Tournament information

Gothenburg Open is a yearly tournament which has been held since the 1980s. We welcome everyone, no matter if this is your first tournament or if you are a very experienced player. We usually have participants from 10 different countries, many who take the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. If you are visiting for the first time, do check out this page for suggestions on how to experience our city. A warm welcome to all!

Getting here

Gothenburg is easy to reach by e.g. train or airplane. If you arrive by air to Landvetter Airport (GOT), then you can often get a fairly cheap (ca 10 EUR) ride to the city with the airport coaches (make sure to check they are still going if you arrive very late). You can check the bus timetable and buy tickets here online. Taxi is also an option (ca 50 EUR).

Venue

The tournament will, as usual, be played at the chess club at Vegagatan 20 in Gothenburg. There will be coffee, tea available for free during the tourament. Fruit and snacks are possible to buy for a small fee.

Accomodation

There are many hotels and hostels near the venue (see for example hotels.com). It is also possible to sleep at the venue for 100 SEK (10 EUR) per night. We can provide a mattress and a place on the floor. If you want to do this, please tick this box when you register and remember to bring your own sleeping bag or equivalent. There are bathrooms and one shower available to share.

Tournament Teacher: Fredrik Blomback 7D

We are very pleased to welcome Fredrik Blomback 7D as tournament teacher. Fredrik, or "Fredda" is one of the top players in Europe, and the highest rated Swedish player ever. He has beaten multiple european professional players, with the latest top result a third place in the European Championship 2024. Fredrik will play simultaneous games on Friday evening, give a lecture on Saturday evening, and free reviews to all players during the tournament. Make sure to ask him all your tricky questions!

Schedule

Friday, November 22:
18:00 Doors open at the venue
19:00 Simultaneous games against Fredrik 7D

Saturday, November 23:
08:45-09:45 Registration
09:50 Opening ceremony
10:00 Round 1
LUNCH
14:00 Round 2
17:00 Round 3
20:00 Lecture by Fredrik 7D

Sunday, November 24:
09:30 Round 4
LUNCH
13:30 Round 5
16:30 or when round 5 is finished: Prize giving and closing ceremony

Rules

Five round McMahon tournament.
Fisher time: 45 min basic time + 15 seconds per move.
Territory scoring with 6.5 points komi for white.
Only even games. However, if there is a big gap to the weakest double-digit kyu players they may some handicap to avoid completely one-sided games against much stronger opponents.
It is allowed to skip one or more rounds if communicating this in advance to the organizers.
Ties in score within the top group after round 5 will be resolved by SOS.
Results will be reported to the European Go Database.

Registration fee

You can pay either via Swish, Card, Paypal, or Cash - please see the link in the email you get after registering.
The cost varies:
- The normal registration fee is 300 SEK (about 30 EUR).
- Students with student ID, or any player 10 kyu or wearker, pay 150 SEK (about 15 EUR).
- If this is your first live tournament, you play for free!
Note: The Gothenburg Go club is a non-profit organization. None of the organizers are getting paid, and any potential surplus from this tournament will be used - in full - in the organizing of the next year's Gothenburg Open.

Prizes

Cash prizes are awarded to the top 3 best players.
There are also other prizes (gift cards or similar) to other players who are doing well.

Regulations for fair play

The Gothenburg Open is meant to be a fair tournament, supporting equal opportunities for all players. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to use Go software, such as pattern databases or AI engines, or to gain assistance in any form from other players. Any case of suspected breaking of these rules will be taken seriously. If a player would be found using AI or getting help from other players in their games, they will be disqualified from the tournament and potentially also banned from participating in future tournaments.

Contact

If you have any questions or need to reach the tournament organizers, send an email to: gbg.goklubb[at]gmail.com.