A few weeks ago I was in France to attend the 6th International Go Tournament of Lyon. At the same venue it also took place the 2010 European Women's Championship.

  There were a few things that caught my attention during the event. 

  The French Baduk scene has quite a few Chinese players that are permanent residents of France. Fan Hui, a Chinese 2nd Dan professional has been living and teaching  Baduk in France for many years now.  I'm sure this influx of Chinese players in France has caused an impact on the overall strength of the French players.

  While watching the European Women's Championship I noticed the disparity in strength level of the players. While some countries like Russia and Germany have high Dan players, some countries don't even have Dan players yet. Maybe in 5 or 10 years this disparity in strength will decrease. And it will make for a more interesting tournament. As a special note I would like to mention England's representative. She's quite young and 5th Dan already. She has recently been in Korea to study Baduk. Perhaps later on she will be a force to be reckon with.

  Unfortunately the tournament was held during the French strike. It caused many problems for the players. Since the tournament place was rather far, and there were not many trains available. Some of the players had to be picked up on different cities by the organizers. White it was a hassle thanks to the great staff of the tournament it didn't turn out into a huge problem.

  Overall it was a great experience.  This was my last tournament in Europe for the foreseeable future. I had a great time in Europe and I'm grateful for all the people who helped me.

  Thank you all!!