The 2011 Irish Go Congress will be held over the weekend of March 4th-6th, at the Teachers Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 (Map).  The Congress is comprised of two tournaments – the Rapid and the Open. The Rapid, to be held on the Friday evening, will follow a Swiss format with time allowances reducing each round. The Open will be a 5-round MacMahon format tournament, with three rounds played on Saturday and the two remaining rounds on Sunday.  Main time will be one hour plus overtime of 15 stones in 5 minutes Canadian or 5 periods of 30 seconds byo-yomi.  The prizegiving ceremony will be followed by the traditional post-tournament pints and dinner at the Hop House.

Registration is now open for the Congress, with discounted entry fees for those who register and pay before March 1st, 2011. The standard entry fee will remain set at €25 for the Open tournament, and €10 for the Rapid. The early registration discount will be €5 for visitors. Irish residents will receive a €3 discount for either registering early or being a member of the IGA, and a €5 discount if both conditions apply. Students and the unemployed can avail of the concession rate of €12 for early entry, €15 after March 1st.

To register, email the tournament director, Eoghan Barry, with your name, contact email address, entry rank, and club. Entry fees may be paid by bank transfer, Paypal (oldrottenhat@gmail.com), or cheque – please indicate if you want to pay by bank transfer in your email and I will provide you with the necessary bank details. Cheques (in euro only) can be posted to 14 Waterloo Road, Dublin 4, Ireland. If you choose to send cash through the mail, it is entirely at your own risk.

The Open will be a class A tournament for EGF ratings purposes, and will be a level 3 (Super) tournament in the Pandanet Go European Cup, the last chance to gain points before the Finals in Paris. There will be two prize pools totalling a minimum of €475 – the Pandanet prize money of €300 to be split between the top 3 finishers who hold European passports, and an additional pool open to all entrants. There will also be a special prize for the highest-placed kyu player – one month’s entry into Alexander Dinerchtein’s Korean-style Insei League. We are very grateful to both Pandanet and Alexander for their sponsorship. The game from the top board each round with be broadcast on Pandanet IGS (look for the user IrishOpen 6D?).

Watch this space for further details or email the Tournament Director, Eoghan Barry, to be added to the mailing list for updates.

Accommodation Ideas

Should you wish to sleep during the event, then you will find a lot of options for accommodation in Dublin. Across the road from the Teachers Club are several hotels and guesthouses, for instance the Charles Stewart. One hostel we have had players use in the past is Dublin City Bunkhouse. A few players have also opted to rent an apartment. You can find a lot of choices on various websites, such as this one.