Promoting Go in the UK and beyond

Shrewsbury Tournament 04/10/08

Gerry Mills restarted the Shrewsbury Tournament after an 8 year gap at the same venue, The Gateway. 28 players took part and winner was Bill Brakes (2 dan Milton Keynes). Also winning 3 were Ian Price (9 kyu Cardiff) and Reg Sayer (15 kyu Stafford). The three prizes in the 13x13 komi-handicap tournament went to Aston boys: Jack Drury (most wins), Stewart Smith (best percentage) and Calum Healey (for effort).

Belfast Tournament 27/09/08-28/09/08

This year the Belfast Open was played by 14 players over 5 rounds. Only one player from Britain who discovered it was on and travelled to take part. That was Yohei Negi (1 kyu St Andrews) and he was the joint winner with Daniel Paraschiv (1 kyu Galway), both on 4 wins. Equal third were Claas Roever (1 kyu Galway) and Tiberiu Gociu (1 kyu Belfast). Also winning 4 was James Donnelly (10 kyu Belfast).

Arundel Tounament 28/09/08

The first ever Arundel Tournament was held in the historic Norfolk Arms in the shadow of the castle. 20 players took part and the winner was Jaeup Kim, the Korean 5 dan living in Reading, his second win in eight days. Runner up was Francis Roads and a prizes for three wins Mark Nubbert (2 kyu West Surrey) and for 2.5 to Jil Segerman (10 kyu Brighton). The South Coast team won the team prize.

Swindon Tournament 21/09/08

The 12th edition of the Swindon tournament was held, like last time, at the Even Swindon Community Centre. 36 players entered and the winner for a second year was Jaeup Kim, the Korean 5 dan living in Reading. Prizes for three wins went to Andrew Smith (2 kyu Cheltenham), Mark Nubbert (4 kyu West Surrey), Fred Holroyd (5 kyu Milton Keynes) and Emma Benjamin (formerly Marchant, 12 kyu Neath).

Cornwall Tournaments 13/09/08 - 14/09/08

15 players took part in the Cornish Handicap Tournament on the Saturday in Penzance. Winner for a second year was Swindon's Eric Hall (6 kyu). He beat Cornwall's Robert Churchill (12 kyu) in the final. 21 players took part in the Cornwall Tournament on the Sunday. Winner of the tournament was Yaeko Takano (2 dan) from Japan. She beat Toby Manning in the final. Also winning the usual wooden stones were Eric Hall for 3 wins and Phil Willoughby (8 kyu Winchester), the lowest graded player on 2 wins.

Northern, 07/09/08

The Northern Tournament took place like last year at the Masonic Guildhall in Stockport. 28 players took part. Overall winner was Bob Bagot (1 dan Lancaster). Other prize winners on three out of three were Robin Dews (9 kyu Nottingham), David Szotten (9 kyu Manchester), Brent Cutts (11 kyu Nottingham), and Patrick Ridley (15 kyu Chester).

Mind Sports Olympiad Open 25/08/08

The main Open Go event at the MSO took place on the Bank Holiday Monday. 11 players took part. Three players ended on 3/4 and were split by mutual game and mutual opponents tie-breaks. Gold went to Paul Tabor, silver to Yangrang Zhang and bronze to Natasha Regan.

British Small Board 24/08/08

This year the Small Board Championship was held at the Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) in London. Paul Smith (Cambridge) was winner of the national title on 13x13 boards. He beat Paul Tabor in the final; third was Nick Krempel. Also Tony Atkins did well but could not win as arbiter. Winner of the Handicap prize was Xinyi Lu (5 kyu Maidenhead). 11 took part.

