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Go Growing in Russia as Organizers Prepare to Host European Go Congress

With go growing more and more popular in Russia, game organizers held a press conference October 22 in Moscow on the eve of the 21st edition of the Cup of the Ambassador of Japan, the oldest go tournament in the country. New clubs are opening up, the number of players is increasing and notable international competitions are taking place, the organizers reported. Russia will host the 60th Polymetal European Go Congress next year in Saint-Petersburg. In another major development, the National non-Olympic Sports Committee and the Russian Go Federation signed an official contract assuring the Committee’s support for developing this intellectual sport in Russia. Moreover, go is officially included in the list of sports by the Ministry of Sports of Russian Federation. "The number of Russian athletes taking part in international go competitions grew by 70% since 2012," said Boris Grishin, deputy director for the Summer Athletics Development department at the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. "Go is successfully developing in Russia and the results of which are noted by our European colleagues," said Maxim Volkov, the president of the Russian Go Federation. - Ludmila Nemchinova