The European Women’s Championship took place in Strasbourg on 13–14 May, bringing together 45 participants from various countries. The winner was Li Ting 1p, who remained undefeated in all five rounds.
Below you can see a record of the game she played against Ariane Ougier 4d, the runner-up.
Report by Artem
Along with the Paris Tournament, the Prague Tournament is one of the oldest annual go competitions in Europe. Its 51st edition took place on 29 April–1 May. Yang Yaoling 7d repeated the success he achieved in Paris earlier in April and won the Prague Tournament with a flawless score as well – 6:0.
The runner-up was Kim Dohyup 7d and the third place went to Jan Prokop 6d. For more information, visit the website of the Prague Tournament.
Below you can see a record of the game the winner of the tournament played against Pavol Lisy 2p on the fifth round.
Report by Artem
Yang Yaoling 6d
The 50th edition of the Paris International Tournament, one of the oldest annual European competitions, took place in the French capital on April 8–10 and brought together 200 participants from 20 countries. The winner was Yang Yaoling 6d, who remained undefeated in all six rounds. He was followed by a group of seven players with four wins. According to the tie-breakers, the runner-up was Vsevolod Ovsiienko 5d and the third place went to Cornel Burzo 6d.
Below is a record of the game between the winner and the runner-up.
Report by Artem
The International Society of Go Studies (ISGS) announced their first International Go Conference on 2023 August 31 in cooperation with the Department of Go Studies at Myongji University in Yongin (South Korea). The conference theme is ‘Go in the age of A.I.’ and ISGS editorial chair Bae Incheol invites scholars to present their research findings about:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a presentation proposal by May 31, 2023 to badukstudies@gmail.com. Speakers of accepted proposals will be notified by June 20, 2023. Accepted speakers from abroad will receive 500,000 KRW in addition to free meals and accommodation for four days, three nights for their presentation and paper.
More information is available at www.intergostudies.net.
28th EYGC prize winners
The 28th European Youth Go Championship (EYGC) took place on 22–25 March in Ankara, Turkey, and brought together 87 players from 11 countries. Traditionally, separate tournaments were held for the three age categories: U12, U16, and U20. After six rounds of intense struggle, the results were as follows (top three in each age category):
U12
U16
U20
For more information, visit the website of the 28th EYGC.
Below can see a record of the game, played in the U20 category in the third round between the two leaders, Denis Dobranis 5d and Arved Pittner 5d.
Report by Artem
Jan Simara 1p
The second stage of the 7th European Professional Qualification took place in Brno on March 10–12. In the semifinal, Lukas Podpera 7d defeated Dominik Boviz 6d with a score of 2-0. In the other semi-final between Benjamin Teuber 6d and Jan Simara 6d, all three games were played and the latter won two, making his way to the final.
In the dramatic final match between two Czech players, Lukas Podpera 7d and Jan Simara 6d, Jan lost the first game but won the two following ones. The last game ended up with the slightest margin in Chinese counting – Black won by one and a half points. Thus, Jan won the 7th European Professional Qualification and is promoted to 1-dan professional!
It is worth noting that Jan won the European Championship 2012, defeating Ilya Shikshin in the final.
Below is a record of the third and deciding game of the final between Jan and Lukas.
Report by Artem
The first stage of the 7th European Professional Qualification took place in Brno, Czechia, on February 25–26. The eight invited participants played out the best-of-three quarter-final matches:
The second stage – the semi-final and the final – will take place at the same location on March 10–11. Same as in the first stage, the games will be broadcast live and commented on the EGF Twitch channel. For more information, visit the web page of the event.
Below you can find a record of the third game of the quarter-final match between Elian Grigoriu 6d and Lukas Podpera 7d.