Isle of Man Go Week 17/08/08-23/08/08

49 players enjoyed the Go, music, quiz, games, teaching by Matthew Macfadyen, sandcastles, scenery and fun that was the Isle of Man Go Week. It was held again at the Cherry Orchard in Port Erin. Winner of the carved 9x9 Goban for the Open was Matthew Cocke (5 dan York). Joint runners up were Matthew Macfadyen and Piers Shepperson. Also on 4/5 were Natasha Regan (1 kyu Epsom), Geoff Kaniuk (3 kyu Cambridge), Wim Verstegen (5 kyu Netherlands) and David Wildgoose (14 kyu Sheffield). On 3.5 wins were Edmund Stephen-Smith (5 kyu Epsom) and Jil Segerman (10 kyu Brighton) and on 3/4 were David Phillips (1 dan IOM) amd Pita Udo (15 kyu Netherlands).

The winner of the afternoon tournament was Richard Hunter (4 dan IOM). Runner up was Simon Bexfield (1 dan Letchworth) also on 3/3, as were Edwina Lee (5 kyu Maidenhead), Kathleen Timmins (12 kyu Shrewsbury) and Pita Udo (15 kyu Netherlands).

The winner of the Handicap Tournament was Ian Marsh (1 kyu Bracknell) with 5/5 and on 4/5 were Paul Margetts (2 kyu Epsom), Jenny Radcliffe (8 kyu Durham), Jil Segerman (10 kyu Brighton) and Celia Marshall (11 kyu IOM).

Jenny Radcliffe won both the Continuous Lightning and the 13x13 Tournament and, in addition, won the Rengo with Edmund Stephen-Smith. The Diehard Tournament was won by Paul Barnard (1 dan Swindon) and second was Gerry Mills (1 dan West Wales). The Quiz was won by the Manx Kippers team and the Sandcastle competition was won yet again by Charlotte Bexfield and family.

Mind Sports Olympiad Rapid 16/08/08

The first Go event at the 12th MSO in London was the Rapid. Five players played a round robin. Winner from Reading was Tony Atkins (2 dan), who was unbeaten. Taking the silver place was Paul Smith (2 dan Cambridge) and bronze place Xinyi Lu (5 kyu Maidenhead).

Epsom Tournament 19/07/08

The seventh and possibly last Epsom Tournament was held at the usual venue and was supported by Vicky and Stephen Streater, so all 51 players won something. Winner again after a year gap was Li Shen (6 dan); he beat Alistair Wall in the last round. Those with three wins were: Graham Philips (5 kyu), Michael Webster (7 kyu London), Gary Gibson (8 kyu Wanstead), Karsten Starke (10 kyu Epsom) and Jonathan Green (9 kyu Leamington). The 13x13 was won by Xinyi Lu. The 9x9 was won by Oscar Selby. The Team tournament was won by "OGS Team", comprising Graham Philips, Jonathan Green and Andrew Cohen. The booby prize was won by a delighted Pauline Bailey.

UK Go Challenge Finals 06/07/08

The finals were in Cambridge again, at Milton Community Centre. 42 of the best players from 10 school heats and other youngsters tookpart. Winners were:

U18 Boys  - Matthew Hathrell (Finham Park School, Coventry)
U16 Boys  - Hai Xia (King Edward VI, Aston)
U14 Boys  - Ismael Mustafa (King Edward VI, Aston)
U12 Boys  - Stewart Smith (King Edward VI, Aston)
U10 Boys  - Thomas Danes (Cambridge)
U16 Girls - Cher Bachar (Ruislip)
U12 Girls - Danielle Ward (Cambridge)
U10 Girls - Sijia Yao (Milton, Cambridge)
U8  Girls - Roella Smith (Milton, Cambridge)
Overall place winners:
1st - Matthew Hathrell
2nd - Hai Xia
3rd - Stewart Smith
Top Boy: Matthew Hathrell
Top Girl: Cher Bachar 
On 5/6: Tung Nguyen, Jun Hoe Ahn, Renzhi Zhou.
Champion School - Aston
Champion Primary School - Milton (beat London Meed, Burgess Hill 2-1)

All section winners also got a framed certificate showing their achievement and some nice prizes. Owen Walker got the puzzle-solving prize and Ellie Ripley-Duggan got the fighting spirit prize. Cambridge beat Aston in a friendly match.

