Computer Go

Acornsoft Computer Go Competition, 1984

The First Computer Go Tournament

The Acornsoft Computer Go Tournament was held in London, on January 7th and 8th 1984. It was sponsored by Acornsoft, manufacturer of microcomputers including the BBC Micro and the Electron. Much of the planning was done in Cambridge, where Acornsoft's head office was. The event itself was held in the Acorn showroom in Covent Garden, London.

The event was also called the "BBC Micro Go Tournament". The programs all ran on BBC microcomputers, provided by the sponsor. No other hardware, and no extras such as additional memory, were permitted.

It was played on 13x13 boards. A form of Chinese rules was used, which required stones to be actually captured during the game if they were to be regarded as dead. The komi was 5.5. The time limits were three hours each, plus one minute byo-yomi.

The British Go Association was involved as organisers and tournament directors. There were eight entrants (possibly after some vetting). The event was held as a simple knockout. The names of the programs (if any) are not recorded. The entrants are referred to by the names of the programmers.

round 1	round 2	round 3	Winner
Bronyslaw Przybyla
game	Bronyslaw Przybyla
A.J.Lucas
	game	Bronyslaw Przybyla
David Skidmore
game	David Skidmore
T.Hart
		game	Bronyslaw Przybyla
Richard Granville
game	Richard Granville
M.K.Scott
	game	Richard Granville
John Hobson & William Brakes
game	Hobson & Brakes
Michael Reiss

A trophy and a cheque for £1,000 were presented by Acornsoft to the winner Bronyslaw Przybla.

The game records given here were transcribed from the original paper records, which were provided by Charles Matthews, who helped to organise the event.