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This page contains a list of the top events held in Europe, a short description of the event, the sponsor and whether the event is open for bids from EGF member countries intersted in organising. The locations and dates of future events are shown where known. EGF countries should please submit bids for future events to the EGF Secretary. For purposes of European nationality, nationals of all EGF member countries are eligible. Unless rules are otherwise specified the EGF Tournament Rules will be used.
The European Go Congress (EGC) moves from country to country. Usually the location is decided four years ahead. The Congress lasts for a fortnight in July and August each year. Between 300 and 700 people usually take part, depending on location and cost. There is currently no regular major sponsor, but the Ing Fund supports some aspects of the event, such as equipment, as Ing Rules are used. The main event of the EGC is the European Championship. Currently this is an open event with European Champion and European Open Champion titles contested. It is usually played over 10 rounds by McMahon system. There are other events, such as the Weekend Tournament, Lightning, Pair Go and Team events, held during the fortnight and also teaching by professionals and the EGF's Annual Meeting.
Until 2009 this was sponsored by Ing Chang-Ki Weichi Educational Foundation. The event is split into under-16 (under-18 until 2009) and under-12 age categories. From 2011 there is also an under-20 category. Top placed European Nationals can qualify to play in the the World Youth Goe Championships in August. 3 or 4 places in the WYGC are available for under-16s and 2 or 3 places are available for under-12s. The tournament is run as a McMahon draw with a bar placed suitably in the dan level (under-16) or single figure kyu level (under-12). There are 6 rounds of 1 hour basic time and not more than 2 games per day. The results table is sorted by McMahon Score, followed by Sum Of Defeated Oponents' Scores and then Sum of Oponent's Scores. If there are more children on the same McMahon score than WYGC places, the qualifiers are drawn by lottery between all players on that score. The tournament is played with Ing Goe Rules. From 2010 all players must be European nationals, whereas previously children could be European nationals or children of a European national, or had been resident in Europe for some time. For determining if a player falls in a certain age category, he/she should be born on or after August 1 of the corresponding year of birth. (No exceptions will be made to this rule.) The EYGC is usually held between February and mid-March. When sponsorship is available, a travel grant and/or free accommodation is provided to strong players and team leaders according to a prescribed set of rules.
This event for male-female pairs is supported by Japanese Pair Go Committee and Pandanet. Players score European Pair Go Points for their country towards the International Amateur Pair Go Championships usually in November in Tokyo. The EPGC event is usually held in March or April. One official pair from each country may be given an EGF subsidy, when funds permit, but other pairs are not. There are 6 rounds, with timelimits of normally 45 minutes sudden death or, as in 2004, with short byoyomi (10 seconds) or overtime. Komi is 6.5 points. Pairs must be nationals of the same European country. Normally the event is run on the McMahon system, with a supergroup of all official pairs who wish to be in it and those pairs above the bar (usually set at 5 kyu). There may be a separate open Handicap Group from which qualifying points are not scored.
Games are broadcast live on Pandanet, if at all possible.
An occasional event for top European women players, without a regular sponsor. Recent events (until 2008) have played with Ing Rules and received support from the EGF Ing Fund. The champion is normally selected if a place at a women's world event is available.
An new event held for the first time in 2005 and held in early Autumn. Only full time students at university or college, aged below 29 years of age and 16 or over (18 until 2009) on 1st August, may play. When sponsorship is available, financial support is provided to one student from each country, or to one male and one female from each country, provided they are both above a defined rating. Up to 2008, the top 2 men and 1 woman in the event qualified for the World Student Oza in Tokyo (both men could not be from same country and nobody could go to WSO twice in three years). It will continue to be the qualifier for any World Student's event. Events until 2008 were played with Ing Rules and received support from the EGF Ing Fund.
Replacing the Fujitsu Cup (last held November 2002 at EGCC), the first European Masters (EM) was held alongside the Fujitsu European Training in the EGCC. Thereafter, from summer 2005 to 2008, it was held at the European Go Congress. 8 champions and professionals were invited to take part in 2003. A new system of qualifying was devised for 2005 (see link), the qualifying period ending 31/05/05. The result of the EM was used when selecting players for professional events such as the LG Cup and Fujitsu. If no event was held, the results of the previous year continued to apply. Since 2009/2010 new qualifying systems/rules have been used.
This had been an occasional event held possibly every one or two years, being for national teams of 4. Each country could more than one national team. The event had no regular sponsor and any financial support to teams was provided by the local organisers if sponsorship allowed. Starting late in 2010 the event changes to the Pandanet Go European Team Championship. There will be online qualifying leagues, played on Pandanet, and over-the-board finals played at the European Go Congress for the top teams.
From May 2007, the Go Tour and European Cup merged into the Go European Cup. Tournaments could enter at one of five levels. The bottom two were equivalent of the old European Cup events with 25 and 50 points, the top three were the equivalent of the old Tour events, with 7 Pandanet Super Tournaments (50 points), 4 Pandanet Major Tournaments (75 points) and the Pandanet Finals (100 points). The Pandanet levels received financial support for prizes, broadcasting of games on Pandanet and so on. The lower 2 levels paid to join the Cup. After the finals ranking prizes were awarded. From April 2011, Pandanet are no longer supporting the European Cup, and the continued structure of the Cup has changed as described above.
Each country's national event, say their bigest tournament in their capital city, could be part of the TOYOTA - IGS-PandaNet European Go Tour. In 2006-2007, there were 4 major events in it every year, finals in Paris and others in it every two years by rotation. Points were scored by players and prize money was awarded to each event and to the highest point-getters each year (see the Tour pages for more details).
24 top European players take part in a 6-round Swiss. Qualification is based on a set of rules: players in the previous top 3, European professionals and a country's placings in the EGC. The event is open to both nationals and resident orientals. The event was sponsored by the Ing Chang-Ki Weichi Educational Foundation (25000) until 2009 and was usually held in March using Ing Rules. Every second year it was held at the EGCC in Amsterdam. Every four years the World Ing Cup takes place in the Orient.
This event took place every two years in January or February at the EGCC to select players for the Toyota-Denso World Oza. Sponsored jointly by Toyota and Denso corporations from Japan (64000). Up to 84 players took part made up of highly rated players, a top player from each country and other top players. The event had a qualification stage and a knockout stage. Also there was the Family Oza, Junior and Pair Go events at the same time. It was held in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 at the EGCC in Amsterdam, Netherlands.