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June 18, 2011

July 2011 meeting (probably)

We hope to have a mid-month meeting in July before the British championship.

This would be a Saturday meeting of the London Shogi Club on 16.07.2011. This is not the usual timing, so I will try to put up a confirmation or cancellation message nearer the time.

June 2011 meeting

There will be a Saturday meeting of the London Shogi Club on 25.06.2011. David Faldon will be around from 10am until at least 2pm at Caffe Nero, 10 Bedford Street, London WC2E 7HE. [map]

Everyone is very welcome, regardless of strength or experience.

The nearest rail station is Charing Cross. Embankment, Covent Garden and Leicester Square underground stations are close, but it's best to check which lines are running with Transport for London

If you want to confirm attendance, feel free to let us know by leaving a comment or sending an email.

June 13, 2011

2011 British Shogi Championships

The 2011 British Shogi Championship Tournament will be held as a qualifying event in London on Saturday 23rd July 2011, followed by a play-off event soon thereafter.

The venue for the 23rd is the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, 'Creative Space'. This is close to both Hammersmith tube stations, a multistory car park and Hammersmith bus garage. The theatre cafe will be open during the event, and there are many other places of refreshment within a few yards of the theatre.

To make best use of the venue, we intend to run two very different tournaments at the same time
- the 2011 British Shogi Championship Tournament; and
- the 2011 London Shogi Tournament.
Anybody can enter either tournament, but not both. Play will start at 10.45am and end around 6pm.

The 2011 British Shogi Championship Tournament will be four rounds, with time limits of 30 minutes per player plus 40 seconds byo-yomi. The top four contestants will qualify for a play-off event which will be a three round all-play-all either on Sunday 24th July or soon thereafter if one or more of the qualified players can't make Sunday 24th. The playoff will be in Barnes (close to Hammersmith) or elsewhere if all four qualifiers agree. The playoff must be completed by mid-August so that the winner can be registered for a place at the 5th International Shogi Festival which will be held in Paris from 27-30 October 2011.

The 2011 London Shogi Tournament will be either six or seven or more rounds, depending on the number of entries. Each player will have 30 minutes for the whole game.

Entry fees: the only reason for the entry fee is to pay for the hire of the venue. There will be no cash prizes. If we get 30 players, as expected, we will need to charge £10 a head.

Prizes: There will be a trophy for the 2011 British Shogi Champion and another for the winner of the 2011 London Shogi Tournament. There will also be several additional prizes (books, etc) depending on entries. The 2011 British Shogi Champion also qualifies for his/her place in the exclusive 5th International Shogi Festival Tournament of champions too!

Grading of games: the results of the British Shogi Championship Tournament games will be submitted for grading by the Federation of European Shogi Associations (FESA). As we understand it, the London Tournament games will not be graded as they will not be played with byo-yomi.

Entries can be made by email to David Faldon by mid-July at the latest, stating which of the tournaments you'd like to play in. Entry fees are payable on the day.