A River of Stones

The Go Master

2007-09-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of web chatter recently about the release of the film, The Go Master, about the life of Wu Qingyuan (Go Seigen). [not to be confused with the older, Go Masters, film] Throughout forums and blogs, Go players and fans are searching for a Region 1 version of the DVD. At this time, only a Region 3 (Asian Encoding) is available. I contacted Fortissimo films, the distributor of the film, to find out if a Region 1 encoding was soon to be released. Sadly, an email sent to an office in the United States and two other countries were all ignored. Netflix.com is also listed as a distributor, but also does not have a release date for the Region 1 encoding of the film. It could be possible that Netflix.com will release a Region 1 version for their members and Fortissimo will wait and measure the success of the film in Asia to decide if a Region 1 version is warranted. For now, the Region 3 encoding is available both through Amazon.com and Yesasia.com. Yesasia also has a VCD which will play on most DVD players. If you would like to save yourself future trouble, purchase a region free DVD player, buy the Region 3 version of the film, and next time you won't have to wait.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

And Now.. Guess That Go Server!

2007-09-15T22:50:00.000-05:00


    Welcome!

AnotherSai: HI EVERYONE!
Hue: Please don't yell.
AnotherSai: WHO IS YELLING?
Hue: You are.
AnotherSai: HOW? THIS IS A COMPUTER SCREEN.
Hue: All caps.  It is hurting my ears.
AnotherSai: ok... sorry... ???

       -Later-

AnotherSai: Go is great!
HikaruHead: I love Go.
AnotherSai: How long have you been playing?
HikaruHead: Six months, prolly.
AnotherSai: Where are you from?
BigSmug: Please keep topic on Go.  See TOS.
AnotherSai: Sorry... umm... Anyone want to play a
quick game?
BigSmug: Please do not make requests directly in room.

-After the Game-

AnotherSai: My opponent, Loco666, escaped on me!
BigSmug: Please do not publicly denounce anyone.
AnotherSai: Come on!  What is this?

   -And Later Still-
AnotherSai: ok, it's getting late
AnotherSai: I think I'm going to go to sleep.
AnotherSai: Good night everyone
Holyness: Please do not press Enter key so often.
  Flooding is against TOS.
AnotherSai: Flooding? What is that?
Holyness: No trolling.
AnotherSai: What? Trolling! Flooding! No capital letters.
No game requests on a game server. What is this place?
Next you will tell me I have only 50 characters to
type in a byo-yomi period!

[You have been booted from server.  Have a nice day!]

[Ed. Note]
With the help of expert ISP trackers, Internet wizards, and the special late edition of a television crime fighting psychic, I was able to track down the owner of this Go server. He hides behind multiple ISP's, using an assumed name, maintaining strict control in anonymity. He is feared when one floods or trolls. He is a true power in the Internet Go world. Who is this man?

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

Go Teachers

2007-09-07T01:34:00.000-05:00

In GO, it is noble to learn the art by oneself. Yet noble and wise do not always belong together. While listening to a Audiogolessons lecture, see post, Guo Juan stated that Dan level players hit a sticking point because because, in her opinion, they learned on their own and eventually this catches up to them. She created a series of lectures to go back to the beginning and teach the basics and bring the player all the way to the top levels. Learning from books is the most cost affordable solution, though when one has a question, one cannot ask, "Book, why can't I play a kakari here instead?" One can ask, and if one gets an answer, there are other issues at hand. Most importantly, the errors in play themselves must be found and the skill must be guided. The teacher, or master, has been a large part of most traditions, including Go, going back beyond recorded history. The teacher is the one that provide this guidance.
Finding a teacher can be a daunting task. One must search blogs, web pages, or google, then attempt to compare the results and make a decision. Below is a list of active Go teachers. This will be an ongoing list, updated as new teachers ask to be included or those already on the list change information. At each update, the date of change will be noted.
The majority of teachers provide services in Euros, therefore I have decided to keep the majority of them in Euros. Rather than convert those provided in dollars, I have provided a Currency Converter link, given that rates change of a daily basis.
Keep in mind that most teachers below offer bulk discounts. Paying for 5-10 lessons at a time will lower the cost of each individual lesson. Almost all accept payment through Paypal.

