This year I had the luck of taking part in the Iberoamerican Go Tournament in Costa Rica.
It was really interesting to see a non-European Go tournament. Most European ones are too similar, only with the difference of the place. Sometimes one tournament surprises you with side events, or funny details that induce you to think about coming again next year. But the way the pairings is done, the time for each round, and most things are exactly the same, despite the tournament is in Lisbon or Helsinki.
In Costa Rica I saw a different tournament. Some points were incredible, like the amount of personal details… they really take care of each one of the players. Other stuff, like the problems with the different ranks, were a bit disappointing. Anyway the best part of travelling is to notice the different things that work in other places. I’ve written down quite a lot of ideas.