Feb 3 ( Feb 4 in China) is one day away from the Lunar New Year’s eve. On that date, about 40 people, including three players from Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin, participated in the “Welcome Spring” Cup, a brand new tournament in Chicago. The event was hosted by Consulate General of China in Chicago, and organized by the Go and Math Academy, Evanston Go Club, Confucius Institute in Chicago, and the 
US-China Cultural Association.
Acting Consul General Liu Jun welcomed all players with a Lunar New Year greeting. The first “Welcome Spring” Cup brings together go lovers from diverse communities and backgrounds. But beyond competition, it is also a great opportunity for players to make friends and promote understanding through the game. “This year marks as the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations. I hope this event will not only help build stronger friendship among people, but also strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries,” said Mr. Liu who also participated in the tournament as a 1D player.
This event is a handicap tournament with four divisions, including a youth division. About two-thirds of the participants were casual local players who had never played in tournament in the Chicago area. “It’s really encouraging to see so many new go players from the Great Chicago area come out of hiding to attend this event.” said Tournament Director Xinming Simon Guo, the founder of Go and Math Academy.
Final result:
A Division #1 Yang, Hong 1D 3-1
A Division #2 Amesbury, Jing 5D 3-1
A Division #3 Yang, Yang 4D 2-2
B Division #1 He, Joseph 1D 3-1
B Division #2 Sun, Yingjie 1D 3-1
B Division #3 Collins, Nick 3K 3-1
C Division #1 Kaiser, Mike 8K 4-0
C Division #2 Graper, David 9K 4-0
C Division #3 Tan, Stephanie 5K 3-1
Youth Division #1 Zhang, Sean 4-0
Youth Division #2 Pan, Jaden 2-2
photos: (top right) Acting Consul General Liu Jun 1D (second from the left) with division winners Hong Yang 1D, Mike Kaiser 8K and Joseph He 1D; (bottom right): Jane Lu (Director of Confucius Institute in Chicago) and youth division winner Sean Zhang
report/photos by Xinming (Simon) Guo
