The 2026 Chicago Rapid Go Championship brought together 95 Go players from across the country for five rounds of competition. For the first time, NextMove Foundation held the Chicago Rapid at the Evanston Holiday Inn, moving the one-day championship from its former location at Immanuel Lutheran Church to the same venue as its sister event, the Chicago Open. Organized by the NextMove Foundation and Evanston Go Club, the tournament welcomed players of all skill levels, from beginners entering their first competition to experienced Dan players competing for the Open Division first-place trophy. This year's tournament was named in honor of Bob Barber, a long-time Chicago Go organizer who directed 80 tournaments over two decades. Barber donated $1,000 to NextMove Foundation which supported the move to the hotel and new initiatives aimed at expanding the Go community. For Barber, the appeal of Go tournaments extends beyond competition. "There's nothing like face-to-face Go," he said. Leading the Open Division, Siyong Zhang 8D claimed the championship his first-ever Go tournament in the United States. Although Zhang previously competed in numerous tournaments in China, the Rapid marked his return to tournament play after a three-year absence. "I'm very lucky to be here," Zhang said. "I'm very lucky to meet all these friends that inspire me to go here." Zhang traveled two and a half hours by car to attend the tournament after being encouraged by friends from his regular Wednesday Go gatherings. Despite his experience, the rapid time controls presented a challenge. "It's very intense," Zhang said. "Because of time limits, we have to manage our time and try to not think too long for one step. It's very challenging both mentally and physically.” After five rounds of competition, Zhang emerged as the Open Division champion, with Yi Wang 5D and Runrui Wang 5D rounding out the top three. Besides winning, Zhang appreciated the opportunity to meet players from different backgrounds, describing the tournament as a valuable opportunity for intercultural exchange. Jeff Kubach saw the tournament as a chance to combine two interests: exploring Chicago and playing Go. Traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, Kubach previously competed in several tournaments across the Southeast, but the Chicago Rapid marked his first tournament outside his home region. "I like Chicago in general," Kubach explained. Having visited the city before, he decided to spend a day sightseeing before turning his attention to the tournament. Compared with the events he attended in Georgia and South Carolina, the Chicago Rapid stood out for its size, formality, and five-round format. "It was a lot of fun. I loved meeting people here," he said. He appreciated the friendliness of his opponents, who were open to discussing their games afterward, regardless of the outcome. Closer to home, Jake Massey 12K returned for his second NextMove tournament. As a member of the University of Chicago Go Club, Massey regularly plays with fellow students, though he often struggles to find opponents of similar strength. "Everyone in the club is…way better than me," Massey said. "It's nice to be able to have a place twice a year where I can play with people at my skill level." While he found the Chicago Rapid more structured than his university club meetings, he appreciated that players could still maintain a relaxed atmosphere. Massey finished second in the 11-12K division, continuing his streak of winning records at Evanston tournaments. Matthew Wang 8K, who has attended at least three Evanston Go Club tournaments, observed that the events continue to attract more participants while maintaining a familiar sense of community. Even as new players join, Wang said, many of the same people return year after year. His favorite part of the tournament was the awards ceremony, an especially fitting answer given that he took home first place in the 7-8K division. Jaden Pan, who has been playing Go for seven years, expressed a similar appreciation for the community. "The people I meet from playing Go and the tournaments hosted by the Evanston Go Club keep me playing," Pan said. Outside the tournament rounds, players also participated in activities, organized by Peter Leung, that brought a lighter side to the day's competition. One activity, Josekle, challenged players to reconstruct the sequence of moves leading to a completed joseki position. Inspired by the popular word game Wordle, the puzzle tested participants' familiarity with Go openings in an unconventional format. Elias O'Malley 1D and Samantha Mougette 5K became the Josekle puzzle winners. Another activity, Crime or Cringe, invited participants to debate hypothetical situations at Go tournaments, ranging from reading a chess strategies book during a Go game to decaffeinating opponents’ coffee. At the dinner party, players collectively ranked the scenarios into four categories: Awesome, Disrespectful, Crime, or Cringe, debating where each scenario belonged on the tier list. Among the first-time attendees at the 2026 Chicago Rapid were Hongkai Pan 1D and Tank Lin 3D, the recipients of the NextMove Foundation's inaugural Midwest Travel Initiative. Hailing from San Francisco, Pan remarked on what stood out to him at the Rapid. “The venue here is very well laid out, and it’s much more organized,” Pan said. “Sometimes, you know, the tournament directors try to play as well, and you can tell they’re stressed. They don’t do that here.” Pan brought an unusual strategy coming into Chicago. “I shifted to playing tengen first as Black a couple months back,” Pan said. “One of the main points is to throw people off.” His preference for unconventional openings comes partly from his experience playing chess. “If you don’t study the opening, you’re just behind,” Pan said of chess. "One of the nice aspects of Go is that there's so many different