Go in Britain: 1974
The seventh British Go Congress was attended by 104 players at Wessex Hall, Reading University. Sponsorship was by JAL and filming was undertaken for the BBC Open Door programme. John Diamond showed his strength, winning the tournament easily, but he lost the Lightning to T. Mark Hall.
In 1974 the British Championship was cut from three games to one, to maximise publicity for sponsor JAL. Paul Prescott, having jumped from 1 kyu to 2 dan and then 3 dan, won the Challenger's Tournament at the British, to earn the right to challenge Jon Diamond, who had held the title since 1965. The Waldorf Hotel was the venue on 12th June and starting at 11 o'clock, Paul aimed not to lose by lunch time. Despite going into byoyomi, Paul played very well and impressed Iwamoto, who commented on the game. At the count, Paul was 10 points ahead on the board, and had won by 4.5 after komi, to become the Champion.
The fifth Wessex Tournament was the first to see 100 participants. Winners of the top three divisions were Mr Nakayama (4 dan) from Bristol and Mr Scarff (2 kyu) and Mr Macfadyen (4 kyu) from Reading. They received a pen and pencil set and two pounds of sugar as prizes.
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