Durham Celebrates 30 Years of Go

2024 marks 30 years of Go in Durham, and coincidentally Round 1 of the Durham Go Tournament started with 30 people playing - with ranks ranging from 4d to 24k. It was held in Elvet Hill House, next to the Oriental Museum, as it has for the last few years.

The top board was live streamed; this meant that people who couldn't make the tournament this year were able to watch along and we could also show it on the projector in the side room. Also in the side room there were free refreshments (tea, coffee, soft drinks, biscuits and cakes (as shown in the picture)), tables set out for game reviews and lightning and small board side event games. The top board games are still available on Durham Go Club's YouTube Channel, along with videos of games from previous years. The live streaming at the event is shown below.

There were three rounds on the first day, followed by our usual BBQ on Saturday evening. After rain earlier in the week, the BBQ was held in bright sunshine. If you've never been to the Durham tournament before, this is an all-you-can-eat BBQ - and we mean all-you-can-eat, as the 27 people there discovered! Various games of Go took place on tables and on picnic blankets, while people worked their way through the burgers, sausages, vegetable kebabs, stuffed mushrooms, chicken legs, corn-on-the-cobs and numerous other things.

Day 2 had a slightly reduced number of entrants as some people were only playing the first day. After another three rounds, the tournament was won by Peikai Xue - who was awarded our traditional winner's Goat Ornament.

Prizes (a box of chocolates or biscuits, and items such as fans and chopsticks from Japan) were also awarded to Peikai Xue for winning 6/6, Rowan Litting and Olivia House for winning 5/6, Rowan Litting for winning the Lightning side event, and Will Cleeve for winning the Small Board side event. Also Alex Millington came close to winning a prize for two wins, two losses, and two Jigos - but failed to get a second Jigo in the final round by a small number of points! Results

So that was the end of the tournament for another year. It'll be back in 2025 - if anyone has any suggestions for things they'd like to see at the tournament, do get in touch. Andrew Ambrose-Thurman