Ulaş Ören (5 Dan) from Istanbul, Turkey claimed first prize of the 22nd International Istanbul Go Tournament after winning in the final against tournament favorite Dušan Mitič (7 Dan, Serbia) and staying undefeated. Ulaş has thus become returning champion as he took the first prize home in last years tournament after losing to Altan Kuntay but staying in place through tie breakers. First time participant in the Istanbul Go Tournament but not a stranger to Turkey, Dušan Mitič, took second place. Hüsrev Aksüt (4 Dan) from Antalya, Turkey took third place. And Miloš Bojanić who won the 6th and 7th editions of the International Istanbul Go Tournament took fourth place on his fifth visit. Another surprise in the ranks was Berke Üner who recently reached the rank of 1 Dan, he took fifth place winning against stable players Ege Köse (2 Dan) and Altan Kuntay (3 Dan). This year’s Fighting Spirit special award went to Vladimir Munteanu (10 Kyu) who won against both stronger and older players while being a model player with his display of sportsmanship and, mature and kind attitude.
Undefeated players under the bar also received prizes: Koças Kuzey Kanbolat (8 Kyu) and Ozan Yanık (20 Kyu) received a freepass and TGOD mug each. Saadet Eryılmaz (3 Kyu), Bilge Göze (3 Kyu), Claude Brisson (3 Kyu, France), Süleyman Anıl Huysal (4 Kyu), Boğaçhan Özmahmut (18 Kyu), İpek Cerrahoğlu (20 Kyu) and Etem Kerem Kaynar (20 Kyu) who won 4 out of 5 of their games were also awarded with freepasses each for one national tournament of their choosing.
There was a semi-traditional guessing game on the number of total participants in the main tournament which was won with an exact guess by Atakan Çal.
The Under 16 Fast Tournament side event awarded medals (Young Star / Genç Yıldız) to 6 undefeated players: Alper Sulak (2 Dan), Eren Denktaş (1 Kyu), Ada Sökmen (15 Kyu), Emre Zora (18 Kyu), Çağan Tutan (20 Kyu) and Mert Çetin (25 Kyu).
The 22nd International Istanbul Go Tournament saw the participation of 128 unique players participating from 7 different countries and 19 cities. For further details and wall lists please refer to 22nd International Istanbul Go Tournament page. We would like to thank everyone that has participated, observed or was interested.