 |
 | |
| Formation | March 18, 1982 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
Membership | List of Go organizations |
Official language | English |
President | Zhenming Chang [1] |
| Website | intergofed.org |
The International Go Federation (IGF) is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world.
The role of the IGF is to promote the sport of Go throughout the world, promote amicable relations among members and improve world go organization. It does so by carrying out the following activities:
The IGF is an apolitical and non-religious organization, and strives to promote fair play amongst all players.
The Japan Go Association organized the first World Go Amateur Championship in Japan, in 1979. Many of the top Go players from around the world and representatives from the major National Go Associations attended the event. Its success led to the founding of the International Go Federation on March 18, 1982, with Shizuo Asada presiding over the original 29 founding members.
On April 7, 2006, the IGF became a member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). [2]
The IGF is one of the founding member of the IMSA (International Mind Sports Association). [3]
The IGF organizes the yearly World Amateur Go Championship, which attracts over 65 countries.
As of December 2017 [update] the IGF has 77 member nations: 39 in Europe, 18 in Asia, 15 in the Americas, 3 in Africa and 2 in Oceania. It also has five Association Members, which cover multiple countries: the World Pair Go Association, the Federación Iberoamericana de Go, the European Go Federation, the Ing Changk Wei-Chi Education Foundation and the Asian Go Federation. [8]
77 Nations in 2023:
5 Association Members:
A Go professional is a professional player of the game of Go. The minimum standard to acquire a professional diploma through one of the major Go organisations is very high. The competition is tremendous, and prize incentives for champion players are very large. For example, the Honinbo Tournament has a grand prize of about $350,000.
The Nihon Ki-in (日本棋院), also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main organizational body for Go in Japan, overseeing Japan's professional system and issuing diplomas for amateur dan rankings. It is based in Tokyo. The other major Go association in Japan is Kansai Ki-in. Its innovations include the Oteai system of promotion, time limits in professional games, and the introduction of issuing diplomas to strong amateur players, to affirm their ranks.
The International Golf Federation (IGF) was founded in 1958 and is the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body for golf. The IGF has two membership categories representing the administration of golf internationally:
The Korea Baduk Association, also known as Hanguk Kiwon (Korean: 한국기원), was founded in November 1945 by Cho Namchul.
The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) is an association of the world governing bodies for contract bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), go, xiangqi, mahjong and certain card games. Its members are the World Bridge Federation (WBF), World Chess Federation (FIDE), World Draughts Federation (FMJD), International Go Federation (IGF), World Xiangqi Federation (WXF), Mahjong International League (MIL) and Federation of Card Games (FCG). IMSA is an associate member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations, and was founded on 19 April 2005 during the GAISF General Assembly. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The American Go Association (AGA) was founded in 1935, to promote the board game of Go in the United States.
The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigious championships are those for national teams in Open, Women, and Seniors categories: the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, and Senior Bowl, and the quadrennial World Team Olympiads, incorporated in the World Mind Sports Games beginning 2008.
There are many variations of the simple rules of Go. Some are ancient digressions, while other are modern deviations. They are often side events at tournaments, for example, the U.S. Go Congress holds a "Crazy Go" event every year.
The Hong Kong Go Association, created in 1982, is an organizational member of the International Go Federation, whose current chairman is 張大朋. It is dedicated to training and ranking Go players in Hong Kong.
The Singapore Weiqi Association is a Go association in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it aims to promote the game of Go in Singapore and improve the skills of local Go players. To achieve its objective, professional players from China are hired to conduct lessons, and tournaments are regularly organized. Amateur players in Singapore can have their rank assessed by the association; it awards rank diplomas up to 6 dan. For international exposure and networking, the association sends players to participate in international competitions such as World Amateur Go Championship and World Youth Go Championship. Currently, the association has two clubhouses: the main clubhouse in Bishan and the city clubhouse in Bugis.
Chang Zhenming, born October 1956 in Beijing, China, is the Chairman of CITIC Group and the Chairman and Managing Director of CITIC Group's Hong Kong listed subsidiary company, CITIC Pacific.
The International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP) is a non-profit organization whose stated purpose is to "serve as the global governing body for Match Poker". IFMP is incorporated as a legal entity pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The first World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport.
The Australian Go Association (AGA) is the national governing body for the ancient oriental sport of go in the country of Australia. It was founded in 1978 by Clive Davies of the Sydney Go Club, Neville Smythe of the Canberra Go Club, and Bill Leveritt of the Brisbane Go Club, joined in 1982 by Melbourne and some year after that by Adelaide. The Association is the Australian member of the International Go Federation. With the New Zealand Go Society it makes up the Oceania zone of the IGF and thus shares one seat on the IGF's board of directors. The aims of the association are:
Lee Ha-jin is a retired professional Go player from South Korea. From July 2014 to 2016, she served as Secretary General of the International Go Federation. She is now a software development engineer with an MBA.
The European Golf Association (EGA) is a non-profit organisation based in Epalinges, Switzerland, which was founded in 1937 in Luxembourg.
This is an article about the history of female Go players in Asia and Europe.
World Pair Go Association (WPGA) was established in 2008 to further promote and popularise Pair Go internationally, to strengthen the bonds between Pair Go players, to support Pair Go events around the world, and to promote mind sports in cooperation with the International Go Federation and the International Mind Sports Association.
