Archive: Championships Rules 2005
This page marks the changes between the rules in force from 2002 until 2004 and the rules currently in force. Insertions are marked like this and deletions are marked like this.
This set of rules refers to the following championships:
the British Go Championship;
the British Pair Go Championship; and
the British Youth Championships.
There is no British Womens Championship as the BGA believes that men and women should be able to play Go on an equal footing. However the BGA awards British women Womens World Amateur Qualification ("WWAQ") points based on their performance in the British Open. These points are used as a guide when selecting women for places in international womens tournaments.
A General
A1 The Championships Organiser
A2 Eligibility
A3 Invitations and Notifications
A4 Referees
A5 Championship RulesGeneral
B British Go ChampionshipTitle Match
B1 The Title Match
B2 The Title
B3 Prizes
B4 Referee
B5 Time Limits
B6 Choice of Colours
B7 Practical Arrangements
C British Go ChampionshipChallengers League
C1 The League
C2 Qualification
C3 The Challenger
C4 Ranking
C5 Referee
C6 Time Limits
C7 Draw
C8 Practical Arrangements
D British Go ChampionshipCandidates Tournament
D1 The Candidates Tournament
D2 Qualification
D3 Ranking
D4 Referee
D5 Time Limits
D6 Practical Arrangements
E British Go ChampionshipQualifying Tournaments
E1 Qualifying Tournaments
E2 Tournament Conditions
F British Pair Go Championship
F1 The Pair Go Championship
F2 Qualification
F3 Time Limits
F4 Choice of Colour
F5 Practical Arrangements
G British Youth Championships
G1 The Youth Championship
G2 Age Group Champions
G3 Youth Team Championship
G4 Other Youth Championships
G5 Qualification
G6 Practical Arrangements
H British Representatives in International Events
H1 Selection as British Representatives
H2 World Amateur Qualification (WAQ) Points System
H3 Womens World Amateur Qualification (WWAQ) Points System
H4 World Amateur Pair Go Qualification (WAPGQ) Points System
H5 Other International Events
The Championships Organiser is appointed by the BGA Council.
The Championships Organiser is responsible for:
appointing Organisers for the three stages of the British Championship (Candidates Tournament, Challengers League and Title Match);
appointing Organisers for the British Pair Go Championship;
appointing Organisers for the British Youth Championships;
appointing suitable Referees for each of the above events;
publicity and practical arrangements not otherwise delegated to Organisers;
reporting progress on the above to the BGA Council.
The Championships Organiser may undertake any of the above roles himself/herself, subject to making adequate arrangements to prevent any conflict of interest in events in which he/she may be likely to participate.
The Championship's Organiser may delegate any or all of these duties and responsibilities to the relevant Event Organiser.
If this position is vacant the BGA Council will be responsible for undertaking these duties.
Members of the BGA are eligible to play in the British Championships events, subject to the qualifying criteria for each competition and the discretion of the BGA Council, provided that:
they hold or are eligible to hold a British passport; or
they have been resident in the UK for the five calendar years prior to the year in which the particular championship is being held, with no continuous absence exceeding six months.
For the British Pair Go Championships players must satisfy the first condition above. For the British Youth championship, see Rule G.5
All events will be publicised in advance by the BGA newsletter and on the BGA web site.
It is the responsibility of the Championships Organiser to notify in writing those players eligible and qualified for the Candidates Tournament and the Challengers League. Notification should be timely and include details of time and place, entry fees, contact details for the Event Organiser and a closing date for confirmation of entry.
The BGA Council will impose sanctions as seem appropriate in subsequent years on those withdrawing late and without good reason from either of these events.
Invitations to events may be issued by the respective Event Organiser at the discretion of the Championships Organiser.
If members believe they are qualified for an event but have not received an invitation, they should contact the Championships Organiser.
The Championships Organiser should appoint a suitable Referee for each Championship event (in the case of the British Championship Title Match the appointment may be for a single game). Referees are appointed subject to the approval by the BGA Council and the Organiser of that event. Normally approval will not be given to a Referee who is also a participant to avoid any conflict of interest.
