Last spring we had an exciting online tournament between the teams of China and Europe. 10 players from each side struggled in an "arena" format, also known as win-and-continue. In the end, it was the team from China which won with a score of 10:2. You can find more details in the review of the 1st China vs Europe Online Go Tournament.

This time we have a similar tournament between the teams of the European Students and Fudan University (Shanghai). The same format will be used:

• 1 game per day
• the loser gets eliminated, the winner keeps playing
• the team which has no players anymore loses the competition

There are 11 players in each team. The European Students Team consists of young people from such countries as Czechia, Italy, Luxembourg, France, Poland, and Ukraine. The Fudan University Team consists mostly of the Fudan University students, plus one child and a Master.

Another difference between this tournament, and the tournament against the team of China, is that the two sides don't try to line up the strongest players, demonstrating their power. To make the event spectacular, the teams have players of a similar level, and specific structure: one child in each team, female players, low dan players, high dan players. The Chinese team also has one professional player, while the European team has some top amateurs, plus two pros: me and Tanguy.

Check the links given above for more details about the teams. I personally enjoyed a lot being able to read a personal message from each player, even those European players whom I have known for many years! I got used to the idea that among Go players there are many programmers and mathematicians. But some people also study in such majors as Diplomacy, Psychology, or even International Marketing. That's impressive for me.

The time settings for the match are the following: 1-hour basic time, 5 overtimes of 60 seconds. The games are scheduled at 13:30 CEST each day. The first 5 games of the tournament are going to be played on one of the Chinese servers (Fox or YIKE), while the following games will be played on the OGS. I will try to keep you informed by posting a link to the game in the commentaries to this article, so you can come to cheer up for Europe! The results and pairing will be published daily at the pairing & results page.

The first game starts on August 27th between the two kids: Anna Melnyk 2k (Ukraine) vs Xie Changlin 5k (China).


Let me introduce the coach of the Fudan University Team - a person to who belongs the idea of such a tournament, and who puts a lot of effort into organizing it. Her name is Ye Jinjin (Aimee Ye), 3 dan professional.

She entered Fudan University in 1995, graduated, and worked as the instructor of the Weiqi Association and coach of the Weiqi team. Since then, her team members have won many national university students Go team championships.

Ye Jinjin 3p has some impressive achievements in her Go career of professional player:

• Women's Professional Championship Individual champion (1994)
• Ying's Cup University Weiqi Championship 2 individual championships, 3 team championships (1995-1999)
• Shanghai Teacher Weiqi Championship (Mixed Male and Female Competition) Individual Champion (2004)
• Shanghai Adult Weiqi Championship Women's Individual Champion (2010)
• Seventh place in the National Evening News Cup competition. She is the only female player who has reached the top ten in this 32-time China's most valuable amateur event and mixed men's and women's competition.

Here is what she says about the coming competition:

"From 2018 to 2019, I participated in two European Go Congresses held in Italy and Belgium, and met and made many European Weiqi friends. I hope that more Fudan students will step on the bridge of friendship between China and Europe to appreciate the beauty of Go through cultural and academic exchanges. I learned French and Italian through software, watching movies, and singing songs, and realized the better memory and logical thinking ability brought by learning Weiqi.

I hope that the image of Weiqi players in the traditional concept will be changed. It is no longer obsessed exclusively with skills and talking less in front of the board, but relying on the innovation of AI technology to free up players’ time and learn more. Social contact is very important.
 
Weiqi players are keener to explore knowledge in various academic fields, and use the image of comprehensive development of morality, intelligence, and body, to contribute to the Weiqi culture.

I hope that this arena will be a good start and will continue twice a year. I hope government departments, entrepreneurs, and Weiqi fans who are willing to provide financial support can connect and promote the development of Weiqi through this event platform. I hope that professional Go players and amateur Go fans will become closer friends and comprehend the truth of Go in life.

I hope that European and Fudan students can have a pleasant exchange."