Te wo Tsunaide '06

Moment: Round 1 Players: Ruth and Steve Thomson (front), Vivian Chen and Paul Barchilon (back). Ruth and Steve won. Photo Credit: Ron Howerton Comments: Vivian and Paul put up a good fight against returning strong Pair Ruth and Steve (who even bought matching jersies for the tournament!), but were knocked-out in round 1. I suppose this means that matching jersies are more powerful than matching braids. ;) I believe that is Vivian's sister Vikki in the background.

Moment: Round 1 Players: Karen Jordan and Bob Meyer (front/left) vs Larry LeJeune and Janet Chen (back/right). Karen and Bob won. Photo Credit: Ron Howerton Comments: It's always tough to have the luck of playing against a Finalist Pair in Round 1, but people appear happy and the game looks interesting. Larry and Janet were partnered on the morning of the tournament, after losing their original partners (to things coming up, not to anything bad), but must've fared well together because they were top contenders for the Fighting Spirit award.

Moment: Round 2/post knock-out Players: Katherine Lin and Ben Alpert vs Vivian Chen and Paul Barchilon (not shown). Paul and Vivian won. Photo Credit: Paul Barchilon Comments: Katherine and Ben, showing extreme determination in their game. They did not quite pull this one off, but they were strong contenders in the tournament. Last year Katherine played with Kellin, so this was her first attempt at partnering with Ben. I like the close-up of the game, as well as the intense concentration.

Moment: Round 2 Players: Aichan and Yaphet Tewahade vs Jessica and Stu. Jessica and Stu won. Photo Credit: Ron Howerton Comments: Aichan and Yaphet were knocked-out in round 1, but they only lost by .5 komi so they stood in as a strong Pair to help with an imbalance of Pair numbers. Not bad at all to be knocked-out twice -- by the 1st and 3rd place pairs! Jessica and Stu were clearly a formidable duo, having made it all the way to the #1 spot.

Moment: Round 2/post knock-out Players: Amara Sailing and David Weiss vs Emily and Chris Butler. Amara and Dave won. Photo Credit: Ron Howerton Comments: Emily and Chris have some nice side territories, but are most likely contemplating what to do about that large white swath through the middle. Hopefully later pictures will show how that lone black stone fared at reduction, and whether the smaller white groups survived.

Moment: Round 3/post knock-out Players: Amara Sailing and David Weiss (left), Vivian Chen and Paul Barchilon (right). Vivian and Paul won by 3 points. Photo Credit: Gordon Klock Comments: Amara is a 22 kyu, David is a 3 dan. Vivian is a 14 kyu, Paul is a 4 kyu. Definitely a match of pairs with a high range in strength on both sides! Amara said both sides played really well together, despite the rating ranges, and that it was a fun game. Amara and Paul had both played at TwT '05, but both had new partners who were paticipating for the 1st time (Dave was on staff in '05).

Moment: Round 3/post knock-out Players: Aichan and Yaphet Tewahade (left), Albert Hwang and Diana Yang (right). Yaphet and Aichan won by 7 points. Photo Credit: Paul Barchilon Comments: A fairly close match, with Aichan and Yaphet giving Albert and Diana 3 stones. This was the 2nd appearance at Te wo Tsunaide for the Tewahades, and the 1st one for their opponents.

Moment: Round 3/knock-out Players: Karen Jordan and Bob Meyer (left), Ruth and Steve Thomson (right). Karen and Bob won, making it into the finals. Photo Credit: Bruce Young Comments: This semi-finals game sent Karen and Bob into the finals. Ruth and Steve stood in as a strong pair, and it sounded (from across the room) like a pretty exciting struggle. (I also have a suspicion that Karen was having a tea cup related struggle near the time of this photo, she can correct me if I'm wrong. Or if I'm leaping to conclusions based on the long-running tradition I've partaken in numerous times of reaching for stones inside your coffee cup. Everyone does it at my club!)

Moment: Round 4/post knock-out & Round 3/semi-finals Players: Larry LeJeune and Janet Chen (front left) vs Aichan and Yaphet Tewahade (front right), Kent Evenson and Jasmine Sailing (back left) vs Stu Horowitz and Jessica Lin (back right). Larry and Janet won, Stu and Jessica won. Photo Credit: Bruce Young Comments: Larry and Janet vs Aichan and Yaphet was already a 4th round post knock-out game (winning it put Larry and Janet into the tie-breaker for Fighting Spirit), while Stu and Jessica played their 3rd round semi-finals game with Kent and Jasmine in the background. Stu and Jessica's win got them into the finals. Both games at this table were important factors in different award categories.

Moment: Round 4/post knock-out Players: Albert Hwang and Diana Yang (back left) vs Vivian Chen and Paul Barchilon (front right). Vivian and Paul won. Photo Credit: Bruce Young Comments: It's Diana's turn, and it looks like a happy or amusing moment for everyone in this game. It's good to see so many cheerful faces together at the tournament! Katherine Lin is observing in the back, Yaphet (though turned to the side at the moment) is observing in the front. Winning this game put Paul and Vivian in the tie-breaker for the Fighting Spirit Award, but it seems likely to have been an enjoyable game no matter what the results.

Moment: Round 4/post knock-out Players: Amara Sailing and David Weiss (left), Ben Alpert and Katherine Lin (right). Ben and Katherine won. Photo Credit: Bruce Young Comments: Another cheerful-looking game! Amara says this was a "just for fun" game, rather than a round game, but it was still counted. This confused a certain Mom into thinking Amara was still looking for a round 4 game after this one finished. Oops! I'm sure it's good for everyone to get to play a lot, though. Practice, practice...

Moment: Round 4 Finals Players: Stu Horowitz and Jessica Lin (left) vs Bob Meyer and Karen Jordan (right). Jessica and Stu won. Photo Credit: Jasmine Sailing Comments: Jessica and Stu + Karen and Bob face-off to find out who will be the #1 and #2 Pairs. The game is already complicated, and at this stage it looks like Bob and Karen (black, 4 stones) have the edge. Katherine Lin and Ben Alpert are observing, with a little (image-wise) of Dave Weiss and Janet Chen also watching near them.