European Go Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
European Go Federation

Formation	1957
Type	Sports federation, International Go Federation
Headquarters	Amstelveen, Netherlands
Membership	Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Official language	English
President	Martin Stiassny
Website	www.eurogofed.org

The European Go Federation (EGF) is a group that helps spread and organize the game of Go across Europe. Go is a fun and challenging board game from Asia. The EGF started in 1957. That same year, the very first European Go Congress (EGC) happened in Cuxhaven, Germany.

The European Go Congress is a big event that takes place every year. It moves to a different European city each time. During this congress, the European Go Championship is held. The EGF also created a special system for professional Go players in Europe in 2014.

Many Go groups from countries in or near Europe can join the EGF. Currently, 35 countries are full members. Two countries have their membership temporarily paused.

What the EGF Does

The EGF has a special team called the Executive Committee. This team helps manage all the activities between the big yearly meetings. They work with different groups to make sure everything runs smoothly.

The EGF also directly organizes many big Go tournaments in Europe. These events are very important for Go players.

Major Go Tournaments

Some of the main events organized by the EGF include:

• The European Grand Prix
• The Pandanet European Team Championship
• European Youth Go Championships for different age groups
• The European Youth Team Championship
• The European Pair Go Championship, where two players team up
• The European Women's Championship
• The European Student Championship
• The European Championship, which happens during the annual European Go Congress

The EGF also keeps an official list of player rankings. They do this by looking at the results from many Go tournaments across Europe. The European Go Federation is also part of the International Go Federation.

EGF Member Countries

The European Go Federation has many member countries. Each country has its own Go association.

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)
Iceland	Icelandic Go Association (Hið Íslenska Gofélag)
Ireland	Irish Go Association (Irish Go Association)
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)

In March 2022, the EGF decided to pause the membership of the Russian and Belarusian Go associations. This decision was made because of the conflict in Ukraine. Players from these countries were not allowed to represent their nations in European events. The European Youth Go Championship in March 2022 was the first big event affected by this change.

EGF Professional Go Players

The EGF started a system for professional Go players in 2014. This system was supported by a Chinese sponsor. The best European players are invited to a special tournament. The most successful players in this tournament can earn the title of "professional."

Once a player becomes a professional, they can move up in rank. They earn points by winning games against other professional players in big tournaments. As of 2023, there are nine professional Go players in Europe. These players get special benefits, like automatically qualifying for major tournaments. They also get to represent Europe in big international competitions.

Recent Tournament Winners

Here are the most recent winners of the main tournaments organized by the EGF.

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