The European Go Championship or Congress (EGC) is the annual and main event of many organised by the European Go Federation for players of the board game Go. It consists of a 2-week open competition, one round per day, making a total of 10 rounds with a champion ultimately emerging - the player with the most (or best) wins. The congress has taken place in a different European city each year,[1] since the first contest in 1983.[2] During these two weeks, the best go players in Europe fight for the title of European Champion. Entry in recent years has been from a low of 290 to a high of 718 players.[3]
The 2011 (55th) championship take place between 23 July and 6 August in Talence, Bordeaux, France.[4]
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The first European Go Championship was held in 1938.[2] The first championship of the current annual series was held in 1957, in Cuxhaven, Germany. Germany has been quite dominant at the championships.[5]
In 1961 the 5th European Go Championship was held in August in Baden, where Japanese professional players Kensaku Segoe and Utaro Hashimoto gave exhibitions.[6]
In 1976 European Go Congress was held in Cambridge with 150 European players vying for titles among five separate tournaments which varied the games played, and including a tournament at the game of 'Lightning Go,' where the game must be played far more rapidly than in a traditional match.[7] The festivities were described by United Press International, reporting on the event, as a "two week orgy of go."[7]
In 1977 the 21st championship was held in Rijswijk in the Netherlands.[8] Although not allowed to play in the competition, two Japanese professional players attended and provided instruction and engaged in simultaneous exhibitions. Seminars were given in go theory, computer go and lightning go.[8]
Two winners of the European Go Championship enjoyed previous success as juniors, in the various age groups (under-12, -16 and -18) of the European Youth Go Championship. These are Alexandr Dinerchtein and Ilya Shikshin.
In Praha, Alexandre Dinerchtein won against Catalin Taranu in the 5th round.[9]
In Frascati, Alexandre Dinerchtein lost against the 2001 Champion Andrei Kulkov in the 6th round.
Svetlana Shikshina won the title.[10]
In Villach, Ilya Shikshin[11] won the title, despite losing to Alexandre Dinerchtein in the 8th round.
In Leksand, Ondrej Silt from the Czech Republic beat Catalin Taranu in Round 4. In Round 5, Alexandre Dinerchtein won against the 2006 Champion Svetlana Shikshina. Catalin Taranu beat the 2007 Champion Ilya Shikshin in Round 8. The 5-dan Go professional Catalin Taranu became the second Romanian player to become European Go Champion.[12]
In Groningen, the young 5-dan Thomas Debarre from France defeated Catalin Taranu in Round 4. In round 5, the 3-times European Champion from the Netherlands, Rob van Zeijst, lost against Alexandre Dinerchtein. Round 9 saw victory by the 2008 Champion Catalin Taranu against Alexandre Dinerchtein. Alexandre Dinerchtein remained ahead on tiebreak to win the title,[13] his seventh time as European go Champion.
In Tampere, as a first act of the championship, Cornel Burzo from Romania beat the reigning champion, the Russian professional Alexandre Dinerchtein.[14] Catalin Taranu won against Rob Van Zeijst in the 3rd round. The fourth round featured a very long game between Taranu and Ilya Shikshin. These two players were undefeated since the beginning of this year's competition. Shikshin finally won the game, to continue his consecutive victories (6 winning rounds).
The young Artem Kachanovskyy from Ukraine stopped the winning ascension of Shikshin at the seventh round. The next rounds were a fight for the title for these two players. Kachanovskyy led first by beating Csaba Mero at the 8th round, and the 2009 European Youth Champion, Ali Jabarin, in the 9th round, but he lost his final game against Kim JungHyeop, a Korean player. Shikshin won the title by beating Cristian Pop in the 8th round and Dinerchtein in the final round. During this tournament, the two leaders won games against Korean players. This is the second European title for Ilya Shikshin.
The Championship will be held at the "University of Bordeaux I" campus in Talence, from July 23 to August 6. The number of registered players is more then the 800 expected players, meaning already that European Go is healthy. These amateur players are from all European countries, ranked from 30 kyu to 7 dan, professional players from Asia will also participate (e.g. Japan, China and South Korea).[15] The French hosting organisation is the Fédération française de go (FFG).[16]. The pre-registration board shows the participation of previous champions and possible future title owner like - Catalin Taranu - Ilya Shikshin - Svetlana Shikshina - Alexandre Dinerchtein - Artem Kachanovskyy - Cristian Pop
This edition also accommodates the first Pandanet Go European Team Championship, a new competition where Romania, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine will try to obtain the first title.
As a side event, a professional competition will be held : some games of the China Weiqi League will be played.
Yumi Hotta, Hikaru no Go writer, will come for a conference during the event.
European Go Congresses, at which the European Go Champion is always decided, are planned some 3 years in advance, to cater for up to 800 players. Each year, the hosting country's Go association plays a large part in the planning and organisation. Below are the confirmed locations.
