At the end of the previous week, we received good news from IMSA: the 1st IMSA World Masters Championship 2019 will be held on 13–18 May 2019 in Hengshui, Hebi Province in China! The event will be hosted in two hotels; bridge, draughts, xianqi and guandan are played in the Longyuen hotel, while chess and go will be played in the Argylle Hotel.

Go players from China, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Europe, North America, and Japan are invited to the Championship. The players will be decided by each go association by the end of February.

Schedule
12 May 2019: Arrival in Beijing and transfer to Hengshui
13 May 2019: Opening ceremony in the evening
14 May 2019: Start of events (tournaments): men’s team, women’s team and pair go
18 May 2019: Final day of events
19 May 2019: Departure

Events
Men’s team, Women’s team and pair go

• Men’s team: Total of six teams, three players per team. Single round robin (5 rounds)
• Women’s team: Total of six teams, two players per team. Single round robin (5 rounds)
• Pair go: Total of eight pairs. Knockout tournament (4 rounds)

Competitors
34 athletes (20 men and 14 women) from China, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Europe, and North America

Prize Money
Men’s team:
1st place: 60,000 euro
2nd place: 30,000 euro
3rd place: 15,000 euro

Women’s team:
1st place: 25,000 euro
2nd place: 10,000 euro
3rd place: 5,000 euro

Pair go:
1st place: 12,000 euro
2nd place: 8,000 euro
3rd place: 5,000 euro