North Carolina State Championship
September 20, 2025, at Umstead State Park in Raleigh, NC
| The Triangle Go Group | Staying Connected for Over 50 Years |
Comfortably warm weather and sunny skies welcomed 32 Go players at the North Carolina State Go Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina. A new Champion was crowned as young Toby Chen attained a perfect 4-0 record going up against the best Go players in the state. He was followed closely by Shiqin Song and Runjing Guo, whose 3-1 records and SMS scores placed them 2nd and 3rd in the Open Section. Section A was clearly won by Botian Liu with John Moore in 2nd. Paul Celmer triumphed in Section B, with David Jakab on his heels taking 2nd place, their 3-1 tie broken by SMS scores. Section C boasted the only other 4-0 record of the day, attained by Matthew Gregoire. Ben Parrott's 3-1 performance and SMS scores placed him in 2nd, just ahead of Neal Siekierski who also went 3-1. Nathan Jacobsen secured first in Section D, followed by Martin Kelly, both going 3-1, in yet another instance of SMS scores determining the victor. Martin played two 9 stone handicap games and another at 8 stones.
A delicious lunch was provided by the Triangle Go Group's Arlene Bridges, and Jeff Kuang performed TD duties, skillfully taking care of business and settling disagreements with grace and calm. We were delighted to welcome 7 new tournament participants to their first AGA tournament, and in addition to trophies we awarded $1,000.00 in prize money at this event.
Special recognition is due to wonderful parents who provided encouragement, transportation and support.
A grid of all players, their records and results of each round appear below. A few more photos are posted below the grid.
Tournament Win/Loss Records | |||||
| Name | AGA-ID | Rating | Wins | Losses | |
| Shiqin Song | 31984 | 4D | 3 | 1 | |
| Jeff Kuang | 13845 | 4D | 1 | 3 | |
| Toby Chen | 30735 | 4D | 4 | 0 | |
| Sheng Huo | 24076 | 4D | 1 | 3 | |
| Suyoung Yoon | 23325 | 3D | 1 | 1 | |
| Runjing Guo | 32015 | 3D | 3 | 1 | |
| Eugene Y Yun | 32012 | 3D | 2 | 2 | |
| Zichong Zhong | 32051 | 3D | 2 | 2 | |
| John Moore | 13828 | 2D | 2 | 2 | |
| Ji Wen | 24602 | 2D | 1 | 3 | |
| Frank Salantrie | 2014 | 2D | 0 | 2 | |
| Botian Liu | 31394 | 2D | 3 | 1 | |
| Tao Ma | 23534 | 1D | 2 | 2 | |
| Vyna Han | 31229 | 1D | 1 | 3 | |
| Paul Celmer | 4910 | 2K | 3 | 1 | |
| Spenser Berry | 31052 | 4K | 2 | 2 | |
| Justin Su | 21377 | 4K | 1 | 3 | |
| Corey Chapman | 31597 | 4K | 2 | 2 | |
| David Jakab | 30309 | 4K | 3 | 1 | |
| Elijah Ide | 31219 | 4K | 0 | 4 | |
| Michael Lash | 57 | 5K | 2 | 2 | |
| Ben Parrott | 22897 | 5K | 3 | 1 | |
| Bob Bacon | 11286 | 6K | 1 | 3 | |
| Mike Keith | 26283 | 6K | 1 | 3 | |
| Matthew Gregoire | 25500 | 7K | 4 | 0 | |
| Neal Siekierski | 25939 | 7K | 3 | 1 | |
| Nathan Jacobsen | 32039 | 8K | 3 | 1 | |
| Maxim Razin | 20414 | 9K | 1 | 3 | |
| Martin Kelley | 12097 | 9K | 3 | 1 | |
| Rio Abreu | 99999 | 16K | 0 | 4 | |
| Zhaoyang Li | 25508 | 19K | 1 | 3 | |
| Chue Laol Vang | 31968 | 25K | 3 | 1 | |
Round One |
|||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi | |
| Toby Chen | Shiqin Song | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Jeff Kuang | Sheng Huo | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Runjing Guo | Eugene Y Yun | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Zichong Zhong | Suyoung Yoon | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Botian Liu | Ji Wen | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Frank Salantrie | John Moore | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Vyna Han | Tao Ma | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Paul Celmer | Elijah Ide | W | 0 | 0 .5 | |
| Corey Chapman | David Jakab | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Justin Su | Spenser Berry | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Ben Parrott | Michael Lash | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Bob Bacon | Mike Keith | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Neal Siekierski | Matthew Gregoire | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Martin Kelley | Nathan Jacobsen | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Maxim Razin | Rio Abreu | W | 6 | 0 .5 | |
| Chue Laol Vang | Zhaoyang Li | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
Round Two |
|||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi | |
| Toby Chen | Jeff Kuang | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Sheng Huo | Runjing Guo | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Shiqin Song | Suyoung Yoon | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Eugene Y Yun | Botian Liu | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| John Moore | Zichong Zhong | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Ji Wen | Vyna Han | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Tao Ma | Frank Salantrie | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Paul Celmer | Spenser Berry | B | 0 | 0 .5 | |
| David Jakab | Justin Su | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Ben Parrott | Corey Chapman | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Michael Lash | Elijah Ide | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Matthew Gregoire | Bob Bacon | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Mike Keith | Nathan Jacobsen | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Maxim Razin | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Martin Kelley | Chue Laol Vang | W | 9 | 0 .5 | |
| Rio Abreu | Zhaoyang Li | B | 2 | 0 .5 | |
Round Three |
|||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi | |
| Sheng Huo | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Shiqin Song | Jeff Kuang | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Runjing Guo | Zichong Zhong | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Eugene Y Yun | John Moore | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Botian Liu | Vyna Han | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Ji Wen | Tao Ma | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Paul Celmer | David Jakab | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Spenser Berry | Ben Parrott | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Elijah Ide | Corey Chapman | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Michael Lash | Justin Su | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Matthew Gregoire | Mike Keith | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Neal Siekierski | Bob Bacon | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Nathan Jacobsen | Maxim Razin | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Martin Kelley | Zhaoyang Li | W | 9 | 0 .5 | |
| Rio Abreu | Chue Laol Vang | B | 2 | 0 .5 | |
Round Four |
|||||
| White | Black | Winner | Handicap | Komi | |
| Eugene Y Yun | Toby Chen | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Sheng Huo | Shiqin Song | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Jeff Kuang | Runjing Guo | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Tao Ma | Botian Liu | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Zichong Zhong | Ji Wen | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Vyna Han | John Moore | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Paul Celmer | Ben Parrott | W | 0 | 0 .5 | |
| David Jakab | Spenser Berry | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Corey Chapman | Michael Lash | W | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Bob Bacon | Justin Su | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Elijah Ide | Matthew Gregoire | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Mike Keith | Neal Siekierski | B | 0 | 7 .5 | |
| Nathan Jacobsen | Zhaoyang Li | W | 9 | 0 .5 | |
| Martin Kelley | Rio Abreu | W | 8 | 0 .5 | |
| Maxim Razin | Chue Laol Vang | B | 9 | 0 .5 | |
