UK Results: 2000

London Open TT 29/12/00-01/01/01

103 players took part in the London Open, held this year as a 7-round McMahon tournament. 45 of them found time to play at least one game in the 9x9 event, though no prizes were awarded in the unpopular continuous handicap event. First at small board go was Jim Sadler (1 dan UK), second Natasha Regan (1 kyu UK) and third Arnaud Knippel (1 dan France). The Lightning was held on the Saturday evening. First was Seong-June Kim (6 dan UK) and second was Malcolm Schonfield (1 dan France). Andrej Kralj (3 dan Slovenia) won the play-off for third against Tobias Klaus (9 kyu Germany).

In the main tournament various special prizes were given out as indicated below and the top five players received the Toyota Tour prize money. On 5/7 were Lasse Jakobsen (best junior at 25 kyu), Bettina Rehburg (best improver, German 9 kyu), Joakim Strom (4 kyu Sweden), Martin Gomilschak (4 kyu Austria), Albert Fenech (2 kyu France), Jim Sadler (1 dan UK), Malcolm Schonfield (1 dan France), Matthias Bahr (2 dan Germany) and Antoine Fenech (2 dan France 5/6). Parkpoom Lekhavat (12 kyu) from Thailand was the best novice. Top five were fifth Xiangdong Wang (4 dan UK), fourth Matti Siivola (5 dan Finland), third Matthew Macfadyen (6 dan UK on 5/7), second Masanori Tanaka (5 dan Switzerland on 6/7) and winner Seong-June Kim (6 dan UK) who was unbeaten. The only other player unbeaten was American 3 kyu Clay Smith who entered as a European 4 kyu and ended up beating three 1 kyu players, winning best kyu award.

West Surrey Handicap 03/12/00

The Teach-in was attended by some 2 dozen students from beginner to 1 kyu, with tutors Tim Hunt, Henry Segerman, Des Cann, Simon Goss, Paul Clarke and Tony Atkins. 54 players took part in the Tournament, played as handicap using to West Surrey rules. Winner was Des Cann (4 dan Leamington). Also on 4/4 were Edward Blockley (2 kyu Worcester) and Nicola Hurden (11 kyu Berkshire Youth). Trophies for 3/4 went to Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge), David Ward (3 dan Cambridge), Mike Charles (2 dan St Albans), Gerry Mills (1 dan Monmouth), Henry Segerman (1 dan Oxford), Baron Allday (1 dan Barmouth), Barry Chandler (1 kyu Reading), Geoff Kaniuk (1 kyu Central London), Niall Cardin (2 kyu Oxford), Bill Streeten (4 kyu Wanstead), Tom Cooper (10 kyu West Surrey), Howard Sykes (12 kyu unattached), Pauline Bailey (14 kyu West Surrey), Will Segerman (15 kyu Manchester) and Mogens Jakobsen (16 kyu Epsom). The 13x13 tournament was won by Tim Hunt on 6.5. Best percentage Pauline Bailey on 67%, and persistence Shawn Hearn on 45 points.

Swindon 26/11/00

84 players took part. The winner was Simon Shiu (4 dan Bristol). Prizes for 3/3 to: Wenbo Mao (1 kyu Bristol), Eric Hall (3 kyu Swindon), Matthew Selby (4 kyu Epsom Downs), Shawn Hearn (9 kyu Berks Youth), Mogens Jakobsen (16 kyu Epsom Downs), Lene Jakobsen (25 kyu Epsom Downs) and for 2.5/3 to Tony Atkins (2 dan Bracknell). Team winners were Epsom Downs with 80%, and the 13x13 was won by Garry White (13 kyu Berks Youth).

