Youth Go News 46 - April 2026

Editor, Toby Manning.

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Your Newsletter

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NEWS

Pandanet European Go Team Championships

The Pandanet Youth Go European team Championship 2026 continued on 11 February with round 2 against Ukraine. We lost 1-4, but on paper we were outranked on every board and were not expecting to win any games so the team were pleased with the result.

Board 5 finished first with Fane showing fighting spirit against an opponent 19 grades stronger. Daniel, on board 2 against an opponent 3 grades stronger, was the next to finish. His game showed the dangers of a weak group that let his opponent take too much territory whilst attacking it. Ryan, on board 1 against a 6 dan, had an interesting game with a lot of fighting. His opponent's strength prevailed. That left two very exciting games on board 3 and 4. Lea narrowly lost by 5.5 points against her 1 dan opponent. That left Andrew Volovich on board 4 to take a very well deserved win by 1.5 points against his 1 dan opponent.

In round 3 on 11 March, the team lost to a stronger German team 0-5. We were outranked on every board so the result was not a surprise but team manager Alison Bexfield was pleased to see that the team were taking their games seriously and thinking hard about their games. The team comprised Ryan Zhang, Daniel Yang, Lukasz Kudla, April Chen and Fane Dhamari. April was making her debut appearance in the team.

Round 4 on 1 April, against Croatia, also ended as a five-nil loss, despite Ryan, Daniel, April, Chenbei and Fane trying very hard to win.

However in the last match on 22 April the score was 2-3 against Czechia. Andrew and Fane both won, but Ryan, Daniel and Lea lost. This means the team will be relegated, ending in last place of six.

TOURNAMENTS

EYGC

The 31st European Youth Go Championships took place 25 to 28 March at Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The venue was surrounded by amazing nature, waterfalls and, for this half week, a lot of snow. There were 128 players from 14 countries, in three age groups, and a very decent number of strong players. The UK had three players all playing in the under-16 group. Ryan Zhang (3d) came fourth with four wins out of six, Lukasz Kudla (4k) was 19th with three wins and Andrew Volovich (6k) was 24th with two wins. The team are visible here playing in their red team hoodies,

TEACHING/TRAINING

The next "Double-digit kyu" teaching will be on Sunday 17 May, at 14:30. If you are 10 kyu or weaker and wish to attend, please email youth-chair@britgo.org before the day.

EGF Academy

As mentioned in a special mailing, the EGF Academy (teaching system) is restarting for those of strength 5 kyu or stronger. With new teachers from France, Tanguy Le Calvé, 1p, and Benjamin Drean-Guenaizia, 1p, bringing fresh energy to the programme, their main goal remains the same: to support strong young players in their development, strengthen their passion for the game, and help them build connections with peers across Europe. Some of today’s best European players are former Academy students, and they look forward to welcoming the next generation. If anyone wishes to join the Academy, the BGA will pay 50% of the 35 euro per month fee (please pay the full fee and reclaim the 50% from the BGA). The Deadline to sign up was 15 April to start 20 April, so if you missed it look out for the next cycle later in the year.

FUTURE EVENTS

Cambridge Youth, Wednesday 24 June. Details here
Check the BGA Events Calendar to see if there is an tournament, open to all ages, near to you.

ONLINE MEETINGS

None planned.

USEFUL RESOURCES

Here are some useful resources/links:

BGA Website: Junior Pages
BGA Youth Go X ("Twitter") account @britishyouthgo, kept fairly active (376 followers)
Instagram - account is uk_youth_go, now with regular updates - 511 followers
BGA Youth Go OGS (closed group, 158 members including adult organisers). If you are a new member, please complete this form.
BGA Youth Go Discord Channel

PROBLEMS

Black to play