Oxford City Go Club

We play the oriental board game Go [1] – Japanese: 囲碁 (いご / Igo), Chinese: 围棋/圍棋(WéiQí [Wei-Ch'i]), Korean: 바둑 (Baduk/Paduk).

Visitors, and spectators are always welcome, as are complete beginners – we provide free teaching.

For info on some recent events, see some recent events.

Where we meet

We play in Freud Cafe.

Please check venue details in the table below before every visit!.

Freud Cafe

Thursdays is our main Club night, and we try always to meet in the Freud cafe, Walton Street, Oxford, OX2 6AH (Tel 01865 311171) – see [2], [3], [4], Panoramio [5], and Oxford Guide [6], — this is a building which looks like a Greek temple, and was built as St. Paul's church in 1835-6 (see British History Online [7], and Jericho Echo Online [8]).

Freud's is about one kilometre north west of the City Centre. It is about ten minutes' walk from the bus station, fifteen minutes' walk from the railway station, and fifteen minutes' walk from the city centre.

Parking is easy to find nearby, is free, or costs about £1 for the whole evening.

Freud's on Google Maps with Streetview:

View Larger Map [9]

Here are some other styles of map that you may prefer:

• Bing – Bird's eye view, from an angle (3D) [10].
• Streetmap maps: normal map [11]( print-friendly version [12]), which indicates Freud's with a yellow arrow, or in wider context [13]( print-friendly version [14]), or in widest context [15]( print-friendly version [16]).

When we meet

We normally meet on both Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Thursday is our main Club night, and we almost always meet in Freud Cafe.

We normally meet from about 19:00 to closing time. Closing time in Freuds on a Thursday, is variable – 23:00 to 02:00.

Tuesday is our secondary club night, and the meeting is also held in Freud Cafe.

Please feel free to check the venue with Harry Fearnley by telephone, or email (see below). Please note: The best way to get up-to-date information about availability is to join the oxgo email list.

Our meeting schedule is as follows

Who meets

When we meet there are usually about five to ten players. The regular players range in strength from 3-dan to 20-kyu, but we often have beginners, and occasionally players as strong as 6 dan, or even professionals.

Visitors, of all strengths, are very welcome, as are spectators. Complete beginners who have never played, are very welcome – we will provide free teaching.

Our members on Go Servers

Some of us also play on Go Servers – mainly the KGS Go Server. We maintain a table of present/past members [28], showing their various aliases on the servers.

Contact information

The club secretary is:
Harry Fearnley:
Email: harryfearnley@gmail.comZZZ [29] (sorry - remove "ZZZ" from email address)
Address:
38 Henley Street
Oxford
OX4 1ES
Tel: +44 1865 248775
Webpages: Home page: bestiaries - studies on seki, etc. [30], and Go-related bookmarks [31].

Oxgo Mailing List

The oxgo email list is used mainly to send out late-breaking information about club meetings, as well as other club news/info. Any subscriber to the list can post to the list – no-one else can post to the list.

To join the oxgo mailing list, please send an email to harryfearnley@gmail.comZZZ [32] (sorry - remove "ZZZ" from email address). You will be sent an invitation, and further information

Costs and Benefits

Costs

The club is affiliated to the British Go Association (BGA) [33]. We have no attendance charge. However, if you become a regular member, you will be expected to join the BGA [34], which has a relatively cheap subscription – 2013 annual subscriptions: full: £24; concessions: £15.

There is no entrance charge – Freud's very kindly let us meet there for free. In return, please expect to buy your drinks (tea/ coffee/ beer/ wine)! This is particularly important on Thursdays.

