Professionals and special guests

Michael Redmond 9P is a pioneering figure in Western Go and the first Western player to qualify as a pro through the Nihon Kiin’s competitive examination system.  Born in 1963 in Santa Barbara, California, he moved to Japan as a teenager to study Go, entering the Nihon Kiin insei system in 1977. In 1981, at the age of 18, he qualified as a Nihon Kiin professional and later advanced to 9-dan, the highest rank in professional Go.

Redmond has competed for decades in top-level Japanese tournaments and continues to take part in professional competition. Alongside his playing career, he has been deeply involved in teaching, writing, and the promotion of Go, contributing to its transmission beyond East Asia.

He is widely known to international audiences as the English-language commentator for the historic 2016 AlphaGo–Lee Sedol match, where his analysis helped guide millions through the games and their broader implications for Go and artificial intelligence. For decades, he has played a key role in connecting professional Go culture in Asia with the international Go community.

Yeonwoo (Cho Yeonwoo) is a professional 2p Go player, Go content creator, and running Go Academy.

She began playing Go at the age of nine and became a professional after years of intensive training in Korea’s insei system. She has become one of the most influential Go communicators worldwide through her widely followed YouTube channel, which has over 210,000 subscribers.

Yeonwoo is known for making Go accessible, and engaging. She runs Yeonwoo’s Go Academy, an online Go school offering structured courses for players of all levels, and regularly conducts Go workshops for major corporations including Hyundai and ASML. She has appeared on Baduk TV and various broadcast programs, and was also a cast member of Netflix’s Devil’s Plan.

Feng Yun is a professional weiqi (a.k.a. go) player. She is one of only a very few women ever to earn a professional 9 dan rank, the highest possible, in competition with both men and women, and was a member of the China National Weiqi Team for two decades. Feng Yun was women’s world champion in 1995, and has won national championships in China and in the United States.

Feng Yun started learning go in the Henan province of China when she was 9 years old, and became a professional player in 1979 at the age of 13. She was selected for the China National Weiqi Team in 1982, and retired from the National Team only after emigrating to the United States.

Since 2002, Feng Yun has taught thousands of students, at all levels, in the United States.

Yoonyoung Kim is a professional 8-dan Go player from South Korea. She became a professional in 2007 and was a member of the Korean national team from 2015 to 2017. She won a gold medal in the Women’s Team Event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and claimed her first title in the Women’s Kiseong tournament the same year.

In 2017 she moved to Canada to promote Go and participated in major North American events, including the 2018 and 2019 US Go Congress and the Canadian Open. After three years, she returned to Korea in early 2021. During her time in Korea, she won the 2022 Women’s Baduk League and was the runner-up in the Nanseolheon Cup.

After three years in Korea, she returned to Canada in the summer of 2024 with her two children. Now, while raising her kids, she continues to teach Go through private lessons, workshops, and educational programs.

Website: https://yybaduk.mozello.com

Qun Wang 8P is a renowned Chinese Go master whose career spans more than four decades. He first rose to international prominence by winning the 1984 World Amateur Go Championship, representing China in one of the world’s premier amateur competitions before later becoming an 8-dan professional. Over the years, he has competed, taught, and promoted Go both in China and abroad, sharing his expertise with generations of players.

Widely respected for his depth of knowledge and dedication to the game, Wang continues to be an ambassador for Go and an inspiration within the global Go community. 

1990: Turned Professional
1994: Second place, Bohae Cup World Women’s Championship
1995: Champion, Women’s Kuksu Tournament
2010: Taught at Budapest Go School
2012: Promoted Go in Buenos Aires
2017: Champions as Head Coach, Korean Women’s Baduk League
2026: Go Instructor for Elementary Students at an International School

Hai Li, is a 5-dan pro player originally from China. He has focused on teaching Go for almost 40 years. His students include the world Champion Yue Shi (9 dan) and dozens of pros.  He served as the Henan Province and Tianjin Weiqi team coach from 1986. In 2005, he founded the Jin Hai Weiqi Academy in Tianjin, China. 

In 2018, he moved to Orange County, CA, USA. He founded the Hai Li Go School to offer Go lessons and organize Go tournaments in the local area. Since then, he has been actively teaching Go and his students have spread to many US states.

Ryan Li is a professional 4 dan Go player representing the North American Go Federation.

After becoming professional in 2014, he achieved 3 dan in 2020 and 4 dan in 2022. A standout moment in his Go career came at the 2017 MLILY Cup World Professional Tournament, where he defeated three-time world champion Chen Yaoye 9p and advanced to the top 16. Ryan is also the back-to-back champion of the 1st and 2nd Transatlantic Professional Go Leagues.

Off the board, he holds a PhD in atmospheric physics from Yale University—where his research was published in Nature—and currently works as a Software Engineer at Google.

Alex Qi (漆圣颐) started playing go at the age of 8.  By age 14, he was certified as a professional 1 dan by the North American Go Federation. 

In 2025, he made history as the first player representing a non-Asian country to win a major international Go title, placing first in the U18 Division of the 40th World Youth Go Championship.

After reaching professional rank in 2022, he has played in several major international Go tournaments, including the 1st Quzhou Lanke Cup and the 5th MLILY Cup.

Yuki Tanaka is a Japanese professional player. Born in 2005 in Tokyo, he achieved the rank of professional 1-dan in 2021 (2nd place in the Winter Qualification Exam). He was subsequently promoted to 2-dan in 2023, and to 3-dan in 2025.

 Career Record: 90 wins and 65 losses

• 2025: 18 wins and 13 losses
• 2026: 12 wins and 5 losses

Michael Chen (陈兆年) is a North American Professional Go player with extensive teaching and competition experiences that include: 2025 Beihai Xinyi Cup round of 64, 2023 North America Professional Qualifier winner, 2014 Samsung Cup round of 32, 2006 North America Ing Cup champion

Check out Michael’s videos and streams on YouTube and Twitch:

www.youtube.com/@zchenmike

https://www.twitch.tv/zchenmike

Bill Lin was certified as a professional in the 2024 NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament. Bill learned to play Go at 5 years old in Ningbo, China and studied under Yimin Wang 7P until 10 years old when he immigrated to Canada, where he mainly trained online via KGS and Tygem. He won the 2025 North American Pro Championship. He currently resides in Vancouver, Canada and hopes to promote the game of Go to more people in North America.

Shen Xingzhi (沈行之) is a professional 1-dan player with the Chinese Go Association. On July 19, 2026, he won the final round of China’s professional qualification tournament and earned professional status. Before that, he was already a member of the American Go Association. He had attended two U.S. Go Congresses and placed fourth in the Masters Division at the 2024 U.S. Go Congress. Currently a college student studying in the United States, he continues to participate in North American Go events, including the AGA City League.