In early august, the 34th International Amateur Pair Go Championship took place in Japan, together with the World Student Pair go Championship and the Handicap Pair go Championship. Several European pairs participated in all these events. Usually, the event is held in Tokyo in December, but this year was special.

The core of this article is written by Natalia Klamecka (Poland), with contributions from Yunuen Vital (Mexico). This is an example of how Pair Go creates ties much beyond geographical frontiers!

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This year’s Pair Go Championship was something special — and that’s thanks to the location: the Expo 2025 site in Osaka. Holding the tournament at the Expo was definitely entertaining, as various programs were happening on the stage in the same pavilion where we played. Who would’ve thought that cheerleading and Go go so well together? Especially when your partner is taking a little too long to think — and you just happen to catch a dance show out of the corner of your eye.

Were the sounds and sights a little distracting? Perhaps. But we persevered.

Jokes aside, we had the chance to see real masters at play, as the Professional Pair Go matches were held just a few meters from us. To have players like Ichiriki Ryo, Iyama Yuta, Shibano Toramaru, Ueno Asami, Ueno Risa, and other top Japanese names competing right next to you — that’s not something you’re likely to experience in Europe. It was truly inspiring to observe their struggles, perseverance, and victories in person.

Getting There

Believe it or not, my Pair Go partner (representing Poland) and I had never played together before. Our first game against each other happened… on the plane to Japan. Fortunately, we quickly discovered that our styles were quite compatible and even managed to discuss a few strategies just before touching down in Japan.

The long journey to the other side of the globe left us exhausted, so after registering with the tournament organizers, we took a "quick" 3-hour nap. Later, we met up with several familiar faces (and a few new ones) and went exploring the center of Osaka to satisfy both our food cravings and tourist instincts. We ended up in a Go-themed pub in Dotonbori — a cozy little place with incredibly friendly staff. That’s when we knew: we were off to a great start!

Friday 08.08 – Day 0

Opening Ceremony

There’s no Go tournament without an opening ceremony — and here, it felt like we had several. First came a formal welcome at the hotel, where officials introduced themselves and representatives from different countries entertained us with music, dance, or speeches. We also got to try sweets from across the globe. A highlight of the evening? The real-time AI translation tool, which gave us plenty of laughs thanks to some rather… creative translations.


Yunuen Vital (Mexico)
The first day was really welcoming, we all looked beautiful in our national costumes. We gathered at the hotel and heard very inspiring speeches from the organization. We had some cultural interpretations, the pair from Kyrgyz Republic made a speech and Adelina Abdybekova played the komuz. The pair from Colombia danced while Manto Rodriguez sang. Along with other participants, I had the opportunity to talk about my experience playing Pair Go. I said that it is fulfilling its goal in Latin America, since there are more women playing go and that I’m happy it exists. We also shared some snacks and sweets from our countries. I was right next to the Mexican section to see how people from other countries react to the sweets with chili and spices, nobody spit them as far as I could tell, so it went well. I also tried a little bit of everything, including chocolates, bubble gum with temporary tattoos, a home-made cake from Hungary and a very unusual sweet with licorice and salt (which I was told it was an acquired taste).

Next, buses took us to the Expo site, about an hour away. After a proper security check (think airport-level: scanners, luggage checks, ID badges), we arrived at the venue — a large pavilion featuring two stages, photo walls, baduk artwork, and of course, playing tables. The central area was especially cool, with high-quality Go boards and special Pair Go bowls.

After snapping a few photos in front of the photo wall, my partner Dawid Jurkiewicz and I seized the chance to play a friendly match with the Swedish pair.
We didn’t get to finish before the actual ceremony began, but the game felt pretty even — which put us, as the underdogs, in a good mood.

As expected, the official ceremony involved speeches, officials, and more speeches. Thankfully, the AI translation tool didn’t disappoint, continuing its streak of unintentional comedy. Honestly, I’ll be sad when they improve it.

Goodwill Game

For the Goodwill Game, we were mixed up with other participants to form new, random pairs — some even got to play with professionals! It was a real challenge to align strategies with a new partner, especially when you don’t share a common language.

With my Japanese 6-dan partner, we managed to beat a Japanese-Australian team. A nice little confidence boost ahead of the real competition!

YV: It was really nice to play with a partner from another country and meet new styles and ways to play go, in my case, my partner was someone I already knew! My friend Mr. Akira Nishijima, Secretary General of the SIIG (International Go Exchange Society by its acronym in Spanish). After that, some of us were invited to participate in the SOROYURU Fashion Show, where we modeled our national costumes.

