Only 140 years ago, Go was brought from Japan to Germany. From Germany Go was spread in nearly all other European countries. Nowadays, the European Go Federation (EGF) has 37 member associations. Most European Go players come from Germany, France and Russia. Although the number of organized players in Germany is about 2,000 and the number of tournament players in the last 28 years is more than 5,000, about 3 million Germans have played Go at least once in their life.
| Professional | Strength | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Youngsun Yoon | 8p | Germany |
| Catalin Taranu | 5p | Romania |
| Guo Juan | 5p | The Netherlands |
| Alexandr Dinerchtein | 3p | Russia |
| Svetlana Shikshina | 3p | Russia |
| Ilja Shikshin | 2p | Russia |
| Fan Hui | 2p | France |
| Pavol Lizy | 2p | Slovakia |
| Li Ting | 1p | Austria |
| Andrii Kravets | 1p | Ukraine |
| Ali Jabarin | 1p | Israel |
| Artem Kachanovskyi | 1p | Ukraine |
| Mateusz Surma | 1p | Poland |
Currently, 13 professional Go players live in Europe and three internet Go schools have been established: Guo Juan’s Internet Go School (The Netherlands), In-seong’s Yunguseng Dojang (France) and EGF Go Academy (Austria).
The biggest tournaments in Europe and their prize money:
| Tournament | Place | Year | 1st Place | Total Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam | Germany, Berlin | since 2015 | 10000 | 24350 |
| European Championship | Russia, St. Petersburg | 2016 | 5000 | 13000 |
| European Championship | Germany, Oberhof | 2017 | 4000 | 11000 |
| EGC Main Tournament | Russia, St. Petersburg | 2016 | 2500 | 8950 |
| EGC Main Tournament | Germany, Oberhof | 2017 | 2500 | 8500 |
| Kido Cup | Germany, Hamburg | since 2009 | 1500 | 4600 |
| Confucius Cup | Ireland, Dublin | since 2012 | 1000 | 4300 |
| Go to Innovation | Germany, Berlin | since 2004 | 1200 | 4225 |
| EGC Weekend Tournament | Russia, St. Petersburg | 2016 | 1500 | 4000 |
| EGC Rapid Tournament | Germany, Oberhof | 2017 | 1000 | 2700 |
| Tournoi International | France, Paris | since 1996 | 1000 | 2420 |
| International Tournament | The Netherlands, Amsterdam | since 1971 | 500 | 2350 |
| Ellie Cup | France, Grenoble | since 2017 | 800 | 2250 |
| International Tournament | France, Strassbourg | since 2009 | 800 | 1800 |
| EGC Rapid Tournament | Russia, St. Petersburg | 2016 | 500 | 1500 |
| Open IGC | Switzerland, Laussane | since 2013 | 700 | 1350 |
| EGC Weekend Tournament | Germany, Oberhof | 2017 | 500 | 1350 |
More about Go in Europe