NAME	RANK	NICK	1 HR	1.5 HR	SGF	WEB	EMAIL
Alexander Dinerchtein	1P	Breakfast		$35	$20	link	email
Guo Juan	5P	guojuan	35€	50€	23€	link	email
Li Ang	3P	Lyonweiqi	email	email	email	link	email
Shen Jing	2P	Jennie	25€		20€	link	email

Dragos Bajenaru	6D₁	toxxicu	15€			link	email
Vit Brunner	4D	Tasuki	10€			link	email
Cornel Burzo	6D¹	Cornel	15€	30€ 2 hr	15€	link	email
Carmen	5D	Soulmate	5€				email
Cho Seokbin	7D¹	bin7674		20€	8€		email
HF	6D	HFL	13€	18€	10€		email
Li Yue	9D	liyue	15€	22€	20€	link	email
Christian Pop	7D¹	Solaris		30€ 2 Hr		link	email
Xu Jian	6D	yesniu		$25 2 HR			email
Yuan Yuan	5D	CGA4DAN	$10		$7		email
Will Zhang	6D	willzhang		$25		link	email

SGF= OFFLINE COMMENTED GAME
1= European Go Federation Rating
NICK= RED- KGS BLUE- IGS

Currency Converter

To be added to the list, to make changes, or comments, please email at:

RiverOfStones@Yahoo.com

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

Gomercial

2007-09-01T22:39:00.000-05:00

BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS

Somewhere on KGS

After the game....

No Go players were hurt during this simulation.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

Audiogolessons.com

2007-08-21T22:38:00.001-05:00

Those of you that have taken part in lectures on KGS will be familiar with Guo Juan and her online go school. I visited her site recently and discovered that she offers audio lessons there as well as at a separate address, audiogolessons.com. Unlike personal, one-on-one lessons which can costs a fortune, these lessons cost only one Euro. As of today, after the conversion, that doesn't even make it to $1.50 a lesson. Very affordable. From the information on the website, each lesson is available for one month after purchase.

Categories include:

-Opening
-Middle Game
-Pro Games
-Joseki
-French Lectures
-A Step By Step Course

In addition, the website also offers a few free lectures as well. Stop by her site.

UPDATE: 09-05-07
For comments on the site: Sensei's Library-Audio Go Lessons

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

Maya's Little Bot

2007-08-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

Contrary to the modern perception, Frankenstein was not the monster with the big square-shaped head and the two prongs jutting out of his neck. Frankenstein was the professor. It was Frankenstein's monster that came to life with a few leftover body parts and the help of lightning (so I was told, I have never read Mary Shelly's book). In some Eastern views, that which is created can be disassembled piece by piece and put back together again, and it will function as it it did before. Life is unborn, was never created, and has always been. Therefore, when you take apart a human being, piece by piece, and put it back together again, it does not work the same as it did before it was cut apart.

Man has a fascination with tapping into this unborn world. In another sense, man begins to lose his sense of humanity amongst technology. Frankenstein's monster is this sort of beast, not of what we can create, but of what we fear we might become. Japanese anime tell of humans becoming so much machine that the human cannot be found. Even less than this, it is now evident that humanity has begun to define itself more and more through television. A little box tells us what to think. We don't need to become machines if we are controlled by one. I have read far too many reports of surveys taken in the seventies, eighties, and nineties which show the drastic effect that television suddenly has seized upon our identities. Our social groups are forming around internet chat rooms and text messages.

With all that being said, if you would like your little taste of Frankenstein's monster, you can host your own KGS Go robot. This website has all the details. Why, you ask? I cannot understand the fascination with advancing the machine in Go. There will come a day when the computer will outplay any human on the planet, but that is little worry. Go, like most Asian arts, is more than a game. In it, you can find the way, or Dao. The dao is not found just by winning, or reaching Shodan, or even by your state of mind while you play. It is beyond these things. No computer will ever reach the dao in Go, or any other art. Go is a game of war. There is nothing and then there is duality. This brings conflict. Once it is resolved, the board returns to the original state of nothingness. Two great masters understand 'the way' and would never care if they might lose to a Go robot.

