Leeds Congress

British Go Journal No. 14. June 1971. Page 1.

The fourth British Congress was held in Leeds, in the north of England, for the first time in early April. The competitions were played in Devonshire Hall - one of the residential halls of Leeds University - where also the players were accommodated.

Again breaking new ground, all the players at this Congress took part in a single even game competition, using the McMahon system, which provided some interesting pairings and some unexpected results - like those of the player who won four even games against people who would normally have given him five stones. An article explaining the system, written by John Thewlis, who organised the Congress, will appear shortly in the Journal.

Immediately after the Congress finished, the Annual General Meeting of the BGA was held - this is reported elsewhere.

The British National and Open Championships were decided as part of the system, and it soon became apparent that these titles would go together, to either John Diamond or Tony Goddard. In fact they finished the Congress level, having each won one of the matches they played, and played the deciding match a week later in London.

Unfortunately detailed results of the rest of the Congress are not available, but among the more successful were Bob Hitchens, C.F. Clement, Alan Williamson, Richard Tate, Laurie Hamilton and S. Cassidy.

The organisation was well handled by John Thewlis and the Leeds Go Club, notably Jeanette Chandler, who did the arithmetic for the McMahon system, and John Richardson.