37 players enjoyed the 13th Nottingham tournament, held on Sept 6th. The venue for the second time was a pair of church halls in Lady Bay, Nottingham, which is fast becoming a favourite Go venue, the British pairs being held there this year too. It provides a light and airy hall for reviewing and socialising, as well as the playing hall, and is close to food sources!

The second annual Newcastle Go Tournament took place at Newcastle University’s Urban Sciences Building on 30–31 August, with 23 players ranging from 5 dan to 25 kyu taking part.

Xuanqi Cui (5d) emerged as the overall winner with five straight victories. He received the impressive trophy – an ornamental 9×9 goban containing a fully functional 19×19 set – designed and crafted by Newcastle Go Club member Robert Manders (14k).

The 29th Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) took place in its regular venue of the JW3 centre in London. As usual many games fans from around the world came to play a very varied list of games and compete to be Pentamind Champion (Natasha Regan was the Women's Pentamind runner up). Details of all MSO results are on the MSO Database.

The Summer 2025 edition of the BGJ is now available for members to read in the Members' Area, with printed copies being sent out to those that receive them.

The first Manchester Open was held on Saturday 9th August, a sunny summer day. The venue, Luther King House, is nestled in a peaceful, tree-lined suburb just a short distance from the vibrant heart of Manchester.

The British Congress returned to Edinburgh after 15 years, this time hosted by the New Melville Bridge Club. With leafy Corstorphine and Edinburgh Zoo as a backdrop, the venue offered a quiet and spacious setting for a long weekend of Go. Fifty-seven players, matching last year’s turnout, gathered to make up one of the strongest player fields in recent memory.

On Saturday 7th June around 40 Go players descended on Elvet Hill House for the 2025 Durham Go Tournament. Ranks ranged from 7d down to a 30k player who played his second ever 19x19 game in Round 1, and there was also a good range of ages - including several youth players as well as a number of university students. Players came from across the UK, from London to Cardiff to Edinburgh.

On 28th and 29th June, Barmouth's Dragon Theatre was again the venue for the Welsh Open. 43 players - 13 up on 2024 - took advantage of the two-day tournament - a rarity on the BGA calendar. The higher numbers enabled the hiring of a separate room, where many reviewed their games and non-players could relax and mingle. A standout feature for 2025 was that no fewer than 10 players were from the Welsh clubs of Cardiff (9) and Aberystwyth (1) - surely a record?

I'm very pleased to announce that Damen (Ho-Yeung Woo) has been co-opted onto the Board of Directors of the BGA. He will have responsibility for player development, a task he has already been sharing with Sam Bithell.

This brings the Board appointments up to eight again, and continues a general trend where the average age of the Directors is decreasing, surely a good sign for the future of Go in the UK.