Announcement of 2019 Youth Go Squad

The 2019 UK youth go squad has been selected. The team of fifteen players comprises a mix of U20, U16 and U12 players, who form a team to compete for the UK in the European Youth Go Team Championship, played online between November and February. Each of the four matches involves five players (one Under 20yo, two U16 and two U12).

The UK team has improved in strength each year since the championship first started and this year is no exception. The prospect of making it into the youth team and acquiring one of the distinctive red team hoodies has boosted youth go in recent years. Team manager Alison Bexfield explains that she reviews the results from rated tournaments during the year, to select new players for the team. Of particular interest for her are performances at the British Youth Go Championship and the UK Go Challenge, where performance against other youth players can be assessed. The UK Youth Go Summer Camp at the end of August (which Alison attends as a coach) is also a chance to talent spot. And Alison also looks to include the top-rated boy and girl each year subject to meeting a minimum grade standard.

This year's team sees a number of new faces, as some players have moved up an age group and other new talent has emerged. New faces this year include Scott Cobbold 6k and Amy Upton 12k making their debut in the U16 age group, as well as Bill Shen 1d who was a shadow member last year. Amy has taken over as top U18 girl from Charlotte (who has now moved on to university). In the U12 section we see two new faces: Ryan Zhang 13k and Alexander Timperi 15k. It is pleasing to see a broad geographical mix for the team, with players from a variety of locations and clubs represented. The team's first match will take place in November.

The full team is:

U20 Yueran Wang 3d, Tom Bradbury 2k (British Youth champion 2018)

U16 Bill Shen 1d, Edmund Smith 3k, Scott Cobbold 6k, Alexander Hsieh 7k, Caleb Monk 11k, Amy Upton 12 k (current top UK girl)

U12 Daniel Yang 1d, George Han 3k, Ryan Zhang 13k, Alexander Timperi 15k, Yanyi Xiong 15k, Zoe Walters 17k, Emily Oliviere 18k