U.S. Go Professionals
The players listed below live in the United States and hold credentials from Asian professional insitutions. They are available to help you get stronger. Apply for a professional to give a workshop at your local club here
Feng Yun 9-Dan (New York/New Jersey)
Ms. Feng is a former Chinese national championship and one of only two female 9-dans in the world. In 1996 Ms. Feng won the World Women's Championship. She lives in New Jersey, where she has established a Go school with nearly 100 students. She offers weekly classes at the new York Go Center She is also available to conduct workshops for groups of players anywhere in the US.
For more information about her lessons, click here.
Click here for a more complete biography of Ms. Feng.
Yilun Yang 7-Dan (Los Angeles)
Mr. Yang has taught hundreds of students by in person, at workshops, by mail and over the Internet since moving to the US from Shanghai in 1986. A well-known specialist in life-and-death problems, Mr. Yang is working on his tenth English-language Go book.
Conact Mr. Yang by phone at 951-471-5518 or by e-mail at yanggo@earthlink.net
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Yang.
Ming-jiu Jiang 7-Dan (San Francisco)
Mr. Jiang teaches actively in the San Francisco area and gives regular free lectures on KGS. To learn more about lessons with him click here.
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Jiang.
Xiaoren He 5-Dan (Montreal)
Ms. He teaches in person and on the Internet. Contact her by phone at (450) 926-1794 or e-mail: xiaorenh@hotmail.com
Brief biography of Ms. He from Sensei's Library.
Janice Kim 3-Dan (Denver)
Born in New Mexico, Ms. Kim spent most of her teenage years studying Go in Korea, where she became the first non-native Korean to ever win professional status. The author of the five volume Learn To Play Go series lives in Denver with her husband and young son.
Contact Ms. Kim by e-mail at Samarkand, Inc.
Click here for a more complete biography of Ms. Kim.
James Kerwin 1-Dan (Minneapolis)
Mr. Kerwin became the the first ever non-Asian professional at the Japan Go Association, and won the 1-dan section of the Kisei tournament the following year. He teaches in person, at workshops and on the Internet, and is a regular contributor to The American Go E-Journal.
Contact Mr. Kerwin by phone at 612) 823-0699 or by e-mail: jimk@maroon.tc.umn.edu.
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Kerwin.
Huiren Yang 1-Dan (Boston)
Huiren Yang was born in 1952 in the city of Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People's Republic of China. He emigrated to the US in 1994 and has lived in the Boston area in Massachusetts with his wife and son since 1995. He is the chief go instructor of the Massachusetts Go Club, giving monthly lectures and conducting weekly study groups.
Mr. Yang started playing go at the age of twelve and was the Guizhou Provincial Junior Champion at the same age. He won the Guizhou Province and Guiyang City championships from 1970-1979, and took fifth place in the National Professional Weiqi competition and was selected to the China Weiqi team in 1979. He was the weiqi coach of the Sports commission of the Guiyang Railway Bureau and was a coach and mentor to many young future professional players. Among his many students, the most famous one is Quing Liu, who was once one of the top eight players in China.
Contact Mr. Yang e-mail at: yangxujian@hotmail.com.
Brief biography of Mr. Yang from Sensei's Library.
Xuefen Lin 1-Dan (Monterey Park, CA)
Ms. Lin, who lives and teaches in California, was the winner of the 2005 US Open. You can contact her by e-mail at linxuefen01@yahoo.com.
Brief biography of Ms. Lin from Sensei's Library.
Other Americans with professional status
The players listed here are American citizens living abroad who hold Asian pro credentials and compete actively in the Asian pro tournament circuits.
Michael Redmond 9-Dan (Tokyo)
Originally from Santa Barbara, Redmond is the only non-Asian in history to achieve the top rank of 9-Dan in an Asian Go Association. He is the author of The ABCs of Attack and Defense
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Redmond.
Zhu-jiu Jiang, 9-Dan (Seoul)
In the 1980's, Mr. Jiang made history by defeating five top Japanese pros in succession . He resided in the US during the 1990s, where he became the perennial winner of the North American Masters Tournament before moving to Korea to compete in professional tournaments. CDs of his lectures and commentaries are available.
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Jiang.
Nai-wei Rui 9-Dan (Seoul)
One of only two female 9-Dans in the world, Ms. Rui achieved world fame in 2000 by becoming the first woman to win a major tournament.., the Korean Kuksu. She is especially interested in teaching women to play go. married to Zhu-jiu jaing ( see above), she also lived and taught in the US in the 1990s. CDs of her lectures and commentaries are available.
Click here for a more complete biography of Ms. Rui.
Jimmy Cha (Cha Min-su), 5-Dan (Seoul)
This Korean-born pro lived in southern California for many years, where he developed a reputation as a flamoyant and charismatic professional gambler, as well as a tough player. When North America began selecting representive to play in the World Fujitsu Cup in the 1980's, Cha played for North America several times. Known for his ability to play his best in important games, he upset several top professionals. He visits the US on occasion, but is not involved with the American go community.
Click here for a more complete biography of Mr. Cha.
This information is provided as a free service by the American Go Association. Contact the professionals by e-mail, phone, or postal mail for more details about their services and workshops. See the AGA's list of distributors to order Go books or equipment. To correct or add to the information above, professionals should contact the page maintainer listed at the bottom of this page.