Perhaps one day we will have bots of compassion to pat us on the back when we have had a bad day. Then perhaps we will have bots of tolerance which will accept our yelling and angry shouting on our bad days. Of course, the "I" in humanity is defined by the "other." We could never define ourselves by machines. Between the border of "I" and "other" we see that playing a Go robot is as empty as threats of Maya.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,

Oda Nobunaga

2006-09-14T19:47:00.000-05:00

Those who play Go know well that one must learn to adapt to new styles of play and never fall victim to trends or convention. A bannerman for this ideal would be Oda Nobunaga. A brash youth from a moderate family, he quickly rose to power by adapting to the era, new weapons, new tactics, and nearly united his country.

Nobunaga's first real sign came at the Battle of Okehazama. Here, an army estimated at 25,000 men marched on Kyoto, headed by Imagawa Yoshimoto. Nobunaga dared to challenge Imagawa with a tiny force of only 5,000 men. While the forces of Imagawa camped, Nobunuga launched an unexpected attack during a thunderstorm. Many of the Imagawa forces fled without a single weapon drawn. When Yoshimoto left his tent to investigate the commotion, he found a spear in his chest. The lopsided battle had been won by cunning.

source: Samurai Sourcebook : Turnbull

During the Sengoku, or Warring States, Period, rival warlords fought for control of Japan. The times were changing. The Portuguese had reintroduced the matchlock (which was originally introduced from China) which was met with strong resistance from many samurai who held to tradition. Not so with Nobunaga. Not only did he bring these 'arquebuses' into his forces, he pioneered their use. While most lords used them among the ashigaru, or field soldier, as an unorganized unit, Nobunaga saw the true value of the arquebus. His ashigaru were organized into strong units which would fire in sequence, one after the other, one firing while the other loaded, and soon the other warlords learned the merit and strategy of the arquebus.
His ingenuity did not stop at matchlocks. Nobunaga was most likely the first to have organized, highly disciplined ashigaru spear units. (The samurai typically fought individually with a spear on horseback. The sword came into prominence at a later time.) Nobunaga also lengthened his spear from a standard 2.5 ken (1 ken=1.6 meters) to 3.5 ken.

Space does not permit a full biography of the Sengoku nor of Nobunaga. His cunning and ingenuity led him to the edge of his dreams. It was here that they fell apart. Readers of Hikaru No Go Manga #6 might remember the small bonus at the end entitled, "Assasination at Honnoji Temple." Of course, the assassination is of Nobunaga himself. Nobunaga had stopped off at Honnoji temple and was surrounded by only a few bodyguards when one of his own generals turned on him and led forces against him. Akechi Mitsuhide was the downfall of every dream and every right turn. Nobunaga was forced to commit seppuku.
Incidentally, a certain Oda Nobunaga watched Honinbo Sansa play Go and with the placing of one brilliant stone Nobunaga was amazed and shouted out, "Meijin!" and thus was born the title.

Ref.
Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Sourcebook London: Cassell & Co 1998

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

Strategy in History: Genpei Wars

2006-09-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

It must be remembered that Go is a martial art. Among the other skills that a samurai would learn, such as archery, the sword, the horse, and the bow, were skills that refined him. Like the study of the Analects, and Buddhism, the more well-off samurai studied Go, the skill of which would be put to good use as a field commander or general in battle. In todays game we see no ties with life or death, except for the odd Go problem, and we tend to lose touch with the origin of the game in worn-torn China.

As Sun-Tzu said, "All warfare is based on deception." The more deceptive, or those who can deceive at a much deeper level, will be the victor.

In twelvth century Japan, war was very stylized. In many cases, a small group of warriors would separate from a group, have an archery battle, and then the next group would step forward. This was long before the age of the sword. At the Battle of Kurikara, Minamoto Yoshinaka (married to Tomoe Gozen) had a plan to divide his army in two and surround the Taira forces. He had two problems. He had to conceal the movements of his forces. He had to hold the Taira into position.

