Website of The International Go Federation

The 66th European Go Congress (EGC) will be held on 26 June–10 August in Toulouse, France. As usual, it will host important European competitions: the individual European Championship and the final of the Pandanet European Team Championship. Alongside these events available to a limited number of European players, there will be traditional tournaments of the EGC open to everyone: the Open European Championship, Rapid, Weekend, and Pair Tournaments, etc.

The EGC is the largest European go event. This year’s edition has already gathered over 1200 registrations.

Report by Artem

The Pandanet European Team Championship is an annual competition for national teams with an online part and a face-to-face final. The online stage of the 14th season started in October last year and brought together 35 teams split into four leagues, from A to D, playing out a round-robin, approximately one game per month.

The last round of League A took place on 14 May. The top four teams qualified for the face-to-face final: Ukraine, France, Poland, and Czechia. The German team scored the same points as the teams from Poland and Czechia but had fewer board points (total number of individual wins), so they finished fifth.

The final will take place at the European Go Congress in Toulouse this summer, two days before the start of the main event.

Below is a record of the game between Tanguy Le Calvé 1p (France) and Ali Jabarin 2p (Israel) played in the last round of the online stage.

Report by Artem

Vesa Laatikainen, Finland

1. What were your general impressions from the WAGC this year?

The WAGC atmosphere and meeting old and new friends in Tokyo reminded me again that Go is great fun and indeed a very social game. The pre-event emails by the organisation also added beforehand to the confidence that the tournament will be a great success. I enjoyed the competition, the WAGC program, and the time in Japan throughout.

2. How did you prepare for the tournament, and how did you feel about your results?

Last year I had a good year in European and Finnish tournaments which vitalised my ‘sleeping’ confidence. The professional game broadcasts in the Internet and more and more frequent professional YouTube Go content is my main source of study and inspiration.

I was placed 19th which I am quite happy with. When younger, I was able to score higher, but otherwise I think more recently I’ve been placed below the twentieth place in WAGC results. Five wins, though one by real luck, somehow continue my good performance from last year.

3. How will you continue playing or studying go after you return home?

First, I will go through my games in the WAGC and the other kifus published from the tournament and try to grasp new ideas in the game. Also, savouring the excitement of these games is important. I visit our Go club every Thursday and there we normally go through selected pro games broadcasted just the same day. I also bought six issues of this year’s Go World magazines for further study or entertainment.

The next test will be in July in Toulouse, France, in the European Go Congress, where our family will join the fun for two weeks.

4. Would you have any message to share for Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary, and the related events at the WAGC?

The unique history of Japanese Go and Nihon Ki-in has impressed me immensely. The WAGC combined with the 100th anniversary of Nihon Ki-in again showed us how fascinating the game of Go and its history is. Let’s create more history!

I thank the Nihon Ki-in for the wonderful tournament and the effort of organising. The Nihon Ki-in diploma is also something special that will be cherished back in home.

Vesa (right) playing Etugen Bayarjargal from Mongolia

Marcel Grünauer, Austria

1. What were your general impressions from the WAGC this year?

It was my first time to participate in the WAGC, and I was happy that it was held in Tokyo, my favourite city. The event was very well organised, and I liked being able to meet existing friends and make new friends. The opportunity to have the games analysed by professional players was also appreciated, and I believe that I learned a lot. Receiving the beautiful dan diploma during the closing ceremony was also a highlight.

2. How did you prepare for the tournament, and how did you feel about your results?

I participated in various tournaments before the WAGC and also played training games, and analysed every game with stronger players. Solving tsumego was also part of the routine, but I really need to try harder to improve my tsumego skills. I am also taking lessons.

As for the results, I would have liked to get at least four wins, but due to the pairings this was difficult. I did not really understand the pairing algorithm; I am 1-kyu EGF and lost to a 6-dan player in the first round, then to two 4-dan players. In Western tournaments we always use the McMahon algorithm, which works well in providing competitive games.