That evening, after returning to the hotel, we grabbed dinner nearby. Jetlag was still strong, so most of us headed to bed early to stay prepared for the games that were about to begin.

Saturday 09.08 – First Day of the Tournament

Waking up was tough — we had to meet at 7:00 a.m. sharp to catch the bus (and fit in breakfast before that). Some of us were still recovering from karaoke the night before, so the hour-long ride came in handy for a nap.

At the Expo site, I managed to annoy one of the security guards by veering off the assigned walking path after the checkpoint (trying to get back on the bus faster). Note to self: don’t try this in Japan. They really like their rules. Thankfully, I was only scolded — in Japanese — and let off the hook (not understanding the scolding helped soften the blow).

We played three games that day, so there wasn’t much time to rest — especially since both my partner and I are on the slower side. The day started rough with two losses (against Malaysia and Thailand), but we bounced back with a win against the Czech pair.

The unlimited bottled green tea kept us going — as did the shockingly cold AC. While it was 35°C outside, inside it felt like someone set the air conditioning to “Arctic”.

After the games, it was dinner and more karaoke, of course. Going out as a group and sharing dishes was, as always, a tesuji for trying as many new foods as possible. And it turns out we had some pretty talented singers among us (shout-out to New Zealand!).

Sunday 10.08 – Second (and Last) Day

By day two, it already felt like the end was near. Luckily, we got to sleep in a little longer, and now that we knew the drill — follow instructions, stay in line, smile politely — everything went more smoothly.

We started the day with a win against Argentina, and finished with a loss to the US Pair Go champions. Ending with 2 wins out of 5 felt like a respectable result, and we happily headed to the Closing Ceremony.

As expected, the Chinese pair took first place, and overall, Asian teams dominated the leaderboard — taking the top 14 spots. A special shout-out to Sweden’s Lova Wåhlin and Charlie Åkerblom, who finished 16th overall, highest among European teams, with three wins — one of which was a half-pointer!

Let's note as well the great performance of Cherry and Bin Hu, who won the A group of the Handicap tournament!

Costume Contest

Unfortunately, none of the European costumes caught the jury’s eye this year. But I must admit — the Mexican pair deserved their win. They went the extra mile with national costumes and special makeup. It was as if Día de los Muertos came early this year.

YV: When I learnt that Nico and I would participate in the Pair Go World Festival and that we would be asked to wear national costumes, I went nuts. I really like clothing, which is why I wanted to design our outfits for the event, I got inspired by the “Catrina” on “Día de Muertos” (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. I also made my own dress and the makeup, a friend embroidered Nico’s shirt and my blouse, and my mom made my headdress. I said I went nuts, but I didn’t expect such an incredible reaction from other people; we were interviewed for tv by NHK world and by the Kobe newspaper; I felt like I was famous. We also won the Best Dressed Award in our category and met the famous designer Junko Koshino. The icing on the cake was that we met the legendary Sai from Hikaru no Go and his mother (they also won best dressed for their tournament), and Nico and I played Pair Go with them; they were really nice and funny, when it was his turn, Sai would point with his fan where he wanted to play.

I’m really happy to be part of the Pair Go World Festival and meet people from all over the world. I think that even when we don’t speak the same language, we can be friends and communicate through the board.

Last Night Together

For some of us, it was our final night together. We pushed through our tiredness and gathered for one last karaoke session in private rooms with all-you-can-eat ice cream, fries, and soft drinks. That slightly sweetened the knowledge that we were about to part ways with each other.

And yes, we closed the evening with the dramatic strains of Celine Dion’s "My Heart Will Go On". Some of us (the sleepy ones) went back to the hotel after that. Others? Let’s just say the party animals stayed way longer.

Sightseeing in Japan

The next few days for me personally meant discovering Japan for the first time. I had the pleasure to see Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima — if only partially, and only briefly. Each of these places left me wanting to go back — Kyoto for all the temples, nature, souvenir shops, food, and geishas; Nara, obviously, for the deers (there are around 1400 of them roaming freely around the city — and you should bow to them, too!); and Hiroshima for its somber, complex history.

Needless to say, I returned home with a suitcase several kilos heavier — thanks to all the sweets and souvenirs. But most importantly, I returned with new friendships and unforgettable memories, and a heart full of gratitude for the organizers who made it all possible.

More photos: https://www.pairgo.or.jp/pgwf/2025/photo/ 
All results: https://www.pairgo.or.jp/pgwf/2025/index_en.php