National Small Board (Cambridge) 19/11/00

28 players, including nine aged 14 or younger, took part. It was part of a chess and go event with almost 120 competitors in total. Higher ranked players played even games until they lost two games when the joined the handicap section. Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge) was champion with 8/9 despite losing a game to the runner-up Mike Charles (2 dan St Albans) who scored 6/9. Age group winners (all with 6/9) were: Under-15 - Shawn Hearn (9 kyu Berkshire Youth), Under-13 - James Heppell (20 kyu Norwich), Under-11 - Lasse Jakobsen (30 kyu Epsom), Under-9 - Ben Parker (35 kyu Cambridge). Other prize winners were Michael Lowe (6 kyu Norwich) with 7 wins and Sheila Parker (18 kyu Cambridge) with 6 wins.

Three Peaks 11/11/00-12/11/00

52 players met at the Marton Arms Hotel, Thornton-in Lonsdale, Yorkshire. The winner on 5/5 was John Rickard (4 dan Cambridge), runner up was Lutz Mattner (4 dan Leeds) on 4/5. Prizes also for 5/5 to Jil Segerman (9 kyu Manchester), and for 4/5 to Mathias Kegelmann (1 kyu Birmingham), Richard Moulds (3 kyu Manchester) and Jason Fisher (8 kyu Birmingham). Proceeds from the tournament go to the Tim Hazleden Memorial Fund, which was supporting the local ambulance service in Ingleton, but now is supporting the repair fund for the local church.

Wessex 29/10/00

92 players attended the 31st Wessex. Berks Youth won the team prize with 65%. Jake Finnis (18 kyu Cornwall) won the Fred Guyatt Cup for 13x13. Tournament and Division 1 winner was Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge), Division 2 Tony Atkins (2 dan Bracknell), Division 3 Gerry Mills (1 dan Monmouth), Division 4 Geoff Kaniuk (1 kyu CLGC), Division 5 David Killen (2 kyu Cheltenham), Division 6 Roger Daniel (3 kyu North London), Division 7 Ron Bell (5 kyu Reading), Division 8 Daniel Shiu (8 kyu U/A), Division 9 Simon Jones (15 kyu Berks Youth) and Division 10 Alan Cameron (17 kyu Winchester).

Five teams of six battled over four rapid rounds to decide who was best. Yet again it was Cambridge who scored 18, aided by perfect fours from Seong-June Kim (6 dan) and David Ward (3 dan). Alan Thornton's 4/4 helped London come second with 12. Wanstead and Reading scored 11 and Nippon Club 6 (a player short).

Wanstead 14/10/00

44 players attended this 6 round rapid play event. Winner was Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge). Second was T.Mark Hall (4 dan London) with 5/6. Also on 5 wins were Natasha Regan (2 kyu epsom Downs) and Shawn Hearn (10 kyu Berks Youth). Annie Hall (34 kyu Berks Geriatrics) won the novices prize with 2/6 at her first tournament. Kyu players with prizes for 4/6 were Wayne Walters (4 kyu Wanstead), Guy Footring (6 kyu Billericay) and Philip Bourez (5 kyu West Surrey).

Geoff Kaniuk was awarded a set of mice for operating the computer, and youngsters Nicola Hurden, Garry White and Shawn Hearn were recognised for running the registration. Peter Kimme (1 dan Berlin) had a prize for furthest travelled. The new format was meant to attract kyu players, but attracted a large proportion of dan players; the event also had introductory sessions for the local public.

Cornwall Tournament 10/09/00

1st (retaining the Devon Go Stone trophy) Tony Atkins (2 dan Bracknell); 3/3 Mike Davies (11 kyu Rotherham) and Dirk Henker (14 kyu Leipzig); Youth prize Jake Finnis (18 kyu West Cornwall). 24 players.

Milton Keynes 17/09/00

56 players. Prizes for 3/3 to Damir Nola (2k CLGC), Bill Streeten (3 kyu Wanstead), Richard Thompson (5 kyu Leicester), Nicola Hurden (12 kyu Berks Youth), Matthew Woodcraft (1 kyu Cambridge) and Konrad Scheffler (1 kyu Cambridge). Young Kim (5 dan CLGC) won his first two but lost in round three to John Rickard; John had earlier lost to Des Cann but had beaten Xiangdong Wang (4 dan CLGC), who had beaten Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge). In the ensuing tie-break John Rickard was adjudged the winner, by 1 point of SODOS, ahead of Wang, Kim Y and Kim S-J.

