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25th International Istanbul Go Tournament Concluded: Champion Stjepan Medak

This article was translated automatically from Turkish with AI (Google Gemini). If anything is unclear, the Turkish original prevails.

The playing hall at Doğuş University, Saturday morning, round 1
The playing hall at Doğuş University, Saturday morning, round 1.

The 25th International Istanbul Go Tournament was held on 10 and 11 October at the Doğuş University Çengelköy Campus. Played over five rounds using the McMahon system, the tournament gathered a total of 130 players from eight countries. The vast majority of participants came from Türkiye. Players from Croatia, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Sweden, the USA and Pakistan also took part in the tournament. The tournament featured on the European Grand Prix 2026 calendar as a Bonus C tournament and was one of the Class 1 tournaments included in the Turkish Go Association’s (TGOD) National Playoff System.

Stjepan Medak 6 dan from Zagreb won all five matches to finish the tournament in first place. The title-deciding clash came in round four on board one against Ulaş Ören 6 dan from Istanbul. Ören took second place with four wins, losing only to Medak. Six players from third to eighth place finished with three wins and the same McMahon score. Tie-break criteria determined the placings among these players. In this group, Altan Kuntay 4 dan from Denizli took third place, Roko Crvelin 4 dan from Zagreb fourth, and Hataycan Özgür 3 dan from Izmir fifth.

Top five:

  1. Stjepan Medak, 6 dan, Croatia, 5 wins
  2. Ulaş Ören, 6 dan, Türkiye, 4 wins
  3. Altan Kuntay, 4 dan, Türkiye, 3 wins
  4. Roko Crvelin, 4 dan, Croatia, 3 wins
  5. Hataycan Özgür, 3 dan, Türkiye, 3 wins

Four players, including Medak, won all their matches. The other three names were Tufan Baran Ilıcalı (7 kyu), Güney Barsbey (20 kyu) and Derya Kaptan (30 kyu).

The playing hall from above, Saturday evening, round 3
The playing hall from above, Saturday evening, round 3.
Spectators gathered around a game in round 4, Sunday morning
Spectators gathered around a game in round 4, Sunday morning.
Sunday afternoon, round 5
Sunday afternoon, round 5.

In-seong Hwang 8 dan, founder of Yunguseng Dojang, was a guest at the tournament this year as well. He gave lectures on both mornings and conducted game commentaries and Q&A sessions throughout the weekend. All players received a tournament bag as a gift. Kifu Master and Go Magic supported the tournament with coupon prizes, with Kifu Master also gifting a two-month premium membership to the players.

In-seong Hwang 8 dan during his Sunday morning lecture
In-seong Hwang 8 dan during his Sunday morning lecture.

A total of 30 players received prizes at the closing ceremony. The Fighting Spirit award went to Doğukan Sarıkaya (1 kyu), who put up a relentless fight against three dan players and finished with four wins. The Young Star award went to Güney Barsbey (20 kyu) with five wins, and to Nilde Yıldız (20 kyu), Ege Üner (20 kyu) and Andrei Luca Heermeryck (1 kyu) with four wins each. Female Star medals went to Ariane Ougier (5 dan) as the strongest female player, Seval Altuğ (1 dan) as the strongest Turkish female player, and Lidia Agafitei (3 kyu) and Elena Otilla Tarita Cimpeanu (12 kyu) as the most successful female players.

A cake was also cut to mark the 25th anniversary of the tournament. In the evening, a group of players met in Kadıköy for dinner.

The prize table before the closing ceremony
The prize table before the closing ceremony.
Prize presentation at the closing ceremony
Prize presentation at the closing ceremony.
Players receiving prizes at the closing ceremony
Players receiving prizes at the closing ceremony.
The 25th anniversary cake
The 25th anniversary cake.

The tournament was coordinated by the Istanbul Go Players Association. The chief referee was Doğaç Köse, and the pairing coordinator was Barkın Çelebican. The tournament was organised under the sponsorship of Doğuş University and the Doğuş University Mind Games Club, with the support of the Istanbul Go School and the Turkish Go Association (TGOD). We congratulate champion Medak and all the winners, and thank everyone who made the 25th tournament wonderful.

Everyone together after the closing ceremony
Everyone together after the closing ceremony.

Full results are on the Istanbul Go Players Association website.

Photos: Seda Çelebican