(on behalf of Carol Doyle)

It has been 22 years since the women of Ireland competed over the board for the illustrious moniker of Irish Women’s Go Champion.  Naomi Gibson is the long standing holder, taking the title in 1992.  The game of Go has historically had a small following in Ireland, yet on February 7th 2015 the IGA hosted the largest annual Irish Go Congress yet!  Over 60 Go players competed in a strong field, with a contingency of Galwegian youth players making the trip over from the west coast.  This marks a milestone not only in Irish Go, but sets the stage for the next level of Go in Ireland.

As a woman playing Go in Ireland, I am buoyed by the surge of excitement surrounding my beloved game in recent years.  The IGA can now be proud to boast a club in each province of the island – the cities of Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway – yet the feeling of one close-knit group of Go players.  Prestige takes second place to shared exploration of themes and ideas which make you better in ways that often seem entirely unrelated to Go.  The Irish Women’s Go Championship 2015 forges ahead with the goal of increasing opportunities for players at any level to discover the joy in the game and feel confident in the hard work required to advance their skill.

Entry is open to any and all females who are resident in Ireland for a period of at least 6 months or who hold an Irish passport.

Register by emailing the IGA Committee: committee [at] irish [dash] go [full stop] org 

All entrants must be a member of the Irish Go Association.  You can sign up during the registration process.

System:  League format.  Each player will play one game against each person in the league.

Winner:  The champion will be decided in a best-of-3 game between the top two players in the league table.

Rules:  Japanese Rules with no handicap, komi at 6.5.  Main time 60 minutes, byoyomi 5 periods of 30 seconds.

Playing:  Games may be played live online using a Go server such as KGS, or face-to-face.  It is the responsibility of the winner to report the result to the tournament organiser.