A few simple rules ... limitless possibilities

Organised by Oxford City Go Club & Oxford Student Go Society. Sponsored by Hoyle's games, High Street, Oxford. In addition, there will be extra Youth prizes, sponsored by Go Games on Disk ...

What?

• A 3-round McMahon Main Tournament, interleaved with ...
• An optional Novices Tournament (with gifts, and additional prizes).
• This is immediately followed by an (optional) supper to commemorate Simon Eve, and meet other Go-players.
• Younger players: Financial support, and extra prizes for Under-18, Under-15, Under-12, and Under-9 players.
• BGA-discount shop (books & equipment).
• Overnight accommodation is available, with local players.

Registration – see below

Free Entry Draw

Tournament organisers appreciate those who enter early, so ...
If you enter – or have already entered! – before February 15th 2012, you will be entered into a draw. The single winner will get free entry, but no free brunch! If you enter on February 14th you will get only one ticket. However, you will get one more ticket for every extra day before that, subject to a maximum of 50 tickets.

When?

Saturday, 18th February 2012

Who?

Thanks to Nick Wedd, you can now see a list of those "good people" who have already registered!

Where?

The tournament will, as usual, be in the centre of Oxford, at St Edmund Hall, one of the oldest and prettiest of the Oxford colleges. The address is:
St Edmund Hall
Queens Lane
Oxford
OX1 4AR
www.seh.ox.ac.uk

The College provides travel information with details of how to get there by road & rail, together with some maps, notably a useful map (in PDF format) of all of central Oxford, showing the College, Bus & Rail stations, etc.

Car parking nearby is not practicable, so car drivers are strongly advised to use the Oxford Park-and-Ride system, and find their way to the adjacent Queen's Lane bus stops, in the High Street.

There are specialised maps of Oxford from Daily Information, and information on the Council-run car parks. The nearest Council car park is St Clement's – follow the link on the page above. Forget Free (long-term) Parking in Oxford! The nearest place which does not have restrictions (except lack of space!) is about 15 minutes walk from the venue,

The college is about 10 minutes walk from the bus station, and about 15 from the train station. If you have any questions about travel to/from the tournament, please contact the tournament organiser (details at the bottom of this page), rather than the college.

Here is Google maps (with Streetview) – St Edmund Hall is 20 metres up Queen's Lane, on the right-hand side:
View Larger version of Google Map

... and here are some other interactive maps:

• Bing (AKA Live/ Multimap) – 3d map
• Streetmap (... and a printable version )

Format

There will be a Main Tournament, and an extra, optional, Novices Tournament, to be held in parallel.

Main Tournament

The Main tournament will be a normal 3 round McMahon tournament, with a main time limit of 50 minutes, plus Canadian overtime of 30 stones in 5 minutes. The schedule is as follows:

9:00 - 9:45	Registration
10:00 - 12:15	First Round
1:00 - 3:00	Second Round
3:15 - 5:30	Third Round
5:45 - 6:00	Prizegiving

Komi for this event will be 6.5 points.

The prizes will once again be provided by our generous sponsor, Hoyle's.

The Novices Tournament

15+ kyu players can also choose to play extra games ...

There are extra prizes for players in this tournament, but there is no extra charge for taking part!

We hope to build on the success of this format, following our first, and successful, attempt in 2011. The tournament is designed for weaker players who usually do not need as much time, and often finish their games early. In 2011 some players clocked up an extra 10 games!

Players with strengths ranging from 15 kyu to complete beginner will take part, in the normal way, in Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of the Main Tournament. The clock times, etc will be the same as for the Main tournament, except that, if both players agree, they may use 20 minutes each of main time, followed by Canadian overtime of 30 moves in 5 minutes. In any time left over after each round, you can play a total of up to 3 more (Novices Tournament) games.

You play self-paired games against anyone else who has time available. Because we have to work to a tight schedule, in these extra games there will be no overtime (if your flag falls first, you lose!). The maximum time allowed must be less than the time left to the start of the next round of the Main Tournament – remember, if you are able to have at least 30 minutes each, the game will qualify for assessing your official rating. To qualify for prizes, the minimum clock time will be 20 minutes each.

