Belgian Go Federation

The Belgian team faced a tough opponent in Round 3 of the Pandanet Team Championship, falling 3-1 to Austria. Despite the defeat, Vincent's resilience on Board 4 kept Belgium from being swept, preserving a measure of pride in a hard-fought contest. The lineup for this round featured Lucas, Lucman, Kevin, and Vincent. Here's how the matches unfolded:

Board 1: Lucas Battles Viktor Lin in a Close Contest

Lucas (White) went up against Austria's top player, Viktor Lin, in a highly anticipated matchup. The two had faced each other several times before, with Viktor holding a slight edge in their rivalry.
This game lived up to expectations, delivering a complex and dynamic battle. Both players avoided large-scale territory, opting instead for intricate fighting with small groups spread across the board. By the midgame, Lucas found himself trailing by 9 points after his group on the left was surrounded. However, he there was potential for a comeback. To succeed at reducing his opponents influence in the centre while ensuring the survival of his group.
The game came down to a critical ko fight initiated by Lucas. If successful, he could turn the tables. But Viktor played it safe, ignoring the initial threat and forcing Lucas to settle for capturing a few stones. This wasn’t enough to close the gap, Lucas resigned.

Board 2: Lucman Fights Hard but Falls Short

Lucman (Black) took on Peter Neubauer in their first recorded match. He opened with his favorite joseki in the southeast, but this time, Peter came out ahead, securing an 8-point lead early on.
The game transitioned into a moyo-building phase, with Lucman looking for opportunities to regain ground. He launched an invasion at move 49, and white did an invasion by saving the stones at P8. But even after the trades and ko, Peter's lead remained intact.
Despite Lucman's best efforts to apply pressure across the board, Peter held firm. He secured life for his groups in the center and west, while creating a significant moyo in the northwest. In the end, Peter converted his early lead into a decisive victory, winning by more than 15 points.

Board 3: Kevin Falls to Relentless Pressure

Kevin (White) faced Lisa Mayer in a game that was evenly balanced through the opening stages. By move 49, Kevin had successfully reduced Black's potential in the south.
A sequence in the northwest weakened Kevin’s groups on the left, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Lisa capitalized on this, launching a series of relentless assaults. Kevin managed to secure a good result locally in the east, but Lisa used the momentum to invade the north and split Kevin's groups.
Unable to defend everything, Kevin ultimately lost a key group in the north and resigned. It was a well-executed game by Lisa, who maintained pressure throughout.

Board 4: Vincent Saves Belgium’s Pride

With Belgium down 3-0, Vincent (Black) stepped up to face Valentin Hauer, determined to prevent a sweep. Vincent played a solid opening, prioritizing the safety of his groups and creating a stable foundation.
White’s invasion at move 42, however, triggered chaos. Valentin applied maximum pressure on the east, but Vincent responded with calm and precise defensive moves. When the dust settled, Vincent emerged with a 10-point lead, having cut off White’s stones and established strong shapes.
As the game progressed, White attempted to build a massive central territory. Vincent saw the opportunity to exploit a weakness, launching a deep invasion and sacrificing a single stone to reduce White’s potential significantly. With White unable to close the gap, Vincent secured the win, salvaging a point for Belgium.

Final Score: Austria 3 – Belgium 1

While Austria walked away as the better team this round, Vincent’s victory ensured Belgium avoided a sweep. Congratulations to Austria on a well-deserved win.
For those eager to review the games in detail, the records are available on the Pandanet website.

The 2024 Interclub Go competition has come to an exciting finish.

The final day of the tournament featured a thrilling showdown between Gent and Antwerpen, with three teams still in contention for the title.

If Gent won the match, they would secure the championship.
If Antwerpen managed to win two games, the title would hinge on a tiebreaker between them and Phénix, the reigning champions.
Antwerpen came in with fewer points than Gent but they took it home, winning all three games in the final match and claiming the championship outright.

With their dominant performance, Antwerpen ends the season as the 2024 champions.

