In a nailbiting game that had viewers in the live audience at the 2026 US Go
Congress on the edge of their seats until the very end, Yuki Tanaka 3P killed Alexander Qi 3P’s invading dragon to capture the first INAF Cup. The competition was sponsored by the Nihon Kiin, the North American Go Federation and the Iwamoto North America Foundation to promote international goodwill and promote the spread and development of Go through matches between young Japanese and American players.
The first two rounds were held online, with four young Japanese pros facing off against four American pros in the quarterfinals. Tanaka was the only Japanese player to reach the semi-finals, where he defeated Bill Lin to set up the final at the Go Congress with Qi, who beat Michael Chen (see full results here). The game was livestreamed on the AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels, with Michael Redmond 9P providing commentary for a live audience at the Congress; the commentary was recorded and will be released on YouTube.
In other Congress news, 114 players competed in the popular Lightning 
Tournament Monday night, with table winners ranging from 7-dan to 25-kyu. Players finishing 5–0 included Hector Lambert-Bates (3k), Xilin Wang (4k), Lucas Bove (5k), George Li-Qiao (7k), and Siheng Wang (17k). The table winners will now compete in playoffs to determine the overall Dan and Kyu Lightning champions.
For the latest Congress US Open and other rates tournament results, click here.