Albert Yen The Journey of a Go Prodigy

Go is a strategy game invented in China where two players compete with each other to surround as much territory as possible. Players place pieces called stones onto intersections on the board to claim territory.

Albert Yen, 23, is one of the top Go players in the country. Yen is second among all amateur players and is top seven among all players in the U.S.

Yen plays with Hsu Rao-he, his first Go coach, at age six in Taiwan. Yen started playing Go when he was five and started taking lessons a year later. “Coach Hsu saw himself as a Go educator who would use Go as a medium to inspire kids to have different ways of thinking rather than teaching Go as a game to master through one technique,” Yen said. Photo courtesy of Albert Yen.

"I saw an anime, and they were playing Go, and because I thought it was cool, I told my parents about it. There was a Go school near my house so I started going there and playing," Yen said.

Yen visited Coach Hsu in 2018 after moving to the U.S. in 2011. Yen, under Hsu’s mentorship, was at one point, the youngest player in history to achieve strong amateur status (6 Dan) in Taiwan. His classmate Hsu Hao-hung, the gold medalist at the 2022 Asian Games men’s individual Go competition, would later surpass his record. Photo courtesy of Albert Yen.

Yen poses for a photo after a second-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Pair Go Championship with his teammate Jamie Tang and Teacher Jiang Mingjiu, a former Go professional from China. After moving to the U.S., Yen started taking classes with Jiang in 2013, who Yen credits for helping him develop rigorous thinking and attention to detail, key skills vital in achieving success at the elite level. “He is quite strict as a teacher and really focused on competitive elements of Go, so he was much more intense,” Yen said. Photo courtesy of Albert Yen.

Yen competes at the 2022 World Amateur Pair Go Championship hosted in Tokyo, Japan. Since becoming one of the top amateur players in the country, Yen has represented Team USA at international tournaments in Japan and Malaysia. Photo courtesy of Albert Yen.

Yen talks with Mark Rubenstein, the head of the Evanston Go Club. Yen says that after moving to the U.S., he has practiced outside of classes on Skype with his teacher at Go clubs and with other stronger players in Chicago. Although Yen now lives in downtown Chicago, he still commutes to play in Evanston, the closest Go club to his family's home in Winnetka. (November 15, 2023)

The Evanston Go Club is hosted at the Starbucks at 1734 Sherman Ave. in Evanston from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Rubenstein, the leader of the club, first became interested after watching people play Go in a cafe in his neighborhood. "The community has been growing since I've moved here, and I've been able to meet a lot of strong players over the years," Yen said. (November 15, 2023)

Yen plays a game at the Evanston Go Club with Cheuk To Tsui, a Ph.D. student studying statistics at the University of Chicago. Cheuk says he developed a close relationship with Yen after joining the Evanston Go Club while he was still an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. Cheuk, originally from Hong Kong, said “This is a great community for many people from different backgrounds to converge and learn more about this board game,” he said. (November 15, 2023)

Yen plays a match against Sungsoo Kim, a resident of Glenview, who Yen says is the second-strongest Go player in Chicago. At the club, players of different levels challenge each other. “Who you are, how old you are, your profession, doesn't matter in the game, what matters is just your skill in the game, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the game,” Yen said. (November 15, 2023)

Yen sits on a bench outside the College of Medicine West Tower at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Yen is currently a second-year medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), a specialized track where graduates receive both a medical degree and a Ph.D. Yen plans to focus his Ph.D. research on MRI technology. (November 17, 2023)

"I don't have as much time to study the game so I wouldn't say I'm at my peak, but I still try to maintain my level as best as I can. But now I focus most of my free time outside of school on mentoring other amateur players and playing online games with other strong players around the world," Yen said.

From left, Adith Sritvatsa, Albert, Earon Grinage and Alyssa Horwitz pose for a picture in a lounge reserved for only MSTP students. The cohort are all second-year students in the program. (November 17, 2023)

Yen laughs as Adith shows the rest of the cohort the Amazon listing of a book Yen wrote in 2019 about his experiences playing in the 2019 World Amateur Go Championships. “Did Albert tell you about how he goes to play Go competitions around the world? He comes back, and even if he doesn’t get extensions, aces his assignments,” Adith said. (November 17, 2023)

Yen flips through a copy of “Gray’s Anatomy for Students” in the MSTP study lounge. Yen said he mainly studies for his school exams as opposed to studying for Go. "I never wanted to be a professional because I didn't want it to consume my life and for competition to be everything." Yen said. (November 17, 2023)

"My role in Go now is promoting the game through hosting tournaments and meetups, and through building a strong network of clubs in the Midwest," Yen said.

Yen and Devin Fraze, the founder of an online Go forum called Baduk, explain the rules of the tournament to competitors at a competition hosted in the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Evanston on November 4. "I spend more time trying to build the Chicago Go community by hosting tournaments as opposed to focusing on just my own skills," Yen said. Photo courtesy of Ellie Spohr.

Yen poses while donning the white coat he received at his white coat ceremony two years ago. "It has been a full circle moment for me. To become an amateur player, I beat a retired doctor, and he was very happy for me, which made me feel the love of the community. Now, as an aspiring doctor, I too hope to bring that community to as many Go players here in the states," Yen said.