BGA Newsletter 336 March 2026

FROM THE EDITOR

This issue, and previous newsletters, will be found in the Newsletter Archive in the Members' Area. In Newsletters after August 2025 the images have clickable links for viewing them full size. Full-size images from earlier Newsletters may be found via the BGA All News pages.

Contributions are always welcome, both from our members and others. We ask that they be Go-related and "newsy". The place for debate and general discussion is the BGA open mailing list Gotalk. However, an introduction to a new topic is fine in the Newsletter. A brief introduction to Gotalk, with a link for joining, is on the BGA page Go on the Internet.

Instructions for Contributors: Please use plain text not file-attachments. Keep it fairly brief, and give web-links and contact details. It's good to include pictures. If they are on the internet, send me the URL, otherwise attach the picture files to your email. Send your contribution to newsletter@britgo.org to arrive by the first day of the month.

Jil Segerman

NEWS

Pandanet - Croatia

In the sixth match of the 2025–2026 B-League season the UK team played leaders Croatia. Jun Sun won on board one, but Jake Game, Ryan Zhang and Mark Elliot lost. Sweden drew with Switzerland pushing UK down to fourth position.

Further information here.

Youth Team

The youth team played Ukraine in the second round of the Pandanet Youth Teams but lost 1-4. Andrew Volovich was our only winner. Unfortunately in the third round they lost to Germany 0-5 and slipped to bottom place in the A-League.

Further information here.

BGA Tournament Winners

Full results here.
London Youth - Ryan Zhang
Coventry - Xi Wu
Leinster - Dewei Liu
Cheshire- Yifan Bao

Chris Kirkham

Members will be saddened to hear that Chris Kirkham, who had been battling cancer for many months, has passed away.

Chris has been playing Go in Manchester for over 50 years, reaching 1 kyu in the 1990's. He was BGA Membership Secretary for 8 years from 2017, and ran the 'Northern' tournament for many years.

He will be sorely missed in the UK Go scene, especially in the North-West and at nationwide tournaments.

As well as playing Go, he was also a very keen orienteer.

ADMIN

Annual General Meeting

The 2026 AGM of the BGA will be held online via ZOOM on the evening of Thursday May 28th.

This year Sebastian Pountney is standing down as Secretary, and Sam Bithell is also standing down as a Director, so as always we welcome applications to join the Board.

Key dates for the AGM are:
* Nominations for Officers and Directors must be received by April 16th
* Any motions (resolutions) that members want to submit must be received by April 16th
* The agenda will be issued by April 30th
* Any amendments to ordinary resolutions must be received by May 24th
* Proxy votes must be registered by May 27th

Full details of the above are in the company articles, which are linked from this page.

British Go Congress, Friday 10th–Sunday 12th April

Entries have opened for the 2026 British Go Congress, to be held at Stephen Perse Foundation (Senior School), Union Rd, Cambridge CB2 1HF.

As usual this event will begin with the British Lightning Championship on Friday evening, followed by the British Open Championship on Saturday to Sunday (6-round Mcmahon, Class A rated with Fischer time 45 minutes + 15 seconds).

Osaka Go Camp, July 5th to 18th, Japan

Professional player Ryo Maeda 6p of the Kansai Ki-in will host the 11th annual Osaka Go Camp, offering international players two weeks of intensive instruction, competitive play, and cultural exchange.

Each morning, participants compete in league games, followed by afternoon teaching programs led by professional players. Instruction is conducted in English, making the camp accessible to international attendees.

In addition to Go training, the camp includes cultural activities and excursions. Planned trips include visits to downtown Osaka and Kyoto, as well as a two-day trip to Hiroshima featuring a visit to the Honinbo Shusaku Memorial Museum, a friendship tournament with local players, and sightseeing.

The Osaka Go Camp has become a recurring opportunity for players from around the world to study Go in Japan while experiencing its cultural roots. More information is available at the camp website.

Hanami Festival of Japanese Culture

To be held in Faversham, Kent, on the weekend of 11-12th April. It's apparently expected to get about two thousand visitors, who will meet at Brogdale Farm slightly out of town to admire the cherry blossoms.

The organiser of the event has reached out to the BGA to see whether anyone could put on a Go promotion stand. It is the weekend of the British Congress, but if anyone might be able to help, please contact Sebastian Pountney seb.pountney@gmail.com

Here's a pleasant video of the 2015 meet-up: https://youtu.be/0j9J_mBdGt4

EVENTS COMING SOON

This Month: Cambridge Trigantius, MSO GP 13x13, Online Lesson 3, European Youth (Croatia)
April British Go Congress (Cambridge), Online Lesson 4
May Candidates (British Championship) and Aspirants, Sheffield University, Not the London Open, Online Lesson 5, Welsh Open (Barmouth)
June Durham, Cambridge Youth, Online Lesson 6
July European Go Congress (Turkey)
August Mind Sports Olympiad (London)
September European Women (London)