The EGC is reliant on generous international sponsorship. For the third consecutive year, Zhuyeqing Tea - the official sponsor of the Chinese national Go team - are the main sponsor of the Congress.[17]
The 2012 EGC will be held by the river Rhine, in the municipal hall of Bonn-Bad Godesberg, from 21 July to 4 August 2012.[18]
Gdynia in Poland, on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, is the host for the 2013 Congress.[19]
The 2014 EGC is to be held in Romania in Sibiu, a former European Capital of Culture.[19]
As recorded in the European Go Federation web-site:[20]
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Fritz Dueball | Cuxhaven | ||
| 1958 | Fritz Dueball | Lenz | John | Altenmarkt |
| 1959 | Fritz Dueball | Paech | Kramer | Bayreuth |
| 1960 | Günter Ciessow | Leonard Grebe | Fritz Dueball | Leiden |
| 1961 | Wichard von Alvensleben | Leonard Grebe | Fritz Dueball | Baden bei Wien |
| 1962 | Wichard von Alvensleben | Jurgen Dueball | Jurgen Mattern | Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
| 1963 | Wichard von Alvensleben | Jurgen Mattern | Max Rebattu | Barsinghausen |
| 1964 | Wichard von Alvensleben | Jurgen Mattern | Eduard Ekart | Scheveningen |
| 1965 | Jurgen Mattern | Max Rebattu | Jurgen Dueball | Mnosek pod Brdy |
| 1966 | Jurgen Mattern | Manfred Wimmer | Max Rebattu | London |
| 1967 | Zoran Mutabzija | Manfred Wimmer | Max Rebattu | Staufen im Breisgau |
| 1968 | Jurgen Mattern | Zoran Mutabzija | Jurgen Dueball | Berlin |
| 1969 | Manfred Wimmer | Jurgen Mattern | Zoran Mutabzija | Ljubljana |
| 1970 | Jurgen Mattern | Manfred Wimmer | Max Rebattu | Vienna |
| 1971 | Zoran Mutabzija | Henk de Vries | Max Rebattu | Bristol |
| 1972 | Jurgen Mattern | Max Rebattu | John Diamond | Enschede |
| 1973 | Jurgen Mattern | Michael Katscher | Zoran Mutabzija | Sprendlingen |
| 1974 | Manfred Wimmer | Michael Kitsos | Tony Goddard | Zagreb |
| 1975 | Jurgen Mattern | Manfred Wimmer | Patrick Merissert | Krems |
| 1976 | Patrick Merissert | Tony Goddard | John Diamond | Cambridge |
| 1977 | Wolfgang Isele | Helmut Hasibeder | Ronald Schlemper | Rijswijk |
| 1978 | Helmut Hasibeder | Max Rebattu | Mathew Macfadyen | Paris |
| 1979 | Jurgen Mattern | Ronald Schlemper | Robert Rehm | Konigswinter |
| 1980 | Mathew Macfadyen | Jurgen Mattern | André Moussa | Mali Losinj |
| 1981 | Rob van Zeijst | Helmut Hasibeder | Robert Rehm | Linz |
| 1982 | Ronald Schlemper | Robert Rehm | André Moussa | Copenhagen |
| 1983 | Janusz Kraszek | Terry Stacey | Mathew Macfadyen | Edinburgh |
From 1984, the Championship became open.
| Year | Open Champion | European Champion | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Hong Tay-You | Mathew Macfayden | Porrentruy | Macfayden won the play-off final against Pierre Colmez (FR) |
| 1985 | Mathew Macfayden | Terschelling | ||
| 1986 | Ronald Schlemper | Budapest | ||
| 1987 | Mathew Macfayden | Grenoble | ||
| 1988 | Tibor Pocsai | Hamburg | ||
| 1989 | Toshiyuki Sogabe | Mathew Macfayden | Nis | |
| 1990 | Rob van Zeijst | Vienna | ||
| 1991 | Zhang Shutai | Alexei Lazarev | Namur | |
| 1992 | T. Matsumoto | Alexei Lazarev | Canterbury | |
| 1993 | Rob van Zeijst | Praha | ||
| 1994 | Guo Juan | Maastricht | ||
| 1995 | Guo Juan | Tuchola | ||
| 1996 | Guo Juan | Abano Terme | ||
| 1997 | Hyuk Lee | Guo Juan | Marseille | |
| 1998 | Hyuk Lee | Robert Mateescu | Mamaia | |
| 1999 | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Podbanske | ||
| 2000 | Hyuk Lee | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Strausberg | |
| 2001 | Andrei Kulkov | Dublin | ||
| 2002 | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Zagreb | ||
| 2003 | Hong Seul Ki | Alexandre Dinerchtein | St Petersburg | |
| 2004 | Young Kwang Sun | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Tuchola | |
| 2005 | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Praha | ||
| 2006 | Park Chi Seon | Svetlana Shikshina | Frascati | |
| 2007 | Hong Seok-Ui | Ilya Shikshin | Villach | |
| 2008 | Park Jong-Wook | Catalin Taranu | Leksand | |
| 2009 | Kim Eunkuk | Alexandre Dinerchtein | Groningen | |
| 2010 | Ilya Shikshin | Tampere | ||
| 2011 | Kim Youngsam | Ilya Shikshin | Bordeaux |