Northern, Manchester 02/09/00-03/09/00

48 players. Winner was T.Mark Hall (4 dan) on 5.5/6, second M. Wang (4 dan Huddersfield) on 4.5/6. Prize for 5/6 - Will Segerman (20 kyu Manchester), and lowest graded 4/6s: Jil Segerman (10 kyu Manchester) and Philip Ward-Ackland (15 kyu Barmouth).

Mind Sports Olympiad, Alexander Palace, London 19/08/00-28/08/00

24 players took part in the Lightning which was won by Lee Hyuk with 7/7. Seong June Kim was second on 6/7. Xingwen Liao and Tim Hunt both finished on 4/7 with Xingwen taking the bronze medal on tie break. Other prizes went to Simon Bexfield with 6/7 in the McMahon section, Shawn Hearn (10 kyu) 5/7, Alistair Brooks (22 kyu, youth and 4.5/7), Chuck Smith (30 kyu) 6/7 and Mark Stretch (30 kyu ) 4/7 (beginners' prize).

The Youth Tournament had 13 kids from 3 dan to 30 kyu and 6 to 17. Ordering was full board result followed by 9x9 percentage result. It was won by Liao Xingwen (aged 6), second Jimmy Mao (1 kyu) and third Tom Blockley (3 kyu). U14 was Adam Eckersley-Waites (10 kyu), U12 was William Brooks (8 kyu) and U11 was Paul Blockley (25 kyu).

Main Event (40 players): Gold - Guo Juan (6/6), Silver - Zhang Shutai (4/6), Bronze - Lee Hyuk (4/6). Others on 4/6: fourth Du Jingyu (7 dan), fifth Geert Groenen (6 dan NL), sixth Chen Zhixing (5 dan). Prizes for 4 points to Paul Margetts (1 dan), Andrew Morris (1 kyu), Tom Cooper (15 kyu).

Rapid (42 players) Gold - Moon Il Do (6/6), Silver - Du Jingyu (5/6), Bronze - Lu Jinqiang on tie from Guo Juan (both 4/6) also on 4/6 Wang Xang Dong and Zhang Shutai. Prizes for 4/6 to Jim Clare (3 dan), Alison Bexfield (2 dan), Tristan Cazenove (1 kyu France), Sue Paterson (2 kyu), Alexei Nemolovskii (2 kyu Ukraine), Frank Prager (8 kyu, Youth) and Nicola Hurden (12 kyu).

Pair Go (12 Pairs): Gold - Guo Juan & Du Jingyu (7 dan), Silver - Sylvia Kalisch & Lee Hyuk (4.5 dan), Bronze - Alison Bexfield & Simon Bexfield (1.5 dan), Fourth Liu Yajie & Liao Xingwen (after half point play-off). 2/3: Anna Griffiths & Tony Atkins (3.5 kyu), Nicola Hurden & Shawn Hearn (10 kyu).

13x13 Novices (9 players - a non-medal event): 1st Tom Cooper (13 kyu 5/5), 2nd Vojtech Hrabal (16 kyu 4/5), 3rd Lene Jakobsen (2/4), Youth Lasse Jakobsen (4/6).

13x13 (22 players): Gold - Guo Juan (5/6), Silver - Lee Dong Hwan (aged 13 on 5/6 equal on SOS), Bronze - Lee Hyuk (4/6), 4th - Moon Il Do (4/6), 5th - Kim Seong-June (3/6 best SOS). Prizes for 4/6: Tatsutomi Hiroyoshi (1 dan Japan), Bill Streeten (3 kyu), Stephane Nicolet (7 kyu Swiss). Novice prize: Vojtech Hrabal (Czechia).

Computer Go: First with 10/10 was Professor Chen Zhixing's GoeMate. Dr. Michael Reiss's Go4++ was second, its only losses were to GoeMate, one of them by only half a point. Go4++ is sold as Go Professional 3. Yamashita Hiroshi's Aya was third, losing its games to GoeMate and to Go4++ and losing one game to Bruno Bouzy's Indigo.

