INTRODUCTION

The Grand Opening will run over the course of the weekend. There will be several teaching events and a 3-round, class-A tournament. Cătălin Țăranu, 5p will give group training sessions and lectures. Strong British players (including Matthew MacFadyen and Daniel Hu) will give lectures on a number of topics in parallel. The event is broadly based on the success of previous teaching days.

There will be a free buffet on Saturday evening.

More information will be published here over time.

FEES

Entry: £20 for BGA and LGC members, (£15 for students, seniors, ghosts and members those attending only one day of the tournament). £25 for non-members.

REGISTRATION

Formal registration takes place when the tournament starts. However if you pre-register it helps us plan.

If the link doesn’t work, please just send an email to admin@west.londongo.club titled “LGC opening” with your grade, club and country (together with your EGD PIN if you have one).

TEACHING

(kyu and dan are used to indicate the level of teaching offered)

Rotating Teaching Sessions

Players will be divided into groups of similar strength. For kyu players teaching will be provided by strong dan players in three sessions of 40 minutes each. When not proving group tuition teachers will participate in small-group tuition from Catalin.

Lectures

There will be five lectures by Cătălin Țăranu – two aimed at kyu level, two at dan players and one at a general audience.

Each lecture will be 45 minutes followed by 10 minutes for Q&A and a 5 minute break. On Sunday, Cătălin will present a lecture based on the two days’ play.

TOURNAMENT

It is a three round tournament with 60 minutes main time followed by 10 stones in 5 minutes then 20 stones in 5 minutes with increments of 10 stones to be played in each subsequent 5 minute period.

Komi is 7.5 and dame must be filled. Each time a player passes they must hand their opponent a stone. The game is finished when White passes last.

The top four players play off to play Cătălin in the 3^rd round.

Prizes

winner of the first two rounds.

second place.

highest ranked single digit kyu player

highest ranked double digit kyu player

winning three out of three.

INITIAL McMAHON SCORE

Your initial McMahon score (MMS) will be set from your GoR as published on the date of the tournament. If you do not have a GoR you might be required to provide other evidence of your strength. Your initial MMS determines who you will play in the first round. If you do not think your GoR is accurate (for example, you are a quickly improving kyu player who hasn’t played in any recent tournaments) please email us with your preferred strength.

SCHEDULE

Saturday 17th	kyu	dan
09:00	Registration and games reviews
10:00	keynote lecture by Cătălin Țăranu
11:00	lecture 1 – dan player	small group tuition- Cătălin
11:45	lecture 2 – dan player
12:30	lunch
14:00	tournament round 1	lecture – Cătălin
14:30		tournament round 1
16:00	getting to dan – Cătălin
17:00	review: games of the day – Cătălin
17:30	buffet available
18:00	screening of AlphaGo (TBC) and/or Relay Go
Sunday 18th
09:00	game reviews
09:30	tournament round 2	lecture – Cătălin
10:30		tournament round 2
12:00	common errors – Cătălin
13:00	lunch
14:00	lecture 3 – dan player	small group tuition
14:45	tournament round 3
17:00	observations from two days teaching and playing – Cătălin
17:45	prize giving and concluding remarks
18:00	after tournament party at BrewDog

TRAVEL

London is served by many airports and Eurostar. Entering the UK is usually automatic for European Union nationals. For the rest of the world you can find the necessary information here. You might find that a letter of sponsorship or explanation from the British Go Association will help your application. To request such a letter please ask.

London travel information may be found here with any changes here. Buses don’t accept cash and cash fares on the tube are expensive. The best thing to do is get a Visitor Oyster Card in advance.

ACCOMMODATION

The West London Go Club has a list of nearby hotels and accommodation sites