Introduction

Welcome to the Canadian Open 2021! We've decided that once again we will hold the tournament online this year, and I hope this means that many players from all over will be able to participate. The tournament will take place over two weekends; October 23-24 and 30-31st. We learned many lessons from the tournament last year and hope to assemble a smooth, competitive and fun experience for all our participants.

Schedule

• Regular registration ends on October 17th
• Late registration ends on October 21st
• Saturday, October 23rd
• Round 1: 1:00PM EST
• Round 2: 5:00PM EST
• Sunday, October 24th
• Round 3: 1:00PM EST
• Round 4: 5:00PM EST
• Saturday, October 30th
• Round 5: 1:00PM EST
• Round 6: 5:00PM EST
• Sunday, October 31st (Schedule TBD)
• Playoffs for open division
• Pair Go
• Blitz

If you are unable to play in any of the rounds you will be able to request a bye. The deadline for requesting a bye will be communicated to players in advance. Byes may impact prize eligibility.

Cost

• Regular Registration: $20
• Late Registration: $25

Registration

1. Login to the CGA website (if you do not have an account, please create one by clicking Register at the top right of this page).
2. Please complete the following form to submit some additional information: Registration Form
3. You can pay the registration fee any of the following ways -- please indicate in the comments for which players the entry fee is to cover:
1. E-transfer: [email protected]
2. Paypal: [email protected]
3. WeChat: bradybei (exchange rate of 5.3 RMB to 1 CAD)

Games

Games will be coordinated using Baduk Club. We will be doing testing on the platform in advance of the event to make sure the event runs smoothly. Please make an account on Baduk Club before the tournament.

Before the event there will be an email sent out to all players with a link that will allow them to link their Baduk Club account to their OGS account. This will allow Baduk Club to create the pairings directly on OGS. Instructions on exactly how to link your account will be available soon.

For communication, we will use the OGS Canadian Open Online 2021 Room. You will be able to message the tournament directors there.

Professionals

We are pleased to announce that Yoonyoung Kim 8p will be providing two review periods during the Canadian Open 2021. She will be available at 7PM EST on the 24th and 30th on her Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/kimyoonyoung. Players will be able to join her stream to watch reviews and share their games for her expert analysis, simply share the OGS links with her in the chat.

Additionally, Ryan Li 3p will be offering a lecture on the New York Institute of Go Youtube channel on October 23rd, at 7:30PM-9:30PM EST based on one of the games from the open division of the tournament.

Format

Games will be played on OGS. Please create an OGS account prior to registering for the tournament. Note that Pair Go will be played on KGS, more details to follow as we get closer to the tournament.

Rules

• AGA Rules
• 45 minutes main time, Canadian byo-yomi of 10 minutes for 25 stones

Tournament Structure

The tournament will be divided into divisions, sorted by ranks and the number of players at each rank. The open division will be open to players who are 5D and above, and will compete for cash prizes. The other divisions will be announced closer to the event, as we know the ranks of the players who have registered.

Tournament Integrity

Players may not use any form of outside assistance in the tournament. This includes AI, books, joseki dictionaries, game databases, other players, etc.

In the open division, as players are competing for cash prizes, players are required to have a video stream of their playing environment. This video stream will need to be captured by another device "over the shoulder" and must include the player and the screen on which they are playing. We will provide more detailed instructions on how to set up and configure a video feed as we get closer to the tournament date. If you have any concerns about how to set this up, please reach out to the tournament organizers for details.

Additionally we will have games reviewed for suspicious play as required, by tournament director discretion, by Antti Törmänen 1p. It is very difficult to prove that someone has been using outside. Therefore, if after review, we believe with high likelihood that someone has used outside assistance, that player will be required to withdraw from the tournament. By joining this event, players agree to withdraw at the organizers' request due to strong suspicion of outside assistance. Thank you for your understanding.

In the other division, video streams are not required, but players are still expected to respect the tournament and their opponents and may not use any outside assistance. Game records will be available on OGS for review in case of any suspicious games.

Video Streaming

In the open division, as players are competing for cash prizes, players are required to have a video stream of their playing environment. This video stream will need to be captured by another device "over the shoulder" and must include the player and the screen on which they are playing. We will provide more detailed instructions on how to set up and configure a video feed as we get closer to the tournament date. If you have any concerns about how to set this up, please reach out to the tournament organizers for details.

We will use Zoom as a platform for players in the open division to stream their playing area to each other. To use the platform, review the following steps:

1. Download the application from https://zoom.us/support/download onto the device that will be streaming your playing area. You do not need to make an account.
2. Before the tournament starts the Zoom meeting link will be shared with all players. Use that to join the meeting room for the tournament. Please use your name on Zoom so that tournament admins know who is who! Additional directions are available here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Zoom-video-call
3. There will be breakout rooms created for players to use. Tournament admins will manually assign players into breakout rooms according to pairings.
4. When the match is finished, please leave the breakout room and meeting, and remember to turn off your microphone and camera.
5. Tournament admins may periodically join breakout rooms at random to survey the video streams for each player.
6. If you have any technical difficulties please reach out to the tournament admin as soon as possible!

It is recommended that you install Zoom the day before the tournament and test it out in advance of the tournament.

Prizes

Prizes will be funded from tournament registration fees and sponsor donations. Last year the open division awarded $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third, but please keep in mind that this will depend on how many players register for the event. We have thankfully been donated a number of prizes for this tournament! The distribution of these across tournament divisions will be announced closer to the tournament.

Generous sponsors have donated the following as prizes, please visit them to learn more:

European Go Journal: 5x 3 Month digital subscriptions to the European Go Journal, a monthly journal covering European and International Go news, as well as game commentaries, interviews and more.

Awesome Baduk: 5x Basic memberships (2 months each) and 2x Awesome memberships (2 months each). Awesome Baduk is a new online go school from Yeon Woo Cho 2p and Young Sun Yoon 8p delivering video courses and individual study plans.

BenKyo Tutoring: 3x 1.5 hour 1-on-1 lessons with Ben Mantle, CGA 5D and experienced Go teacher.

Stoned On The Goban: Camille Lévêque has been producing Go themed art since 2019, and for the Canadian Open 2021 she has donated one personalized digital illustration (eg. a player avatar) and one of either a T-shirt, Kifu notebook, or poster from her online shop.

Go Magic: Go Magic has donated 1x Gold Membership (1-year), and 12x $35 gift certificates to be used on the platform. Go Magic combines interactive lessons, thorough videos on a range of topics, and a structured learning skill tree help players in their studies.

New York Institute of Go: The NYIG has donated one lecture to the tournament, and one lecture as a prize for players! The NYIG is a group of professional players offering lectures and classes to students of all ages.

We-Go Club: We-Go club has donated lessons and teaching games to our players. We-Go offers lessons, tournaments, and organizes go activities all over to spread Go across North America.

 
Pair Go

The Pair Go tournament will be used to award points for selection for the Canadian team into the Pair Go World Cup in Japan. In order to earn points, players must both be Canadian citizens. Players who are not Canadian are welcome to join the event, but only Canadian teams will be able to earn points for selection.

The Pair Go event will be run on KGS on Oct 31st. Please note that Shin-KGS does not support Pair Go and you must use the "classic" KGS client, available here. More details on this will be shared with participants prior to the event.

Conclusion

If there are any questions about any the above, please reach out to the tournament director via email at [email protected]. I wish everyone the best of luck in the event!