The European Go Federation (EGF) is a non-profit organization with the purpose of encouraging, regulating, co-ordinating, and disseminating the playing of the board game Go in Europe. The EGF was founded in 1957, the same year that the inaugural European Go Congress (EGC) took place in Cuxhaven, Germany. The Congress has been an annual event every year since then, held each time in a different European city. The European Go Championship takes place during the EGC, as well as the Annual General Meeting (AGM). In 2014, the European Professional System was established by the European Go Federation.
Membership is open to any Go-organising association in a country in or near Europe. There are currently 35 full members, and two suspended members.
Function The EGF elects an Executive Committee which supervises a number of commissions in charge of normal activities in between the AGMs.
Major European tournaments do not fall under the Executive Committee's supervision, but are directly co-ordinated by the EGF itself. Major events organised by the EGF include the European Grand Prix; the Pandanet European Team Championship; European Youth Go Championships in three age categories; the European Youth Team Championship; the European Pair Go Championship, the European Women's Championship; the European Student Championship and the European Championship, held during the annual European Go Congress. An official Rating List is maintained by processing the results of as many European tournaments as possible.
The European Go Federation is a member of the International Go Federation.
Members Country Member name Armenia Armenian Draughts and Go Federation Austria Austrian Go Federation (Go Verband Österreich) Belarus (membership suspended) Belarus Go Federation Belgium Belgian Go Federation (Belgische Go Federatie - Fédération Belge de Go) Bosnia Go Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Go Asocijacija Bosne i Hecegovine) Bulgaria Bulgarian Go Association (Bulgarska Go Asotsiatsija) Croatia Croatian Go Alliance (Hrvatski Go Savez) Cyprus Cyprus Go Association (Kypriakos Syndesmos Go) Czech Republic Czech Go Association (Ceska Asociace Go) Denmark Danish Go Association (Dansk Go Forbund) Finland Finnish Go Association (Suomen Go-liitto ry) France French Go Federation (Fédération Française de Go) Georgia Georgian Go Federation (საქართველოს გო-ს ეროვნული სპორტული ფედერაცია) Germany German Go Federation (Deutscher Go-Bund) Hungary Hungarian Go Association (Magyar Gószövetség) IcelandIcelandic Go Association (Hið Íslenska Gofélag) Ireland Irish Go Association (Cumann Go na hÉireann) Israel Israeli Go Association (Agudat Ha-Go Ha-Yisraelit) Italy Italian Go Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Go) Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Go Federation (Kazakhstan Go Federation) Lithuania Lithuanian Go Association (Lietuvos Go Asociacija) Luxembourg Go Club Luxemburg (Le Club de Go du Luxembourg) Netherlands Dutch Go Association (Nederlandse Go Bond) Norway Norwegian Go Association (Go i Norge) Poland Polish Go Association (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Go) Portugal Portuguese Go Association (Associação Portuguesa de Go) Romania Romanian Go Federation (Federatia Romana de Go) Russia (membership suspended) Russian Go Federation (Rossiiskaya Federatziaya Go) Serbia Serbian Go Federation (Go Savez Srbije) Slovakia Slovak Go Association (Slovenská Asociácia Go) Slovenia Slovenian Go Association (Go Zveza Slovenije) Spain Spanish Go Association (Asociacion Española de Go) Sweden Swedish Go Association (Svenska Goförbundet) Switzerland Swiss Go Association (Schweizer Go Verband - Fédération Suisse de Go - Federazione Svizzera di Go) Turkey Turkish Go Players' Association (Türkiye Go Oyunculari Dernegi) Ukraine Ukrainian Go Federation (Ukrainska' Federatsiya Go) United Kingdom British Go Association (British Go Association) Note: On 3 March 2022, the EGF decided during an emergency general meeting to suspend indefinitely both the Russian and Belarusian associations due to the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine by Russia. All planned or future events organised by the EGF were cancelled and players from both countries were banned from representing their nations at European events. The first major event affected was the 2022 European Youth Go Championship held between the 10 and 12 March in Czechia.
EGF Professional players The EGF established a professional system in 2014 with Chinese sponsorship. Top European players are invited to take part in a Qualification Tournament, with one or two of the most successful competitors being awarded professional status. Professionals can then be promoted by earning points from wins against other professional players in major tournaments. As of 2023, there are nine such players, who enjoy benefits including automatic qualification to the Grand Slam and the opportunity to represent Europe in major international tournaments. +Professional Players of the EGFPlayerNationalityYear Became ProPromotion HistoryIlya ShikshinRussian2015Promoted to 2p in 2018, to 3p in 2019, to 4p in 2021.Artem KachanovskyiUkrainian2016Promoted to 2p in 2018, to 3p in 2024.Pavol LisýSlovak2014Promoted to 2p in 2018.Mateusz SurmaPolish2015Promoted to 2p in 2019, to 3p in 2023.Ali JabarinIsraeli2014Promoted to 2p in 2018.Andrii KravetsUkrainian2017Tanguy le CalvéFrench2019Stanisław FrejlakPolish2021Jan ŠimaraCzech2023
Current title holders Below is a summary of the current holders or most recent winners of the major EGF-organised events. +TitleTitle HolderNotesEuropean ChampionshipAndrii Kravets 1pHeld August 2024 in Toulouse, France. Kravets successfully defended his title from 2023.European Women's ChampionshipLi Ting 1pHeld September 2024 in Bratislava, Slovakia.European Grand Prix FinaleCornel Burzo 6dHeld December 2023 in London, UK.European Grand SlamMateusz Surma 3pHeld October 2023 in Prague, Czechia.Pandanet European Team ChampionshipFranceFinals held August 2024 in Toulouse, France.European Pair Go ChampionshipMilena Boclé 3d and Florent Labouret 5dHeld April 2024 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.European Student ChampionshipMartin Ruzicka 4dHeld September 2022 in Trier, Germany.European Youth Championship – U20 CategoryBenoit RobichonHeld March 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.European Youth Championship – U16 CategoryYuze Xing 5dHeld March 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.European Youth Championship – U12 CategoryBartik Dach 2dHeld March 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.European Youth Team ChampionshipUkraine
See also
Nihon Ki-in (Japanese Go Association) Hanguk Kiwon (Korean Go Association) Zhongguo Qiyuan (Chinese Go Association) Taiwan Chi-Yuan (Taiwanese Go Association) American Go Association List of Go organizations Transatlantic Professional Go Team Championship
References
External links Official site Pandanet Go European Cup Sensei's Library (an online Go library)