7 - Championships and International Events

Policy Statement

Championships

The Association will as a minimum organise the following championship events each year
  • British Go Championship
  • British Pair Go Championship
  • British Youth Championships
Entry fees will be set at a similar level to standard tournaments. Any excess costs, including prizes etc., if not met by sponsorship will be underwritten by the Association.

International Events

When selecting a player or players to represent the UK at an international event the player(s) selected must meet the following criteria:
  • be a member of the British Go Association or, if under 18, a member of an Association-affiliated school or Go club
  • be eligible to take part in the British Go Championship
  • where the event is subject to an anti-doping regime, they agree to co-operate if they are asked to provide samples for testing
  • have not represented another country in an international Go event in the 26 months immediately prior to the event
  • agree not to represent another country in an international Go event for the succeeding 12 months
They must also meet any additional or more onerous requirements laid down by the event organisers.

The Association will not normally pay the expenses of those representing us overseas.

How it is Implemented

The system of qualifying as UK/GB representative at various international championships is described in our web pages for each individual event, which are referenced via the following page: Past British Representatives

These pages describe the entry criteria for each international tournament to which we send representatives. Please note that the organisers of each tournament may have other criteria, e.g. citizenship or country of birth, which may be more restrictive than our own criteria.

Supporting Information

The official version of the rules for the British Go Championship, the British Pair Go Championship and the British Youth Championships is the Championships Rules page.

The International Go Federation Statutes, as of August 2015, state in article 20: "A player may not represent a second country or territory in any IGF-sponsored international competitions for at least five years after representing a different country or territory.”

For International Go Federation (IGF) sponsored events representatives also need to abide by the IGF Code of Conduct, which can be seen on the IGF Members Documents page.

BGA Points Systems

Where a points system is used to determine a representative the Board will normally nominate the person with the highest number of accumulated points, who has earned some points within the last 5 years. Players who attend the tournaments for which they are nominated will have their points reset to 0. If two or more players are tied on the same number of points, then priority is given to players who have been to that event less recently.

if an event is held online due to the option of face to face not being reasonably practicable (e.g. during a pandemic) then the Board may agree for the points not to be reset to zero. In a choice priority will be given to those who are prepared to travel.

Please note that these are guidelines which may not be followed by the Board in exceptional circumstances (for example, someone becoming British Champion for the first time).

World Amateur Go Championship
    Points are awarded to players in the Candidates’ Tournament and the British Championship title match as follows:
  • 9 – Champion
  • 8 – 1st in Candidate’s Tournament (if not the Champion)
  • 7 – 2nd in Candidate’s Tournament (if not the Champion)
  • 6 – 3rd in Candidate’s Tournament
    • … and so on down to
  • 1 – 8th in Candidate’s Tournament

Korea Prime Minister's Cup
Points are awarded to the eight highest-placed British players (by nationality or residence) in the British Open Championship. The winner receives 8 points, second 7 points, and so on down to 1 point for eighth. Points are shared between players who finish on the same McMahon score, with any fraction rounded to the nearest half integer (quarters rounded up).

If two or more players are tied on the same number of points, the tie-break is: first, priority is given to players who have been to the KPMC less recently; second, who played in the British Open more recently; third, who finished more highly placed in that British Open; fourth, nigiri.

Women's World Amateur
Points system currently suspended as the event is in abeyance

international Amateur Pair Go
Points will be awarded to individuals in a pair. A point is gained per person for each game won in the British Pair Go Championship. Only teams that have played together will be considered.

Current pairings will be given preference, i.e. normally only pairs who have played together in one or both of the two most recent qualifying Pair Go tournaments may be nominated.

European Amateur Pair Go
This tournament is normally open to all, although often a single pair is offered free or discounted entry or accommodation. Where this is the case we will normally offer this to the pair with the highest aggregate score on the European Rating System.

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Last updated Tue Feb 21 2023.
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