Well, I'll be playing in the Dutch Championship this weekend, as well as in two weeks (It's eight rounds Swiss, four rounds per weekend at 90 minutes + 30s byoyomi). The playing field is really tough this year. I've made it into a poll, for those who want to have a go at predicting the winner.

There are 16 participants, but since I can only include 15 poll options, I've left the weakest player off (Siu Hong Chung: 3d, 2269). Sorry

The rating mentioned for each player is their peak EGF rating over the past year.

The top 5 players on the list have all won the Championship at least once already, as has Robert Rehm (in 1977). Peter Brouwer tied for first place last year and lost the play-off. So personally, I think that roughly the top 7 have a somewhat realistic chance of winning the title, the rest are outsiders at best.

Players who are not in contention (anymore) do still have something to play for, because those who score at least 4 points are automatically qualified to play again next year, while those who score less than 4 are relegated back to the qualifier tournament (usually 5-6 players score less than 4).

Games will be broadcast by EuroGoTV (live stream and KGS).

Semi live results will be posted at: http://nkgo.octalo.com/node/78

Wish me luck

Dude! Bastard...for leaving me out of the poll

Unfortunately, with the exception of yourself and Merlijn Kuin, I must confess myself ignorant of the scene... and find myself voting for the person with the most excellent name... there are just too many choices, fantastic language.

How's the matchup at the top? Who's weak against whom?

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Tactics yes, Tact no...

Well, good luck Herman, you naturally have my vote!

I've heard of around half of the names there, but interestingly not of Gilles van Eeden - is he a young meteoric riser or just a victim of my head-in-the-sand-ness?

Well I vote for Siu Hong Chung aka Bosui. We underdogs must stick together

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While I was teaching the game to a friend of mine, my mother from the other room:
"Cutting? Killing? Poking out eyes? What the hell are you playing?"

Neither! I never heard of him either until last year: he used to be one of the strongest Dutch players, then he quit, and now he's back again and won the qualification tournament with 8 wins out of 8 games...

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My name is Gijs, from Utrecht, NL.

When in doubt, play the most aggressive move

Some background info one a few of the players:

Gilles van Eeden: Dark horse candidate. He has been inactive for close to 10 years. He won the championship in 1995, just after Ronald Schlemper (7d) had moved to Japan. From 1996 onward Guo Juan (5p) was eligible to play and won 7 years straight (once after a play-off against Gilles, which she won 2-1). So the big question here is what level Gilles can currently play at.

Geert Groenen: Reigning Champion after winning for the first time in 2010. Before that, he scored 2nd place very often, behind Guo Juan and behind others. Finally winning may have made him less nervous about it, but title defense can be stressful. Still, the man to beat.

Merlijn Kuin: The up and coming player from a few years ago. He won three times in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Did not do well last year, which probably has something to do with the stress and lack of time surrounding finishing college and starting on a new job.

Frank Janssen: Long time contender. First won it in 1989 and 1991, and most recently in 2005 and 2006. Always a contender, but sometimes vulnerable to getting too nonchalant and making blunders when leading.

Emil Nijhuis: Won it in 2003 and 2004, when Guo Juan stopped playing and his insei training was still fresh in his memory. Not very active in tournaments currently, so perhaps he lacks a bit of rhythm.

Michiel Eijkhout: Never won the championship yet. Although currently weakest of the participating 6 dan, he's plenty strong enough to beat any of them, and has even beaten Guo Juan in the past.

Peter Brouwer: Another up and coming player, likely to make 6d soon. He was has a dual Dutch/Danish passport and was Danish Champion in 2003, earning him a place iun the 2004 WAGC. Scored 7/8 last year to tie with Geert, then lost the play-off 2-1. Plays on KGS as danoontje.

Filip Vanderstappen, Willem-Koen Pomstra, Robert Rehm, Rudi Verhagen (the other 5 dans): All established names. Strong enough to win against the 6 dan, but outsiders for the title. Robert won it in 1977 and played in the 1981 WAGC. With the points system, Filip would have represented at the 2009 WAGC if he had a Dutch passport.

Bram Koster, Alexander Eerbeek: Up and coming younger players. Not strong enough yet, probably, but they may be strong contenders in the future.

Andreas Drost, Herman Hiddema: Strong 4 dan, but too old to really be considered "up and coming" anymore

Siu Hong Chung: The only 3 dan this year. Although definitely the weakest participant, he is also up and coming. He first qualified for the Dutch Championship 2008 as a 1st kyu, which was an exceptional feat (first time in 20 years or so that a kyu player qualified).

Well, so far so good, I won the first round

If I'm not mistaken Peter Brouwer is the popular KGS player Danoontje.

For which opponent are you going to vote now
(and what if you win against him, all conttenders are male)

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Promotor and Librarian of Sensei's Library

herman hiddema begun his first round with a win but ended today with a loss so 1-1 for our forum favorite:)

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admin of the ASR league and KGS admin

Well damn

I had a really good game against Peter Brouwer, I was ahead after the opening, but I kept attacking too long and managed to get myself cut to pieces :-/

Oh well, still not a bad first day. Peter is a strong contender for the title, so I'm happy I made it difficult for him.

Reigning champion Geert Groenen managed to blunder away his game against Siu in the endgame, so he's lost his title already, I guess.

Well that was depressing

I was way ahead, by ~30 points, then fell asleep in the endgame and made a series of huge blunders to lose by 9.5

Stupid game

no biggie herman, just go get them now! were thumbing for you (lol @ dutch direct translation)

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admin of the ASR league and KGS admin

Where is Guo Juan? Do you have any cash prizes this year?

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Go lessons: http://breakfast.go4go.net/
Russian Go news: https://vk.com/go_secrets/

Guo Juan hasn't been playing the Dutch Championship since 2002. There is usually no cash prize, or only a small one, as the Dutch Go Association considers the glory aspect of the title more important. Guo Juan prefers to play in events with larger prizes or to spend her time teaching. As a professional, the income aspect is more important to her than the glory aspect of the title, especially since she's already won it all 7 times she participated.

I voted for Frank Janssen, but only because i did beat him a couple of times on 7x7

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Promotor and Librarian of Sensei's Library

Fantastic. I stop playing 19x19 and join the 7*7 forum.

Well, it's over. But it's not over yet.

Both Merlijn Kuin and Peter Brouwer scored 7/8, so they will play a best of three play-off somewhere in February.

Of the 15 players in the poll I managed to garner the most votes, but the lowest score. I won only 2 games and finished 15th, ahead of only Siu Hong Chung, who sadly remained at 1 point.

Still, 2/8 is not a particularly bad performance for me. I scored 100% against 3 dan, 50% against 4 dan, and 0% against 5 dan and 6 dan.
I won against all opponents that had a lower rating, and lost only against opponents with a higher rating.

It's back to the qualifiers (in October) for me, where we will be playing for 7 spots (7 players scored less than 4 this time, so were relegated to the qualifiers). That event will be heavy going also. If the active strong players all participate, there will be two 6 dans, three 5 dans, and around ten 4 dans.

Good luck again Herman, and congrats on the wins you did get