2019 Irish Confucius Cup Go & Chinese Chess Tournament hosted in the UCD CI

From September 28^th to 29^th, the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland, Irish Go Association, and Irish Chinese Chess Association jointly hosted the 2019 Confucius Cup Go & Chinese Chess Tournament. The event celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, whereby a total of 35 players from Ireland, France, Germany, South Korea, China, and other countries participated.

At the opening ceremony held on the morning of the 28^th of September, John Gibson, President of the Irish Chinese Chess Association, and Eoghan Barry, President of the Irish Go Association, introduced the competition procedures and rules. There were five rounds to be played in the Go game, in accordance with the rules of the European Go Association, and seven rounds in the Chinese Chess Tournament, adopted from the Asian Chinese Chess Competition Rules.  

The contestants were very skilled and created a warm atmosphere throughout the competition in true spirit of Go and Chinese Chess. After two days of fierce competition, South Korean competitor, Kim Young-Sam, won the championship of the Go game. Shiqiang Wang, a Chinese player who lives in Ireland, won the Chinese Chess Championship.

The Sichuan Chengdu Chess and the Chinese Chess Association delegation also made a special trip from China to provide support to the players. The Director of the Chinese Chess Association, Zhaohui Zhu; the Head of the Sichuan Go team (Chengdu), Liang Li; Sichuan Chengdu team player, Yichao Ma; and chess masters, Ming Hu and Huan Liu, were all in attendance. After the game, participants of the competition had the opportunity to play against the professional chess players of the delegation whereby players Yichao Ma and Ming Hu provided commentary.

The closing ceremony and awards ceremony were held after the competition. Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Xiangdong He; Vice President of University College Dublin, Professor Dolores O’Riordan; Head of Bank of Communications Financial Leasing, Ms. Xiaojie Wang; Representative of Asia Market, Mr. Bruce Ouyang; President of the Irish Chinese Chess Association, John Gibson; President of the Irish Go Association, Eoghan Barry; Arthur Cater; Dean of the Irish Institute for Chinese Studies and Director of UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland, Professor Liming Wang; and the Chinese Dean of the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland, Wei Zhang attended the competition and awarded the winners.

Eoghan Barry, President of the Irish Go Association, summed up the two-day competition. He thanked the highly skilled players and visiting guests who participated in the competition and expressed his hope to meet them again in the 2021 Confucius Cup Go & Chinese Chess Tournament. President Gibson said that the competition is an important event, and he hopes to further promote Go and Chinese Chess culture through the platform of the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland. Ambassador Xiangdong He highly praised the event and stated that playing Go and Chinese Chess helps to promote the mutual understanding of different cultures.

This event was supported and sponsored by Aisa Market and Bank of Communications Financial Leasing.