3. How will you continue playing or studying go after you return home?

I will continue to play in tournaments and to take lessons. I also want to spend more time on tsumego. And I want to study the analyses of my WAGC games again as well as previous lessons.

My next big event will be the European Go Congress in Toulouse, France, so I hope to be able to apply the lessons I learned during the WAGC.

4. Would you have any message to share for Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary, and the related events at the WAGC?

Congratulations on the 100th anniversary! I hope that the Nihon Ki-in can continue to be beacon for the Western Go community.

Marcel (right) playing Armel-David Wolff from Switzerland

Lukáš Podpěra, Czechia

1. What were your general impressions from the WAGC this year?

I enjoyed the WAGC as usual. It was a very well organised tournament with a lot of famous people being present. There were also a lot of side events arranged; that was another positive aspect of this event. The only thing that should really be improved for the next years is the pairing system which I think didn’t work well.

2. How did you prepare for the tournament, and how did you feel about your results?

Sadly I didn’t prepare for the tournament as much as I wanted to. I was very busy with my Go work, and so I did only my regular training. My biggest preparation was actually arriving few days before the tournament to prevent jet lag issues.

3. How will you continue playing or studying go after you return home?

After I come back home to Prague, I will continue my Go career like before: teaching my students, playing in a lot of tournaments, and keeping trying hard to become a professional player, which has always been my dream.

4. Would you have any message to share for Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary, and the related events at the WAGC?

I believe the event was a very nice celebration of the Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary. It’s very clear that the WAGC means a lot to the Nihon Ki-in, and they really tried their best in making the event work perfectly in the iconic Nihon Ki-in building.

Lukáš (left) playing Minoru Ōzeki from Japan

Nikola Tsarigradski, Bulgaria

1. What were your general impressions from the WAGC this year?

To me, the WAGC was an unbelievable experience. I started actively playing go a little over three years ago, and can still remember my first small weekend tournament in Berlin, where I participated as 15k. Now being able to attend a WAGC is quite surreal, especially at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. Meeting some of the professional players, whose games I’ve been following, was amazing, as was experiencing the iconic Nihon Ki-in headquarters and discovering Tokyo in general. I would also like to emphasise the unique atmosphere among the players. There were participants from all continents, all age groups, and many different cultural backgrounds. Yet, everybody shares a deep passion for the game, which made it very easy to get to know and befriend many players from all over the world in just a brief period of time, and exchange ideas, both on the board and beyond.

The tournament itself was the most serious event I have played in so far, I was also representing my country for the first time. Naturally this made me feel some pressure, to play properly and not embarrass myself with silly mistakes. To make matters worse, my first round game was selected for relay, which was probably the most attention a game of mine has ever received. Luckily I was able to play a good game, despite eventually being outclassed by Davide from Italy.

I felt like the organisers did a great job in providing good playing conditions at the venue, as well as accommodation, food, professional teachers and communication. Only the rules of nigiri could have been made a little clearer at the start.

2. How did you prepare for the tournament, and how did you feel about your results?

I didn’t prepare much for the tournament specifically, other than playing a few practice games at my club, since I was nominated as a substitute for Bulgaria on relatively short notice. Nevertheless, I exceeded my expectations in terms of result. By rank, I was among the weakest players to participate, but I still managed to end up with an even score of four wins and four losses, winning a game every day of the tournament.

3. How will you continue playing or studying go after you return home?

Participating in this event, being surrounded by many players far stronger than me, and even playing some of them, gave me a lot of motivation to keep improving! I would very much like to return to the WAGC one day, when I have reached a higher level, and try to obtain an even better result.

During the game reviews, Yūki Satoshi 9p and Ichiriki Ryo 9p were kind enough to give me some advice on what to work on to improve my game. Hopefully I’ll already be able to show some progress at the European Go Congress in Toulouse later this year.

4. Would you have any message to share for Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary, and the related events at the WAGC?

It was an honour to visit the Nihon Ki-in during this special anniversary. As a fan of the game, experiencing the exhibition, and taking part in the celebratory events before the WAGC was delightful.