Using the customs of battle of his age to his advantage, Minamoto proceeded to fight the most stylized battle possible. With so much emphasis given to the declaring of deeds between warriors, and the battles limited to such small numbers, Minamoto knew that neither side would have an edge before morning. Of course, in the morning, his other force would flank the Taira army and the tables would turn greatly.

'All warfare is based on deception.'

On the other side of the Genpei war, at the Battle of Yashima, the Taira hung a fan from the mast of a ship and challenged the Minamoto to hit it. The tactic there was to get the Minamoto to waste arrows to no end.

The human mind, though trained like iron, can bend so easily when a weakness is found. We must look for the simple solution, the simple strategy. Complex ideas do not work. Think of how you may hang your fan on the Go board and cause you opponent to waste precious stones trying to kill a group that is already safe/dead. Looking to the past is the greatest way to understand this game and take it into the future.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

The Path of Emptiness

2006-05-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

The sage, skilled in the arts of war, Go being one of the highest, understands that having a plan or strategy in the mind is to invite defeat. If we plan to open a game of Go with a San-Ren-Sei opening without adapting to the moves of the opponent we shield ourselves off from the reality of the game and lose contact with the movement of the stones. The mind is to be devoid of both thought and non-thought, plan and non-plan. Go was, afterall, created in the lands of Chan (Zen) where "empty-handed I go, and behold the spade is in my hands; I walk on foot, and yet on the back of an ox I am riding; When I pass over the bridge, Lo, the water floweth not, but the bridge doth flow."

When we understand emptiness in this way we see Go through the eyes of the sage. We will have no ranking, no joseki, no plan of attack. We will have no form. Like water, moves take the form needed.

As the master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi wrote in his Go Rin No Sho in 1645, "Taking straightforwardness as basic, taking the real mind as the Way, practicing martial arts in the broadest sense, thinking correctly, clearly, and comprehensively, taking emptiness as the Way, you see the Way as emptiness.

"In Emptiness there is good but no evil. Wisdom exists, logic exists, the Way exists, mind is empty."

The Scroll of Emptiness

Go Rin No Sho

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

A Sharp Sting

2006-05-02T18:47:00.000-05:00

Sparring is a part of a life in the dojo. To the shugyosha it becomes second nature to test his skills with an opponent in a controlled environment, letting his bruises mark next weeks lessons in improvements. When we face our senior, the shodan or above, the infamous black belt, we expect that the senior might take certain liberties with the rules of sparring in order to give lessons not provided by the usual sparring session.
After a long session of sparring, many years ago, I traded partners and ended up sparring with a black belt. I was very fatigued at this point and had trouble maintaining a proper guard. He repeatedly warned me to raise my hands. Just in time I would block the punches that were launched at my shoulders. Again the warning would come. Again I would agree, but fatigue countered. Finally the black belt had seen enough. Faking to the side and waiting for me to inhale, he struck me squarely on the forehead, followed by the words, "I said, keep your hands up."
There are those who feel victimized by this sort of treatment and turn inwards, not learning the valuable lesson. Others know that practice prepares us for a time when our life may be on the line and second chances are not an option. A sharp sting on the forehead may be what it takes to keep the hands up no matter how bad the lungs are burning, how full the legs are with lead, and the mind whispers to give in. I never let my hands down again.
And now, after many months off the goban, I am ready to begin again, stone against stone. There will be many losses. What I can be sure of is that there will be a sharp sting, a lesson that, while it may hurt, will serve a greater purpose. The teachers are gracious in there punishment. Most will show us the lessons in our failure. We are all just fellow shugyosha on the path.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

