Ninety-two players gathered in Santa Clara over Labor Day weekend for the inaugural San Jose
Open, where former Korean insei DoHyup Kim 8d swept all six rounds to claim the championship and extend his perfect 2026 AGA tournament record to 19-0.
The tournament awarded $3,000 in cash prizes and 30 trophies, making it one of California’s largest Go tournaments since the pandemic. For the first time at a California tournament, all games were played even, with no handicap stones—including games involving double-digit-kyu players. Organizer Yindan Cheng said the format encouraged players to enter at their true strength and proved both successful and popular.
Kim earned $1,200 for his first-place finish. He previously went 6-0 at the SoCal Open and 7-0 at the Chicago Open, giving him 19 consecutive wins across three tournaments this year.
Chao Xie 6d, Kevin Chu 7d, Rujun Ding 7d, Kevin Hong 7d and Guanyu Song 1p all finished 4-2, placing second through sixth and splitting another $1,200 equally.
The Open section featured a particularly strong field. In addition to Kim, competitors included former Canadian champion Song, former Australian champion Tom Chen 6d, former Korean insei Hong, former Taiwanese insei Chu and Washington state champion Kenny Jin 6d.
Several top finishers praised the event. Xie, whose second-place run included three games decided by half a point, called it “a grand event.” Ding described it as his best tournament experience in the United States, citing its size, strong field, fast-paced competition and efficient organization—all qualities he values in top-level amateur Go tournaments.
Song singled out a more unusual tournament amenity: a robot-operated coffee station that prepared fresh coffee with customized milk-foam designs.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Chase Zhang—who turns five next month and has been the youngest player at the U.S. Go Congress for two consecutive years—finished 5-1 to win the 7–9k division. His only loss was by half a point to Byron Russell 5k. After the game, Russell quipped, “Chase is chasing!”
The tournament also brought Hang Zhou 3d back to competition after nearly 20 years away from tournament play. Zhou said he thoroughly enjoyed playing again and was so impressed by the event that he canceled his original plans for the second day so he could complete all six rounds.
The top three finishers in each Main Section division shared the remaining $600:
- 3–4d: Lingwen Zhang, Steve Zhou and Dash Zhang
- 1–2d: Andrew Suen, Clarence Kim and Qilin Liu
- 1–3k: Jiaying Wei, Lev Marcus and Andy Ji
- 4–6k: Vladislav Guberinic, Haocheng Wu and Tailai Jing
- 7–9k: Chase Zhang, Andy Zhou and Max Morehead
- 10–13k: Ritam Nag, Patrick Rogers and Leonard Chen
- 14–17k: Justin Wang, Eden Shi and Vienna Song
- 18k and below: Boris Volkov, Xiaoyun Wu and Ethan Gao
The top two boards were broadcast live on OGS throughout the tournament, allowing Go fans around the world to follow the strongest games in real time. AGA board member Byron Russell, venue sponsor Le Ma and tournament director Peixuan Wang 8d welcomed players at the opening ceremony.
At the awards ceremony, representatives of local Go clubs presented trophies to the top three players in each Main Section division. They also introduced their clubs and programs, giving players and families an opportunity to learn more about the region’s Go community.
That community played a major role in the tournament’s success. Throughout the weekend, players and volunteers stepped in wherever they were needed—moving tables and chairs, setting up and packing equipment, collecting trash and handling the many small jobs required to keep a large tournament running smoothly. Community members also contributed donations.
Special thanks go to volunteers Peixuan Wang, Rui Yan, Chao Zhang, Lingwen Zhang, Lev Marcus, Sichen Zhong, Zhenyu Zhou, Xinyi Zheng, Lian Duan, Tao Li, Tianyi Li, Dash Zhang, Tracy, Shinna and Vivian. Thanks also to Song Li, who provided professional tournament photography at no charge through Gazelight Studio.
The inaugural San Jose Open was hosted and sponsored by Tech Time Go Club, with additional sponsorship from the InnoValley EEE Foundation and Kifubara.
photos: all winners (top); DoHyup Kim 8d (middle left); playing area (middle right); Open winners (bottom). photos by Song Li; click here to see more.