Report by Artem
The final of the 6th Professional Qualification, Lukáš Podpěra vs. Stanisław Frejlak
The first stage of the 7th European Professional Qualification will take place on February 25–26 in Brno, Czechia. It will feature the quarter-finals of the knockout tournament, bringing together eight invited participants:
Each match is a best of three. The semi-final and final rounds will be held at the same location on March 10–12. The overall winner of this two-stage competition will be certified as the ninth professional player by the European Go Federation.
For more details, see the web page of the event. Live game commentary will be available on the EGF Twitch channel.
Report by Artem
The International Society of Go Studies (ISGS) held their founding ceremony on February 17th at the Korea Baduk Association (KBA) in Seoul, Korea. The event was attended by about 60 people, including many officials of Go organizations, such as the former president of the IGF, Park Jungchae; Secretary-General of the Asian Baduk Federation, Kim Hyuanghee; Secretary-General of the Korea Baduk Association, Yang Jaeho 9p; the president of the Korea University Baduk Association, Kim Jinhwan; the president of the Korean Women’s Baduk Association, Lee Kwangsoon; and the head coach of the Korean National Team, Mok Jinseok 9p, to mention only a few.
Nam Chihyung, dean of the department of Go Studies at Myongji University, was inaugurated as the president of the International Society of Go Studies. In her inauguratory speech she said, ‘So many people in Korea and abroad contributed to founding the society. I would like to thank all who have helped us including today’s distinguished guests.’ Along with her thank-you message, she explained the background and reasons for the establishment: ‘Upon facing the crisis of the possible closing of the Department of Go Studies, we have been encouraged and supported by Go lovers around the world, which made us realize that Go Studies is not just for Korea, nor just for the Go department at Myongji University. This has led us to decide to establish the ISGS.’
Photo: ISGS president Nam Chihyung (Courtesy of Oh Myeongjoo/KBA)
The new society succeeds the Korean Society for Baduk Studies (KSBS) which actively promoted Go research from 2003 to 2018. Following the footsteps of the KSBS, the newly founded International Society of Go Studies aims to promote academic research on Go, activities that help spread and teach Go, host academic research presentations, publish an academic journal, as well as foster exchange among research institutes, organizations, and businesses. The inaugural volume of the Journal of Go Studies consists of six research articles in Chinese, Korean, and English, along with an essay, and a book review of an academic Go book. The journal is expected to be published twice a year, with the next volume to be published in August.
Photo: Founding ceremony of the International Society of Go Studies (Courtesy of Oh Myeongjoo/KBA)
Former KSBS presidents Lim Seongbin, Park Woosuk, and Jeong Soohyun will serve as ISGS Honorary Advisors, and endorsed the new organisation’s endeavors in their speeches. Additionally, foreign video congratulatory speeches were conveyed from ISGS Vice-President Sun Yuan 3p (China), Honorary Advisors Tanioka Ichiro (Japan) and Korsak Chairasmisak (Thailand), LG Cup winner Chou Chun-hsun 9p (Chinese Taipei), and directors Xu Ying 5p (China), Wu I-Chen (Chinese Taipei), and Silvia Lozeva (Australia).
Quite differently from the KSBS, the ISGS executive is of international background, as listed below:
For the complete list of the executive and other information on the ISGS, contact Secretary-General Kim Chaelim at badukstudies@gmail.com, or check out the website (to be opened soon).
Report by Daniela Trinks (Dep. of Go Studies, Myongji University)
The European Grand Prix is an annual series of tournaments, in which participants collect so-called ‘bonus points’ for high performance. The bonus points list is then used for selecting sixteen players for the Grand Prix Finale, a tournament that concludes the series.
This year’s Grand Prix Finale took place in Grenoble, France on January 25–27. Stanislaw Frejlak 1p was the winner: having lost to Lucas Neirynck 6d in the first round of the group stage, he won all the following games of the group and knockout stages, including the final game against the same Lucas Neirynck 6d. You can find a record of that game below.
For more details, such as tournament table and game records, visit the 2022 Grand Prix Finale web page.
Report by Artem