Otogi Zoshi

2006-04-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

Those who enjoy the famous Hikaru no Go manga or anime might be interested in learning more about the Heian period in which Fujiwara no Sai is placed. During the Heian period, the powerful Taira clan had control of Japan and fought continuously with the Minamoto. During the Gempei war, the Minamoto gained control and established the shogunate. It is at this time period, within the Minamoto clan, that we find the anime Otogi Zoshi. Minamoto no Yorimitsu, also known as Raiko, has taken ill, and his sister Hikaru must disguise herself as Raiko and attempt to save a Kyoto full of corruption. Hikaru must find missing Magatama, curved beads resembling one half of a yin yang. With these Magatama, there is hope of reviving of dying world.
Each DVD disc is accompanied with a companion disc which explains the accuracies and inaccuracies of the series from a University professor. For those who enjoy anime, it might be a fun way to learn about the Heian period, but the companion discs are a must. It is an enjoyable series, but I had hoped for more. When I read about an anime placed in the Heian period, I had hoped for more history. It has action and drama, as well as more Taoism and the 5 element theory than I would have expected, but is a little light on the history lessons.
Apart from Minamoto no Raiko, look for Abe no Seimei, the famous Onmyoji.
The 10 discs are probably a better deal to watch through Netflix.com than buying... and save your money for the Hikaru no Go anime.

OTOGI ZOSHI

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

Dragon Go Server Monitor App

2006-04-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

For those of you that haven't played a game on the Dragon Go Server, it is a turn-based server that works much like an email based system would work. There is a graphic interface on the website that both players view and make their moves with. The difference between this and other servers is that either player may be on at separate times. Black may make a move early on Monday, at which time the server will leave a notification for White that it is his turn. Later that day, White will play. These games can have a time limit of many months.
To find out if it is your turn, you must either check your email or log onto the site and check. Thanks to user Coljac this is no longer necessary. He has created an application that will notify that user in how many games it is their turn from their desktop, without signing into email or the Dragon Server Website.

Dragon GO Server Monitor Application Website

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

Go.... Stop... Go

2006-04-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

I started blogging years ago, which at the time I would refer to as 'writing in an online journal', and my posts were spiritual in nature. Blogging came full steam at the same time that I attempted to learn to truly appreciate the art of Go. Everything about those few months was very enjoyable but it had to come to an end. I began to work on a Buddhist blog on the side, but that quickly began to consume all of my time. It wasn't that the blog itself needed the time, but that I needed the time to sit, quiet my mind, and penetrate into the nature of emptiness, form, and this silly little reality we call "everything." Sitting down Go stones and arranging them and then picking them up again had made me think about quotes from famous Zen monks, monks who enjoyed the game of Go. It was time to think about dependent origination and not joseki. My hope was that my time away would strengthen my mind and when I returned to Go, I would return with a better mind to play the game. Ha! Like that will happen. Over the next few weeks I hope to get out my Go board a few times. I marked my calender. May 1 I hope to return to the Go world... and play here and there... study a few joseki... try to win 1 game in 20 and, most importantly, enjoy myself as much as I did before. Go was invented in China along with a 'Way' that has no rules, that cannot be defined, and cannot be won and held in the hand. The 'Way' can be followed to perfection once it is learned, and for that we look to the men of old. Until the clouds part, the moon's light will not illuminate this soul.

Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk,
Games,hobbies,Go,Weiqi,Baduk

Mandala of Compassion

2005-12-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to observe the construction of the Chenrezig (Guan Yin, Avalokitesvara) Mandala by Tibetan monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastic University in India. For four days these monks work their tools to contruct this beautiful mandala made of colored sand.

On the first day, the monks began with a blessing and performed the necessary rituals to begin the mandala. We thought initially that we would stop by from time to time, but after feeling the peace and serenity of the room, the fellowship with other Buddhists, and beautiful handiwork of the monks, we spent every second that we could.

The mandala is very complex and a detailed explanation of its parts would be too lengthy for a go blog. The mandala is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional mandala, which displays an outer fortress which represent the inner cosmos.

During the construction of the mandala we put other, more mundane matters to the side. I played very little Go and had no time to study.

Here (above), at the entrance to the gate of the fortress, two deer listen to the Buddha and his teachings. The Buddha had required that no image be made of him and so in early Buddhism we find his represent by the Dharma Wheel, which stands between these two deer. The Buddha gave his first teaching in the Deer Park, and so this may have some significance as well.

Here you see the corner of the fortress and the intricate detail (above)

Day 4-The completed mandala. Everyone gathered around to look at it one last time.

