |
| Justin Su | 5K | 21377 | 2 | 2 |
| Bob Bacon | 6K | 11286 | 0 | 1 |
| Elijah Ide | 6K | 31219 | 2 | 2 |
| Neal Siekierski | 7K | 25939 | 3 | 1 |
| Matthew Gregoire | 7K | 25500 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Keith | 7K | 26283 | 2 | 2 |
| Thomas Meli | 7K | 22418 | 2 | 2 |
| Ben Parrott | 7K | 22897 | 0 | 4 |
| Ursa Woodring | 8K | 25969 | 2 | 1 |
| Maxim Razin | 9K | 20414 | 2 | 2 |
| Jeff Martyn | 9K | 16259 | 0 | 4 |
| Martin Kelley | 12K | 12097 | 4 | 0 |
| Ahmed Alkanaq | 15K | 31239 | 0 | 3 |
| Yi Cai | 16K | 30452 | 1 | 1 |
| Clay Westman | 17K | 31236 | 3 | 1 |
| Matthew Neuss | 30K | 31190 | 1 | 2 |
Round One |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Lilya Wang | Xingjian Xia | B | 0 | 7 |
| Jeff Kuang | Sheng Huo | W | 0 | 7 |
| Toby Chen | Suyoung Yoon | W | 0 | 7 |
| Nianci Gan | John Moore | B | 0 | 7 |
| Frank Salantrie | Joshua Guarino | B | 0 | 7 |
| Ji Wen | Vyna Han | W | 0 | 7 |
| Bingyue Su | Mengyuan Zhu | B | 0 | 7 |
| Xiaoping Wu | Mike Kaiser | W | 0 | 7 |
| Tao Ma | Paul Celmer | B | 0 | 7 |
| David Jakab | Olivia Jian | W | 0 | 7 |
| Justin Su | Inho Kang | B | 0 | 7 |
| Elijah Ide | Thomas Meli | W | 0 | 7 |
| Ben Parrott | Mike Keith | B | 0 | 7 |
| Neal Siekierski | Matthew Gregoire | W | 0 | 7 |
| Ursa Woodring | Jeff Martyn | W | 0 | 7 |
| Maxim Razin | Martin Kelley | B | 2 | 0 |
| Yi Cai | Ahmed Alkanaq | W | 0 | 7 |
| Clay Westman | Matthew Neuss | W | 2 | 0 |
Round Two |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Xingjian Xia | Sheng Huo | B | 0 | 7 |
| Lilya Wang | Toby Chen | W | 0 | 7 |
| Nianci Gan | Jeff Kuang | B | 0 | 7 |
| Suyoung Yoon | Ji Wen | W | 0 | 7 |
| Joshua Guarino | John Moore | W | 0 | 7 |
| Vyna Han | Xiaoping Wu | B | 0 | 7 |
| Mengyuan Zhu | Frank Salantrie | B | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Kaiser | Paul Celmer | W | 0 | 7 |
| Tao Ma | Bingyue Su | W | 0 | 7 |
| Olivia Jian | Elijah Ide | W | 0 | 0 |
| Inho Kang | David Jakab | W | 0 | 7 |
| Justin Su | Neal Siekierski | W | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Keith | Ursa Woodring | B | 0 | 7 |
| Matthew Gregoire | Ben Parrott | W | 0 | 7 |
| Thomas Meli | Maxim Razin | W | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Martyn | Martin Kelley | B | 0 | 0 |
| Clay Westman | Yi Cai | W | 0 | 7 |
| Ahmed Alkanaq | Matthew Neuss | B | 4 | 0 |
Round Three |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Jeff Kuang | Xingjian Xia | W | 0 | 7 |
| Sheng Huo | Lilya Wang | B | 0 | 7 |
| Toby Chen | Ji Wen | W | 0 | 7 |
| Joshua Guarino | Suyoung Yoon | B | 0 | 7 |
| Xiaoping Wu | Nianci Gan | B | 0 | 7 |
| John Moore | Mike Kaiser | W | 0 | 7 |
| Mengyuan Zhu | Tao Ma | W | 0 | 7 |
| Paul Celmer | Bingyue Su | B | 0 | 7 |
| Olivia Jian | Inho Kang | W | 0 | 7 |
| David Jakab | Justin Su | W | 0 | 7 |
| Bob Bacon | Elijah Ide | B | 0 | 7 |
| Thomas Meli | Mike Keith | B | 0 | 7 |
| Ben Parrott | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 7 |
| Ursa Woodring | Matthew Gregoire | B | 0 | 7 |
| Jeff Martyn | Maxim Razin | B | 0 | 7 |
| Martin Kelley | Matthew Neuss | W | 8 | 0 |
| Ahmed Alkanaq | Clay Westman | B | 0 | 7 |
Round Four |
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| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi |
| Jeff Kuang | Lilya Wang | W | 0 | 7 |
| Xingjian Xia | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 |
| Suyoung Yoon | Sheng Huo | B | 0 | 7 |
| Nianci Gan | Joshua Guarino | B | 0 | 7 |
| John Moore | Mengyuan Zhu | W | 0 | 7 |
| Ji Wen | Xiaoping Wu | W | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Kaiser | Bingyue Su | W | 0 | 7 |
| Paul Celmer | Olivia Jian | B | 0 | 7 |
| Tao Ma | David Jakab | W | 0 | 0 |
| Inho Kang | Elijah Ide | W | 0 | 7 |
| Matthew Gregoire | Justin Su | B | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Keith | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 7 |
| Thomas Meli | Jeff Martyn | W | 2 | 0 |
| Maxim Razin | Ben Parrott | W | 0 | 7 |
| Martin Kelley | Clay Westman | W | 4 | 0 |
