2023 in Review

For the occasional visitor searching for information about Go/Baduk/Weiqi in Ireland, the best live resource is the Irish Go Association’s discord server – https://discord.com/invite/4vSnhjd
The community there is quite active and someone is sure to know whether there’s anything happening in your region or if your best bet is online play.

So what’s up with CorkGo? No updates in almost a year. Site offline for part of 2023…

Firstly, the Bulletin. This started back in 2016 as an experiment, to provide a monthly recap and announce upcoming events. During 2022, distribution moved over to the main IGA site. It was rebranded as the IGA Bulletin and sent to the whole IGA membership. Once the transition was complete, I stopped cross-posting it here, and eventually stepped back from involvement completely. It remains in monthly production – you can subscribe at Irish-Go.

So, back to this site. Moving into 2023, while I was considering what to do with CorkGo, the WordPress install completely broke during a series of updates. The blog has been around a long time and hasn’t seen much attention paid to maintenance, so it was bound to happen eventually. With the bulletin gone and no local activity to report, it took a while to make time to reinstall everything. Though back online now, there are probably many broken images and links in older posts. Given the low usage, it’s unlikely I’ll go back and fix these. External links to individual posts should work as before.

As for 2024 and beyond, I’m not really active in the local Go scene currently. Another member has restarted fortnightly meetings in the city. Check https://www.facebook.com/corkgoclub for updates.

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Myongji University plans to shutter Go dept

Back in 2017, the first issue of Myosu was released. It was dubbed a Global Baduk Magazine by its creators. It ran for all of two issues. What was notable at the time was its origin – Myongji University’s Department of Baduk Studies. Over the years, the department offered degrees, masters, and even PhDs in Go.

Unfortunately, the department itself now faces closure. Speculation on L19 and the OGS forums suggest a combination of economics, politics, and a failure to effectively communicate/outreach. Yeonwoo posted a video about the threatened closure and there does not seem to be a financial reason.

For posterity, Myosu issue 1 and 2

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September

Looking forward… September

2022 Confucius Cup
Register now for the Confucius Cup, taking place over the weekend of 23rd–25th September on the campus of UCD in Dublin. Over 30 players have already signed up, including two European pros.
The IGA are looking for volunteers to scribe board 1 to OGS. If you are interested, contact Niall (The Awesome Penguin) on Discord.

Further Ahead… October

IGA League
The second season of the league will kick off in October

European Pair Go Championship 2022
Taking place in Strasbourg on 8th-9th

Weekly Meetings

Dublin – Wednesday 19:30 in Toners
Online – Thursday 20:00 on Discord, with games played primarily in the OGS Ireland Group
Lisburn – Saturday 10:00 at 60-62 Longstone Street as part of Lisburn Chess club. Also Monday 18:30 – check FB or message to confirm!

On the continent…

European Go Congress 2024
Registration is open for the 2024 European Go Congress, Toulouse. Join the hundred already signed up.

EGC 2022
European Go Congress 2022
The EGF have a few articles relating to the 64th EGC:
Antonius Claasen has some impressions and an interview with Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia the 2022 European Champion.
He also posts about the Pandanet European Team Championship

EGF Academy
Application deadline for the EGF Academy‘s next season is September 16th – more info

EGF AGM
Minutes from the 2022 meeting are now available

New British Champion
Gaoge Wang beat Bruno Poltronieri 2-0 to become the 2022 British Champion, and the first ever female British Champion. Both games are available on the London Go Centre‘s youtube channel with commentary by Matthew Macfadyen.

Tenuki

The AlphaGo Effect
A student from Barcelona is investigating AlphaGo’s impact on the community and would appreciate your feedback

Multilingual Go Book Project
Brazilian Portuguese translation completed

Termsuji
Play Go in your terminal

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August

Looking forward… August

IGA League
Keep tabs on the first season of this new league here

Further Ahead… September

Date Change for the Confucius Cup
Fans of both country music and Go will be relieved to hear that the dates for the Confucius Cup have been pushed back by a week to September 23rd–25th to avoid conflicting with the Garth Brooks concerts.

Weekly Meetings

Dublin – Wednesday 19:30 in Toners
Online – Thursday 20:00 on Discord, with games played primarily in the OGS Ireland Group
Lisburn – Saturday 10:00 at 60-62 Longstone Street as part of Lisburn Chess club. Also Monday 18:30 – check FB or message to confirm!

On the continent…

European Go Congress 2023
Due to ongoing events, the Ukrainian Go Federation has decided it will not be able to host the 2023 Congress as planned. The EGF are now looking for “a motivated team which can set up a congress with only 1 year of preparation”.

EGC 2022
European Go Congress 2022
Results are being posted

Transatlantic Professional Go League
2nd Transatlantic Professional Go League
Won by Ryan Li 3p – more info

Issyk-Kul Cup 2022 international tournament
A report on the first international Go tournament to be held in Kyrgyzstan

EGF AGM
This was scheduled to be held on July 26th. No minutes available yet, but the agenda is here

Tenuki

Where to Learn Go and Have Fun With Other Players
An evergreen list on OGS which includes the IGA league

19×19 for Beginners Series
A 6-part (so far) series being posted on OGS
Introduction: Making sense of Go
Part 1: Sente and Gote
Part 2: Settling your Stones
Part 3: Playing a Balanced Opening
Part 4: Joseki Basics
Part 5: The Stages of the Game
Part 6: Shape – Playing with Blocks in the Sandbox

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July

Looking forward… July

IGA League
Keep tabs on the first season of this new league here

2022 Correspondence Championship
There are just a handful of games left to close in each of Brackets A and B

Further Ahead… September

Korea Prime Minister’s Cup
The IGA is seeking a player to represent Ireland at this year’s KPMC, which will take place in Gwangju from September 24th-30th. Interested members should contact Eoghan or Niall on the IGA discord server no later than July 9th.