Congratulations to the team on this impressive achievement!

Complete results: https://www.gofed.be/node/1431

This Saturday 16/11 was the Hoshi Go Club Tournement.

The Board 1 final match was a rematch between Kevin Prist and Lucman Bounoider.

Lucman had the win last time at the Brussels go tournement Final round, but this time Kevin Prist got the Win.

Congraulations to him!

The winners of the 13x13 tournement:

1. Jonathan Teuns 3 Victories
2. Felix Küng 2 Victories
3. Martin Lemaire 1 Victories
4. Michèle Rossignol aucune Victories

The Results of the 19x19 Tournement:

Place	Name	Rank	Country	Club
1	Prist Kevin	3D	BE	Phen
2	Drouot Olivier	3D	BE	Pant
3	Tranchida Philippe	2K	BE	Pant
4	Bounoider Lucman	3D	BE	Pant
5	Nollet Yvan	3K	BE	Pant
6	Kuy Yannick	2K	BE	Phen
7	de_Keijser Guillaume	4K	BE	Phan
8	Henri Anne	2K/td>	BE	Pant
9	Stojanovic Voja	4K	BE	Pant
10	Lemaire Thomas	7K	BE	Pant
11	Boukricha Moad	7K	BE	Pant
12	Tolmatcheff Frédéric	7K	BE	Pant
13	Groc Johanna	9K	BE	Pant
14	Murai_von_Buenau Timothy	10K	BE	Pant
15	Devaux Marion	13K	BE	Pant
16	Six Lucas	18K	BE	Pant
17	Buchy Marc	18K	BE	Pant

The opening round of the 2024-2025 Pandanet Championship saw the Belgium team go head-to-head with Finland, resulting in a hard-fought 2-2 draw. This season brings a fresh look for Belgium, with stricter anti-cheating protocols reshaping the roster. The lineup for this first matchup featured Lucas, Lucman, Kevin, and Vincent, each ready to make their mark.

Board 1: Lucas Secures the First Win

Lucas (White) set the tone early, playing his game on October 11. After navigating a competitive start, Lucas took command from move 45 and never looked back. A decisive kill on a large dragon secured the first point for Belgium, putting them up 1-0 and establishing momentum.

Board 2: Lucman’s Comeback Falls Short

Lucman (Black) faced off in a game that had all the makings of a grind-it-out contest. Both players opened with solid shapes, but Lucman’s early attempt to invade the bottom left fell flat, putting him behind by komi. With the game slipping away, Lucman went on the offensive, launching a powerful invasion to split White's groups. White countered, giving up the corner while maintaining a narrow lead. Lucman’s relentless pressure brought the game within three points, but Belgium couldn’t seal the deal, dropping Board 2 to even the score.

Board 3: Kevin Edges Out the Twitch Sensation

In a marquee matchup against Twitch sensation Mikkgo, Kevin (White) put on a show. The game started with a high-stakes clash at the top, where Kevin emerged ahead by four points. Mikkgo wasn’t backing down, launching a left-side invasion that disrupted Kevin’s corner and white was able to make life and some points for his group. With the game still even, Kevin made his move—an aggressive invasion into Mikkgo’s framework. The gamble paid off, wrecking Mikkgo’s territory and swinging the lead back to Kevin.

But the drama wasn’t over. Mikkgo’s last-ditch invasion on the bottom left set up a ko capturing race (semiai) that had me on the edge of my seats. In the final moments, Kevin’s big one-eyed group outlasted Mikkgo’s, and with some clutch play, he clinched the victory, giving Belgium a 2-1 edge.

Board 4: The One That Got Away

With this board we had a chance to get our firs team win. Vincent (Black) took off to a good start, carving out a 14-point lead. For some moments, all signs pointed to a Belgium victory. But his opponnt played solid endgame. The 1-dan opponent mounted a comeback, and Belgium’s hopes for a win faded as Vincent fell short by just 2.5 points.

