Go and Math Academy

Led an Artist in Residence Go (围棋/Weiqi) workshop for 30+ teachers in Chicago Public Schools. Go is more than a cultural symbol — what it really teaches is decision-making and trade-offs under uncertainty. That's where its true value lies. Our innovation is combining traditional Chinese Go culture with modern American math education — bringing Go from "game" into "education," and pushing the popularization of Go into new territory.

An ancient Eastern game, now teaching math in American classrooms. Our Go Mathematics program has reached schools across Chicago — this year, we're bringing it to K–1 students at MAGE Midwest Academy of Gifted Education, helping young kids learn numbers, space, and logic through the game of Go. A new challenge for me, and an exciting one.

Today, we're bringing our Gemstone Numbers tools to the 2026 ICTM Annual Conference. Gemstone Numbers is an independent module within our Go-inspired math curriculum, designed to give students a simpler, more visual way to explore numbers than standard numerals. By serving as a bridge to understanding place value, it empowers kids to develop a genuine number sense. My goal here is to share this tool with math teachers so more educators can easily incorporate Gemstone Numbers into their daily instruction.

Registration for 2026 Fall Chicago Rapid Go Tournament and Youth (Novice) Go tournament is open. We also have free open house that help you to learn Go. See the flyer for details.

Over the past three weeks, students in our Go program at a Chicago public elementary school have shown clear progress in board reading, calculation, and decision-making speed. Over the next two weeks, we'll be running an in-class tournament so every student can see for themselves how far their effort has taken them. The tournament isn't about winning or losing — it's about giving students a firsthand experience of practice leading to progress, and progress becoming visible. That, in the end, is what learning and education are really about.

We are currently enrolling for our Fall 2026–2027 Go and Math program. We offer small-group classes in the Chicago North Shore area. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.

[edited because of small mistake] Playground, the novel by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Richard Powers, weaves together Go, AI, and friendship, with key backstory set in Chicago. Warner Bros. recently acquired the film rights, with Timothée Chalamet attached to produce and potentially star alongside Plan B.

Chicago Public Schools has officially kicked off the 2026–2027 school year with the game of Go.
Through our Game-Based Learning Course, students are using Go to sharpen their math skills, improve logical thinking, and learn strategic decision-making.