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The 35th International Amateur Pair Go Championship took place in Nagoya, Japan, bringing together 32 pairs from around the world for five rounds of competition. Seven European pairs participated, representing Germany, Croatia, Sweden, Slovakia, France, Italy, and Austria.
The strongest European result came from Manja Marz 4d and Lukas Krämer 6d from Germany, who finished in 12th place with three victories. Close behind were Mirta Medak 3d and Stjepan Medak 6d from Croatia, who also scored three wins and finished 15th.
The championship was part of the larger Pair Go World Festival 2026, which was included in the official cultural programme of the Asian Games, one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, held this year in Aichi prefecture and Nagoya. The festival also featured professional Pair Go competitions and exhibition matches with AI.
| Place | Country | Players | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12th | Germany 🇩🇪 | Manja Marz 4d & Lukas Krämer 6d | 3/5 |
| 15th | Croatia 🇭🇷 | Mirta Medak 3d & Stjepan Medak 6d | 3/5 |
| 19th | Sweden 🇸🇪 | Lova Wåhlin 3d & Charlie Åkerblom 5d | 2/5 |
| 22nd | Slovakia 🇸🇰 | Michala Chalmovianska 1d & Štefan Sabo 1d | 2/5 |
| 23rd | France 🇫🇷 | Ailian Zhang 3k & Rémi Campagnie 6d | 2/5 |
| 30th | Italy 🇮🇹 | Sofia Malatesta 1k & Federico Milletti 3k | 1/5 |
| 31st | Austria 🇦🇹 | Cherry Hu 2k & Bin Hu 2k | 1/5 |
Manja and Lukas had a difficult start, losing their first two games before making an impressive comeback with three consecutive victories. Mirta and Stjepan, who qualified from the European Pair Go Championship this year, followed a similar path. They narrowly lost their opening game against a Japanese pair by 5.5 points, followed by an even closer half-point loss against an American pair. Despite the disappointing start, they recovered with three consecutive victories against Chile, Japan, and France, finishing with a positive 3/5 score. Lova and Charlie, last year’s European champions, started particularly well, winning their first two games before facing stronger opposition in the remaining rounds. Their final 19th place made them the third-best European pair. Slovakia and France each finished with two victories, while Italy and Austria recorded one win each.
The championship title went to Chae Hyungi 6d and Kim Jung Seon 7d from Korea, who completed the tournament with a perfect five victories.
Meanwhile, the Matsuda Cup – World Students Pair Go Championship featured the European pair Adriana Podperová 2d from the Czech Republic and Mihailo Jačimović 3d from Serbia. They won one of their three games, but it was certainly a memorable victory: they managed to defeat the strong Korean pair Sehee Na 7d and Park Kihyeon 5d, finishing 5th overall.
The event started on Saturday morning with the traditional PGPP (Pair Go Promotion Partner) Meeting at the Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in, where players were waiting for the VIP guests to make their way through the city centre, which was hosting a marathon that morning. Ms. Hiroko Taki from the Japan Pair Go Association, Mr. Tom Urasoe from the Nihon Ki-in, Mr. Chang Hao 9p from the Chinese Weiqi Association, and Mr. Choi Chae Woo from the Korean Baduk Association, along with representatives of other major Go organizations, gave short speeches at the beginning of the meeting. This was followed by the screening of a new promotional video and several presentations highlighting Pair Go activities in smaller Go communities around the world.
After the meeting, and one more round of Oi Ocha (お茶) players were ready to start the first round. Three rounds were played in the Chubu Nihon Ki-in headquarters.
Mr. Satoshi Yanagisawa 6p was available to comment games and welcomed players on his Youtube stream (recording).
The following day, the tournament continued in the beautiful hall of the Tokyu Hotel in central Nagoya. Following the Pair Go tradition, all players arrived dressed in their national costumes. After the final round, the Goodwill Games began, with officials and professional players also joining in.
The tournament ended with a Prizegiving and a buffet.
The tournament schedule was quite packed, leaving little time to explore the city. But before flying home, even with only a few hours to spare and despite the light rain, we couldn't miss the Honmaru Palace at Nagoya Castle, where the Professional Pair Go Championship had taken place earlier. Originally built in 1615, the palace was destroyed during World War II and faithfully reconstructed in 2018. Built mainly from Japanese hinoki cypress wood, it features beautiful gold-leaf paintings on sliding doors and walls, including artworks of tigers, leopards, and landscapes by artists of the famous Kanō school.
A big thank you to the organizers, the Japan Pair Go Association, and all Pair Go supporters for the their effort put into this event. Pair Go is one of the few formats that has consistently and successfully promoted Go among women, encouraging them to participate in international competitions. Hopefully, Pair Go will continue to grow, inspire more players, and one day, potentially, become an Olympic sport.