[Newsletter] BGA Newsletter 256 July 2019

[Jil Segerman]

FROM THE EDITOR

Contributions are always welcome, both from our members and others. We ask
that they be Go-related and “newsy". The place for debate and general
discussion is currently Gotalk <http://www.britgo.org/gopcres/info#gotalk>;
however, an introduction to a new topic is fine in the Newsletter.
*Instructions:* Please use plain text not file-attachments. Keep it brief,
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the first day of the month.
Jil Segerman
NEWS

The full set of recent news items, including further details of some of the
items shown here, are on our News Pages <http://www.britgo.org/news>, and
on News Headlines <http://www.britgo.org/views/news>.
British Pair Go Tournament

The 38th British Pair Go Championship was held on 8th June at its now
regular venue, the Red Lion in Hatfield. Some of the stronger pairs could
not play this time; for instance Natasha Regan was lecturing on Go at the
Cheltenham Science Festival (see below). However, thanks to the minibus
from Cheadle Hulme School (CHS) there were still 15 pairs, many including
youngsters. Also included was Jose Teles de Menezes from Portugal who
played with his daughter Ines.

In the top group, the champions of 2016 and 2018, Joanne Leung and Bruno
Poltronieri, managed to take the title again, winning the final against
Ingrid Jendrzejewski and Alex Selby by 8.5. In the handicap section it was
a pair from CHS, Lizzy Pollitt and Sam Barnett, who were the winners; they
beat another young pair, Amy Upton and Rohan Neelala, in the final. The
Pair Quiz was won by Zoe Walters, and the Best Dressed competition by Lizzy
Pollitt and Sam Barnett.
Cheltenham Science Festival

Natasha Regan sends this report:

Go hit Cheltenham on Saturday 8th June. All-comers were treated to an
introduction to Go by Natasha (1 kyu, Epsom), and Chess Grandmaster Matthew
Sadler, followed by a screening of the AlphaGo film. Artificial
Intelligence research company, DeepMind, had secured a prime location for
the talk in the Waterstones bookshop, and at least 40 prospective Go
players were entertained by the one hour workshop; there was standing room
only.

Matthew and Natasha had earlier presented to Chess players about their book
"Game Changer", about Chess and AI, and enthusiasts welcomed the
opportunity to learn Go too! Matthew gave a pictorial tour of the Go world,
then Natasha introduced the rules of the game, and the audience enjoyed
trying out how to capture stones. Then followed a live Go challenge game!
Chess Grandmaster Matthew challenged England Go International Natasha to a
9x9 game, with Natasha navigating the delicate line of commentating to the
audience without giving too much of her plans away to Matthew! The result
was a "narrow" 16 point win to Natasha, much to Natasha's relief!

David Killen was on hand to sell Go boards after the event. He sold about
12 so we look forward to a few new Go enthusiasts in the Cheltenham area!
Demis Hassabis on BBC Radio 4

The BBC Radio 4 is running a series "The Disrupters"
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0006kwd> about starting a business,
including on 2nd July, an interview with DeepMind's Demis Hassabis.
DeepMind is featured at about 9.40 minutes in, with a brief mention of
AlphaGo at 12.30 minutes.
ADMINLGC Teaching Videos

The London Go Centre hosts a YouTube channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBGI3tQZE3aXgH8IAsr6Ucw/videos> showing
lectures at the LGC, including those from the Not the London Open.
EVENTS COMING SOON

Full information via the Events Calendar.
<http://www.britgo.org/tournaments>

*THIS MONTH:*
No BGA events
*AUGUST:*
Leo Phillips Isle of Man Go Festival
Mind Sports Olympiad, London
Youth Training Residential, Caythorpe Hall near Grantham
*SEPTEMBER:*
Cornwall (Falmouth)
T Mark Hall Rapid Play, London
International Teams Autumn Match, London
Belfast
Arundel
Swindon
Sheffield
*OCTOBER*
Cambridge Junior's 25th Anniversary - National Small Board/UK Go Challenge
Finals
Northern, near Manchester
50th Wessex, near Bristol
*NOVEMBER*
Three Peaks, Ingleton
Guy Fawkes Weekend, London
Doki Doki Festival, Manchester
Coventry

*OVERSEAS*
European Go Congress 2019, 20th July - 4th August, Brussels
The European Go Federation's Tournament Calendar
<https://www.eurogofed.org/calendar/calendar.htm> includes the Major
European Tournaments and a World Tournament Calendar.
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