Benefits

• Freuds Cafe offers us:
  • Easy access to the City Centre
  • An interesting, and pleasant, environment, and occasional exhibitions of paintings, with rare live music performances.
  • They no longer offer meals, or food of any kind.
  • Specialises in cocktails.
• The club has its own equipment – boards (including 9x9, 13x13), stones, and clocks. It also has a small library – members may borrow these books.
• Members of the BGA get a number of benefits – check out the BGA Membership application page [35]. These include issues of the British Go Journal, newsletter, and discounts on books and equipment.
• Free Teaching
  We take people from the very beginning – the rules! You can start playing Go within minutes. To learn the basic tactics, we normally start by using small (9x9) boards – games are quicker, more fun, and more instructive. The handicap system used in Go means that you can immediately start playing on even terms with all the other club members. Until you have become a much stronger ("Dan [36]") player you will be able to find stronger players for teaching games, if desired. If you want to study the game seriously, we can offer advice on available books, software, and online resources.

Other Go things in Oxford

• OUGoS
  The University Club (Oxford University Go Society) meets in the Town Centre, normally only in term-time. All OUGoS members may also freely attend the Oxford Go Club, just as we can visit their club. Its details are on the OUGoS web site [27].
• Books and Equipment
  There are several shops and mail order suppliers in UK [37] and other foreign suppliers [38]. There are two specialist boadgames shops in Oxford which stock Go books, and equipment:
  • Hoyle's [39] (72 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BA) on 01865-203244/ phil@hoylesonline.com [40]. They have a good selection of Go material, and have been frequent sponsors of the Oxford Tournament.
  • The Gameskeeper [41] (105 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1HU) on 01865-721348/ enquiries@gameskeeper.co.uk [42].
• Annual Tournament
  Oxford normally has a Go tournament in mid February – not an alternative to St Valentine's Day! This popular event attracts players from accross the South East of England, and is usually organized by the Oxford University Go Society, with substantial help from Nick Wedd and others from the city club.
• Some past events
  
  • 17 February 2013: The annual Oxford-Cambridge Match: The 2013 Oxford-Cambridge Match was held in St Edmund Hall, Oxford, on Sunday 17th February, the day after the Oxford Tournament.

    The Match consisted of two rounds, 50 mins each, with 30/5 Canadian overtime, and 7.5 komi for even games.

    All games were played using handicaps - one less than the normal correct handicap, so giving the advantage to the stronger player/team. 14 of the 21 games were played even.

    There were 11 players on each side. Cambridge had the strongest player (Li Shen), and Oxford the weakest. The playing strengths ranged from 5 dan to 12 kyu, with a majority of the players being dan level, and an average of about 1 kyu. On average, Oxford was 1/2 a stone stronger than Cambridge. Cambridge did better among both the weakest, and the strongest players, while Oxford were more successful in the middle of the range.

    After round 1, the score was Oxford 4 - 6 Cambridge, but the 7 - 4 result in round 2 led to the final result of a narrow win over all for Oxford, 11 - 10.

    Cambridge won the University Match fairly convincingly (7/13 vs 4/10, and direct games 5 - 2), while Oxford won the Gown Match convincingly (7/11 vs 3/8, and direct games 3 - 1).

  • 16 February 2013: The 2013 Oxford Go Tournament was a great success – in size, second only to the London Open (Grand Prix), and with the largest number of UK-based players in any tournament for several years. There were 92 players from all over the UK, and of all strengths from 5 dan to 40 kyu, including the British Champion, Andrew Kay [43]. There were competitors of all ages from 7 to 70, with 12 being aged less than 18. There is a brief report and photograph in the Oxford Mail [44] (the local daily newspaper) on Wednesday 20th February. The detailed results [45] are provided by the BGA.

    Li Shen (5d), now a student at Cambridge, returned to tournament Go at Oxford and won the event for the third time (previous wins were in 2003 and 2005). He was top of a list of 92 players which included a lot of fellow Cambridge students for the varsity match arranged for the following day, and a large number of novices who could also battle for their own prizes at the bottom end of the draw. Prize vouchers were again supplied by Hoyles who had a bookshop there as usual, and also there were software vouchers from SmartGo [46] (software for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch and Windows PCs), and GoGoD [47] (Database & Encyclopaedia) . Others winning all three games were Paul Smith (1d Cambridge), Jonathan Reece (2k Oxford), Philip Smith (5k), Andrew Russell (6k Birmingham) and Daniel Peace (11k Oxford).

