On the EGF website, it is currently linked as the 1st pro qualification, but do not be deceived! The second pro qualification is almost upon us.
http://www.eurogofed.org/proqualification/ With no players now banned for any other reason that being too old, or being a johnny foreigner, the race is wide open and exciting.

Webpage : Pisa European Pro Qualification Tournament. http://www.figg.org/index.php?option=co ... 90&lang=en
Date : Friday, March 6-8, 2015

Sorry, but the poll only allows 15 options

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North Lecale

Well, the first two rounds have been played. http://www.eurogofed.org/proqualification/

Timur Sankin, Zhao Pei, Lukas Podpera and Bohdan Zhurakowskyi have been knocked out. Lukas is especially surprising, he is the fifth seed by rating, reached the losers bracket final last year (lost to Ali) and has just studied in China for half a year.

The four top seeds by rating have not done anything surprising. Ilja Shikshin, Mateusz Surma, Cristian Pop and Artem Kachanovskyi have all won both rounds so far.

What's the point of the poll? Nobody remembers their losses.

It's quite chilling with the top.

Cheers,
Vesa

MAybe he just likes to be pollitically correct.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

EGF pro qualification tournament Pisa round 1

What struck me instantly about this photo is how few of the players are looking at the board. In my experience that's not pro or insei behaviour.

Day 2, round 3

IMO it is time for a dress code. These guys don't look like elite thinkers of a divine board game, but more like prisoners at their scrabble evening. EGF gives away an opportunity to make itself interesting to higer suited sponsors.

You know, that is exactly what I thought, but not being part of the European go scene I figured that was normal and so did not say anything.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

That made me smile: so spot on

I'm not sure it would be much use to try and stuff them all in a suit or whatever your intended dress code is.

The simple fact is that Europeans in general aren't that fond of regulations about their appearance. It may well be received as demeaning and insulting, no matter what is the precise content of this dress code. Go players tend to be a little more unique than the general populace, too, which only makes it less likely that it gets generally accepted.

Given that the pictures in this thread are pretty representative of how every European go tournament looks, it might also be alienating. Broadening appeal is great, but I haven't ever heard anyone complain that the EGF pros don't look nice enough for people to like the game. It's much more likely that I will have to explain what the EGF is.

I think a dress code is sensible for top level events. It is perfectly true that a lot of competitors just flat out ignore the code, raising 2 fingers to the WAGC for instance. So nice to have, but don't expect it to work.

Going back to John's comment, is there much to study at move 5?

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North Lecale

Instead of their clothes, lets talk about their go.

Surma has defeated Shikshin and taken the first pro spot. Shikshin joins Kravets, Debarre and Burzo to fight for the other one.

I think the professional Go must behave professional, i.e. trying to go for the money. One way is to build up an image, a brand...and one important aspect is clothing. No top venture would sponsor guys that look like trivial students. Go tournaments and go players must be treated very closely to what composers and musicians in a classic orchestra are treated like. There must be a smell of elitarity around them and that starts with a dress and behaviour code. The next step has to be to choose only elitarian hotels for the top tournaments, even if that means less tournaments, continued by an constant push for publicity by trying to offer articles to big newspapers and to cover main matches through the Internet constantly. And then of course EGF has to use the advantage of the chaotic asian market and establish a simple world champ system very closely to what chess did till 1995.

I know that sounds bold and compromises a lot of inherent go values - it would destroy the loveliness of the small go community in the western world - but if you think professionally, if you want someone to "show you the money" you gotta act accordingly.

How often will they make new pros, and 2 each time? Wasn't it just over half a year ago we got the first two? I worry making 2 per year (or more frequently) will mean we end up demeaning the title of professional too much with too weak players becoming ones (should be EGF 7ds not 6d IMO).

But well done Mateusz! He's a nice guy.

Pippen, you should scold Tuo Jiaxi!

viewtopic.php?p=158812#p158812

Actually, if you consider tournament bridge in the mid-20th century (before about 1960, I guess), you do see players dressing rather formally. And there was a genteel atmosphere. But that ship has sailed. And I don't see much value in trying to bring it back for go.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

I basically agree. But of course the consequence will be that those EGF pro's will never make much money in Europe and America, and to make it in Asia they are too weak. Then after a couple of years when those young men are over 30 they might quit Go because they will have friends that are average in their profession and still double their income. That'd be a waste. Those pro's have to stay with Go like Catalin Taranu or Alex Dinerchtein to promote Go more efficently and later work in Go institutions.

Tournaments need sponsors and teaching pros need students. Go pros are a new thing in the West. I think that it is too early to predict gloom and doom.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Is it okay to predict gloom or doom?

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).