As also reflected in the name, the Silk Road tournament unites Europe and China in a single go competition. Europe can nominate both amateurs and professional players, while China is allowed to nominate only amateurs. The five previous editions took place in China. So far Europeans have won the tournament twice, while Chinese players have won three times.

This year it was the sixth edition of the tournament, and the first time when it took place in Europe. Vienna, the capital of Austria, was chosen for hosting of the competition. From November 1 to 3, 60 players competed to decide the winner. Along the European and Chinese players, there were also several participants from Malaysia and Thailand.

Europe was represented by its top players, and the competition was very fierce. Altogether there were eight rounds, after which three players had only one defeat. The order of the top three places was decided by tiebreaker criteria. Here is the final order:

1. Artem Kachanovskyi 2p (Ukraine)
2. Li Jiaqi 6d (China)
3. Ilya Shikshin 3p (Russia)

The fate of the 1st place was decided in the last round in the game between Artem and Li. You can find the game record below.

You can see the tournament table and the tournament web page for more information.

Next year the Silk Road tournament will again return to China.

 

 

Report by Artem