[Newsletter] BGA Newsletter 338 May 2026

[Sam Bithell]

FROM THE EDITOR

This issue, and previous newsletters, will be found in the Newsletter
Archive <https://britgo.org/newsletter> in the Members' Area
<https://britgo.org/membersonlyaccess>. In Newsletters after August 2025
the images have clickable links for viewing them full size. Full-size
images from earlier Newsletters may be found via the BGA All News pages
<https://britgo.org/allnews>.

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 the BGA open mailing list Gotalk. However, an introduction to
a new topic is fine in the Newsletter. A brief introduction to Gotalk, with
a link for joining, is on the BGA page Go on the Internet
<https://britgo.org/gopcres/info#mail>.

*Instructions for Contributors:* Please use plain text not
file-attachments. Keep it fairly brief, and give web-links and contact
details. It's good to include pictures. If they are on the internet, send
the URL, otherwise attach the picture files to your email. Send your
contribution to newsletter at britgo.org to arrive by the first day of the
month.
NEWSPandanet Go European Team Championship

In the eighth match of the PGETC
<https://britgo.org/events/euroteams2025> 2025–2026
season the UK team played Ireland and won 4-0. The last match was also a
win, 3-1 over Finland - congratulations go to the team who ended a clear
second in League B behind the Netherlands who will be promoted. The UK will
play off against the bottom-but-one team in League A for promotion.
Youth Team

The youth team played Czechia in the fifth and last round of the Pandanet
Youth Teams <https://britgo.org/junior/pandanet>, losing 2-3.
We ended up bottom of League A, with no wins, and have been duly relegated
to League B.
British Go Congress

The British Go Congress returned to Cambridge this year. 66 players
competed in the British Open, with a further 7 joining for the Lightning
only, making this one of the largest Congresses in recent years.

Yuanzhen Li (6d) won the British Open and Michael Cheung (5d) the
Lightning. The Terry Stacey Trophy, awarded for the most above-bar wins
over the past year, went to Changhao Huang (5d). There were a great many
other prizes; all the winners are pictured here.

<https://britgo.org/files/2026/BGC2026winners.jpg>


Becky Li and Zeyu Qiu to play Title Match
In Candidates' at University of Warwick, congratulations go to Zeyu Qiu
(6d, LGC) who swept 1st place with 6/6 wins. Becky Li (1d, UCL) took 2nd
after a remarkable run through a very strong field, finishing on 5/6 with
her only loss being to Zeyu. The two will proceed to a best-of-three Title
Match to determine the 2026 British Go Champion. Full report of Candidates'
and Aspirants <https://britgo.org/news/2026/cand>.

<https://britgo.org//files/2026/cand26.jpg>
Major European Tournaments

Following the London Open in December, the European Grand Prix
<https://www.eurogofed.org/grandprix/> circuit has continued with two
further Class B events: the Paris International and the Old Hunter’s Cup in
Prague. These are two of the largest European events, with 177 and 158
players respectively this year.

Seven UK players headed to Paris, with outstanding performances by Bao
Yifan 6D coming 2nd place, and Xi Wu 6D coming 4th. In Prague, five UK
players competed, making the UK the country with the most players in the
top 15: Xi Wu 6D in 2nd place, Damen Woo 6D in 4th, Yuanzhen Li 6D in 5th,
Yifan Bao 6D in 7th, and Michael Cheung 5D in 14th.

Full standings and full event details can be found on the official
tournament websites for Paris <https://tournoi-de-paris.jeudego.org/> and
Prague <https://www.prague-go-tournament.cz/>.
BGA Tournament Winners

Full results here <https://britgo.org/results/12months>.
*British Lightning* - Michael Cheung
*British Open* - Yuanzhen Li
*Candidates'* - Zeyu Qiu
*Aspirants* - Daniel Guest
European Go Yearbook 2025

The European Go Journal <https://eurogojournal.com/> team have produced a book
showcasing European Go in 2025 <https://eurogojournal.com/yearbook-2025/>.
They selected the best articles from last year’s EGJ and added bonus
content not published elsewhere. The Digital Edition costs €15 while the
Printed Edition is €55 (including Worldwide Delivery).
ADMINAnnual General Meeting Reminder

