The 2023 Chicago Rapid on Nov. 4, 2023, in Evanston, IL. marked the return of Ellie Spohr 1D to competitive play after 13 years. Ellie learned about Go in 2008 from her long-time college friend and fellow anime enthusiast through Hikaru no Go. After watching the anime, Ellie sought online Go servers and resources. One discovery led to another. In 2009, Ellie met her teacher, An Younggil 8P, who had started promoting Go in the West. One day, she spotted Younggil’s biography online. “I noticed that Younggil’s bio had some awkward phrasing, so I offered to rewrite it for him,” she said. “He accepted my offer, and we talked about what changes would be appropriate. I didn’t want to supplant his voice with my own, so I wanted his feedback on each change.” Afterward, Younggil offered to play a teaching game with her, which she “enthusiastically accepted.” Ellie could not afford his lessons, so she continued to self-study, reaching 9 Kyu a few months later. She recommended An Younggil, a “strong player and kind person,” to her friend on the Kiseido Go Server (KGS), who offered to cover her share of taking group lessons with Younggil. By 2010, Ellie surpassed 2 Kyu on KGS. “The original plan was to alternate who would get reviews each week. In practice, one or two people would fail to have a game ready to present to Younggil nearly every week. I mean, I’m not perfect either. I was busy with school after all,” she said. “Nevertheless, I ended up with far more than my fair share of the game reviews by showing up and having at least one game ready more often than the others.” Ellie said she “had everything I needed to improve,” citing how she found interest in the game, an excellent teacher, and friends to share with. Ellie later met an older Korean 7-Dan gentleman on WBaduk. She traded sheets of American stamps with him for Go books from Korea, adding that “he sent more than the equivalent value of stamps in return,” gifting her over 30 Go books. But one day he vanished from WBaduk. Ellie has only ever attended one Go tournament, the 2010 Peoria Go Tournament. “Community is very important,” she said. “Competitive types are largely self-motivated, but they weren’t all there solely for the game. Some of us enjoy improving and playing serious games too, just without that extra time pressure.” Over the years, Ellie felt disconnected from the Go community due to friends drifting away. “I really needed friends to share the game with to stay motivated. It’s just not as fun with total strangers who don’t care about your progress,” Ellie said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Ellie learned that Evanston Go Club President Mark Rubenstein was hosting virtual sessions. “For a brief time, I felt like I had a group of friends online to motivate me again. That’s how I met and played with several new people, including Albert,” Ellie said. Ellie added that she recently started getting to know local players after many years of no over-the-board opponents, including a “terrifying” 10-Kyu player. “I gave him nine stones for the first game, and I think I had a good opportunity to maybe win, but only just maybe. I tossed that chance away and lost that game. After that, we played even,” Ellie said. The player was Jarek Millburg 10K, who attended the 2023 Chicago Rapid. In the summer of 2023, Ellie solved over 4,000 life-and-death problems. “I feel rusty and shaky but encouraged by that,” Ellie said. “I don’t want to lose all of my games at this tournament, but even if that happens I have what I need to move forward again. Most of the work this summer was just recovering lost reading strength.” Ellie ended the 2023 Chicago Rapid with a 3-2 record. Despite not placing, she said she takes pride in defeating the 1K to 2K division champions Nathan Chan 1K and Devin Fraze 1K. “I didn’t win a division prize but scored second highest among 1 Dan players and gave the top players in the rank band below mine their only losses,” she said. Ellie looks forward to competing in more tournaments and reaching more milestones. “I started this game when I was 19, and I turned 34 this year. I want to provide another confirmed data point for those hoping to advance to at least mid-Dan past teen years,” she said.
