Evanston, Illinois - March 1, 2026: For the fourth year in a row, the 2026 Chicago Open returns to the Evanston Holiday Inn for the Memorial Day weekend classic on May 23-24, 2026! With seven AGA-rated games over two days, this event offers the most intense Go experience in a weekend for players of all levels. Register here to join the largest weekend Go tournament in the U.S. A New Chapter: NextMove Foundation In an exciting shift, the Chicago Open and Rapid will now be hosted by our nonprofit NextMove Foundation in partnership with Evanston Go Club. Recently established as an Illinois nonprofit, our new organization is dedicated to promoting Go in the Midwest and beyond. Keep an eye out for more details. Venue Like previous years, we partnered with Evanston Holiday Inn to offer discounted accommodations and parking for all tournament participants. Meals Players can order lunch and dinner with us. Lunch on both days will be provided by Tealicious Bubble Tea, consisting of a bento and a drink. Dinner will be a Mediterranean buffet. Both lunch and dinner are vegetarian-friendly. Early Bird Registration Fee ($10 off until May 3rd) Open Division (5D+): $85Main (18K-4D): $65Youth Beginner Section: Free! (Saturday only) Discounts (stackable) Groups of 5+: $5 offReturn players from 2025 Chicago Open or Rapid or 2026 Midwest Open: $5 offYouth players (under 18): $5 off For more details, visit our registration form, Baduk Club page, and news page to stay tuned for updates. Thanks to our sponsors Downtown Evanston, Baduk Club, Go Magic, OGS, and Yellow Mountain Imports for making this event possible. Additionally, we would like to thank Matthew Harwit, founder of PlayGo.gg, for his generous support. We encourage readers to check out PlayGo.gg, a new platform for playing and learning Go. Organizing Team Aaron Czarnecki - Chief Artist Xinming Guo - Youth Director Mark Rubenstein - President of Evanston Go Club, Tournament Director Qi-Mei Jamie Tang - Outreach Director Cheuk To Tsui - Tournament Support Albert Yen - President of NextMove Foundation, Organizing Director, Tournament Director Media Team Jason Cheng - Writing Zixuan Gao - Design Peter Leung - Trivia Night Kartik Saraf - Writing Stephanie Tan - Writing Julia Zhang - Social Media About NextMove Foundation NextMove Foundation is a 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 biannual Chicago Rapid and Chicago Open Championships have grown into one of the largest and most celebrated Go tournaments in North America, drawing players from across the country. Check out last year’s Chicago Rapid photo album here.
