Introduction

The 2020 Oxford Novices Go Tournament will take place in conjunction with the Oxford 2020 Go Tournament. This event, at its first edition, is recommended for players below 20k or with no grading, with games played on smaller boards, thus it will not be rated.

Organised by Oxford Student Go Society, with the help of Oxford City Go Club, and the support of the British Go Association.

The tournament will take place at the Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre, the same venue of the Oxford Go Tournament, a large space in the heart of the city, close to the transportation nodes and the Westgate shopping centre.

Our sponsors are Hoyle's Games, a games shop on High Street in Oxford and, for the first time, Five Rings Capital LLC. Please get in touch if you would like to sponsor our tournament as well.

Not played in a Go tournament before?

If you have not played in a Go tournament before, this is the event for you! There is some general advice to people going to their first tournament. But, in any case please feel free to contact the organiser with any questions, and ask for help/advice on the day itself.

Spectators Welcome – see Format for schedule details

What?

• A 5-round Novices tournament (9x9 and 13x13)
• BGA-discount shop (books & equipment).
• Limited overnight accommodation is available, with local players.
• Simon Eve Memorial Supper (optional) afterwards.

Registration – see below

When?

Saturday, 8th Feb 2020

Who?

If you have never played in a tournament before, even if you've only played a few games before, you will enjoy this event. The games will take place in the afternoon and will be preceded, in the morning, by a presentation / lecture aimed at beginners.

Where?

This year, the tournament will take place at the Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre; a large space in the heart of the city, close to the transportation nodes and the Westgate shopping centre. The address is:
Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre
Littlegate Street
Oxford
OX1 1RL

Getting there; Parking

The venue is 5 minutes walk away from St. Aldates, 10 minutes from Gloucester Green bus station and 15 from the rail station.

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 St. Aldates stop.

There are specialised maps of Oxford from Daily Information, and information on the expensive Council-run car parks.

If you have any further questions about travel to/from the tournament, please contact the tournament organiser (details at the bottom of this page).

Format

Novices Tournament

The Novices tournament will be a 5 round McMahon tournament, with an absolute time limit of 15 minutes, with sudden death. This tournament is recommended for players with graded 20k or lower, or with no grade. It will be preceded in the morning by a presentation where the rules of the game and basic strategies will be reviewed. The schedule is as follows:

9:00 - 12:45	Registration
10:00 - 12:15	Presentation / Lecture
12:55 - 1:00	Announcements in Main Hall
1:00 - 1:30	First Round
1:40 - 2:10	Second Round
2:20 - 2:50	Third Round
3:10 - 3:15	Announcements in Main Hall
3:20 - 3:50	Fourth Round
4:00 - 4:30	Fifth Round
4:45 - 5:30	Presentation / Reviews
5:45 - 5:50	Prize giving, in the Main Hall
6.15	Assemble at Deaf Centre to go to Supper (Optional)
6.30	Simon Eve Memorial Supper (optional)

Komi for this event will be 7.5 points.

Food

Tea and coffee, with biscuits, will be freely available throughout the day. There are plenty of cafes, pubs, and sandwich shops within a few minutes walk of the tournament. Alternatively, you are welcome to bring your own food.

Cost

The cost for the event is:

Standard:	£6.00
Late Entry (on or after 5th Feb 2020):	£3.50 extra

Registration – see below

Shop

Our sponsors, Hoyle's, who have their boardgames shop on High Street, will be running a stall. They will be selling a wide range of books and equipment, at BGA-discounted prices. If you place an order at the tournament, or very shortly afterwards, you should get a substantial discount.

Accommodation

There will be a limited amount of accommodation available on Friday (7th Feb) and Saturday (8th Feb) night. We expect to have several beds as well as some floor space. Availability is dependent on local players offering their homes. 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 fully 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.

Simon Eve Memorial Supper

After the tournament (6.30 pm onwards) we will have a meal in the City Centre. The meal is optional. Details TBC

Sponsorship

• Again, our chief sponsor is Hoyle's Games, High Street, Oxford – a minute's walk from the venue! They also have an online shop, well-stocked with Go books, and equipment. Hoyle's are sponsoring 5 of the prizes in the Main tournament.
• This year, for the first time, we are also being sponsored by Five Rings Capital LLC, who are donating the cash prizes.

If you would like to sponsor the tournament or a specific prize, please get in touch with the organisers.

Prizes

There will be prizes for the following:

• 1st place: £15 credit note
• 2nd place: £10 credit note
• Other prizes TBC

Registration – How to Enter

To register for the tournament, please fill in the online form (opens in separate window/tab). Using the online form is a great help to the organisers.
Register by May 14th 2019 to avoid paying the late registration surcharge – thank you. We do not accept payment in advance; all payment, preferably in cash, must be made on the day. Assuming that we are not already fully booked, it is possible to register on the day, but then you will also incur the £3.50 late entry fee.

Registered Players

See current registered players here.

Free Entry Draw

Tournament organisers appreciate those who enter early, so ...
... if you are prepared to have your entry published in the list of entrants, you will get a chance to enter the tournament for free. If you enter on, or before, December 16th 2019, you will get 50 tickets in the draw. On December 17th, 49 tickets, and so on, until Tuesday February 4th 2020, when you will get only one ticket. All tickets will be entered into a draw. The single winner will get free entry!

Contact Information

For more information contact:

Organiser: Temitope Ajileye
Email: temitope.ajileye@cs.ox.ac.uk