Events Schedule

The European Championship is the most prestigious event of the EGC. Only the best 32 European players can participate, using the European Championship System, to decide the best Go player for 2024. In 2023, Andrii Kravets (1p, Ukraine) won the Championship in Leipzig. For all information on the player selection process and past winners, go to the homepage of the European Go Federation. Most games will be broadcast, and live commentary on Twitch is planned, too.

A five-round tournament for all people older than 50 years old (included).

Registration: until Tuesday 30th July 4pm

Starting times: 10am; 11:30am; 3pm, 4:30pm; 6pm.

Rooms: tbd

Prizegiving: Firday 2th August 5:30pm.

Pairing: MacMahon system for all players older than 50 years old (included).

The MacMahon bar will be based upon the number and level of registered players and will be anounced after the closing of registration.

Rules: Japanese rules

• Board: 19x19
• Komi: 6.5
• Time Setting: Fischer Time 10min + 15 sec (40 min adjusted time)
• Handicap: reduced MacMahon Score -2 handicap outside the top group

The Open European Championship is the largest tournament of the European Go Congress. Everybody can participate, including players from outside Europe. You just have to register for it. There will be one game per day, starting in the morning. The participants of the European Championship join this tournament at the latest in the second week. All games of the European Championship, besides the semifinals and finals, also count for the Open Championship. The tournament is EGF-ranked and there are nice prizes to win, not only for the top players, but for anybody with a good tournament performance.

The system: best 8 European teams play a three-round knockout (quarterfinal, semi final, finals + small finals).

All other teams play the open section, while the 4 European teams that lost in the first round join the other teams.

The idea is to have the best European team(s), but also award the winner of the “open” section (the team with all wins).

Rules:

• Teams are national teams.
• Each team play on 5 boards (reserves are fine)
• Boards 1, 2 and 3 are “free” (any player can play)
• Board 4 is reserved for a female player
• Board 5 is reserved for a “junior” (either U16 or U18, free for interpretation)

The Pair Go tournament is another highlight of the European Go Congress. This tournament is open to mixed-gender pairs with an average rank lower or equal to 5.5 dan (in this respect, professionals count as 8-dan). Of all registered pairs, the 32 best compete for the title of “Open European Pair Go Champion”. All other pairs play in the normal Pair Go Tournament.

Rules:

• The tournament is open to mixed-gender pairs with an average rank lower or equal to 5.5 dan (in this respect professionals count as 8-dan). There will be a top group for the 32 pairs with the best average rank.
• The tournament consists of two stages: a preliminary stage of three rounds on the first day and a knockout stage on the second day. A seeding system will make sure that the best four seeded pairs will not compete against each other in the preliminary stage. All pairs with at least 2/3 wins will qualify for the last 16, the four pairs with three wins will not meet before the semi-finals.
• International Pair Go Rules will apply. This means that the order of moves will be restored after an unintentional rotation error has occurred. If such an error is spotted immediately, a three-point-penalty will be given to the pair who made the error.

This tournament is played on a 19x19 board, with reduced thinking time of 30 minutes per player. There are 8 rounds of MacMahon, beginning shortly after the main tournaments. You don’t have to play all rounds.

A five-round tournament for all people identifying as female or gender-diverse.

Registration: until Tuesday 6th August 4pm

Starting times: 10am; 11:30am; 3pm, 4:30pm; 6pm.

Rooms: tbd

Prizegiving: Saturday 10th August 5pm.

Pairing: MacMahon system for all female or gender-diverse players.

The MacMahon bar will be based upon the number and level of registered players and will be anounced after the closing of registration.

Rules: Japanese rules

• Board: 19x19
• Komi: 6.5
• Time Setting: Fischer Time 10min + 15 sec (40 min adjusted time)
• Handicap: reduced MacMahon Score -2 handicap outside the top group

Traditionally, the weekend between the two Congress weeks is the time for a separate five-round McMahon tournament. Everybody who has registered can participate, including players from outside Europe! The tournament is EGF-ranked and there are nice prizes to win, for the top players, but also for anybody with a good tournament performance.