Amsterdam Tournament to take place from 10 to 13 May
By Kim Ouweleen | News | 26.03.2018 15:20| Views: 5328
The first edition of the Amsterdam International Go Tournament took place in 1971. Now, 47 years later, it is still going strong. In 2018, over 100 players are expected to participate.
Traditionally, the Amsterdam Tournament is held around Ascension Day in May and takes place in the European Go Cultural Centre (EGCC) in Amstelveen. It is the biggest go tournament in the Netherlands and is organised in cooperation between the EGCC and the Dutch Go Association (NGoB). It always attracts plenty of international competitors and is loved for its great weather and its extended thinking times of 90 minutes on the clock per person.
Since a few years, the tournament takes place over four days, from Thursday (Ascension Day) until Sunday. For early arrivers, there is also a Blitz Tournament in the Amsterdam Go Club on Wednesday evening. On Friday and Saturday evening a Rapid Tournament is organised, with 30 minutes sudden death on the clock, sponsored by DNM-ICT.
This year, we are happy to announce a total of €1800 in prize money for the Top Group of the main tournament. Additionally, there will be prizes for the best three female contestants and for players who score 5 or more wins, generously sponsored by Schaak & Go winkel Het Paard. On Thursday and Sunday, Het Paard will be on site with their stand full of go books and go equipment. During every round, EuroGoTV will live broadcast board one (the strongest players) on KGS. Dutch champion Rob van Zeijst (7 dan) will be present as the official commentator: please look for him after your matches to review your game.
There are reduced prices for early registrants. If you register before 1st of April, the fee is €35. If you register in April, the tournament costs €45. If you register in May, the fee is €60. There are special discounts for youth players, double-digit kyu players and members of the Dutch Go Association. Do you only want to play the rounds on Saturday and Sunday, or do you just want to play the Rapid Tournament? Everything is possible, and there are discounted fees accordingly.
For the full schedule and registration, please visit www.aigt.nl For some photos by EuroGoTV of last year's edition, please see here and here.
This article was written by Kim Ouweleen
Profession: Art historian, writer, illustrator and go teacher
Born: Amsterdam, 1988
Country: The Netherlands
EGF rank: 4d
Started playing go: September 2004
Personal website: www.murugandi.com All his articles on the EGF website.