Promoting Go in the UK and beyond

How to qualify is defined by the British Championship Rules.

A2   Eligibility

Members of the BGA are eligible to play in the British Championships events, subject to the qualifying criteria for each competition and the discretion of the BGA Council, provided that:

• they hold or are eligible to hold a British passport; or
• they have been resident in the UK for the five calendar years prior to the year in which the particular championship is being held, with no continuous absence exceeding six months.

and

D2   Qualification

Qualification for the Candidates’ Tournament will be from playing all rounds in a tournament in the preceding calendar year and achieving an EGF rating of 1900 or higher thereafter. For the avoidance of doubt the London Open is the last qualifying event in the year.

Please note that deliberately entering an event at too high a grade just to get a 1900 rating will not be tolerated.

The BGA Council has the discretion to allow participation of other players in exceptional circumstances.

In addition to the above there shall be one reserve place made available to be activated only if there would otherwise be an odd number of players participating. If the position is activated, this player shall be treated as if they had qualified in their own right. The Championships’ Organiser shall be responsible for allocating this place.

and

E1   Qualifying Tournaments

These are tournaments from which players may qualify for the Candidates’ Tournament stage of the British Championship.

E2   Tournament Conditions

In order to count as a Qualifying Tournament the following criteria must be met:

• the tournament is EGF rated
• the tournament is in the calendar year prior to that of the Championship (year ends with London Open)

The list of qualifiers for 2007 shows all players that have a valid rating after a qualifying tournament but does not check the other conditions of qualifying and eligibility.