Challengers' League 27/06/08-30/06/08

The Nippon Club, in Piccadilly London, was the venue for the long weekend of the Challengers' League. 8 top players from the Candidates' played to decide who will play this year's title match. After 4 rounds Matthew Macfadyen and Hui Wang were unbeaten, but on day 3 Hui lost to TMark. As Hui then beat Matthew both ended on 6 wins and will play the title match. Photo gallery

Welsh Open 21/06/08-22/06/08

The 16th Welsh Open at Barmouth was won as always by Matthew Macfadyen (6 dan Leamington) putting him on 78 wins unbeaten at that event. Matthew Cocke (5 dan York) was again second with 4 wins. Third place was Simon Goss (1 dan Bracknell), topping the group on 3 wins. Prize winners with four wins were Sheffield's Kester Sandbach (12 kyu), Shrewsbury's Brian Timmins (8 kyu) and Bangor's Vaughan Hughes (7 kyu). 39 players took part and enjoyed the venue of the Min-Y-Mor Hotel and the seaside setting.

Durham 14/06/08-15/06/08

This time the Durham Tournament had 34 players. Andrew Jones (3 dan Wanstead) was the winner with 5 out of 6. Second placed Alistair Wall (3 dan Wanstead) and third placed Mathieu Flinders (1 kyu York) both got 4.5, after a triple ko in the last round. Winning 5 games was Keith Chapman (19 kyu) from Norwich.

British Pair Go Championships 08/06/08

This year the Pair Go Championships, the 18th, were held again at the Foxcombe Lodge Hotel, Boars Hill near Oxford. Last year's winners Kirsty Healey and Matthew Macfadyen beat Natasha Regan and Matthew Cocke again in the final (by 3.5), to take the championship for the twelfth time. In the 8-pair handicap group the winners were Saint Albans' Sam McCarthy and John Collins. Best dressed pair was Pauline and Steve Bailey and Tony Atkins won the Engineering quiz with 14 points. Furthest travel prize went to Sinikka and Matti Siivola from Finland. Everyone who took part enjoyed the hot sunshine, the very tasty buffet lunch and a choice of pairs of prizes. Gallery

Scottish Open 24/05/08-25/05/08

The Scottish Open stayed at the Masons' Hall in the centre of Dundee and had the two more players than last at 40. With the strong Chinese players having moved south, it was quite an open contest. In fact two 2 kyu players ended on five out of six. First by sos tie break was Yohei Negi from St Andrews from Robbie Miller from Edinburgh. They won £45 and £25 from the bookshop. Winning four wins and a £15 prize from the bookshop were Gerry Mills (1 dan Barmouth), Andrew Smith (2kyu Cheltenham), Ron Bell (4 kyu Borders), Pawel Skrabania (5 kyu Poland), Stig Petersen (8 kyu Dundee), Colin Maclennan (10 kyu Twickenham), Donald Spy (10 kyu Dundee), Kestutis Tauckela (10k), Paul McKenzie (12 kyu Kinglassie) and Adam Prescott (13 kyu Durham). And as for the last two years, everyone received a participation prize of a pot of Dundee marmalade. On the Friday evening in small board lightning the top scorers (winning Cairn O'Mohr fruit wine) were Jenny Radcliffe (Durham, 7 wins from 8 games), Yohei Negi (St. Andrews, 6 wins from 7) and Greg Cox (Dundee, Endurance Prize with 11 games played).

Bracknell 18/05/08

Out of the 45 players five players won all 3 games: winner Jaeup Kim (5 dan Reading), Peter Fisher (6 kyu Leicester), Andre Cockburn (7 kyu Nottingham), Robin Dews (10 kyu Nottingham) and John Collins (16 kyu St Albans). In the new Novices Tournament, that was the local UK Go Challenge heat, the winner was Oscar Selby (aged 5); there were 4 novices and 4 ghost adults. Tony Atkins won the caption contest and Stephen Bashforth won the Go Puzzle competition as Jil Segerman had gone home. Nicola Hurden (10 kyu Bracknell) won the 13x13 and the team prize was won by Leicester by a small amount from Reading.