The duties of the Referee shall be to interpret the rules of Go and the rules laid down for each competition, and to ensure that these rules are adhered to. The powers of the Referee will include the power to determine the results of games in case of dispute, and to impose any penalty including disqualification of one or both players if this is considered appropriate, for example because of unsporting behaviour. The specific duties of the Referee for each Event are covered in the relevant sections below.
An appeal may be made to the BGA Council, which reserves the right to act as it sees fit in any given case.
A5.1 Event Organiser
The Event Organiser means the recognised senior or lead organiser of an event.
A5.2 Rules
BGA competitions are played under a version of the Japanese rules of Go as revised by the Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in in 1989. These may be found in the Go Players Almanac. However, with reference to Article 9.3 of those rules on the end of the game, the BGA Council makes the comment that restarting the game has never been the custom in the UK; and stipulates that all requests to restart the game after both players have passed be made only through the Event Organiser or Referee. Games which would be annulled under the Japanese rules are treated as jigo in competitions other than the British Championship Title Match and Challengers League play-off, where they must be replayed.
A5.3 Komi
Komi will be 6 in all British Championship events (Title Match, Challengers League, Candidates Tournament, Pairs and Youth).
A5.4 Time Limits
The time limits for each event are set out in the respective section below. Players must start their game before the expiry of basic time after deduction of any time penalty.
A5.5 Overtime
Games which are not sudden death are played with Canadian (clock-resetting) overtime: a player whose flag drops has his or her clock reset to a specified number of minutes and counts out the specified number of stones to be played in that time; when the stones have been played, the players clock is reset once more and a further set of stones counted out.
Both players clocks should be stopped while clocks are reset and stones counted out. A player whose opponent is about to Go into overtime should not stray from the board, and should point out the dropping of an opponents flag.
A player who passes during overtime should return one stone to his bowl in so doing. When a player plays his last stone he must press the clock without his flag falling. A player whose flag falls in overtime has lost. Both players should endeavour to point out that a flag has fallen regardless of which players flag has fallen. If a player points out that his opponents flag has fallen during overtime, he has won even if both flags have fallen. Other persons should not point out that a flag has fallen. The Referee may intervene if he believes the overtime rules are not being properly observed.
A5.6 Stopping the Clock
It is open to the Event Organiser to instruct players to stop their clock in the case of an unusual event or emergency. Unless the Event Organiser specifies otherwise, players may not stop the clock themselves during a game except to set the clock for overtime and to repair the position when it has become disorganised.
A5.7 Sealed Moves and Adjournments
Games are adjourned only in games in the British Championship Title Match with a Referee present. The Referee is responsible for supervising the recording of the sealed move, for recording the number of captured stones and the times on the clocks of each player and for holding the sealed move during the adjournment.
The match for the title of British Go Champion will be the best of five games between the Challenger and the current British Champion. Once one player has won three games any remaining games need not be played.
Games will be scheduled in advance by the Championships Organiser to facilitate publicity and attendance.
Should the Champion elect not to defend his/her title, the match will be played by the first two players in the Challengers League.
Should either of the eligible players be unable or unwilling to complete the match according to the schedule specified by the Championships Organiser, the BGA Council will take action as it sees fit.
The title "British Go Champion" is given to the winner of each years Title Match, to be held until the end of the subsequent years match.
The British Go Champion holds the John Barrs Go Ban. This must be returned to the BGA on loss of the title.
The BGA Council will award prizes for Champion, loser in the Title Match and other places in the Challengers League at their discretion, taking account of the availability of sponsorship money and other funds. Prizes will be announced in advance of the Candidates Tournament.
All games in the Title Match will be played in the presence of a Referee. The Referee will be appointed by the Championships Organiser.
The duties of the Referee include:
checking that both players are familiar with the time limits and other match arrangements;
supervising nigiri (if the first game of the match) or checking that players have the appropriate colour (for second or subsequent games);
ensuring that the playing sessions and breaks occur as agreed;
supervising any adjournment of the game (for example over lunch);
ensuring that the complete game is recorded.
