I am happy to announce that Craig Maclean from the Durham club has volunteered for the above role. He comes highly recommended, having done a similar job for the Durham club for some time now. In particular their use of social media has resulted in many more students returning to the club after their first visit.

Craig will be settling into the role over the next few months, and will be looking to issue a regular stream of informative social media content. Exactly how this will operate will be explained in subsequent communications.

We wish him every success.

The 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held online by ZOOM at 20:00 on Thursday 22nd May 2025. A meeting link will be issued shortly before the meeting.

As well as presenting the Accounts and the Annual Report, the AGM will include all the necessary elections for Officers and Directors as set out in the Company Articles, and for members of the Disputes Panel as per the Code of Conduct. Motions may be brought both by the Board and by members.

The seventh match of the B-League season, on 18th March, was against Serbia. There were wins by resignation for Jake Game, Ryan Zhang and Bruno Poltronieri, but Scott Cobbold lost by 3.5. This win left the team safely mid table. Round 8 will be on 15th April gainst Finland.

League Page with game records

The sixth match of the B-League season, on 25th February, was against Belgium. Three games were played the day before at Belgium's request, with wins for Scott Cobbold and Bruno Poltronieri, but a loss for Jake Game. On the Tuesday Michael Cheung could not clinch the win and so the match was drawn. It left the team in fifth place. Round 7 will be on 18th March against Serbia.

League Page with game records

The Winter 2024 - 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 3rd Lancaster Go Tournament was held on Saturday 8th February, this time returning to the Lancaster University Welcome Centre, a former venue of the British Go Congress. The event drew 49 players, matching the turnout of the inaugural Lancaster tournament, with large contingents from the nearby Cheadle Hulme School (CHS), Manchester and Durham, and spanning the most impressive range of ranks yet - from 7 dan to 37 kyu!

After some time in the role Pat Ridley has decided it is time for him to step down as the BGA Pair Go coordinator. I am happy to say that Barry Chandler has stepped up to do the job, and a handover between the two is currently in place.

Barry will mainly report to Ai Guan in her overall role as Tournament Coordinator. I'm sure we all wish him well in his future efforts to manage and advertise Pair Go in the UK.

My thanks go to Pat for all his past efforts.

The fifth match of the B-League season, on 4th February, was a win against Lithuania. All four players won by resignation. This moved the team up to fifth place. Round 6 will be on 25th February against Belgium.

League Page with game records

Michael Cheung wrote about his game: I got a lucky win against Vladas Zaleskas; it was a game determined by my opponent's blunder.