UK Youth Beat Ukraine to End Second!

In the European Youth Go Team Championship, our UK youth team won 4-1 against Ukraine.

George Han played his game early and beat Mariia Chernova by 6.5. On the day of the match, Daniel Chun Yang lost to Vsevolod Ovsiienko but Jacob Zhang beat Valerii Krushelnytskyi, both by resignation against higher-graded dan players. Lea Wong won her game against Bohuslav Onyshchuk by 24.5 to ensure the match was won. Sam Barnett rounded off the match on the following Tuesday by beating Olesia Malko by 23.5.

This meant the UK took second place overall, the first time we had been in the top three. Russia beat Czechia in the last round and, as predicted, took first place (having won the event for six of its seven-year history). Romania beat Hungary and took third place.

Team manager Alison Bexfield said: "I am really pleased that all of our team were able to play in at least one of our four matches. (This is with the exception of Ryan who, for technical difficulties in accessing the online server, was unable to play this year). Our two newcomers to the squad this year jointly take star player. Both Sam and Lea played in three of the four matches with both winning all their games. Our youth captain, Jacob, has also played exceptionally well against some very strong opposition, beating a five dan in the final round. I'd like to thank all the team for their contributions. It is a team event and everyone has contributed to the team's success."