Candidates' Tournament, Cambridge 03/05/08-05/05/08

The Candidates' Tournament was again on the May Bank Holiday weekend and in the Diamond at Selwyn College in Cambridge. There were 26 players from 6 dan to 2 kyu taking part. At the half way point the players on three wins were Matthew Macfadyen, Matthew Cocke and Hui Wang. In round 5 the two Matthews played and Cocke won and also won his last to come first. Macfadyen came second with 5 and, having lost just his first game, Nick Krempel came third. Hui Wang lead the group on 4 wins. Equal fifth were Des Cann, T Mark Hall and David Ward. First reserve to join the above seven and Bei Ge in the Challengers' League was Alex Selby, also on 4 wins.

BGA Student Tournament 07/04/08-04/05/08

28 students from 3 dan to 30 kyu (and two ghosts) took part in the BGA Student Tournament, which was played online over 4 weeks. Winner with 4 wins was William Brooks (Trinity Cambridge). Runners up were Dave Buckley (University fo Warwick) and Mark Nubbert (St Annes Oxford). Adam Prescott (Durham) won 4/4. There were also good results (3/4) for Maria Tabor, Jonny Kiehlmann, Sandy Taylor, Colin Simpson, David Szotten and James Hadfield.

Bar-Low, Cambridge 04/05/08

23 players attended the Bar-Low kyu-players only tournament in Cambridge. This year, part a smaller mind sports weekend, it was held in the Junior Parlour of Trinity, apart from the other events. Ed Wormington (4 kyu St Albans) and Natasha Regan (1 kyu Epsom) both won 4 out of 5; Ed was declared the winner based on SOS and received a box of chocolates as a prize. Other notable results were Hugo Wainwright (25 kyu St Olave's) with 5 wins and David Carter-Hitchin (17 kyu London) and Danielle Ward (19 kyu Cambridge) on 4 wins.

Coventry 26/04/08

46 players took part in the Coventry Tournament at the University of Warwick. Winner was Matthew Macfadyen (6 dan Leamington). Ewart Shaw (5 kyu Leamington) and Jun Ahn (14 kyu Aston) also won 3/3. Leamington won the team prize and two Aston boys won the 9x9 and 13x13: Sam Muxlow and Callum Healey.

London International Teams 12/04/08

Four teams attended the Nippon Club in Piccadilly for the spring International Teams match. The joint China and Central London Club team was the victor, with 13 wins out of 20. Cambridge, Nippon and Wanstead all won 9/20. Unbeaten in all three games were Ben He (6 dan), Felix Wang (3 dan), Shi Tang (3 dan), David Ward (4 dan) and Jiri Keller (2 kyu). Photos

British Go Congress 04/04/08-06/04/08

William Streeten from Hastings Go Club and Steve Bailey and Geoff Kaniuk from the BGA ran the 41st British Go Congress at Horntye Park Sports Complex in Hastings. The very modern building allowed a distant view of the sea or a chance to watch sports such as judo, archery and hockey being played. The British Lightning took place on the Friday evening in the octagonal room. It started with 18 and ended with 22 players. It was played on the Swiss system using player numbers. The winner by tie-break was a reluctant to enter T Mark Hall (4 dan).

The British Open attracted 50 players. Both the octagon and another room were used for the boards. At the end of the first day the leaders were Toby Manning and T Mark Hall, with Paul Barnard not far behind.

The BGA AGM was held on the Saturday evening from 18:35 to 19:55, after which tables had been reserved in the Cosmo, a Chinese buffet on the seafront.

Day two started bright, though inland had had snow, and snow arrived in Hastings mid-afternoon. The winner of the Open was T Mark Hall with 5/6 and runner up with 4/6 was judged to be Toby Manning, though placed fourth on sos. Prizes for 5/6 went to Paul William Smith (8 kyu Hastings), Milos Podbera (11 kyu Prague), and for 4/4 Jiang Beck (14 kyu Cambridge). Jil Segerman (9 kyu Brighton) won the 13x13 with 3/4 and the Brighton Belles won the Nippon Club Trophy for best team. Toby Manning won the quiz and Pauline Bailey won the spot the stone contest.