At each match game the Referee has discretion on the handling of the game. This includes powers to:
to award a time penalty against a late player of twice the time after the agreed starting time;
to recommend postponement or forfeit of the game, or other sanctions as he sees appropriate, to the BGA Council through the Championships Organiser in the case of unjustified late arrival or non-arrival or other breaches of the rules.
The time limits for the Title Match will be 180 minutes each, with overtime of 10 plays in 10 minutes.
British Championship Title Match games normally have sessions of two to three hours with adjournments for lunch and tea. It is the responsibility of the Referee to arrange these breaks if they are taken.
Colours will be decided at the start of the first game by nigiri supervised by the Referee, and will then alternate.
Arrangements for the Title Match are the responsibility of the Championships Organiser, reporting to the BGA Council.
The Championships Organiser should publish potential match dates and locations at the same time as the Candidates Tournament and Challengers League dates are published. The final dates should be agreed with the players within 3 weeks of the Challengers League and published in the subsequent newsletter. Games must be held by the end of the calendar year.
The Championships Organiser must ensure that the venue for each game is appropriate. Games should be played in a neutral venue at which spectators are welcome.
Refreshments should be available for the players and the Referee.
The League will be an eight player all-play-all to be held over four consecutive days. This will usually be a bank holiday weekend, Friday to Monday.
Two games will be played on each of the first three days. The seventh game will be played on the morning of the fourth day. Players are required to be available for the afternoon of the fourth day for any play-offs that are needed to finalise the results of the League.
Players must play in all seven rounds of the all-play-all.
The unsuccessful Challenger or the deposed Champion from the previous year retains a place as of right in the Challengers League. Players placed second and third in the previous years League also retain their places. The remaining five places are filled from the first five players from the Candidates Tournament.
Should any of these prove subsequently unable to play in the League, further players from the Candidates Tournament may be invited to participate as required. Qualified players must confirm their intention to play by the date specified by the Championships Organiser.
The player placed first in the League becomes Challenger in the British Championship Title Match.
A final ranking is determined by ordering players in decreasing number of wins. Where players are tied on the same number of wins they are first ranked according to the qualifying ranking for that years League as described below. If players ranked 1 and 2 in this ranking have the same number of wins they will play-off to determine their final position. If players ranked 3 and 4 have the same number of wins they will play-off to determine their final position.
The qualification ranking is defined as a deposed Champion, then the players who finished first, then second, then third in the previous years league and then those who qualified in the Candidates Tournament (in order of qualification).
All games in the League will be played in the presence of a Referee. The Referee will be appointed by the Championships Organiser.
checking that all players are familiar with the time limits and other arrangements;
determining the draw as described in C7;
ensuring that the playing sessions occur as agreed;
The Referee has discretion on the handling of the League. This includes powers:
to recommend to the BGA Council through the Championships Organiser disqualification from the League, or other sanctions as he sees appropriate, in the case of unjustified late arrival or non-arrival or other breaches of the rules.
The time limits for the League games will be 105 minutes each, with overtime of 15 plays in 5 minutes.
The time limits for the play-off games are 90 minutes per player with overtime of 20 plays in 5 minutes.
At the start of the League
The referee shall randomly assign the letters A to H to the players. The playing order is then as follows with the first mentioned player taking black.
A v H
B v G
D v E
F v C
E v F
C v A
H v B
G v D
D v B
F v G
A v E
C v H
G v A
H v D
B v F
E v C
F v D
E v H
C v G
A v B
B v C
D v A
H v F
G v E
G v H
E v B
C v D
A v F
Colours are chosen by nigiri for any play-off games.
Arrangements for the League are the responsibility of the Championships Organiser, reporting to the BGA Council.
The Championships Organiser should publish the League dates and location at the same time as the at least 2 months before the Candidates Tournament. dates are published.
The Championships Organiser must ensure that the venue for the League is appropriate. Games should be played in a neutral venue at which spectators are welcome.
Light refreshments should be available for the players and the Referee.