    The Free Entry Draw was won by Peter Harold-Barry who wisely registered early - on 9th December 2012!
    There were five teams, and the team prize was won by the Smiths (Paul, Roella, Edmund, Andrea, and Kelda) with 10/15.
    In the Novices' Tournament, first prize was won by Isabelle Margetts, who played 12 games in this tournament alone! The prize for second place was shared by Anthony Ghica and Rebecca Margetts.
    The youth prizes, and certificates, were awarded as follows: Under 18: First to Siu Fung Cheung; Second to Melchior Chui; Under 15: First to Roella Smith; Second to Oscar Selby; Under 12: First to Edmund Smith; Second to Kelda Smith; Under 9: First to Hilary Bexfield; Second to Isabelle Margetts; The other Under-18 players received certificates only.
    After the event a large group of players went off to the Simon Eve Memorial Dinner at Sojo's restaurant.

  • 19 February 2012: Oxford-Cambridge Go Match 2012 – Oxford wins 8-7!
  • 18 February 2012: Oxford Go Tournament 2012 – the BGA has published the results [48], and there was a record turnout of 87.
  • 9–10 April 2011: Go stall at Helping Hands for Japan [49] cultural event at Marlborough School, Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

    The Go Club had a stall at the event, where we played /demonstrated Go, and taught anyone who wanted to learn. We also sold some books, and booklets, as well as cheap Go boards, donating all the proceeds (£76.00) to the fund. Most of the money raised at the week-end – about £10,000 for the whole event – was raised by selling admission tickets.

  • Oxford-Cambridge Match 2011 [50] – Sunday, 13th February 2011. Result:
    Oxford 0 : 6 Cambridge
  • Oxford Go Tournament 2011 [51]
    Here are the results of the 2011 Oxford Tournament [52] held on Saturday 12th February, 2011. This was followed by an (optional!) meal in a local restaurant – a chance to meet other Go players from the South East of England, and to remember Simon Eve [53].

  • NAGAO Kana and Kentaro visit: 2009-10 to 2010-02
    Kana, and her husband Kentaro, were one-time Pair Go representatives for Japan. Kana was tireless as the unofficial teacher for both our club, and the student's club. Her experience teaching in schools in Japan, and of presenting Go on a TV programme for the Nihon Ki-in, made her an ideal teacher.
  • Oxford Tournament 2008
    Here are the results of the 2008 Oxford Tournament [54] held on Saturday 16th February, 2008. This was followed by an (optional!) meal in a local restaurant – a chance to meet other Go players from the South East of England, and to remember Simon Eve [53].

  • Korean Pros visit, March 2007
    Korean Professionals visit Oxford, March 2007 [55]: Two Korean pros – An YoungKil, and Lee JungWoo – visited UK as part of a European tour. Mr An, and Mr Lee, visited Oxford, and played simultaneous games (with handicap) – players from other clubs in S.E. England joined us. The professionals won all their games! There are further details of their UK visit [56].
  • Korean Pros visit, April 2006
    Korean Professionals visit Oxford, April 2006 [57]: On Thursday 6th April 2006, HaJin Lee, a new young female star of the Go-playing world – together with another woman Go professional, and well-known TV presenter/commentator, HaeWon Han – were guests of the Oxford City Go Club. We were joined by players from many other clubs, and played a total of 20 simultaneous games.

Other Go Clubs in the Region

There are other Go clubs nearby. See the British Go Association's map [58].

For further information, phone/email Harry Fearnley.

Please send any comments or suggestions by e-mail to the maintainer of this page at harryfearnley@gmail.comZZZ [59] (sorry - remove "ZZZ" from email address)