Thames Valley Team Tournament, Guildford 24/03/08

Eight teams competed for the Broken Go Stone Trophy and the handmade chocolate egg by Annie Hall. Steve Bailey, of last year's winners Guildford, hosted the event at Burpham Village Hall, Guildford. The team from Maidenhead won the event (Xinyi Lu, David Denholm and Jonathan Englefield). Second equal were Swindon Eric's Idlers. Players on 3/3 were Francis Roads and Pauline Bailey. Winners in the 10x10 event were Shawn Hearn and Mark Nubbert.

British Youth Go Championships 16/03/08, Aston

The 2008 Youth Championships had 37 competitors aged from 7 to 18, with strengths from 4 kyu to 30 kyu, at King Edward VI School. Maria Tabor became the first girl youth champion with 5 straight wins including beating Chinese player Tom Zhai (4 kyu Stowe). Prizes and places went to:

• Overall winner: Maria Tabor (Epsom) 2nd: Mazhar Warraich (Aston)
• U18: Maria Tabor (Epsom) 2nd: Matthew Hathrell (Coventry)
• U16: Steven Donlon (Burton) 2nd: Costas Televantos (Aston)
• U14: Mazhar Warraich (Aston) 2nd: Ken Dackombe (Farnborough Village)
• U12: John Perkins (Aston) 2nd: Jack Drury (Aston)
• U10: Thomas Meehan (Solihull) 2nd: Hannah Sanders (Cardiff)
• U8: Roella Smith (Milton) 2nd: Charlotte Bexfield (Letchworth)
• Winners novice's section: Jack Merrill (Stowe) and Peran Truscott (Cambridge)
• Four wins: Ravinder Hayer (Aston), Joshua Dolman (Aston) and Owen Walker (Cambridge)
• Fighting Spirit Prize: Joshua Zolna (Aston)
• Castledine Trophy: King Edward VI School, Aston
• Team with most wins: Penguin Patrol (Cambridge) with 9/13
• 13x13 knockout event, 1st: Jun Hoe Ahn (Aston) 2nd: Matthew Hathrell (Coventry)
• Puzzle competition: Danielle Ward (Cambridge)
• Liar Dice: Joshua Dolman (Aston)

Cambridge Trigantius 08/03/08

73 players attended this year's Trigantius, plus another 16 in the Novices event, held again at the University Centre but on a Saturday. Shaoyou Ouyang (6 dan London) was the new winner of the event. Players that won all three games were Suzanne Low (1 dan Cambridge), Carin Trygg Monvall (5 kyu West Surrey), Richard Mullens (6 kyu St. Albans) and Owen Walker (19 kyu Cambridge Juniors). Those on two wins had the next choice of prize, but nobody was left out. The best team was TGF from West Surrey. The 13x13 was won by Danielle Ward. The Best Kyu Player cash prize was won by Taka Obita. Pauline Bailey won the spot the errors picture competition.
In the small board Cambridge Novices' tournament the winner was Arnold Chui with 5 wins. Second was Elliot Solomon with 4 and again nobody went home without a prize.

Oxford Tournament 16/02/08

62 players attended the Oxford Tournament at St. Edmund Hall. Winner was Matthew Macfadyen (6 dan Leamington) making a welcome return to one day events. Players on 3/3 were Jim Chim (2 dan Cardiff), David Buckley (1 kyu Leamington), Sue Paterson (4 kyu Brighton), Fred Holroyd (5 kyu Milton Keynes), Gary Gibson (9 kyu Wanstead) and Pauline Bailey (16 kyu West Surrey). Prizes again were sponsored by Hoyles Games Shop. After the event many of the players attended a meal in memory of Simon Eve who instigated the post-tournament meal last year, but sadly died suddenly in May.