19/08-21/08 British Championship Final was held at the MSO: Matthew Macfadyen beat Des Cann 3-0.

Norwich 12/08/00

This was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Scottish Open 15/07/00-16/07/00

22 players converged on Edinburgh University's Pollock Halls for the 9th Scottish Open. Quentin Mills (3 dan) beat Wuge Briscoe (6 dan Australia), and also beat Francis Roads (4 dan), to finish with a perfect 6. Wuge had to settle for 5/6 and Francis for 4/6. Roger Daniel (3 kyu London) also won 4 wins.

Fuseki Follow-On Experimental Tournament 08/07/00

Steve Bailey hosted this event in Guildford for 1 and 2 kyus to play through the rest of a game started by two pros. Winner was Jimmy Mao (Bristol) with 4/4, second Jackie Chai (Bournemouth), third Wenbo Mao (Bristol). 7 players attended.

Welsh Open 24/06/00-25/06/00

52 players attended the Welsh Open in Barmouth. Winner as always was Matthew Macfadyen (6 dan Leamington). The next places went to Toby Manning (3 dan Leamington), Simon Goss (2 dan Bracknell) and Ruud Stoelman (2 dan Bradford). On 4/5 were: Richard Moulds (4 kyu Manchester), Natasha Regan (4 kyu Epsom), Emma Marchant (8 kyu Berks Youth), Garry Beman (10 kyu Leamington), Shawn Hearn (11 kyu Berks Youth) and Stephen Streater (17 kyu Epsom). Both Kirsty Healey (1 dan Leamington) and Elinor Brooks (6 kyu Swindon) won 3.5/5.

Leicester 10/06/00

A recent record of 74 players attended the Leicester Tournament. Winner for the second year running was Des Cann (4 dan) , who beat Niculae Mandache (3 dan) in the final round. Those on 3/3 were Tony Atkins (2 dan Reading), Richard Thompson (5 kyu Leicester), Natasha Regan (5 kyu Epsom), Matthew Selby (6 kyu Epsom), Satoko Takami (6 kyu Birmingham), Malcolm Walker (8 kyu Worcester) and Chris White (25 kyu Berks Youth). Best team was Epsom with 83%. Winner of the 13x13 was Garry White (14 kyu Berks Youth) with 8 wins, and second was Nicola Hurden (12 kyu Berks Youth). First entry prize went to Tony Atkins.

Challenger's League 26/05/00-29/05/00

This was held as an all-play-all at the Friends Meeting House in Walthamstow. In order the scores were: Des Cann 7, Matthew Cocke 6, Young Kim 5, Alex Selby 3, T.Mark Hall 3, David Ward 2, John Rickard 1, Alistair Wall 1. Des Cann will challenge Matthew Macfadyen for the British Champion's title.

British Pair Go 21/05/00

This was held at a very pleasant hotel in Boars Hill near Oxford, but attendance was disappointing this time. Winners were Emma Marchant and Simon Goss (8 kyu/2 dan). On 2/3 were Natasha/Alex, Sally/Nick and Jackie/Francis. Winners in the handicap section were Fiona Campbell and Jim Edwards from Aylesbury. Youth Champion's were Nicola Hurden/Shawn Hearn. Garry White organised a 13x13 event won by himself in a team called Giraffes. Jini Williams/Fred Holroyd were the best dressed pairs and special prizes for costume went to France Ellul, Jackie Chai and Lydia and Matthew Macfadyen.

Bracknell 13/05/00

63 players attended the Bracknell Tournament, held for the second year running at Woosehill in Wokingham. Getting his revenge for last year was winner Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge). The only other player on 3/3 was John Rae (9 kyu Internet). All those winning their first two were awarded prizes too: Des Cann (4 dan), John Fairbairn (2 dan), Simon Butler (1 dan), Steve Bailey (2 kyu West Surrey), Alexey Nemolovsky (2 kyu Ukraine), Paul Johnstone (8 kyu Twickenham), Steve Smith (12 kyu Winchester) and Simon Jones (18 kyu Berks Youth). Nicola Hurden (12 kyu Berks Youth) won the 13x13 and David Denholm (6 kyu High Wycombe) won the go puzzle competition.

