The tournament is open to all, and players entering for their first ever rated tournament are most welcome. It is a 3 round McMahon tournament run under BGA rules with a Fischer timing system of 45 minutes Basic time with 15 seconds per move Bonus time.
There are prizes for the overall winner and all players on three wins.
IMPORTANT NOTES
- In order to speed up registration, you can pay by card.
- In the event of emergency on the day please phone Phil on 07988 683 586
Tournament schedule
The expected game time for the Fischer time settings is 2 hr 30 min per game, assuming 120 moves per player.| 09:00-09:45 | Registration |
| 10:00 | Round 1 |
| 12:45 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Round 2 |
| 16:00 | Round 3 |
| 18:45 | Prize-giving |
Rules
| Ruleset | BGA rules based on AGA. Pass stones apply with White to pass last. |
|---|---|
| Fischer Basic time | 45 minutes |
| Fischer Bonus time | 15 second per move. |
| Komi | 7½ in even games. White wins jigo in handicap games. |
| Handicap | McMahon score difference - 1 where needed. |
Entry Fee
| Standard | £17.00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Student | £14.00 | full-time |
| Concession | £12.00 | in receipt of state benefit |
| Junior | £10.00 | under 13 |
| First-rated | £6.00 | first time for any face-to-face rated tournament |
| Novice | £free | first rated tournament for anyone 20k or below |
| Surcharge | £5.00 | if not a member of the British or a European country Go association |
| £5.00 | for late entries (received on or after Wednesday 18th March 2026) |
Payment is made by card or cash on the day. If needed, there is an ATM outside the nearby Co-op.
How to enter
Please enter preferably using the entry form. Once entered, you will see your name in the entries page. If you need to email, send to the Tournament Director Phil Beck <pbeck173 at yahoo dot co dot uk>. You will need to supply your name, club, country, and grade. We also need your entry category as listed in the Entry Fee section above.
It is important that you enter at a realistic grade. You should visit the
BGA rating page
(or the European Go Database)
to see your rating if you have not played in a tournament for a while. There has been a recent upgrade of all ratings.If you use the entry form, your latest rating is shown, and your previous grade is highlighted in blue if it differs much from your rating. Feel free to modify your grade if appropriate.
For the purposes of pairing and ratings, Country is regarded as the country where your current Go activity is located. So if you are playing in the UK, but not a UK national, consider entering with your country as UK. One reason for this is that your results will appear in the BGA rating list otherwise not. Another reason is that McMahon pairing tries to increase diversity of opponents, so avoids pairing players from the same club/country.
Registration
If you are not paying by card, it helps if you can pay the exact amount in cash.Travel details
Bus
Take the Citi 2 bus from the bus station to St Phillip's - bus stop about 1 mile.
Train
The venue is about 1 km (½ mi) south-east of the Cambridge rail station (perhaps 15 minutes by foot). Walk along Devonshire Road to Mill Road. Then along Mill Road to St Philips.
Car
There should be parking in the side streets off Mill Road. Saturday parking is free. Do not park on the North-West (city) side of the bridge, as this is all residents parking or short term pay and display.
Be aware that the Mill Road bridge is closed to private vehicles.
Refreshments & lunch
Refreshments
Hot water, tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.
Lunch
Although the onsite cafe is closed at weekends, Mill Road is a busy shopping street with pubs, cafes, convenience stores and super markets nearby.
