"China Ambassador Cup Go Tournament-2026" was held in Moscow

China News Service, Moscow, September 29 (Reporter Tian Bing) The "China Ambassador Cup Go Tournament-2026" was successfully held in Moscow, the capital of Russia, from September 26 to 27, attracting more than 400 players from 45 cities across Russia. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, First Vice Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council Denisov, and Chairman of the Russian Go Association Volkov attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

From September 26th to 27th, local time, the "China Ambassador Cup Go Tournament-2026" was held in Moscow, attracting more than 400 chess players from 45 cities across Russia. Pictured is the match scene. Photo by Tian Bing

Zhang Hanhui said in his speech that with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Russia, the event has been held for 8 consecutive years, and its influence has expanded year by year. It is particularly worth mentioning that this year, the "Consul General Cup" Go tournament was successfully held in six cities across Russia with Chinese Consulate Generals. The embassy is willing to work with all walks of life in Russia to continue to make friends through chess and people through culture, so as to consolidate the social foundation of the ever-lasting friendship between the two countries.

Volkov and other Russian guests expressed their gratitude to the Chinese Embassy in Russia for supporting the event and believed that more Russian people would gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through the game of Go.

From September 26th to 27th, local time, the "China Ambassador Cup Go Tournament-2026" was held in Moscow, attracting more than 400 chess players from 45 cities across Russia. Pictured is the match scene. Photo by Tian Bing

After two days of fierce competition, three players, Mejin, Sangin and Vyacheslav, occupied the top three positions in the overall rankings. Moscow primary school student Griffey Oktistov won the championship in the men's under-16 category.

As supporting activities for the competition, a series of Chinese culture master classes in martial arts, tea art, calligraphy, Chinese painting, etc. were also held on site, which were welcomed by the contestants.

The "Chinese Ambassador Cup" Go tournament was held five times from 1997 to 2005. After its resumption in 2018, its influence continued to expand, and the number of participants increased year by year. It has now become the largest and highest-level Go event in Russia, and is included in the official competition schedule of the Russian Ministry of Sports.