Evanston, Illinois - June 1, 2024: Haoran Wang 7D secured the championship among 117 players at the Evanston Go Club’s 2024 Chicago Open Championship held during Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-26. The event marks Evanston Go Club’s third consecutive event attracting over 100 players across 15 states. “The Chicago Open is always on my calendar," Wang said. "The tournament schedule is nicely packed, and it attracts a lot of famous players." Wang said the three rounds on Day 2 were challenging. “I was playing with under a minute for most of the three games played, and I had to count on my muscle memory in every calculation,” Wang said. “Games have been very hotblooded when you constantly race to play before the buzzer and often lead to scenarios like ‘I feel like I’m behind, therefore I must gain on every front to equalize,’ as in the case of round 5 against .” Xingke Sun 7D, the winner of the 2023 Chicago Rapid Championship in November, claimed second place. Jeremiah “Jae” Donley 5D clinched third place in his first podium finish at an Evanston Go Club event. “I had zero expectations going into the tournament,” Donley said. “I didn't want to be stressed out. The only push I did was to not give up and stay true to my reading. Donley said the tournament was a “blast,” attributing its success to planning. “The Chicago Open has been built on previous year's experiences, and I think it'll be hard to beat going forward!” Donley said. “Albert, Sungsoo, and Jamie did a phenomenal job bringing a world-class professional, providing services and running a well-organized event. The amount of detail is no joke.” TelegraphGo 5D finished in 4th, Dexin Zang 6D in 5th and Bowei Xu 6D in 6th. Dexin Zang 6D was crowned as the 2024 Illinois state champion. The Open top three winners, all tied with a 5-1 record, received $700, $500, and $450 respectively in cash prizes sponsored by CMT Digital. This sponsorship from CMT Digital, the leading Chicago-based investment firm specializing in blockchain technology and digital asset ventures, marks the first-ever corporate sponsorship for Evanston Go Club. For details on CMT Digital, visit their website and X page. Other partners and sponsors included the American Go Association, American Go Foundation, American Yunguseng Dojang, BadukClub, Go Magic, Online Go Server, Tsumego Dragon and Yellow Mountain Imports. Kyu division champions received vouchers from online service BadukClub, interactive education platform Go Magic, Online Go Server and portable magnetic Go sets from Yellow Mountain Imports. Meals were catered by Tealicious Bubble Tea, Pita Inn and Reza’s Restaurant, with refreshments from Bennison’s Bakery, Korean snacks and Ito En tea. 2024 Chicago Open Main Section Winners 3 - 4D: Stephanie Tan 3D, James Lou 4D1 - 2D: Anthony Zuo 1D, An Yen 1D1 - 2K: Mike Neighbauer 1K, David Frankel 1K3 - 4K: Huanzhou Yang 3K, Kacey Saff 3K5 - 6K: Jarek D. Millburg 5K, Jinyang Li 5K7 - 8K: Jeffrey Jiao 7K, Bowen Yan 7K9 - 10K: Huilin Heath 9K, Bryce Snyder 10K11 - 12K: Christopher Turnbow 11K, Samantha Short 11K13 - 14K: Zhiren Wang 13K, Jonathan Bickel 14K15 - 16K: Joseph Spennichia 15K, Robert Pociask 16K17 - 18K: Jim McAdams 17K, Truman Moss 18K Despite the absence of two core organizers, Evanston Go Club president Mark Rubenstein and tournament director Cheuk To Tsui, due to family responsibilities, the event ran smoothly. “We learned from previous organizing efforts. We take serious time to reflect and debrief what worked and what we can improve for next time,” Yen said. “While it was certainly a challenge to run a big tournament with only one non-player organizer, we have built up a very efficient infrastructure to run the tournament.” The 2024 Chicago Open explored new initiatives, including hosting world champion Kim Jiseok 9P, establishing a volunteer-based media team and expanding the equipment sale. Kim Jiseok 9P offered lectures, game reviews and a Q&A session to players. His light-hearted humor shined through in translations provided by interpreter Moon Ki Cho 5K and pro coordinator Sungsoo Kim 5D, both long-time members of Evanston Go Club. In the opening ceremony, after catching that the farthest traveled 2024 Chicago Open player drove over 20 hours from Seattle, Kim Jiseok 9P added that he came from South Korea. “For non-competition events, the lectures and reviews by Kim Jiseok have been fantastic,” said champion Haoran Wang 7D. “Besides here, I would never have such an opportunity to learn from his understanding of the game. He is so nice and patient to answer my naïve questions and let me explain my thoughts before pointing out I’m wrong from the beginning. To me, this is the top attraction for the future Chicago Opens, and I would definitely recommend it to my friends.” The Evanston Go Club is thrilled with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host a world champion. The expanded equipment sale offered merchandise from various vendors, including Xinming Guo’s Go and Math Academy and the Iowa Go Society led by Jacob Upland. The sale featured exclusive fans with Illinois-themed tsumegos designed and signed by Kim Jiseok 9P, which will be available for $25 each while supplies last during the 2024 U.S. Go Congress. “I would like to thank Tianwei Xu and Camille Saucier, who stepped up and did everything they could to make sure the tournament ran smoothly,” Yen said. “Our tournament could only be so successful because of them and other family members of players who helped out.” The volunteer-based media team contributed articles, photos, and streaming services, enhancing the experience of the event. Visit Kartik Saraf’s article here and TelegraphGo’s recap video on his YouTube channel here. Aaron Czarnecki, the Evanston Go Club’s chief artist, redesigned name tags with a QR code for easy access to the live schedule, pairings, and standings. His design reduced administrative time by several minutes each round. “All it takes is a few passionate players and a supportive club,” Yen said. “It’s very rewarding to see local players come together for a tournament. I encourage more club leaders to organize tournaments, whether big or small.” We invite everyone to see the full 2024 Chicago Open standings here and photo album here. Organizing Team Moon Ki Cho - InterpreterAaron Czarnecki - Chief ArtistXinming Guo - Youth DirectorSungsoo Kim - Pro CoordinatorMark Rubenstein - PresidentQi-Mei Jamie Tang - Outreach DirectorCheuk To Tsui - Tournament SupportAlbert Yen - Tournament Director Media Team Nicole Chen - ReporterJason Cheng - ReporterKarl Diedrich - PhotographerJae Donley - StreamerCaleb Hansen - PhotographerKartik Saraf - ReporterTelegraphGo - StreamerJulia Zhang - Instagram Volunteers Athena Barrett - LunchManny Jauregui - TrophiesEvan Lerner - LunchGreg Moorcroft - TrophiesCamille Saucier - EverythingXiuwen Wu - YouthTianwei Xu - Youth CiCi Zhang - Lunch About Evanston Go Club The Evanston Go Club, co-founded by Mark Rubenstein and David Whiteside in 1996, is the Midwest's largest American Go Association chapter. Our mission is to provide a place open to the public for people to play, learn or just watch the game of Go. Our organizing committee organizes biannual tournaments, the Chicago Open in May and Chicago Rapid in November. Visit our website here. In the 5-6 Kyu division, Jarek D. Millburg 5K emerged victorious with a 5-1 record, improving his AGA rating from 10K to 4K following the event. Millburg said he started with a “slow start” in Round 1 but managed to bounce back. “That second day is where I feel I really showed my ability to play solid moves when I was uncertain and make a fight when I felt I was behind,” Millburg said. “I feel much more confident now in my ability as a player. I have gotten over a huge wall that was in front of me.”
