A warm and welcoming community of 61 Go players and supporters gathered in the woods near
Raleigh, North Carolina, June 15–21 for the fifth annual Burning Board Festival.
Participants from across the United States—including Georgia, Florida, Missouri, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and throughout North Carolina—spent the week enjoying Go, camaraderie, and a wide variety of festival activities. Attendees played self-paired games, competed in 9x9 and paired tournaments, and took part in lectures, simultaneous games, and reviews led by Yuan Zhou and Michael Chen 2P.
The festival's unique atmosphere combined serious competition with a relaxed community spirit. Evenings featured fireflies, Mah Jongg, poker, and plenty of Go, while mornings began with tea ceremonies and hot coffee shared among friends old and new.
For the second consecutive year, Toby Chen captured the tournament title, finishing ahead of Sheng Huo and David Fang.
Section winners were:
- Section A: Joshua Guarino (1st), Austin Robinson (2nd)
- Section B: Matthew Pickard (1st), Paul Mendola (2nd)
- Section C: Mike Keith (1st), Neal Siekierski (2nd)
- Section D: Ursa Woodring (1st), Eric J. Sullivan (2nd)
- Section E: Joey Black (1st), Chue Vang (2nd)
- Section F: Colin Platt (1st), Chloe Boulange (2nd)
Special awards went to Eugenia Tong, recognized as the festival's Future Champion, and Xiaohua Dai, who received the Most Helpful Award.
Organizers thanked the players, parents, and volunteers who helped make the event a success and are already looking forward to welcoming everyone back next year.
- reporting/photos by Bob Bacon