Bar-Low (Cambridge) 07/05/00

36 players took part at the Bar-Low held this time in an Internet Cafe. The bottom graded players played in their own group. Best results in the top group were winner Phil Beck (2 kyu Cambridge) with 5/5, Andrew Spray (11 kyu Cambridge) with 4/5 and Joe Walker (9 kyu Cambridge) and Martin Cook (16 kyu York) both with 3/3.

British Go Congress at Ipswich 28/04/00-30/04/00

26 players met at the Novotel in Ipswich for the Friday evening British Lightning. Nobody won all five and despite T.Mark Hall winning the first four the winner was Tim Hunt (1 dan Cambridge). Others on 4/5 were Des Cann, Francis Roads, Jonathan Chin, Chris Dawson and Tony Atkins. Continuous 13x13 winner was Des Cann and best youth was Shawn Hearn. Winner of the 59 player British Open was T.Mark Hall (4 dan Bristol) with 6/6. Second was Alistair Wall (4 dan Wanstead) on 5/6. Others on 5/6 were Tim Hunt (Cambridge 1 dan), Vince Suttle (5 kyu Ipswich) and Shawn Hearn (12 kyu Berks Youth). The Bracknell Berks Youth team won the Nippon Club Cup as best team.

Bournemouth 15/04/00

Despite lack of advertisement, 24 players from 2 dan to 25 kyu attended the Bournemouth Tournament, held at the same West Parley Village Hall as in 1997 and 1998. Unfortunately the pub in the directions had changed name leading to a minor road accident. Oddly nobody won all three games. Alan Thornton (2 dan St Albans) held the title by a SOS tie-break. The best 2/3 in each third of the draw collected engraved glasses, others got sticks of rock.

Coventry (Tile Hill) 26/03/00

73 players met as usual at the Tile Hill Sports Centre. Winner Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge) stopped Matthew Macfadyen's unbeaten run, by beating him by a small margin in round one, despite a Macfadyen fight-back. Second place went to the loser of the final, Toby Manning (3 dan Leamington). On 3/3 were Paul Clarke (1 dan High Wycombe), Mike Cockburn (2 kyu St Albans), Richard Hellyer (5 kyu Oxford), Richard Thompson (6 kyu Leicester), Laurent Chane (6 kyu Cambridge), Gustav Rober (11 kyu St Albans), Stephen Streater (18 kyu Epsom). The UB50s from St Albans won the team prize with 80%. 13x13 winner was Nicola Hurden (13 kyu Berks Youth) and Ben Blockley received the youngest player award.

Candidates' Tournament 18/03/00-19/03/00

22 players, 6 dan - 1 kyu, selected under the new qualifying system, played at the Nippon Club. Final ordering: 1 Young Kim 2. David Ward (both on 4/4); 3. Alistair Wall, 4. Alex Selby, 5. T.Mark Hall, 6. Francis Roads, 7. Bob Bagot (all on 3/3). The top 5 expected to go forward to the Challenger's League in May.

The annual Varsity match was held in Cambridge this year. Previous years have seen four person teams, but this time Oxford turned up with 9 players plus three beginners who tagged along to see the city and maybe catch a few games. Cambridge mustered 8 players. The final score was 10-7 to Oxford, thus maintaining the tradition of visiting side winning now in its third year.

