British Congress 2021 - Welcome Back!

The BGA is holding the 2021 British Go Congress as a face-to-face event.

Emergency on-the-day telephone number 07798 825299

Location

The Novotel Hotel,
2 Great Central Square,
Leicester LE1 4JS

Hotel on a Map

Tournament Details

1. British Lightning

This will be on the Friday evening. Exact format will depend on the entry, but will probably consist of a 4-round “round-robin” tournament followed by a semi-final and final. Time Limits: 12 minutes sudden death

2. British Open

This will be a 6-round McMahon Tournament with 3 games on each of the Saturday and Sunday. Time Limits: Fischer Time of 40 minutes (basic) plus 10 seconds/move (to be confirmed). This would make it a class 'B' event for EGD ratings.

3. Candidate's Tournament

For this year only, due to the restrictions caused by Covid the British Open will also constitute the first round of the British Championship. The top two British players in the Open will be invited to play off for the British Championship, in the expectation that this will be completed in 2021.

Prizes for all tournaments are yet to be determined and will be announced later.

Accommodation

The Novotel is offering us rooms at £120/night for a single and £130/night for a double (including breakfast). This is a discount to the current public rate of around £160.
Novotel Website
In order to claim this rate, please telephone the hotel on 0116 482 0446, and say that it is for the British Go Association rate (apparently they didn't write down British Go Congress): regrettably this rate is not available through internet bookings.
(Note - when attempted on a Saturday I was told to call back on Monday morning, so it may not be possible to book during a weekend for some reason)

There is a nearby Travelodge – Leicester Central - which is about 200m away offering rooms for around £45 (without breakfast).
Travelodge Website

A Premier Inn - Leicester City Centre - about a mile away, is also offering rooms for around £45/night (without breakfast).
Premier Inn Website

Many other options are available around Leicester.

IMPORTANT: Please confirm prices when you book, the above are based on quoted prices in late August and may change.

Travel

The hotel is about about a mile from Leicester Station, which is served by trains from London St Pancras to Nottingham/Derby - Sheffield, also on the (slow) cross-country service Birmingham - Leicester - Peterborough - Cambridge - Stansted Airport.
There are no engineering works currently scheduled for that weekend, but East Midlands Raiway is currently experiencing strikes which might affect your return journey on Sunday.

Food

There is a restaurant at the Novotel and they have offered an evening meal (3 course set menu) on the Saturday. A sample menu for this is below. There will also be sandwich lunches available on Saturday and Sunday. All meals must be pre-ordered on the entry form otherwise their availability cannot be guaranteed.

Sample 3-course menu

Indicative Timetable

Friday 1st October

19:20 - Close of Registration for Lightning

19:30 - 22:30 - British Lightning Tournament

Saturday 2nd October

09:30 - Close of Registration for British Open

10:00-12:30 -British Open Round 1
13:30-16:00 -British Open Round 2
16:30-19:00 -British Open Round 3

19:30 - Evening Meal

Sunday 3rd October

09:30-12:00 -British Open Round 4
12:45-15:15 -British Open Round 5
15:45-18:15 -British Open Round 6

18:30 - Closing Ceremony

Fees and Entries

Congress entry fees are:

British Open - £30
British Lightning - £5
Non-BGA Member surcharge - £5
Late entry Fee - £5 (for entries recieved after 26 September)

For both the above entrants under 18 receive a 50% discount, students a 33% discount. Players who only wish to play on one day will be charged 50%.

Evening Meal on Saturday 2nd - £25 (please let us know of any dietary requirements when you enter)
Sandwich Lunch (Saturday) : £9
Sandwich Lunch (Sunday) : £9

Entry Form

List of registered players

Contact Us

If you have any queries, please email: congress@britgo.org