The Candidates’ Tournament, first stage in the British Championship, was held over the bank holiday weekend, Saturday May 3 – Monday May 5, with Ge Bei 6d (right) of no club winning all six rounds. Ge has previously been British Champion two years running after displacing longtime champ Matthew Macfadyen 6d in 2006. Reigning champion Andrew Kay 5d – who once again this year waived his right to bypass this event – placed second, losing only to Ge. The top eight will now contest a Challengers’ League, to be played next bank holiday weekend in London, to decide the two finalists. The other six challengers are: Alex Kent 2d, Boris Mitrovic 2d, Sandy Taylor 2d, Des Cann 5d, Tim Hunt 3d and Bruno Poltronieri 3d. Alistair Wall 4d is reserve. The event was organized by Bruno Poltronieri on behalf of the British Go Association (BGA) at Warwick University in the Midlands of England. Click here for full results.
The Bar-Low Tournament, traditionally held the same weekend, was also played at Warwick alongside the Candidates’ on Sunday May 4 and was won by Chris Volk 1k of Reading, with Ben Ellis 3k of Milton Keynes runner-up. Click here for full results.
Click here to see Tanaka Kiyohiko’s (placed 10=) photo journal of the Candidates’ Tournament.
Report by Tony Collman, from reports (Candidates’ , Bar-Low) and other sources on the BGA website; photo (cropped): Ge Bei plays Harry Fearnley 2d in round one, by Tanaka Kiyohiko