Cambridge Trigantius 04/03/00

73 players took part in the 24th Trigantius, this year held in St Paul's Church. Thanks to Alistair Wall beating Seong-June Kim the tournament was a four-way tie: Cambridge's S-J. Kim (6 dan) and David Ward (3 dan), and Wanstead's Francis Roads and Alistair Wall (both 4 dan) shared the cash prize donated by HITACHI. Sharing the Best Kyu cash prize were: Mike Nash and Geoff Kaniuk (London) and Wenbo Mao (Bristol), all 1 kyu. On 3/3 were: David Ward, Paul Russell (6 kyu), Roger Murby (8 kyu), Jonathan Medlock (13 kyu) all from Cambridge, Martin Cook (19 kyu York) and Simon Jones (19 kyu Berks Youth). On 2.5/3 were William Brooks (9 kyu Cambridge) and David Firth (10 kyu Leamington) and on 2/2 was Hoi Ping Mok (14 kyu Cambridge). 13x13 winner with 10/10 was Shawn Hearn (12 kyu Berks Youth).

Edinburgh Club, 13/02/00

At the Edinburgh Club Tournament on 13/02/00 ten players took part. Best was Art McKendrick (1 kyu) who beat Donald McLeod and Jim Cook, but lost to Howard Manning.

Oxford 12/02/00

102 players attended the 2000 Oxford Tournament on 12/02/00. Winner was S-J Kim (6 dan Cambridge); he beat Young Yim, Des Cann and Ebukuro Tamotsu. Prize winners on 3/3 were Ruud Stoelman (2 dan Bradford), Sue Paterson (2 kyu London), Frank Visser (3 kyu Cambridge), Natasha Regan (7 kyu Epsom), Andrea Casalotti (9 kyu London), Kenneth Wilcox (10 kyu Plymouth), Andrew Slough (13 kyu Epsom) and for 2.5/3 Wenbo Mao (2 kyu Bristol) and Paul Blockley (26 kyu Worcester).

The day after Maidenhead was the British Youth Championships at Milton near Cambridge. 26 youngsters took part. This year the top group was four players between 3 and 5 kyu. Tom Blockley (3 kyu Worcester) was over all Youth Champion and U16 Champion. Overall runner up and U18 Champion was Philip Marshall (4 kyu Isle of Man). Jimmy Mao (5 kyu Bristol) was the U16 runner up. U18 runner up was Philip Tedder (4 kyu Epsom). Also in the Under 18 section Emma Marchant was the best girl, at 8 kyu, despite losing to Ben Morris (11 kyu Cambridge). The U14 group was between four players between 11 and 13 kyu. Winner was Adam Eckersley-Waites (12 kyu Cambridge) who beat runner up Shawn Hearn (12 kyu Brakenhale) and Theo Elliott (13 kyu Brakenhale). U12 winner was Ian McAnally (11 kyu Manchester) who beat the higher graded William Brooks (10 kyu Cambridge). U10 winner was Paul Blockley (26 kyu Worcester) and runner up was Luise Wolf (30 kyu London). U8 winner was Ben Parker (Cambridge) who was also the youngest player.

Prizes for all games played (including handicap ones), winning 5/6 was Hereward Mills (25 kyu Bedford) and Tom Blockley, for 4/6 Adam Eckersley-Waites and Andrew Gale (25 kyu Berks Youth), Simon Jones (20 kyu Berks Youth), Ben Morris (11 kyu Cambridge) and James Heppell (30 kyu Norwich). Winning 3/6 in the beginners' group were Charles Heppell (Norwich) and Oscar John (Cambridge). The 1999 Youth Grand Prix Trophies were awarded to first Ian McAnally (1633 points), second Shawn Hearn (1536) and third Nicola Hurden (1240). Next places were taken by Theo Elliott (986), Lucie Elliott (894) and Tom Blockley (887). Points are awarded for both tournament attendance and wins.

Furze Platt, Maidenhead 15/01/00

82 players made their way to HITACHI Europe's headquarters at Maidenhead on the Middle Saturday of January for the Maidenhead Tournament and a free lunch. Only four players won all three games: winner Seong-June Kim (6 dan Cambridge) Paul Margetts (1 dan Epsom), David King (1 Kyu Swindon), Shawn Hearn (12 kyu Berkshire Youth). Best team was Loads of Berks (from the Youth Go Club) and the continuous 9x9 winner was Nicola Hurden (13 kyu Berks Youth). All on 2 wins won a bottle of wine thanks to the sponsorship.