Tournament Preview + Player Spotlight
Six of the strongest Go professionals in North America will face off this week in Washington, DC, competing for $20,000 in prizes at the North American Pro Championships. The tournament will run Thursday through Saturday at the National Go Center, with matches held daily at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Spectators are welcome to attend in person at the NGC, and the games will be livestreamed via the American Go Association’s YouTube and Twitch channels, complete with nightly recap shows.
This elite event, organized by the North American Go Foundation (NAGF) and the NGC, features a lineup of seasoned veterans and rising stars: Ryan Li, Henry Yu, Michael Chen, Yoonyoung Kim, Bill Lin, and Alexander Qi. In Part 1 of our player preview, we spotlight three of these top contenders:
Michael Chen
Michael brings both experience and energy to the board. A longtime standout in North American Go, he made waves by becoming the youngest player to win the North America Ing Cup at the U.S. Go Congress. In 2014, he made it to the Round of 32 at the Samsung Cup, a major international tournament, after winning the World Division preliminary.
Chen's most recent milestone came in 2023, when he earned professional status at age 34—making him the oldest player ever certified as a North American professional. Off the board, he’s a popular Go content creator, streaming on both YouTube and Twitch.
Yoonyoung Kim
A professional 8-dan originally from South Korea, Yoonyoung brings a wealth of international experience. She turned pro in 2007, won gold at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and held national titles such as the Women’s Kiseong. Kim was part of the Korean national team from 2015–2017.
She moved to Canada in 2017 to help promote Go and returned again in 2024 after several successful years competing in Korea, including a win in the 2022 Women’s Baduk League. Now balancing teaching with motherhood, Kim continues to elevate Go in North America through lessons, workshops, and educational outreach.
Ryan Li
Currently a 4-dan professional with the NAGF, Ryan became a professional in 2014 and has steadily risen through the international Go ranks. His standout performance at the 2017 MLILY Cup, where he reached the top 16, placed him on the global stage. He also won the 1st and 2nd Transatlantic Professional Go League titles and is the defending North American Pro Championship titleholder.
In addition to his Go accomplishments, Ryan holds a PhD from Yale in atmospheric science and has published research in Nature. He now works in New York as a Machine Learning Engineer at Amazon, blending intellectual rigor on and off the Go board.
Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow, where we’ll introduce Bill Lin, Alexander Qi, and Henry Yu, rounding out the formidable field competing for the North American Pro Championship title!