4th European Pro Qualification 2017, Vienna

By Laura Avram | Articles | 16.06.2017 16:19 | Comments: 7

This year's tournament that will end a European go player's amateur career began this week in Vienna, Austria. 16 players took part in this first stage of the tournament, called the European Pro qualification 2017. The first 3 rounds have been played on the 15th and 16th June in a double-knock-out system. The 8 players qualified after this first stage will be playing a knock-out tournament in July in Pardubice to decide the new European Champion. But before jumping into the details, here is a brief history of the professional go system in Europe.  Read more...

Amsterdam Go tournament

By Marika Dubiel | Articles | 02.06.2017 23:36 | Comments: 1

The Amsterdam International Go Tournament took place on the long sunny weekend of 25-28th May. The main event, which was happening this year for the 60th time, attracted 83 players from 18 countries, including the United States. In this article, Marika Dubiel (2d, the Netherlands) shares a go diary, with contributions from a selection of the top dan players who experienced the tournament this year: Chi-Min Oh (7d, France), Jonas Welticke (6d, Germany), Dominik Boviz (6d, Hungary) and Sinan Depov (5d).
  Read more...

What a set of go rules from a national championship in Europe used to look like 31 years ago

By Laura Avram | Articles | 08.05.2017 13:17 | Comments: 2

Have you ever wondered what go tournaments were like in Europe 20, 30 or maybe even 50 years ago? To offer a glimpse of this, last month I translated the impressions which a player had after attending the first National Romanian Go Championship, which took place in 1986 in Cluj-Napoca. Now I continue by translating the set of rules of the same tournament.  Read more...

New monument to AlphaGo in Vienna

By Viktor Lin | Articles | 01.04.2017 20:13 | Comments: 3

As if the touchscreen table was not enough reason for a go player to visit Vienna/Austria, another go landmark has been installed in the heart of Vienna: a monument to AlphaGo.  Read more...

Play go anywhere, any time: Top 3 DIY go sets

By Marika Dubiel | Articles | 01.04.2017 10:12 | Comments: 1

Are you a beginner who is hesitating whether or not to invest in a standard wooden go board and proper go stones? Or are you an advanced player searching for a creative DIY challenge? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this post is for you. To help you decide on the right solution, the ideas presented are ranked in a go-fashion according to the level of your DIY skills.  Read more...

CEGO Academic Programme 2016/17 in Beijing

By Viktor Lin | Articles | 20.03.2017 1:48 | Comments: 3

From September 2016 to February 2017, six European players were handpicked to study go in China under the CEGO Academic Programme: the two professionals Ali Jabarin 1p and Mateusz Surma 1p; two players, Jonas Welticke 6d and Stanisław Frejlak 6d, who recently joined the realm of 6d players in order to qualify for the programme; and two youngsters, Vjacheslav Kajmin 4d (now 5d) and Oscar Vazquez 3d (now 4d), who promptly won the European U20 and U16 Youth Champion titles respectively after returning from Beijing.
Below you can find the diary of Jonas Welticke who, in his unique artistic writing style (not quite unlike his go style), gives a first-hand recount, highlighting selected details of his experiences during the CEGO Academic Programme in Beijing.  Read more...

European Youth Go Team Championship 2016/2017

By Laura Avram | Articles | 07.02.2017 12:25

The European Youth Go Team Championship, which took place between December 2016 and January 2017. This tournament serves as a warm-up for the European Youth Go Championship 2017, which will take place this month in Grenoble.   Read more...

Go & Brain (1): What does your brain do while you play go?

By Marika Dubiel | Articles | 23.12.2016 14:46 | Comments: 1

What happens to your brain when you play go? Most of the statements about the cognitive benefits of playing go are based on hearsay (someone said so) or common sense (of course, mental training improves your mental capacities!). This article introduces some of the most interesting neuroscientific findings to the general audience.  Read more...