Players compete at the 2024 Chicago Rapid, Evanston, IL. Photo by Mark Rubenstein.
Evanston, Illinois - October 1, 2025: Registration is now open here for the 2025 Chicago Rapid set for Nov. 1, 2025 at Evanston Immanuel Lutheran Church. Join us for five AGA-rated games at one of North America’s largest weekend tournaments.
Event Highlights
- Record Turnouts: The Evanston Go Club’s last six events each drew more than 100 players across the country. Check out photos from last year’s 2024 Chicago Rapid here.
- Prizes: All band winners will receive trophies. Open section winners will win a combined prize pool of $1200! The Main Section prizes will be supplemented by special Korean Baduk Association prizes brought to us by Sungsoo Kim 5d!
- Youth Tournament: Youth beginners can join our free 9-by-9 tournament for fun prizes.
- Merchandise: Snag a keepsake home with our magnets and stickers.
- Food: Enjoy a Taiwanese bento box with drinks from Tealicious Bubble Tea. This year’s dinner party will be catered by Pita Restaurant, a local favorite for Mediterranean food.
- Accommodations: Enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and delicious snacks from our local Bennison's Bakery. Earlybird gets the pie!
- Name Tags: Each participant will receive a complimentary name tag created by our talented artist Aaron Czarnecki. The design features a warm color palette inspired by sunsets unique to this time of the year. For our players, Czarnecki hopes that his designs can bring a “little extra joy to your experience.”
The new 2025 Chicago Rapid logo. Designed by Aaron Czarnecki.
Early bird prices are available through Oct. 19, 2025:
- $40 for the Main section
- $50 for the Open section.
Additional stackable discounts are available for past attendees and groups of five or more.
Don’t miss out! Register here today to secure your spot.
For more details, visit the Baduk Club page and news page to stay updated.
Organizing Team
Aaron Czarnecki - Chief Artist
Xinming Guo - Youth Director
Mark Rubenstein - President, Tournament Director
Qi-Mei Jamie Tang - Outreach Director
Cheuk To Tsui - Tournament Support
Albert Yen - Organizing Director, Tournament Director
Media Team
Jason Cheng - Writing
Zixuan Gao - Design
Peter Leung - Trivia Night
Kartik Saraf - Writing
Stephanie Tan - Writing
Julia Zhang - Social Media
About Evanston Go Club
The Evanston Go Club, co-founded by Mark Rubenstein and David Whiteside in 1996, is the largest American Go Association chapter in the Midwest. Our mission is to provide a place that is open to the public for people to play, learn, or just watch the game of Go. For more details, visit our website here.