UK News

British Championship Title Match - Games 1 and 2

Games 1 and 2 in the best of 3 title match between Gaoge Wang and Bruno Poltronieri will be at the London Go Centre on the 20th and 21st of August starting at 12:00 each day.

Thanks to the efforts of the LGC the match will be streamed live on the London Go Centre YouTube Channel, and we are pleased to have a commentary by Matthew Macfadyen. The streaming will allow you to ask questions and discuss the match whilst it is in progress.

We plan to publish full analyses of the games a little while after the event, both in the BGJ and on the BGA YouTube Channel.

Last updated Tue Aug 16 2022.
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Much Go Demoing at JSNW Liverpool Japan Day Festival


For Saturday 2nd July the friendly Japan Society North West (JSNW) asked the BGA team if we'd like to return, to run stalls at their Japanese festival.

We signed up for 3 stalls, unsurprisingly - we've featured at many JSNW Japan Days or Doki Doki festivals over the years, as Calendar and News-followers will know.

Some events have also been held in Manchester (see below).

Last updated Sun Jul 10 2022.
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BGA Congress Details Available

Details of the 2022 British Congress are now available on its web page Congress Info.

Entries are open.

Last updated Thu Feb 10 2022.
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Terry Stacey Grand Prix Update

One impact of Covid has been disruption to the Terry Stacey Grand Prix, which is an annual event that runs across tournaments between the British Go Congresses. The following have been agreed by the BGA Council to cover this situation, both now and in the future.

Last updated Tue Feb 01 2022.
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Go Player on "Midsomer Murders"

Rhubarb the Clown (aka Martin Solity 5k) appeared on ITV's "Midsommer Murders" on 14th January. In circus-themed episode 6 of series 20 "Send in the Clowns", Rhubarb is one of three clowns seen in the last scene of the episode.

Last updated Tue Jan 21 2020.
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Andrew Kay Wins First Game in Match

The first game of this year's British Championship title match took place on Saturday 5th October, between Andrew Kay and Andrew Simons (the two top-placed players from this year's Challenger's League). After an entertaining game Andrew Kay came out on top, winning by resignation. As well as a live relay on KGS, Matthew Macfadyen commented on a clone of the game. The next game of the best-of-three title match is expected to take place in early November - more details to follow.

Last updated Sun Oct 13 2019.
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Andrew Does Well in Korea

Korea Prime Minister Cup
Yeongwol
Sat, 31 Aug - Fri, 6 Sep 2019

In the 2019 Korea Prime Minister Cup International Baduk Championship, our representative, Andrew Kay, came 9th out of 62 entries. He had 4 wins (against Cyprus, France, Argentina and Hungary) and 2 losses (to Korea, who came second, and Thailand). This is one of the best results ever in an international tournament by a British player. He is shown here playing the player from Hungary.

The Irish representative, Ruari McCloskey, was 59th with 1 win (against India).

The overall winner was He Xin of China with six wins. The group on five wins was Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany (Arved Pittner), Thailand and USA. Eighth was Hong Kong. Results

Last updated Tue Sep 17 2019.
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Sam Aitken New British Champion

On Sunday 18th November the third and deciding game of the British Championship 2018, between Andrew Simons and Sam Aitken, took place in Cambridge. After a long game involving a big ko fight, Sam Aitken won by 14.5 points to win the match. The game relay is available; an audio commentary was also provided on KGS by Andrew Kay.

Sam had not previously played the title match; Andrew had in 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning it in 2015.

Last updated Sat Dec 15 2018.
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Sam Aitken Ties Title Match

On Saturday 13th October the second game of the British Championship, between Andrew Simons and Sam Aitken, took place at Andrew's house in Cambridge. After a fighting game, Sam Aitken won by 4.5 points to level the match. The game relay and a commentary by Matthew Macfadyen are available. The deciding game will be announced on the BGA events page, with again live online relay in the British Room on KGS.

Last updated Sat Dec 15 2018.
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Marcus Bennett

Marcus Bennett died recently after a short illness caused by cancer. Marcus was one of the main players of the Bournemouth Club for over 30 years. He was the club secretary from 1994 and ran the Bournemouth Tournament, being the main contact between 1990 and 1998. He was also on BGA Council from 1997 to 1999 and earned his shodan diploma (1d) in 1994. He is shown here receiving a prize at the 1990 Coventry Tournament.

The new club contact is Kevin Drake who said their dear friend will be sadly missed.

Last updated Wed Aug 15 2018.
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