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Criteria for Selection of Invitational Tournament ContendersEncounters between top players from different nations were practically unknown until the late 1970's, when Japan and China began a series of goodwill matches that eventually became the NEC-sponsored Japan-China "Super Go" competition. Around the same time, the International Go Federation was established and began holding annual amateur championships. Within a few years, tournaments like the Fujitsu Cup and the Ing Cup appeared, with fully international fields of players. Today, more than a dozen international competitions are sponsored by companies like Fujitsy, Toyota-Denso, Samsung, Goldstar and the Chunlan. There are special international tournaments for children, women, male-female pairs and even computers! (For more details see The Go Player's Almanac 2001.) This page lists tournaments for which the AGA selects players, and the criteria by which they are selected. Criteria for some other invitational events are also included. AGA members can represent the US or North America in up to two tournments per year. For more detailed scheduling information about individual tournaments, contact the AGA Tournament Coordinator at tournaments@usgo.org. The North American Ing Masters TournamentTop American players, amateur and professional, meet in six face-to-face qualifying events events and two Internet playoffs to select 32 finalists for an exciting week of competition at the US Go Congress. The NAIM features the largest prizes in North America, and combines and replaces two previous events - The North American Masters Tournament andThe North American Ing Cup. Click here to download more than thirty game records from the 2006 US Go Congress, including top Ing Cup and Masters tournament games. Click here to download game records from the 2002 Ing Cup tournament. The World Amateur Go ChampionshipThe WAGC is organized under the auspices of the International Go Federation. Held annually since 1979, the WAGC brings together top amateur players from all over the world for a week-long Swiss-style tournament. Players representing 64 countries participated in the 20004WAGC. US players have competed every year, placing in the top ten several times. The selection process in North America requires regular participation in the US Open, and promotes recognition of consistent performance and participation. Contenders should be prepared to commit as much time to competing for this prize as they would when competing in the WAGC itself. To be eligible, players must have US citizenship and continuous full AGA membership for at least one year. The US representative to the WAGC is the available eligible player with the highest 5-year cumulative points from the US Open. Current points break ties. AGA Tournament Regulations apply. Points are awarded at the US Open as follows:
Click here to view current point totals. NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document. Points for unbroken ties are divided evenly among tied players. Tiebreak schemes are SOS followed by SODOS. Contenders with a significant lapse in full AGA membership lose all points accumulated to date. The US representative to the WAGC loses all accumulated points. The US Open is played each year at the US Go Congress, a six-round Swiss-McMahon event with one game per day. Anyone can enter the US Open and become US Champion, but only eligible players can win WAGC points. North American Fujitsu Qualifying TournamentThe World Fujitsu Cup is sponsored by Fujitsu Limited, with a top prize of ¥15,000,000. The field always includes several of the world's top players. The winner of the NAFQT represents the North America in the World Fujitsu Cup each year. Invitations are issued in the following order, until 16 slots are filled: Top five seeds from last year; eligible professionals; North American citizens from each region with the highest AGA ratings; selection by the AGA president if needed to round out the field. The Toyota/Denso North American Oza ChampionshipThe North American Oza is sponsored by Toyota and Denso Corporations. Unlike the Fujitsu, the North American Oza is an open tournament with more than 300 players, and the biggest prizes, and more of them, of any tournament in North America. Top-placing citizens or permanent residents in regional events compete to determine who will represent North America in the World Oza Cup, with a top prize of $350,000 and a new Lexus! The International Pair Go TournamentThe International Pair Go Tournament, sponsored by NKB, is a fun-filled event whose aim is to add a more social element to the game. The highest placing eligible pair in the North American Pair Go Championship is the US representative to the International Pair Go Tournament. Click here to learn more about Pair Go. A pair must include one male and one female member. Pairs having full continuous AGA membership and US citizenship are eligible. AGA Tournament Regulations apply. The World Youth ChampionshipThe representatives to the annual World Youth Goe Championship, sponsored by the Ing Foundation, are the eligible US citizens who win their age divisions of the United States Youth Go Championship, an AGA-hosted and managed national tournament. Players must win one of the qualifiers held early each calendar year to be eligible for the finals. The rules and regulations can be read at this link.
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