Nikola (right) playing in a team match against Yūki Satoshi 9p

Renaud Gaban, Belgium

1. What were your general impressions from the WAGC this year?

I had no prior experience with such international competition, so I got impressed and amazed by everything this week. Of course I have no comparison to make, but it seemed to me like this WAGC was an outstanding edition.

2. How did you prepare for the tournament, and how did you feel about your results?

I trained a lot since January (daily 101weiqi routine, online tournaments, etc.,) and came with high ambitions. I can say it was a success, ranking first of the registered kyu players with an unexpected 31st place overall.

3. How will you continue playing or studying go after you return home?

With my results here, I will likely achieve the 1-dan EGF milestone that has been my ultimate goal as a Go player. But I’m confident that I can still improve, and I certainly got inspired to keep playing Go for years after the WAGC.

4. Would you have any message to share for Nihon Ki-in’s 100th anniversary, and the related events at the WAGC?

I enjoyed all the activities and felt honoured to be able to attend them. In general we have been treated with great consideration throughout the week. I hope the Nihon Ki-in will be able to host other events for amateur players in the future.

After the first two rounds on Day One prepared the field, rounds three and four on Day Two of the tournament started to see players of similar strength battling it out on the go board. Games started at 9:30 on the morning, followed by a lunch break and then another round at 13:30 in the afternoon. For lunch, Japanese meal boxes were provided by the organiser. After finishing a game, players had the opportunity to get commentaries by professional players such as Ichiriki Ryō, Japan’s current top player, and Michael Redmond, one of the most famous go teachers worldwide.

After four rounds at the end of Day Two, four players remained undefeated: Ōzeki Minoru from Japan, Bai Baoxiang from China, Kim Jeong-Seon from Korea, and Lo Sheng-Chieh from Chinese Taipei. On round five on Day Three of the tournament, Korea was paired to play against Chinese Taipei and Japan against Korea, starting the series of key matches to decide the champion.

The Chinese Bai Baoxiang is a true veteran of the World Amateur Go Championship, having participated in 2011, 2016, 2017, and 2022, and having won it each time with a perfect score. Bai was therefore the favourite for the win this year, too, but on round five the unexpected happened: Japan’s Ōzeki Minoru managed to eke out a half-point win, staging a major upset much to the Japanese home audience’s delight. Ōzeki stopped Bai’s extremely impressive 34-game win streak in the WAGC.

Meanwhile on the second board, Korea’s Kim Jeong-Seon, who won the WAGC in 2023, defeated Chinese Taipei’s Lo Sheng-Chieh. The two undefeated players of Japan and Korea then met on round six, with Korea’s Kim defeating Japan’s Ōzeki by resignation.

Now, after six rounds of tournament at the end of Day Three, Korea stands undefeated at six wins and Japan, China, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, and Israel have five wins. Korea and China have been paired to meet on round seven; if Korea wins the match, Korea most likely also wins the whole championship, but if Korea loses to China there is a high likelihood of SOS and SOSOS tiebreakers becoming decisive in the end. All eyes are therefore on the Korea–China match tomorrow morning.

The up-to-date results of the tournament as well as the next pairing can be found on the tournament website.

Below you can view the record of the Japan–China match, where Ōzeki finally put a stop to Bai’s winning streak.

Kim Dohyup (left) plays Yang Yaoling, last year’s winner

The 52nd Prague Tournament was held on 26–28 April and brought together 169 players from 24 countries, turning into one of the largest European weekend tournaments. Almost 70 of the participants were ranked 1d or higher.

The winner was Kim Dohyup 7d, who remained undefeated. This was the fourth European competition Kim attended this year, out of which he has won three. The runner-up was Ali Jabarin 2p and third came Andrii Kravets 1p; both lost only to the champion and the final order was decided by the tie-breakers (SOS).

Below is the record of the game played on round 6 between Kim Dohyup and last year’s winner of the Prague Tournament, Yang Yaoling 7d.

Report by Artem