The 2026 AGM of the BGA will be held online via ZOOM on the evening of
Thursday May 28th. here is the Agenda, and associated papers
<https://www.britgo.org/history/accounts>.
BGA President and upcoming EGM

The Board is saddened to inform the membership that Colin Williams has
resigned as President. He held the role from 2024, and before that spent 4
years as BGA Secretary. During his time as President, Colin oversaw
important developments including the modernisation of internal processes,
progress on branding refresh, expanded social media engagement, and
increased national and international visibility, including preparations for
a UK bid for the European Go Congress. Colin's tireless work is greatly
appreciated.

Colin writes: "In mid-March I had chest pains, which were diagnosed in A&E
as a heart attack. There followed a several week stay in hospital. This
event added to a previous heart bypass in 2018 and although I have made a
strong recovery it has caused considerable worry for my family which I
don’t want to repeat. Hence I have decided to make several changes to my
lifestyle and commitments.

As a result I notified the Board of my decision to resign as BGA President
with immediate effect. I appreciate the timing is awful with the AGM
looming, for which I apologise, but in reality I have little choice.

I have been an Officer of the BGA for six years now, which has always been
a privilege, and has usually been a pleasure. I will of course continue to
play Go, and look forward to attending tournaments again after a short
break. I look forward to meeting you in person at one of them in the
future."

Toby Manning, who was Colin's predecessor as President, has been appointed
by the Board to replace Colin, and will serve at least until we hold an
Extraordinary General Meeting on *Wednesday 17 June at 19:00* by Zoom for
members to determine who should be President going forward. Details are
given below. Members who wish to stand for President need to put themselves
forward *by 20 May*.

The Board wishes Toby the greatest success in this transitional role and
thanks him for his support.

*Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) – process and motions*

When Colin resigned as President it was too late for anyone other than Toby
to stand for President at the AGM; the deadline for nominations other than
the incumbent at the time had already passed. However, the Board wishes to
give the members the opportunity to have a new President without waiting
for a year. Accordingly we will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 17
June at which the position of President can be contested.
If there are any nominations for President, other than Toby Manning, the
membership will vote on who shall be the BGA President. There will be two
motions as follows (where '[X]' is the name of the person nominated by two
members):

*1)* We note that the timing of the resignation of Colin Williams as
President means that the Membership did not have the opportunity to approve
the election of the President at the recent AGM. We believe that it is in
the best interests of the BGA to have new energy in the role, and that [X]
is best placed to move the BGA forward. We therefore instruct the Board to
take the following actions:
* To co-opt [X] onto the Board
* To require Toby Manning to resign as President
* To appoint [X] as President

*2)* In the event Motion 1 is passed, to co-opt Toby Manning, if he and the
incoming board are willing, back onto the Board as an ordinary member.

The Board will follow these instructions if the relevant motion(s) are
passed (Article 9). Toby has personally committed to resign in the event
that Motion 1 is passed.
If the motion fails to pass then Toby will continue as President for the
year.

This procedure therefore provides a pseudo-election for President.

The Board requires 2 members to propose/second the motion, and for [X] to
indicate their willingness to stand by 4 weeks before the meeting, i.e. by
20 May (Article 31). Applications should be sent to secretary at britgo.org.
[and members will be informed via the Newsletter Distribution - Ed.] In the
event that this does not happen then the EGM will be cancelled and Toby
Manning will continue as President until the 2027 AGM.
EVENTS COMING SOON

*This Month:* Sheffield University, Not the London Open, Online Lesson 5,
Ulster, Welsh Open (Barmouth), BGA AGM (online)
*June* BGA EGM (online), Durham, Cambridge Youth, Online Lesson 6
*July* European Go Congress (Turkey)
*August* Mind Sports Olympiad (London)
*September* European Women (London), Cambridge Youth, Nottingham, Swindon,
Confucius Cup
*October* European Women's Championship (London), Sheffield, Wessex, Three
Peaks

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