The Championships Organiser should appoint a suitable Referee for the League and ensure that he/she is familiar with the League rules.
The Candidates Tournament will be a 4 round Swiss tournament held over a weekend with 2 games on each day.
The top five players qualify for the Challengers League.
Players must play in all four rounds of the tournament.
Qualification for the Candidates Tournament will be from playing in Qualifying Tournaments in the preceding calendar year. For the avoidance of doubt, the London Open is the last qualifying event in the year.
For the avoidance of doubt, with the possible exception of the Youth Championships, the London Open is the last qualifying event in the year.
The qualification criteria are:
winning at least half ones games played in a Qualifying Tournament; and
where the bar is at 1 dan or higher,
achieving the equivalent, or better, McMahon score in the Qualifying Tournament to that of a 3 dan winning a minimum of 50% at that same tournament
where the bar is at 1 kyu or lower, players above the bar must achieve the number of wins shown in the table below. For players one stone below the bar, the number of wins is required is increased by one (and similarly for other players below the bar).
Number of Rounds
When considering qualification, byes are excluded.
The BGA Council has the discretion to allow participation of other players in exceptional circumstances.
The winner and runner-up of the Youth Championships shall qualify for the immediate following Candidate's Tournament provided that they have achieved at any time a rating of at least 1.0 dan as shown on the BGA web-site.
In addition to the above there shall be one reserve place made available to a 1st kyu or stronger (if possible) to be activated only if there would otherwise be an odd number of players participating. If the position is activated, this player shall be treated as if they had qualified in his/her own right. The Championships Organiser shall be responsible for allocating this place.
The following ordering system will be used to obtain the final ranking for the Candidates Tournament:
decreasing number of wins
decreasing sum of opponents scores (SOS)
nigiri.
(NB This section is to be moved so that it is after D6)
All games in the Candidates Tournament will be played in the presence of a Referee. The Referee will be appointed by the Championships Organiser.
ensuring that the playing sessions occur as agreed.
The Referee has discretion on the handling of the Tournament. This includes powers:
to recommend to the BGA Council, (through the Championships Organiser), disqualification from the Tournament, or other sanctions as he sees appropriate, in the case of unjustified late arrival, or non-arrival, unannounced arrival or other breaches any breach of the rules.
The time limits for the Candidates Tournament games will be 90 minutes each, with overtime of 20 plays in 5 minutes.
Arrangements for the Tournament are the responsibility of the Championships Organiser, reporting to the BGA Council.
The Championships Organiser should publish the Tournament dates and location well in advance by 1 November of the relevant year.
The Championships Organiser must ensure that the venue for the Tournament is appropriate. Games should be played in a neutral venue at which spectators are welcome.
The Championships Organiser shall ensure that all qualified entrants receive a personalised invitation at least 2 months before the date of the tournament. This invitation may include a closing date for entries, such a date to be not more than 3 weeks before the date of the Tournament.
The Championships Organiser should appoint a suitable Referee for the Tournament and ensure that he/she is familiar with the Tournament Rules.
The Championships Organiser may disqualify from the Tournament in the case of unjustified late arrival, non-arrival or entry after the closing date. Any player so disqualified shall have the right of appeal to the BGA Council.
These are tournaments from which players may qualify for the Candidates Tournament stage of the British Championship.
In order to count as a Qualifying Tournament the following criteria must be met:
the tournament should be BGA-affiliated;
the tournament is located in the British Isles with the exception of the republic of Eire;
the tournament meets the class A or B requirements under the European classification system;
the bar is set at 1 dan as a minimum.
the tournament shall be open to all members of the British Go Association.
The exception to this is the Candidates Tournament itself. Players finishing on 3 out of 4 or higher in this event automatically qualify for the following years event, as do those who played in the prior years Challengers League.
The Championship will be a one day, three round Swiss tournament of eight teams, played according to the IAPGC rules.
The Championship will be open to teams of one male and one female. Both members of a pair must be BGA members and holders of a British passport, or be eligible to hold a British passport.
