There is? I didn't see this stated anywhere in the 2021 rules but if it's true then it seems a bit counterproductive.

I've always found having a token woman just for the sake of having a token woman more insulting and patronising than inspiring but maybe that's just me. I'd prefer it if the organizers put more effort into convincing some of the 6d+ female players to participate but then again, I'm also generally not a fan of such preferential treatment.

Either way, the online nature of this tournament may have swayed some players' decision just as some would not have been able to participate if the championship were an in-person tournament.

Sorry, I was confused about what it said regarding monitors for the semi-finals.

Did anyone notice that the crowdfunding for the prize pot is offering heaps of subscriptions and other stuff in exchange for small donations?

The European Go Championship fundraising is now supported by European Go Journal, AI Sensei, and Go Magic!

For a small donation, you can get valuable rewards - make sure to check the EGF's crowdfunding campaign.

Ilya Shikshin 4p Wins Eighth European Championship: a report on the European Championship 2021, written by Artem Kachanovskyi and Jean-Yves Papazoglou

https://eurogojournal.com/blog/european ... nship-2021

I watched game 2 and the live commentary by Lisy and Le Calvé and I must say I can see the benefit of having a pro system in Europe.

So if we ignore 1) real world versus online and 2) Europe plus EGF member countries versus only EGF member countries, Ilya Shikshin ties with the record holder Jürgen Mattern of having won 8 titles.