Final Score: 2-2 Draw Against Finland

In a round that had its share of highs and heartbreaks, Belgium walked away with a 2-2 split. The team's performance showed grit and flashes of brilliance, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead.

For those who want to relive the action, the game records are available on the Pandanet website.

https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps/rounds/1111?tourname...

We're excited to introduce the team representing Belgium in this year's Pandanet competition.

This year's lineup includes both experienced players and people who still need to have their first games in this competition:

Here is the linup with the European Database Ranking

Lucas Neirynck - 6 Dan
Jan Ramon - 3 Dan
Lucman Bounoider - 3 Dan
Kevin Prist - 2 Dan
Kiem Lam - 1 Dan
Vincent Quoilin - 1 Kyu
Guillaume De Keijser - 4 Kyu

We invite all Go fans to follow and support our national team over the next few months. Stay updated on their progress, match results, as they compete on the European stage!

The General Assembly of the Belgian Go Federation will take place on Sunday 14/01/2024 from 2 PM till 4 PM (online - MS Team).

This important meeting is the main opportunity to exchange information, share ideas and comments regarding the past year and the future of your club and of the BGF.

The link to participate to the meeting will be communicated to the every BGF member who are interested (send a mail to : board at gofed dot be).

Dear fellow Go players,

If you are ready to play at most one tuesday evening (online) each month and if you are are hungry for battles or for nice plays with players from all over Europe, please read the following message:

The European Team Go Championship, also known as the "Pandanet League", is expected to restart in October and we need 12 Go players.

Anyone (whatever your level is) is welcome to register, you just need to have Belgian citizenship and be a member of Belgian Go Federation.

For each match, we need to constitute a team of 4 players, among the 12 selected at the beginning of the season.

Usually dan players are preferred but many times in the past, our kyu players were able to score victories against dan players and were the heroes of the team! Thus, don’t be shy and ask for being a team member whatever your level is !

You can find further information about Pandanet League here (currently last season information):
https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps
and last year Belgian Team here: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps/teams/29/BEL

If you are interested, please send an email to info@gofed.be before Friday 29th of September.

With the hope to see you soon and motivated,

Gabriel Mercier,

Belgian Team Captain 2015-2023.

The Belgian Go Federation wishes you a happy new year.

And invites you to the annual General Assembly of the Belgian Go Federation, which will be held ON LINE on 05/02 at 2 PM

Please come with your enthusiasm and your projects to shape up the future of the Belgian go life !

This meeting is the unique moment to discuss over it !

Agenda :
1. report on the 2022 activities (by the president) and financial report 2022 (by the treasurer)
2. projects for 2023 (and later) and adoption of the 2023 budget
3. election of the Board of Administration

If you wish to participate, send an e-mail to «board@gofed.be».
The meeting will take place on Discord (the invitation link will be send to you after your registration)

We are very happy to announce the birth of a new Go club in the College Matteo Ricci.

Go clubs in schools are not new and this activity is developing progressively and steadily in Belgium.
The club has started a couple of weeks ago and has around 20 players.
Most of the other Go clubs in the secondary education domain are handled by teachers (often math teachers...). Here it's the first time we have a club created by a student: Adam Beguin - who also plays in the Phenix Go club.

We wish the Go club of the College Matteo Ricci to be successful in enlightening the spirit of its players !

Note: by chance, Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionaire (1552-1610) who lived in China has been the first Westerner to report about the existence of the game of go (weichi) !

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As a reminder, the Federation helps the creation of new Go clubs with material and advice.
In the case there is no Go club nearby, if you feel you have the motivation for it, we would be happy to help you to start one. And even if you don't have much time (or are a bit lazy ;)) you may also become a "point of contact". In any case just contact us. ;)

The Belgian Championship Preliminaries of 2022 took place in Brussels on the 5th and 6th of March 2022.

In total, 5 rounds were played, and the following players have qualified for the 2022 Belgian Championship Finals:

Huang Haisen 1d
Sven Cuyt 1d
Renaud Gaban 4k
Guy Dusausoy 5k

The full results can be found here