moves that you can just pick a random move and it's probably going to be okay," he added. Rather than studying traditional theory, Pan enjoys forcing fights. “By forcing the fight, whatever theory people know goes out the window,” Pan said. “Then I don’t need to study theory as much. Just practice reading.” Although the rapid time controls were less suited to his calculation-heavy style, his strategy nevertheless paid off to take home second place in the 1–2D division. Fellow travel recipient Tank Lin 3D traveled from Minnesota for his first tournament outside his home state. Lin appreciated the Chicago Rapid's larger turnout and evenly matched divisions. "In Minnesota, I often need to play against 5-dan people," Lin said. Still, the rapid gameplay proved challenging. Reflecting on his final game, Lin admitted that he could have played more carefully. "For the last game, I maybe need to consider more balancing play," Lin said. Despite finishing with a 1-4 record, Lin enjoyed his first Chicago Rapid. "It's a new experience for me. It's five games in one day," Lin said. "Even though it's a tough day for me, it's still much fun." When asked about his favorite part of the tournament, Lin had a quick answer. "Lunch," he said. "The pork bento is really good." The food was a fan favorite among players of all ages. Zoey and Zenith Zhang 18K, two siblings from Indiana, had plenty to say about the tournament’s Tealicious lunch catering. Zoey enjoyed two bentos while seven-year-old Zenith had both a strawberry smoothie and bubble tea. “Next time, they should combine the smoothie and the boba together,” Zenith suggested to the organizers. The Rapid marked the first tournament for both siblings. Originally registered for the Youth Tournament, Zenith switched to the Main Section after encouragement from Youth Director Xinming (Simon) Guo. Despite the last-minute change, Zenith played confidently, recalling his first game as his favorite moment of the tournament. “My first game, because I captured all the pieces,” he said. Zoey, meanwhile, worried about losing. “I thought I was going to lose all my games,” she admitted. Despite winning two of her first four games, she was even more nervous heading into the final round. “I really want to win my next game to get a trophy,” she said. But their biggest concern was the possibility of being paired against each other. “We'll probably have to play against each other. I'll give you $100 if you let me win,” Zoey offered. “No, I’ll give you all my money if you let me win,” Zenith challenged. Luckily, the siblings managed to avoid facing off and both ended up earning trophies, finishing first and second in the 17–18K division. For Sabrina Zhu 9K, the Rapid marked her first tournament since her return to the game. Zhu first learned Go as a child before eventually stepping away from regular play. “The best I got was, I think, 2-dan,” Zhu recalled. After moving to Chicago, she recently began attending the Lakeview Chicago Go Club. “I’m just picking the game up again,” she said. Returning to Go also came with some unexpected challenges. “Because I learned everything in Chinese, the names of everything are different,” Zhu said. “I have to relearn everything.” Despite her time away from competition, she won her first four games. “The first two were easy wins. The third game was even. The fourth game, I relied on my opponent's blunders,” Zhu said modestly. “I think I just got lucky.” She went on to finish second in the 9–10K division with a 4–1 record. Asked what she enjoyed most about reconnecting with the Go community, Zhu brought up the concept of a “third space.” "It's a really great third space for everyone to have something to do, to meet people in real life outside of work and home," Zhu said. “I like it. I’m going to come next Tuesday.” NextMove Foundation thanks our sponsors Downtown Evanston, Baduk Club, and Bob Barber for his generation donation of $1000 in support of the event. The 2027 Chicago Open is confirmed for Memorial Day weekend, May 29-30, 2027 at the Holiday Inn Chicago North-Evanston. Keep an eye out for registration! For more details, visit our website, Baduk Club page, and news page for future updates. 2026 Chicago Rapid Winners Open Division First: Siyong Zhang 8D Second: Yi Wang 5D Third: Runrui Wang 5D Fourth: Jeremy Chiu 7D Fifth: Kenny Jin 6D Main Division 3-4D: Dino Wang 3D, James Funk 4D 1-2D: Elias O’Malley 1D, Hongkai Pan 1D 1-2K: Kacey Saff 2K, Peter Leung 1K 3-4K: Teng Tu 3K, Hongyang Yu 3K 7-8K: Matthew Wang 8K, Brian Lawrence 7K 9-10K: Daniel Park 10K, Sabrina Zhu 9K 11-12K: Jason Cheng 11K, Jake Massey 12K 15-16K: Jonathan Bickel 15K, Connor Galarneau 16K 17-18K: Zoey Zhang 18K, Zenith Zhang 18K Youth Tournament Winners Organized by Xinming (Simon) Guo Gold: Phillip Zhao, Roberto Coria Silver: Alec Huang, Raymond Zeng Bronze: Dalia Coria “Josekle” Activity Winners Organized by Peter Leung Dan Division: Elias O’Malley 1D Kyu Division: Samantha Mougette 5K Check out the full standings here and photo album here. Board of Directors Albert Yen — President Jamie Tang — Vice President, Secretary Cheuk To Tsui — Programs Chair Organizing Team Aaron Czarnecki — Chief Artist Albert Tang — Reporter Albert Yen — Organizing Director Cheuk To Tsui — Tournament Support Jason Cheng — Website Designer & Manager, Writer Jamie Tang — Outreach Director Mark Rubenstein — Evanston Go Club President Stephanie Tan — Public Relations Manager Zixuan Gao — Digital Media Manager Dino Wang — Video Production Manager Volunteers Hazuki Fujisawa — Accounting Volunteer Caleb Hansen — Photographer David Schiller — Photographer Gavin Wallace — Photographer, Artist Julia Zhang — Marketing Volunteer About NextMove Foundation NextMove Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Its mission is to promote, teach, and support the game of Go. 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.
