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The Rennes Tournament: Easter Eggs and Games

Note: this is a translation from the French Go Review, with which the E-Journal is now exchanging reports. It’s a bit longer than our usual reports but we wanted to give you a sense of their style. You can find the original report here. The village of Guitte, hidden in the countryside half an hour outside the Breton capital welcomed anew the Rennes Tournament during Easter weekend. Irene, the manager of the Ker Al Lann holiday camp still doesn’t know the rules of go, but she understands one thing very well, that the regulars who descend there every year to put stones on a board require only a few things: a room to play quietly and repose until nightfall and some good meals to reset their clocks to zero.

Forty-odd players came together to do battle, but the duel was limited to a battle in fuseki, joseki, or tesuji. Because the fabric of the Rennes Tournament is not based on the diverse range of drinks consumed, nor the korrigans (French leprechauns) who tickle the feet of those who go to bed late to wake them up in time for the next round; it is made from the innumerable activities and games that the organizers offer to the participants. Thus, we have presided over a second Olympiad of go and outdoor games, won this year by an all-female team, the Gazelles, composed of Christèle Derrien (whose cakes we enjoyed all weekend), Brigitte Doisneau and Élise Cherbonnel. They lead the competing teams in a programme mixing skill and endurance : pétanque, Möllky and Go-Athlon (10 minute blitz on a 13x13 board). The prize for our three winners: a magnificent chocolate goban! In the evening, the place was filled with games large and small, the more athletic passed the time with table tennis, whilst the rest amused themselves at the carrom table. Meanwhile, the former winner of the blitz tournament played all the while, whilst serving drinks at the bar.

At midnight, the poker players made their appearance and the sound of chips announced that the night would not finish until all accounts were settled at Ker Al Lann. For the other nocturnal side events, Alban Granger defeated Mael Rabase to win this year’s Phantom Go World Championship, the famous Blitz (is Wrong) Championship passed into the hands of Tanguy Le Calvé (who faced Jean-Loup Naddef in the final), and the backgammon tournament was energetically won by Emeric Salmon who faced a very combative Florence. 

And what about the go? We are getting there.  Forty participants and 5 rounds full of surprises, notably Remi Vannier, our president, who in a style as thoughtful as the thought he put into succeeding to beat successively Tanguy Le Calvé and Mathieu Delli-Zotti, the joint winners of the tournament (4 points each, Mathieu winning on tiebreak while also being the official barman). We can equally cite Emmanuel Nadeau, a young player who arrived in Canada and for whom the Breton air seemed to suit very well, since he managed to score 4 points in his category and shone brilliantly in the egg chase of Saturday morning. In conclusion, it was a very beautiful weekend, and we are able to give you the dates of the 5th to 8th of May 2016 to book in your diary for next year’s event. Translated from the French by Mathieu Delli-Zotti, Ian Davis & Olivier Dulac; photos by Sébastien Cordrie and Bertrand Vachon