Cheshire 09/02/08

On a beautiful sunny day, 24 players attended the 11th Cheshire Tournament. It was held again alongside the Chess Congress at Frodsham Community Centre. Winner of the Open section was organiser Tony Atkins (2 dan); second was George Leach (2 kyu Liverpool). Worthy mention goes to Martin Harvey, who at 5 kyu was the lowest ever player in the Open, yet only missed out from fourth place by half a point in his last game. The winner of the Handicap section had to be decided on tie-break between Andy Price (12 kyu) from Leamington and three of the group of boys from Aston. Huw Talliss came out top, followed by Andy equal with Jack Drury and Calum Healey was fourth. The 10x10 was cancelled for technical reasons.

Maidenhead Furze Platt 19/01/08

65 players attended the HQ of HITACHI Europe Ltd for the 17th Maidenhead Tournament. Jaeup Kim won 3/3 in the top group to win his fourth concurrent title. Other players winning 3/3 were Baron Allday (1 kyu West Wales), France Ellul (6 kyu High Wycombe) and Robin Dews (11 kyu Nottingham). In addition all on 2/3 won a prize thanks to generous sponsorship from HITACHI. Team winner was Bracknell.

London Open 28/12/07-31/12/07

120 players assembled for the first day of the 34th London Open, held again at ISH, Great Portland Street, though a few players expected did not arrive. Special guest was the teaching professional from Amsterdam, Guo Juan. In the Open it was the Chinese players (Shaoyou Ouyang and Ting Li) who would prove the toughest opposition to the favourite, the Korean from Berlin: Seul-Ki Hong. The top board in round 1 was not broadcast live due to a technical problem, but after that games were broadcast over the Internet using Pandanet (IGS).

Game Record Round 1 Board 1 - Hong v Salo
Game Record Round 2 Board 1 - Hong v Kuin

On day 2 there were some tough games between the 6 and 7 dans. After four rounds Shaoyou Ouyang from London and Seul-Ki Hong from Berlin were unbeaten at the top. Also on 4 were Paul Barnard (1 kyu Swindon), Xavier Chaumat (2 kyu Paris) and Piotr Radzikowski (6 kyu Poland). In the evening Guo Juan played simuls and the lightning tournament was held. 42 players took part and the 8 that won through from the group stage were: Davide Bertok, Jenny Radcliffe, Baron Allday, Antti Holappa, Anna Marconi, Jonathan Turner, Ting Li and Julio Martinez. In the semis Julio beat Anna and Ting beat Jonathan. Winner of the tense 7-stone final game was Julio Martinez (4 kyu Barcelona), beating Ting Li (6 dan Beijing). These two players received the prizes of £100 and £50 donated by the Nippon Club.

Game Record Round 3 Board 1 - Ge v Mero
Game Record Round 4 Board 1 - Ouyang v Ting

On day 3, Shaoyou Ouyang beat Hong and then Lluis Oh to take a clear lead. Hong and Ting ended the day on 5 wins. The three players unbeaten by round 4 won one more game each and were joined by 6 more kyu players on 5 wins. In the evening Guo Juan made a lecture to a crowded room, whilst 8 teams played the Pair Go Tournament. Winners were Dominique Cornuejols and Toru Imamura.

Game Record Round 5 Board 1 - Ouyang v Hong
Game Record Round 6 Board 1 - Ouyang v Oh

On day 4, there was only one game in the Open, the last round, as there was no round 8 this year. A huge crowd gathered to watch if Csaba Mero could upset Shaoyou Ouyang's unbeaten record, but he failed, allowing the Chinese 6 dan from London to be the worthy winner. Hong beat Ting Li in the crucial match for second place. Ting got third on SOS tie-break. All players on 4 wins got a London Open certificate and those on 5 or more got a marble paper weight. Winners of 6 games were Xavier Chaumat (2 kyu Paris), Piotr Radzikowski (6 kyu Poland), Peter Harold-Barry (9 kyu St. Albans), Arnaud Delattre (11 kyu France) and Edward Marshall (12 kyu Isle of Man). Just before the prize ceremony Guo Juan reviewed Shaoyou's last game and after it there was an informal 4-round Rengo tournament of twelve mixed size teams. The final was won by Spain's Julio Martinez and Lluis Oh, beating the UK's Jenny Radcliffe, Xinyi Lu and organiser Geoff Kaniuk. The last event was the New Year's Eve meal at a nearby Indian restaurant.