Date Change for the Confucius Cup
Fans of both country music and Go will be relieved to hear that the dates for the Confucius Cup have been pushed back by a week to September 23rd–25th to avoid conflicting with the Garth Brooks concerts.

Weekly Meetings

Dublin – Wednesday 19:30 in Toners
Online – Thursday 20:00 on Discord, with games played primarily in the OGS Ireland Group
Lisburn – Saturday 10:00 at 60-62 Longstone Street as part of Lisburn Chess club. Also Monday 18:30 – check FB or message to confirm!

Looking back… June

IGA Resources
The IGA has added an introductory section to the website for those new to the game. There’s also a list of additional benefits for members.

On the continent…

EGF AGM
The IGA is seeking a trusted proxy to attend this during the European Go Congress (22nd July to 7th August) – contact Niall on the IGA discord server

Transatlantic Professional Go League
2nd Transatlantic Professional Go League
Current standings can be seen at the foot of this page

EGC 2022
European Go Congress 2022
Latest update

Tenuki

Latin American Go Congress 2022
15 national Go associations will join in Buenos Aires this October for the 4th Latin American Go Congress. Registration opens July 1st for this face-to-face event.

Go Magic
The EGF has a short article about Go Magic’s official release, along with an offer for club organisers or teachers.

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June

Looking forward… June

IGA League
Keep tabs on the first season of this new league here

2022 Correspondence Championship
Currently underway in the Ireland group on OGS

Further Ahead… July

Hungarian Go Camp 2022
People interested in attending the 11th Hungarian Go Camp in Százhalombatta from July 10th-17th should check out the provided pdf or register online

Lithuanian Go Association
Lithuanian Go Association Summer Camp
The LGA’s 2022 summer camp takes place July 7th-10th

The far future… September

Confucius Cup 2022
Kindly note that this has been rescheduled for the weekend of 23rd-25th September

Weekly Meetings

Dublin – Wednesday 19:30 in Toners
Online – Thursday 20:00 on Discord, with games played primarily in the OGS Ireland Group
Galway – visit their club on OGS
Lisburn – Saturday 10:00 at 60-62 Longstone Street as part of Lisburn Chess club. Also Monday 18:30 – check FB or message to confirm!

Pandanet Go European Team Championship
12th PGETC
Ireland finished fifth in League C after defeating Slovenia in the final round.
Tangentially, despite winning 4-0 in the last round, the UK have been relegated and will be joining League C next season.

Looking back… May

Outreach
Do you know a group or community that might be interested in learning Go? The IGA is here to help!

On the continent…

Transatlantic Professional Go League
2nd Transatlantic Professional Go League
Current standings can be seen at the foot of this page

EGC 2022
European Go Congress 2022
The organisers have confirmed their intent to organise EGC 2022 in Vatra Dornei

Tenuki

Digital Go Education and Go Globalization
The Korean Baduk Association and the University of Seoul have agreed to cooperate with the aim of creating a metaverse and an AI-based platform for Go education – AGeJ

A Contemporary Art Experiment, From Go Seigen to AlphaGo
Selected as the winning exhibition for the 2021 OCAT Research-Based Curatorial Project – AGeJ

Wave Games cover
Music in the stones
Wave Collector releases new go-inspired album – AGeJ

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May

Looking forward… May

IGA League
Registration closes soon for the first season of this new three-month-long, (mostly) online league

Outreach
Do you know a group or community that might be interested in learning Go? The IGA is here to help!

2022 Correspondence Championship
Currently underway in the Ireland group on OGS

The far future… September

Confucius Cup 2022
This is scheduled for the weekend of 16th-18th September

Weekly Meetings

Dublin – Wednesday 19:30 in Toners
Online – Thursday 20:00 on Discord, with games played primarily in the OGS Ireland Group
Galway – visit their club on OGS
Lisburn – Saturday 10:00 at 60-62 Longstone Street as part of Lisburn Chess club. Also Monday 18:30 – check FB or message to confirm!

Pandanet Go European Team Championship
12th PGETC
Ireland managed a single win against Lithuania in the penultimate round.
The last round sees Ireland facing Slovenia on the 10th

Looking back… April

April Rip-Off
Eoghan posted a writeup of the tournament

2022 Ulster Open
Pictures
Results

Ireland vs SITS
Interclub Battle
Ireland take on the French club Stones in the Shell – commentary on twitch

On the continent…

Statement from the Ukraine Go Federation
A letter from the UFGO President

European Go Federation logo
EGF Statement
The EGF’s statement about the war in Ukraine
Related discussion on L19

Lithuanian Go Association
Lithuanian Go Association Summer Camp
The LGA’s 2022 summer camp takes place July 7th-10th

49th Paris International Tournament
A writeup has been posted by Milena on the EGF website

Transatlantic Professional Go League
2nd Transatlantic Professional Go League
Current standings can be seen at the foot of this page

EGC 2022
European Go Congress 2022
The organisers have requested that those who plan to attend book so they can get a better idea of how many people they need to cater for

Tenuki

SmartGo
SmarterGo
SmartGo One is out for iPhone and iPad

IGA Resources

The email version of this bulletin is moving over to the IGA’s mailing list. People who want to keep receiving it should sign up over on the IGA website.

Join the IGA Discord server – https://discord.com/invite/4vSnhjd – or follow along on Twitch, YouTube, or Instagram
IGA Discord serverIGA Twitch channelIGA YouTube channelIGA Instagram feed

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