The Singapore Weiqi Association is a Go association in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it aims to promote the game of Go in Singapore and improve the skills of local Go players.[1] To achieve its objective, professional players from China are hired to conduct lessons, and tournaments are regularly organized. Amateur players in Singapore can have their rank assessed by the association; it awards rank diplomas up to 6 dan. For international exposure and networking, the association sends players to participate in international competitions such as World Amateur Go Championship[2] [3] [4] [5] and World Youth Go Championship.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Currently, the association has two clubhouses: the main clubhouse in Bishan and the city clubhouse in Bugis.
The current chairman is Kwa Kim Chiong . The association was founded in 1981, then activities took place at the Ulu Pandan Community Center. For a number of years, the Singapore Weiqi Association received support from the Ing Foundation.
The Singapore Weiqi Association has successfully hosted several inter-country tournaments and organized visits from many Go professionals from China, Japan and Korea. Recently, it hosted the Asian qualifying tournament for the Toyota/Denso Oza Championship. It also organized the Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand Weiqi Friendship Tournament in 2006. In 1989 and 1999, the World Youth Go Championship was also hosted in Singapore,[13] which was notable at that period of time. Domestically, the Association also organizes a number of local tournaments and competitions. It sends about 5 to 10 representatives to overseas tournaments each year.
A key activity of the Association is to provide Go training to the public.[1] Today, it trains more than 3,000 students yearly at its clubhouses and at various schools.[1] It also supports Go training classes at about 20 local schools and institutions.