May 22, 2026 — An exciting new chapter in American Go has officially begun with the launch of the NextMove Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Albert Yen, Jamie Tang, and Cheuk To Tsui to support long-term growth of the game through tournaments, education, and player development in the Midwest and beyond. What is NextMove Foundation? NextMove Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Its mission is to promote, teach, and support the game of Go while strengthening the communities built around it. The organization formalizes years of Evanston Go Club’s Chicago-area tournament work under a long-term structure. “Our work in Chicago tournaments builds on the shoulders of giants,” Yen said. The foundation distinguishes itself from weekly club play by focusing on large-scale initiatives. “In the near term, we aim to continue developing the biannual Chicago Open and Rapid Championships into flagship national events, creating greater access to top-level Go festivals for players across the Midwest,” he said. NextMove hopes to become a platform to sponsor, share, and publicize high-quality educational resources and tools developed independently within the community. Longer term, it hopes to expand its organizational capacity, including the possibility of one day operating a dedicated Go center modeled after the National Go Center in Washington. “As the name NextMove Foundation suggests, we are guided by the belief that each next move builds on the last,” Yen said. Why it was created For years, major Chicago tournaments relied on club-based efforts. As participation expanded, so did the need for broader infrastructure including sponsorship capability, financial transparency, and long-term reinvestment. The founders created NextMove Foundation to meet that need. Jamie Tang said her experience as a high school player shaped the vision behind the organization. “I first joined the Evanston Go Club team during high school after meeting Albert and Cheuk at the 2022 Go Congress. I soon realized that Go brings together people from all walks of life,” Tang said. She said players regularly traveled from more than a dozen states, and sometimes internationally, to compete. For Tang, the nonprofit structure represents something more than event management. “NextMove Foundation represents my hope for a vibrant North American Go community built on genuine friendship, mutual growth, respect, trust and joy,” she said. Current Projects One of the Foundation’s first major initiatives is serving as the official host of all future Chicago Opens and Rapids. The 2026 Chicago Open will be held this upcoming Memorial Weekend with 100 players registered, continuing the event’s growth as one of the country’s major Go tournaments. NextMove has also secured the Holiday Inn venue for the 2026 Chicago Rapid on October 24, 2026, marking one of its first major initiatives as a 501(c)(3) organization. In addition to tournament hosting, the foundation has launched a new website, designed by Jason Cheng, linked here. “The process of building the website took a lot of problem-solving and creativity, but being able to create something that helps support the organization and seeing people actually use it made all the effort worth it,” Cheng said. The foundation also introduced a new logo designed by Zixuan Gao. “This logo aims to capture our dedication to promoting our love of Go to a broader audience,” Gao said. “The vivid pink-blue gradient represents our creativity while reflecting a sense of flow, which mirrors the continuous nature of the game.” Looking Ahead Beyond hosting events, the Foundation is developing several forward-looking initiatives: Champion Sponsorship Program: A Midwest-focused sponsorship plan designed to help select players attend Chicago tournaments. The program aims to strengthen the regional competitive ecosystem by supporting travel and registration costs. At least one sponsored spot will be reserved for a first-time player to encourage new participation.Regional Tournament Support: Plans to sponsor select tournaments across the AGA Central Region and ACGL events to foster a stronger interconnected circuit.Publications and Tools: Development of Go-related publications and web-based tools to support players and organizers. Separate announcements detailing these projects will be released soon. Though newly established, NextMove Foundation builds on years of tournament experience and community leadership with a broader, mission-driven effort to grow the game responsibly and sustainably. Additional program announcements and project details will be shared in the coming months. Keep an eye out for the NextMove! Board of Directors Albert Yen - President Jamie Tang - Vice-President, Secretary Cheuk To Tsui - Programs Chair Organizing Team Aaron Czarnecki - Chief Artist Albert Yen - Co-Organizing Director Cheuk To Tsui - Tournament Support Jason Cheng - Website Designer & Manager Jamie Tang - Outreach Director Mark Rubenstein - Senior Advisor Stephanie Tan - Public Relations Manager Zixuan Gao - Digital Media Manager Volunteers Caleb Hansen - Photographer David Schiller - Photographer Gavin Wallace - Photographer, Artist Julia Zhang - Marketing Director