When more than eight teams meet the above criteria, the top eight will be selected to play on the basis of the mean of the team members recognised tournament grades, with random tie-break (nigiri). Those not selected will be able to participate in other events run alongside the Championship.
The time limits for the Pair Go Championship will be 45 minutes, sudden death.
Colour will be selected at the start of each game by nigiri.
Arrangements for the Championship are the responsibility of the Championships Organiser and the Event Organiser in that year.
The Championships Organiser should ensure that the Championship date and location are published well in advance of the event. He/she should ensure that the venue is appropriate.
The Championship Organiser should appoint a suitable Referee and ensure he/she is familiar with the Championship rules.
The Championship will normally be held on a single day and be run on any system determined by the Championships Organiser, or at his/her discretion the Event Organiser, to produce an overall Youth Championship.
The Championship will also produce winners in age categories under-18, under-16, under-14, under-12, under-10 and under-8. Players will be entered in the youngest possible age group according to their age on the previous 31st August.
The Team Championship shall be run once each academic year and be open to teams of three UK-based youth players from the same BGA-affiliated school or youth Go club. An appropriate tournament system shall be determined by the Event Organiser, with regard to the number of teams competing. This competition may be run as part of the Youth Championships.
Any other youth championships that are held from time to time, such as a Youth Pairs event, shall be run as open events, with entry restricted by age but not by nationality.
G5 Eligibility
The overall Youth Championship will be open to players aged under 18 on the previous 31st August and who hold, or are eligible to hold, a British passport.
The age-group championships will be open to players in the designated age bands (see Rule G.2 who:-
satisfy the criterion in the previous paragraph; or
have been resident in the UK for the five calendar years prior to the year in which the particular championship is being held, with no continuous absence exceeding six months; or
have been playing Go in the UK since they were weaker than 20-kyu, with no continuous absence exceeding six months since then.
Resident youths of other nationalities may play in the handicap section of the event, but not in the title sections. All players must be members of the BGA, or of a BGA-affiliated school or youth Go club.
The Championships Organiser should ensure that the Championship date and location are published well in advance of the event and notified to all youth clubs affiliated to the BGA. He/she should ensure that the venue is appropriate.
The Championships Organiser should appoint a suitable Referee and ensure he/she is familiar with the Championship rules.
The BGA Council has absolute discretion in selecting players to participate as British representatives in International events, but it shall be guided by the qualifying points systems described below.
Players winning a Championship for the first time may be given a priority nomination for international events.
All nominations will be subject to the rules for attendance at the respective events.
This points system is used as a guide for selection of the British player in the World Amateur Go Championship.
Points are awarded to players in the Challengers League and the British Championship Title Match as follows:
9 WAQ points
a defeated defending champion
1st in Challengers League (if not champion)
2nd in Challengers League (if not champion)
3rd in Challengers League
4th in Challengers League
Except that: if there are players on an equal number of wins at the end of round seven of the Challengers League, then the points for those league places are shared equally between the league places concerned.
A player taking part in the World Amateur Go Championship has his/her points reset to zero and this happens before any points for that year are awarded.
This points system is used as a guide for selection of British representatives in international Womens Amateur Go events, such as have been held in Japan and South Korea.
The current system is that WWAQ points will be awarded to women competing in the British Open, held at the British Go Congress. Points will be given according to final ranking by McMahon score, with players tied by that score sharing the points assigned to the places. Up to eight players will be awarded points. With 8 points being given to the top player, 7 to the second player and so on with a decrement of one point each place.
A player taking part in the Womens World Amateur Go Championship (or equivalent) has her points reset to zero.
This system is used as a guide for the selection of the British representatives at the World Amateur Pair Go Championship.
The current system is that points will be awarded to individuals in a pair. A point is gained per person for each game won in the Championship.
Both players have their points reset to zero when they are representatives at the World Amateur Pair Go Championship.
Only teams that have played together will be considered.
Current pairings will be given preference.
The points systems described in H1 to H4 may be used as guidelines when selecting representatives for other international events, as alternatives to the rankings from the most recent British Championships.