Game Record Round 7 Board 1 - Ouyang v Mero

Scottish Barlow 15/12/07

6th There was a record turnout of 42 players this year. Emerging top of the pile at the end to scoop the whisky was the Glasgow-based Swede Peter Dahlgren (2 kyu), followed by Piotr Wisthal (1 dan Aberdeen). One other player achieved 4 wins: James Hadfield (17 kyu Durham). Besides Piotr, a further 9 players achieved 3 wins: Alex Robertson (19 kyu Edinburgh), Rosie Handford (15 kyu St Andrews), Colin Morey (9 kyu Chester), John Shafer (9 kyu Durham), Jenny Radcliffe (8 kyu Durham), Ron Bell (5 kyu Melrose), Jim Cook (4 kyu Edinburgh), Colin Bavidge (3 kyu Newcastle) and Helen Harvey (3 kyu Manchester).
After Robbie Miller defeating Neil McLean in the 2007 final a month before, also determined were the 2008 Scottish championship semi-finals: Edwin Brady versus Robbie Miller and Piotr Wisthal versus John O'Donnell.

West Surrey Handicap 02/12/07

31 players took part this year. Shawn Hearn (6 kyu Bracknell) won all his games, beating Francis Roads (3 dan Wanstead) in the final. Ken Kneller (8 kyu Wanstead) also won all four games beating Andrew Bell (25 kyu London) in the last round. As well as Francis and Andrew, Andy Price (11 kyu Leamington), Mark Nubbert (4 kyu West Surrey), Neil Cleverly (8 kyu Bournemouth), Chia Hung Lin (6 kyu York University) and Pauline Bailey (16 kyu West Surrey) all won 3. The prize in the 13x13 competition went to Xinyi Lu (5 kyu Maidenhead). The Monopoly board quiz was won jointly by Malcolm Hagan and Pauline Bailey (aided by Gerry Mills). The James Bond theme tune quiz was won by Tony Atkins. On the previous day some 16 students were taught various subjects by teachers Bill Brakes, Francis Roads, Tony Atkins and Paul Tabor. Melissa Ridderhof was the best at Pits card game.

East Midlands Tournament 24/11/07

The National Space Centre in Leicester was again the venue for the second East Midlands Tournament. The 54 players could look at the exhibits for free between games or eat lunch under the jets of a rocket. Winner was a Chinese player from Nottingham, Hui Wang (4 dan); he beat Rujun Yang (3 dan) from Worcester in the last round. Some of the group from Aston School won all three: Hamzah Retah (18 kyu) and Mazhar Warraich (14 kyu). Also on three were Jonathan Green (9 kyu Leamington) and Alban Chauvin (3 kyu Teesside). Leicester Club won the team prize as two of their number won three: Ben Ellis (8 kyu) and Peter Roberts (18 kyu Derby).

Wanstead Tournament 17/11/07

After a year break, the Wanstead Tournament was back on with new organisers at the usual venue of Wanstead House, the community centre in East London. A rush of late entries saw 46 players take part. Winner with 4/4 was the Chinese player living in London, Shaoyou Ouyang (5 dan). Trophies were awarded for three wins to Felix Wang (3 dan London), Jaeup Kim (5 dan Reading), Phil Beck (1 dan Cambridge), Roger Daniel (4 kyu Wanstead), Fred Holroyd (6 kyu Milton Keynes), Ed Wormington (6 kyu St Albans), Aurimas Jasulaitis (8 kyu), Richard Scholefield (11 kyu Milton Keynes) and Michael Webster (14 kyu London).

