A few simple rules ... limitless possibilities

In the UK we have the Mind Sports Olympics held every year since 1997. There many games, not just Go are played. We have had Pair Go events there three times, in 2000, 2001 and 2003. The first of these featured strong players from around the world as there were cash prizes, not just the normal Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

10 pairs joined in the first MSO Pair Go tournament. It was held during the fourth MSO at Alexander Palace, London, on 27th August 2000.

Pairs ranged from 7 dan to 10 kyu and were from China and the UK; also there were multi-country pairs such as the German from London playing with the Korean from Russia.

The results started off as expected, but third place was a surprise. This was decided by a play-off against fourth placed Liu Yajie and Liao Xingwen (the result being determined by a half a point and a few clock seconds). Liao was 6 years old and about 4 dan in strength at the time; he was playing with his Go teacher, Yajie, pro 2-dan.

Top Group

1. Gold Guo Juan and Du Jingu (7 dan)
2. Silver Sylvia Kalisch and Lee Hyuk (4.5 dan)
3. Bronze Alison Bexfield and Simon Bexfield (1.5 dan)

Handicap Group

Prizes for 2/3 went to

• Anna Griffiths and Tony Atkins (3.5 kyu)
• Nicola Hurden and Shawn Hearn (10 kyu)

Results

The 5th MSO was at Southbank University London with Pair Go on 27th August 2001. The Pair Go results were as follows:

Top Group

1. Sylvia Kalisch and Seong-June Kim
2. Jackie Chai and Francis Roads
3. Natasha Regan and Alex Selby
4. Anna Griffiths and Tony Atkins

Handicap Group

1. Mihoko Isoda and Masashi Sugiyama
2. Juliette White and Matthew Selby
3. Annie Hall and Simon Goss

Results

The 7th MSO was held at UMIST in Manchester, with Pair Go on 25th August 2003. This was the first MSO held in Manchester. Unfortunately the Pair Go and some other Go events were not very well attended.

1. Natasha Regan and Tim Hunt, paired for the first time
2. Helen and Martin Harvey (Manchester)
3. Anna Griffiths and Tony Atkins (Berks)
4. Mihoko Isoda and Masashi Sugiyama (Oxford)

Results