In addition to normal prizes in the Main Tournament, you will be eligible for other prizes based on your results in these extra games.

Food

Tea and coffee will be freely available throughout the day.

Brunch will be available in St. Edmund Hall from 10:30 to 12:30 for a cost of £3.50. Please let us know when you register if you'd like this. Alternatively, there are plenty of cafes, pubs, and sandwich shops within a couple of minutes walk of the tournament, or you are welcome to bring your own food.

Cost

The cost for the event is:

Normal (BGA member, or overseas):	£7.00
Concessions (student, senior, unwaged, etc.):	£5.00
Non-[BGA/overseas] members (Adults):	£3.00 extra
Late Entry (after 15th February 2012):	£2.00 extra
Brunch (optional):	£3.50
Financial Support for Under-18s: please arrange independently with the Castledine-Barnes Trust.

Registration – see below

Shop

Our sponsors, Hoyle's, who have their boardgames shop just across High Street from the College, will be running a stall. They will be selling a wide range of books and equipment, at BGA-discounted prices.

Accommodation

There will be a limited accommodation available on both Friday (17th Feb), and Saturday (18th Feb) nights. We expect to have several beds (double & single), as well as some floor space. Preference will be given to those coming from furthest away, and then to those who "book" early. You should tell us what you want using the online booking form.

Warning: you will not have reserved accommodation, unless you have received a written confirmation by email from your own host! As well as filling in the online form, we suggest that you send a separate email, to discuss your needs, to the organiser – see below.

Prizes

If you are (say) a 15-35 kyu, aged 17, and play well, you could end up not only with a gift, but with up to 3 prizes – best Under 18, and prizes from both the Main, and Novices, tournaments!

There will be prizes for the following:

Main Tournament

These will be as credit notes to be spent, on the day, at the Hoyle's stall, and be awarded to various people playing in the Main Tournament. If you have bought something before the prize-giving, you will be able to get the appropriate cash refund.

Novices Tournament

In addition to any prizes in this section, all participants in the Novices Tournament will receive Go-related gifts. Prizes are additional to any prizes awarded in the Main tournament, and are awarded to successful players whose strength is in the range 15 kyu to beginner. Prizes will encourage those who play the most games!

Youth Prizes

John Fairbairn and T Mark Hall, of Go Games on Disk, have generously donated three of their GoGoD Encyclopaedia, and Database CDs to be given as prizes to Under-18 entrants.

There will also be a choice of other prizes for the under-18s.

How old?

Your age will be your age at September 1st 2011.

Under 18

These prizes are additional to those in the Main, and Novices, Tournaments. Eligible games will be only those played in the Main tournament. If any extra games are played in the Novices Tournament, they will not affect eligibility for under-18 prizes.

Under 15

These prizes are additional to those in the Main, and Novices Tournaments. However, no winner of an Under 18 prize may win an Under 15 prize. Eligible games will be only those played in the Main tournament.

Under 12

These prizes are additional to those in the Main, and Novices, Tournaments. However, no winner of an Under 18, or Under 15, prize may win an under 12 prize. Eligible games will be only those played in the Main tournament.

Under 9

These prizes are additional to those in the Main, and Novices, Tournaments. However, no winner of an Under 18, Under 15, or Under 12, prize may win an under 9 prize. Eligible games will be only those played in the Main tournament.

Registration – How to Enter

To register for the tournament, please fill in the online form (opens in separate window) .
Register by February 15th 2012 to avoid paying late registration surcharge – thank you. We do not accept payment in advance; all payment, preferably in cash, must be made on the day. It is possible to register on the day, but then you will incur the £2.00 late entry fee.

Contact Information

For more information contact:

Organiser: Harry Fearnley (on behalf of Colin Clark)
Email: oxfordgotournament2012@gmail.com, or, on the day itself, only: BGA Mobile: 07506 555 366
Phone (Harry Fearnley): 01865 248775 – N.B. ONLY if you do not have email! Not to be used on the day!