Every birth is a new beginning. We are born to begin. And we begin again every time we introduce the unexpected. For this reason, attending the first tournament of a newly formed go club is an event not to be missed. Even more so when it is in a city as beautiful as Granada.
The event was held at the Santo Domingo College, a venue that housed the participants and also allowed for all the activities typical of a go tournament.





The setting, in addition to being beautiful and welcoming, conveyed a peace and tranquility that encouraged pause and reflection, essential elements for the practice of go. It was here that the 1st Corpus Granada Go Open took place on June 20th and 22nd.






Participants of 1st Corpus Granada Go Open



It was a pleasant surprise to find a number of new participants of very diverse ages enthusiastically participating in a go tournament for the first time. At the same time, there was a strong representation from the various clubs, as there was also a prize at stake in that category. The atmosphere was very familiar and welcoming, but there was also a desire for competition to defeat an eternal rival or earn points and improve one's ranking. The tournament was Class A, valid for the Spanish Championship, with 5 rounds, the McMahon system, and no handicap using Japanese rules. The main time was 60 minutes with three 20-second byo yomi periods.



The players had the opportunity to review their games in the library with Mateusz Surma 3p, who gave a lecture late Saturday afternoon on attacking in go, where we all had the opportunity to learn the concept of a "see-saw" in an educational way.





I also want to mention the event organizers, who put so much effort and care into preparing it. That's a real achievement! I want to thank the entire Alhambra Go Club in Granada for their hard work and dedication so we could all enjoy the experience of playing Go and have a wonderful event.




Finally, awards were presented in several categories, with the winners' podiums being particularly noteworthy for their outstanding performance in the individual and club competitions.

1st Place: Nam-Ban Club (Representative: Carlos M. Morera)

2nd Place: La Pedra Club (Representative: Guifre Estall)

3rd Place: Gofio Club (Representative: Hiro Miyoshi)

First place went to the admirable Junzhe Wang 4d with 5 wins, second to Sayuri Yamaoka 6d, the new gem of Nam-Ban, with 4 wins, and third to Isaac Ripoll 1d, the young promise of Go in Spain, with 3 wins.

Congratulations to the Go Alhambra club from Granada for its inauguration and wish them the best in their future projects such as the organization of the Spanish Go 9x9 championship and the youth championship.

Here you can find a video that describes the sensations one has when hearing stones whisper.




About the author
Joan Lluis i Rabassó is a 12k player, passionate of Go and Philosophy. He founded a go club in his city, Vilanova i la Geltrú, near Barcelona, and is very active on the Spanish go scene. He also contributed to the European Go Journal and wrote many articles for the EGF website :) !