Three Peaks 10/11/07-11/11/07

Tony Goddard (6 dan Sheffield) made it four in a row at the Three Peaks by winning all 5 games again. The tournament was held as usual in the Marton Arms in the beautiful North Yorkshire country and was the biggest for five years with 62 players taking part. Those winning 4 games were: Tim Hunt (3 dan Milton Keynes), Edwin Brady (3 kyu St. Andrews), Frank Visser (5 kyu Cambridge), Andre Cockburn (8 kyu Nottingham), Brian Timmins (8 kyu Shrewsbury), Anna Griffiths (9 kyu Epsom), Justin Neeves (12 kyu Manchester) and Jiang Beck (15 kyu Cambridge).

Wessex 28/10/07

The Wessex Tournament repeated its new three round format and venue of the J.N. Fear Institute in Keynsham near Bristol, on the day the clocks went back. Regrettably it didn't get the support it deserved with only half the previous attendance at 24. As well as the BGA selling books, Bristol Club were selling off old sets and magazines. Winner was Jaeup Kim (5 dan Reading). He was the only player with 3/3 and beat Paul Christie (3 dan Bath) in the last round. Players winning the lower divisions were Ian Sharpe (2 kyu Bath), Neil Moffatt (5 kyu Cardiff) and Pauline Bailey (17 kyu West Surrey). Peter Collins won the Fred Guyatt 13x13 competition and Reading won the team trophy.

London International Teams 14/10/07

The autumn team event was held at the ISH, home of the Central London Go Club. The Central London Go Club team failed to use the home advantage this time and came last with 6 points. The winners instead were the Nippon Club with 9 points. China and Friends (8) and Wanstead (7) took the other two places. Players winning all 3 games were Shaoyau Ouyang, Andrew Jones and Hiroshi Tamura.

Belfast Tournament 13/10/07

After a short interval of 15 years the Belfast Go Tournament returned. 22 players took part in the rather rapid event, held at the Crescent Arts Centre. It was won by co-organiser Ian Davis (1 dan Belfast) on 4/4. In Second place, on tiebreak, was Noel Mitchell (2 dan Dublin), ahead of Claas Roever (1 kyu Galway). Also on 4 wins was Costin Camarasu (17 kyu), while Arthur Cater (8 kyu) won 3 games. Many competitors opted to take a bye to play simultaneous teaching games with visiting 5 dan professional, Catalin Taranu.

Milton Keynes 07/10/07

59 players attended the Open University for the 19th Milton Keynes Tournament. Bei Ge was playing last year's winner Alex Selby in the Title Match so there was a new tournament winner. This was Shaoyou Ouyang (5 dan London) who beat David Ward (4 dan Cambridge) in the last round. Hui Wang (4 dan Nottingham) was equal second with David. Winning 3/3 were Andrew Simons (2 dan Cambridge), Paul Tabor (1 dan Epsom), Mark Todkill (3 kyu Wanstead), Edwina Lee (5 kyu Maidenhead), Peter Fisher (6 kyu Leicester), Gary Gibson (10 kyu Wanstead) and Dwayne McCormack (11 kyu Leicester). The best team was Wanstead. The MK Go winner was Reuben Margerison (18 kyu Leamington) with 7/8 and runner up was Jonathan Englefield (8 kyu High Wycombe) with a perfect 5.5. As well as the baked potato lunch, after the prize giving everyone was given a tasty Milton Keynes concrete cow biscuit before several players and organisers headed to a local Chinese buffet.

Fife 06/10/07

The 2007 Fife Go Tournament in Cupar was the most successful event yet, attracting 28 players from all over the UK. Again, the tournament was run as a Swiss handicap, and for the first time used AGA rules. The strongest player on 4 wins, and therefore the winner on tie-break, was Russell Ward (7 kyu Aberdeen). Also on four wins was Paul McKenzie (13 kyu Kinglassie). Prizes for three wins went to Gerry Mills (1 dan Swindon), Michael Smith (4 kyu Edinburgh), Jonny Kiehlmann (8 kyu St Andrews), Quintin Connell (12 kyu Glasgow) and Alex Robertson (20 kyu Edinburgh). After the tournament several players enjoyed a curry and some informal go in a local pub.