Lanke Cup Vienna Open 2025

Report and Results

The Lanke Cup Weiqi Vienna Open 2025 took place in the stunning Großer Festsaal of the University of Vienna, a venue greatly appreciated by players for its majestic architecture and historical artwork. This year’s edition brought together 64 participants from 18 countries, marking another successful step toward our goal of establishing Vienna as a key stop on the European Go calendar.

Among the players were 2.5 EGF-certified professionals, and the field ranged from experienced players to a remarkable 5-year-old – our youngest participant.

The tournament was honored by the presence of Her Excellency, the Ambassador of People’s Republic of China, who attended the opening ceremony and delivered an inspiring speech before the first round. We also express our sincere thanks to Mr. Padraig Lysaght, Director of the Confucius Institute in Vienna, for his continuous support. His presence at both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as his contribution to the prize giving, helped make the event truly special. Without the support of the Institute, holding the tournament in such an iconic venue would not have been possible.

We would also like to thank Lanke Quzhou for their sponsorship and generous support of this event.

The tournament ran smoothly from start to finish, and it was a pleasure for our team to organize it. A big thank you goes out to our dedicated volunteers: Anastasiya Tsyhanova, who not only captured wonderful moments in photos but also ensured every player received at least one homemade cookie; Jasna Medak, for her support and coordination throughout the weekend; and Damir Medak, who served as chief referee and ensured fair play. Thank you to all players who helped with packing and carrying the equipment!

The top board featured an intense battle among Europe’s strongest players. Stanislaw Frejlak 2p started the tournament with an impressive 4–0 streak, only to be stopped in the final round by Benjamin Drean-Guenaizia (7d/1p). The first and the third place were both decided by SOSOS, and Lukas Podpera 7d won the title – his third Grand Prix victory of the season.

Four top-board games were broadcast live, and can be replayed here: GoGamesLive

🥇 Lukas Podpera 7d – 8 GP points
🥈 Stanislaw Frejlak 2p – 6 GP points + a seat at the Grand Prix Finals
🥉 Benjamin Drean-Guenaizia 7d/1p – 4 GP points
🏅 4th: Tanguy Le Calvé 1p – 2 GP points
🏅 5th: Oh Chimin 8d
🏅 6th: Schayan Hamrah 5d – 1 GP point

💃 Best female player: Lisa Mayer 1d

Under 18:
🥇 Stjepan Medak 5d (11th place overall)
🥈 Jan Komin 3d
🥉 Matouš Babka 5k
(Special mention to Xing Yuze 6d, 9th place, who was unable to attend the ceremony.)

Under 12:
🥇 Lilly Hu 1d
🥈 Cherry Hu 4k
🥉 Vera Neubauer 4k

Pairings and Standings

Google Sheet – Pairing and Standings

Follow the event:

SGFs and links to ongoing games

Facebook page

Instagram: @go7vienna

Live stream from the venue

Rules and Tournament System

  • Japanese rules, 6.5 komi
  • 5 rounds, MacMahon system, no handicap
  • EGF rated – class A
  • Time settings: Fischer time 45min + 20sec
  • This tournament is part of the Austrian Championship qualification.

Participation Fee

  • 30€ for players registered until June 9th
  • 20€ for players aged under 18 and above 65
  • +5€ for players registered after June 9th
  • +5€ for players who are not members of any European Go club or association

Registration

Don’t forget to register! See registered players here.

Organization

The responsible organization club is the Go7 Go club.
Main organizer: Mirta Medak
Chief referee: Damir Medak

Three players and two reserves will form the appeals committee at the venue before the start of the tournament.

Four games will be played on an IZIS AI boards and broadcasted live on https://gogameslive.eu/.

Preliminary schedule

Saturday – June 21
8:45 – 9:45 – Registration
10:00 – Opening Ceremony
10:30 – Round 1
14:30 – Round 2
17:30 – Round 3

Sunday – June 22
10:00 – Round 4
14:00 – Round 5
17:00 – Prizegiving

The schedule is subject to change.

On Friday, June 20, our Go club in Lerchenfelderstraße 97 will be open from 18:00 for all players who want to play some fun free games before the serious ones!

Prizes – updated!

11st to 8th place400, 300, 200, 100, 100, 50, 50, 50 EUR
2Top 5 EGF players (cumulative with 1)600, 400, 300, 200, 100 EUR
3Best woman50 EUR
4Best U1850 EUR
54 and 5 winsMaterial prizes
6Top 3 U18 and U12 Material prizes
Top 5 EGF players prizes are cumulative with prizes for 1st-8th place. Other prizes are not cumulative.

The organizer reserves the right to change the prize distribution if needed.

  • The best placed EGF player gets a seat in Grand Prix Finals.
  • The first five EGF players get Grand Prix bonus points: 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point respectively.

Thanks to our sponsor: Lanke Quzhou!

Venue

The address is Universitätsring 1, 1010, Vienna. This is the main building of the University of Vienna, 10 minutes walk towards the city center from the initially announced venue (the Campus). The tournament takes place in the Main Ceremonial Hall (Großer Festsaal), and the Hogwarts-vibe University hallway next to the room. Google maps

Image from University of Vienna

The main building of the University is situated on Vienna’s Ring, practically in the city center. Many famous sightseeing points of Vienna are within a walking distance (Rathaus, Volksgarten, Museum Quartier…). The University building is an attraction itself, but there are no tourists on weekends.
The U2 station Schottentor is right in front of the building, as well as trams lines 1, 71, D, and U2Z. You can find many other tram lines nearby.

Small Ceremonial Hall – ceremony and rest area – Image from University of Vienna

The venue could not be obtained without the help of the Confucius Institute of Vienna. Many, many thanks!

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Contact

medak.mirta at gmail.com