Website of The International Go Federation

2021 Grand Slam final in Belgrade: Artem Kachanovskyi 2p vs. Tanguy le Calve 1p

The seventh edition of the Grand Slam – the most prestigious European go competition – will take place in Niš, Serbia, on December 1–4. Sixteen top European players will battle in four rounds of knockout for the winner’s prize of €10,000.

The winners of the past editions are:

• Berlin, 2015: Ilya Shikshin 1p
• Berlin, 2016: Ali Jabarin 1p
• Berlin, 2017: Artem Kachanovskyi 1p
• Berlin, 2018: Ilya Shikshin 2p
• Berlin, 2019: Mateusz Surma 2p
• Belgrade, 2021: Artem Kachanovskyi 2p

For the list of participants, schedule, and more information, visit the 2022 Grand Slam web page.

Report by Artem

The 13th Pandanet Go European Team Championship (PGETC) brings together 36 teams, split into leagues from A to D. In each league, teams play out an online round-robin, ending in the spring next year. The top four teams of the A league qualify for the face-to-face final, traditionally held at the European Go Congress in July. For more information, visit the web page of the PGETC.

The first round of leagues A and B took place on October 18th. The results of the first round in league A are:

Ukraine v. Serbia: 4-0
France v. Austria: 2-2
Czechia v. Netherlands: 3-1
Poland v. Israel: 1-3
Romania v. Hungary: 2-2

The draw between the teams of Austria and France was unexpected since the latter is one of the traditional favourites of the tournament. Below you can find a record of the game between Viktor Lin 6d (Austria) and Dai Junfu 8d (France).

Report by Artem

This year’s European Women’s Go Championship took place on September 24–25 in Budapest and brought together 40 participants.

After five rounds, three players topped the tournament table with four wins. According to tie-breakers, the final order was the following:

1. Rita Pocsai 5d
2. Ariane Ougier 4d
3. Manja Marz 3d

Thus, Rita Pocsai 5d became the new European Women’s Champion.

Below you can find a record of the game between Anna Melnyk 2d and Rita Pocsai 5d, played on the third round.

Report by Artem

The 64th European Go Congress (EGC) took place in Vatra Dornei, Romania, from July 22nd until August 7th. It brought together over 300 go-lovers from Europe and beyond. For many it was a great occasion to see each other after a long break – the last EGC was held in Brussels in 2019, and since then it has been cancelled due to the worldwide COVID pandemic.

As per tradition, this year’s EGC featured events such as the Pandanet Go European Team Championship, European Championship, Open European Championship, Rapid Tournament, Weekend Tournament, Pair Go Tournament, etc.

Even though this year the Asian participants still had difficulties traveling to Europe, some players did come: the winner of the Open European Championship was Choi Wonjin 1p, followed by their countrymates Kim Yuchan 1p and Kim Dohyup 7d.

Vatra Dornei is a picturesque town located in the Carpathian mountains – the participants could enjoy hiking in breaks between playing their favourite game.

You can find more photos from the 64th EGC in the photo album by Harry van der Krogt.

While it’s not yet decided where the EGC will take place next year, the EGC 2024 will be held in Toulouse – their website already works and accepts registrations.

Report by Artem

The final of this year’s Pandanet Go European Team Championship (PGETC) took place in Vatra Dornei, Romania, on 22–23 July. Traditionally, it is a part of the European Go Congress, preceding the rest of the tournaments, such as the European Championship.

The four teams that qualified for the final were France, Ukraine, Czechia, and Poland.

Ukraine scored two wins on the first day against Poland and Czechia, while France tied with Czechia and defeated Poland. Ukraine tied with France on the second day, while Czechia beat Poland. Therefore, the final order of the teams is as follows: Ukraine, France, Czechia, and Poland.

For more detailed results, see the web page of the event.

It’s worth noting that Ukraine won the PGETC final only once in the past – at the EGC 2016 in St. Petersburg.

Below you can find a record of the game played in the last round of the final on the first board of the match between France and Ukraine – Tanguy Le Calve 1p vs. Artem Kachanovskyi 2p.

Report by Artem