The World Youth Goe Championship
The World Youth Goe Championship (WYGC) is the world's second-longest running international amateur tournament. Sponsored by the Ing Wei'Chi Foundation, the tournament has invited youngsters from around the world to compete since 1984. This event often provides an early showcase for top talent of the future. Top professionals as Chang Hao, Lee Sedol and Gu Li have all had strong showings at the the WYGC early in their careers.
Selection Process
The WYGC is divided into two section: a junior section for players 11 or under and a senior section for players 17 or under. The AGA has been honoured to receive invitations to send representatives to both divisions for many years. The AGA currently uses the US Youth Go Championship tournament to select its representatives to the WYGC. The eligibility requirements as of August 2010 for the WYGC representative are:
- US citizenship
- residency in the United States, its territories or possessions for six of the past twelve months
- AGA membership (full, youth, sustaining, sponsor or life)
In addition, players must meet the age requirement of the WYGC: under 12 years old for the junior division, under 18 for the senior division. The cutoff date for the age requirement is the start of the WYGC, which is held in August of each year. The selection tournament or system used to decide the WYGC representative may have additional requirements beyond those listed here.
Representatives
| Event | Year | Representative | Final Standing | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1984 | Janice Kim | ? | Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2nd | 1985 | Janice Kim | 2nd | ? |
| 3rd | 1986 | Tony Pa | 15th | ? |
| 4th | 1987 | Tony Pa; Alan Chen | 10th; 11th | ? |
| 5th | 1988 | David Mechner; Tony Pa | ? | ? |
| 6th | 1989 | Lisa Chen; Irene Chen | ? | ? |
| 7th | 1990 | Lisa Chen; Irene Chen | ? | ? |
| 8th | 1991 | David Haff | ? | ? |
| 9th | 1992 | David Zheng Yuan Zhou |
? 5th |
San Francisco, USA |
| 10th | 1993 | John Lee | ? | Ottawa, Canada |
| 11th | 1994 | ? | ? | Palo Alto, USA |
| 12th | 1995 | Bellamy Liu (junior) SGF SGF SGF SGF SGF James Chien (senior) SGF SGF SGF SGF SGF |
Tied 3rd-7th 8th |
Amstelveen, The Netherlands |
| 13th | 1996 | Eric Lui (junior) Jonathan Wang |
5th ? |
Seoul, Korea |
| 14th | 1997 | Jesse Chao (junior) Jonathan Wang (senior) |
6th 10th |
Taipei, Taiwan |
| 15th | 1998 | Eric Lui (junior) SGF SGF Jonathan Wang |
6th 8th |
Guiyang, China |
| 16th | 1999 | Eric Lui (junior) Jonathan Wang (senior) |
4th 4th |
Singapore |
| 17th | 2000 | Eric Lui (junior) SGF SGF Matthew Curran |
Tied 5th 11th |
Prague, Czech Republic |
| 18th | 2001 | Curtis Tang (junior) Eric Lui (senior) Gina Shi |
4th 7th ? |
Maui, USA |
| 19th | 2002 | Mozheng Guan | 5th | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 20th | 2003 | ? | ? | ? |
| 21st | 2004 | Curtis Tang (junior) Mozheng Guan (senior) |
6th 9th |
Vancouver, Canada |
| 22nd | 2005 | Calvin Sun (junior) SGF SGF SGF Sichen Zhong (senior) SGF SGF SGF |
Tied 3rd-4th 10th |
Barcelona, Spain |
| 23rd | 2006 | Calvin Sun (junior) Curtis Tang (senior) |
4th 4th |
Shenzhen, China |
| 24th | 2007 | Calvin Sun (junior) SGF SGF SGF SGF SGF William Zhou (senior) SGF SGF SGF SGF SGF |
5th 8th |
Boston, USA |
| 25th | 2008 | Calvin Sun (junior) William Zhou (senior) |
4th 7th |
Guiyang, China |
| 26th | 2009 | Andrew Lu (junior) Calvin Sun (senior) |
5th 6th |
Changzhi, China |
| 27th | 2010 | Kevin Fang (junior) Calvin Sun (senior) (results) |
8th 4th T |
Penghu, Taiwan |
| 28th | 2011 | Ye Aaron (junior) Zhuang Vincent (senior) (results) |
4th 8th |
Bucharest, Romania |
Additional information
AGA's WYGC selection policy document, updated September 2010.
AGA Youth Events webpage for information on other youth tournaments and events.