Czech Go Association

The Czech Go Association (Czech: Česká asociace go, abbreviated ČAGo) is a registered association (spolek) that serves as the main umbrella organization for players and supporters of the board game Go in the Czech Republic. It was officially established on 1 November 1991, building on an earlier body that had functioned as the Association of Czechoslovak Go Clubs and Players under chairman Dušan Prokop. The association is headquartered at Kaprova 42/14, Staré Město, 110 00 Praha 1, and operates the website goweb.cz. It is registered in the association register (Spolek) under file number L 2677 at the Municipal Court in Prague, with the registration date of 1 January 2014 and the date of origin of 1 November 1991. Its identification number (IČ) is 47003073. ČAGo's stated goals include spreading and promoting Go, especially among young people, supporting the national representation, supporting Go clubs, organizing tournaments, and representing the Czech Go community in dealings with other institutions and organizations both at home and abroad. The association organizes or helps organize Go tournaments, including major international events such as European and world championships, regularly holds training camps, and runs a library with a large amount of specialized literature. It is a member of both the European Go Federation (EGF) and the International Go Federation (IGF). The association brings together Go clubs active in a number of Czech cities, including Prague, Brno, Olomouc, Liberec, Frýdek-Místek, Nymburk, Písek and many others. It organizes four national championship competitions each year: the individual championship, the women's championship, the pairs championship, and the junior championship. Winners of these competitions are delegated as representatives of the Czech Republic to international championships and other competitions where the number of players per country is limited. Tournament results are recorded in the EGD (European Go Database), which began to be compiled in 1996; before 1996 results were kept only in paper form. Among the most prestigious domestic events is the Go Baron title tournament, held since 2012 and generously sponsored by Josef Němec. The winner can receive 3 ounces of gold. It is played in a double knockout system with Fischer time of 45 minutes plus 20 seconds per move, komi 7.5 under AGA rules, and is organized by V. Daněk in Prague. The association also published the magazine Igo between 1997 and 2004, with founding editor Tomáš Grosser. The executive committee is elected for a three-year term. As of the 2025–2028 term, the chairwoman is Adriana Podpěrová, with further executive committee members Lenka Daňková, Jaroslav Kotowski, Tomáš Grosser and Jitka Bartová. Previous chairs include Jaroslav Kotowski (with Jan Hora), Thierry Defer, Vladimír Daněk, Martin Kovařík and Jana Hricová. The association's bank account is held with Fio banka a.s., and its contact email is vybor(at)goweb.cz.

The history of Go in the Czech lands predates the formal association by many decades. The first mentions of Go players in the territory of the Czech Republic concern MUDr. Jan Sedlaczek of Modřice near Brno and Dr. Otto Conrad of Liberec. Their names were recorded by Professor Leopold Pfaundler of Graz around 1909, who mentioned them in his handwritten newspaper 'Deutsche Gozeitung'. The player community grew, and Go came to wider awareness after its rules were printed in the popular book Zlatý fond her (Golden Fund of Games) by M. Zapletal in 1990. In 1973 the first international tournament in Prague was organized. The growing player base attracted attention from abroad, resulting in two visits by Japanese professionals to the country – the first in the 1970s, the second at a championship in 1984. Until 1991, the Czech Go Association functioned as the Association of Czechoslovak Go Clubs and Players (Sdružení československých klubů a hráčů go), whose chairman was Dušan Prokop. The Czech Go Association was officially founded on 1 November 1991. It became a member of both the European Go Federation (EGF) and the International Go Federation (IGF). The association published the magazine Igo between 1997 and 2004; its founding editor was Tomáš Grosser. In 1996 the European Go Database (EGD) began to be compiled, providing systematic records of tournament results; before that, results were kept only in paper form. Since 2012, the Go Baron title tournament has been held, generously sponsored by Josef Němec, with the winner able to receive 3 ounces of gold. It is played in a double knockout system with Fischer time of 45 minutes plus 20 seconds per move, komi 7.5 under AGA rules, and is organized by V. Daněk in Prague. It is considered one of the most prestigious tournaments in the Czech Republic. The association organizes four types of national championship each year: individual, women's, pairs, and junior. Winners are delegated as representatives of the Czech Republic to international championships and other competitions where the number of players per country is limited. The pairs championship is a special championship open only to mixed pairs. The executive committee is elected for a three-year term. Over the decades the leadership has included Jana Hricová (chairwoman 1998–2007), Martin Kovařík (2007–2010), Vladimír Daněk (2010–2016), Thierry Defer (2016–2019), Jaroslav Kotowski with Jan Hora (2019–2022), and Adriana Podpěrová (2022–2025 and 2025–2028). The association is registered as a spolek (association) with its seat at Kaprova 42/14, Staré Město, 110 00 Praha 1, identification number 47003073, file number L 2677 at the Municipal Court in Prague, registration date 1 January 2014, date of origin 1 November 1991. It maintains a bank account with Fio banka a.s. and a library with a large amount of specialized literature. The history of Go in the Czech Republic has been treated in more detail by Aleš Cieplý, and some events can be traced in the chronicle of the Nymburk club.

• 2014

  Registration date in the association register (Spolek) recorded as 1 January

• 2012

  First Go Baron title tournament held

• 1997

  Association begins publishing the magazine Igo (until 2004)

• 1996

  European Go Database (EGD) begins compiling tournament results

• 1991

  Czech Go Association officially founded on 1 November

• 1990

  Go rules published in the popular book Zlatý fond her by M. Zapletal

• 1984

  Second visit by Japanese Go professionals to Czechoslovakia

• 1973

  First international Go tournament organized in Prague

• 1909

  First mentions of Go players in Czech lands recorded by Professor Leopold Pfaundler

National umbrella organization for Go players and clubs in the Czech Republic, promoting the game and representing Czech Go internationally.

• Go Baron title tournament

  Annual tournament since 2012, sponsored by Josef Němec, winner can receive 3 ounces of gold.

• Mistrovství republiky v go

  Four national championships: individual, women's, pairs, and junior.

• Igo magazine

  Magazine published by the association from 1997 to 2004; founding editor Tomáš Grosser.

• Go library

  Library with a large amount of specialized literature.

• Training camps

  Regular training camps organized by the association.

1. 1ČAGo – Gowebgoweb.cz
2. 2Czech Go Association – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Česká asociace go – Wikipediacs.wikipedia.org