The 4th SportAccord World Mind Games (SAWMG) will be held in Beijing December 11-17. Contestants will compete for gold, silver, and bronze 
medals in five areas: go, chess, contract bridge, draughts and xiangqi (Chinese chess). The go competition will follow the same format as last year: 18 men representing China, Chinese Taipei, Europe, Japan, Korea, and North America will compete in a three-man team round-robin; 12 women from the same areas will compete in an individual double knockout; and 16 of these contestants will also compete in a single knockout mixed pair tournament.
The Chinese team this year is comprised of 5 professionals, four 9 dans and a 5 dan. The players participating in this year’s SAWMG are older than last year’s, with only 3 teenagers divided between the Chinese, Japanese, and North American teams, including the granddaughter of Fujisawa Shuko, who is returning for her second SAWMG.
The European and North American teams are fielding mixed pro-amateur teams. The North American team is comprised of three veteran players and one young Canadian woman, Ming Jiu Jiang 7P, Huiren Yang 1P, Daniel Daehyuk Ko 7D and Irene Sha 6D. The European team is primarily Russian, but also includes a professional 2 dan from France.
Coverage of the SAWMG will begin on the 11th, with daily reports and commentaries posted on the RANKA website. Click here for the schedule.
– Amy Su, based on reports on Ranka.
Correction: updated to reflect that it’s the granddaughter of Fujisawa Shuko (not the daughter) who will be playing