To demonstrate the impermanent, transient nature of our existence, the pain-staking effort of the mandala is washed away with brush, and all that is left is the impression in the mind. A ceremony of chanting followed.

Following the chanting, the monks proceeded to the river to cast the sand into the water, allowing it to disperse among the elements, and manifest of something else in the future.

The ceremony and serenity of the sound of tools working and calm minds of the monks had a strong affect of me personally. My usual practice of meditation saw increased benefits as I approached each session with a calmer mind. The most surprising affect was using this calm mind in games of Go.

I don't believe I have lost a game of Go since this ceremony. Compare this with previous periods where I could have stated, "I don't believe I have won....."

I played a game against a 25k on Orobaduk, with a surprising win. I had a big loss against a 22k player on IGS, and taking advantage of a mistake in the endgame, forced a come back forfeit. Finally, in an effort to rid myself the ? in my rank on KGS, I played against the 23k Liberty bot with a 3 stone handicap, making it a 26k game. Thinking myself around 28-29k, I expected to lose. I was very surprised to win by 29.5. My next game was an even game against the 28k bot, which I expected to lose, but won by the large margin of 94.5. The most surprising win was a 6 handicap game against the 13k GnuGo program. I won by 3.5 and have not yet removed the shocked look from my face. With the ? behind my rank, the KGS program tends to inflate the ranking. As of today my ranking is 14k?. There is no real meaning behind this. When my rank loses the ?, I am sure it will balance out at around 27k. The point of placing this story in with the mandala is that my rank too is transient, and will soon return to the sea with the sand.

Suicide Club

2005-11-29T18:43:00.000-05:00

Suicide Club

For the feint of heart, I advise against seeing this film

I decided to stop my planned study period which was anything but that and return to playing last week, only to find no time to play. When I did return, I became haunted by strange games. The strangest was against a (20k?) player who gave me a 9 stone handicap, then proceeded to feed my stones like I was starving, letting entire groups die through bad play (I have only now started contact fighting. In the past I have avoided contact as much as possible, given my low skill). When the game was well over, he continued to invade... and die. If we had continued, the entire board would have been cleaned of white stones. Very strange. I checked in today to see if his rank has popped up to around mine, and then see that he had just overestimated when giving me the handicap. To my surprise I saw that he is now a firm 22k. My only guess is that he was either very tired or very drunk. That game killed my excitement about engaging in battles on the Go board for the night.

I don't want be an overly aggressive player, but I think it is wise to go through a period of contact fighting to develop the skill, then pull back a bit and try to play more balanced. I used to avoid contact fighting like the measles and would lose many points based on that cowardice. I'd much rather lose then while I go down swinging.

At long last my financial drought has eased a bit and I was able to buy 2 Go books. It is clear I learn nothing on my own and can't wait to get these books. When I first started to take Go seriously a few months ago, I ran across a professional player offering lessons. I took a lesson about once every week for about 4 lessons. While the lessons target your individual faults and strengths, the short time of the lesson limits what you can learn. If a player could afford to take 3 to 4 lessons per week, the lessons would be superior to any book, I feel. However, I could barely afford one lesson per week and the money would have been much better spent on building a Go book library. That is not meant to weaken the credibility of my teacher. I think he is an amazing teacher, but I don't think beginners on a budget should start with that route. Later on, it is probably the best way to improve your game. In the beginning, I think it is best to sit down with a book and just learn.
For those of you just starting to build up your Go library, check out Chiyodad's recent blog about on the subject. (For yourself or to check someone off of your Christmas list)

Pro Games

2005-11-24T00:17:00.000-05:00

The usual way that I review pro games is to download them from a source such as Gobase.org and then review them at a later time. In doing so, I can review them at my leisure, with the handicap being that I don't take enough time between each move. The best way that I have found to study pro games is to watch them live via internet broadcast.
On the Oro Baduk server you can find many live broadcast games from all three great countries of Go (Korea, China, and Bhutan.. no.. just kidding.. Japan.) This evening I watched a Japanese game between a 7d and 9d pro. The pauses between each move give you plenty of time to think about why they played where they did, where the next stone might be played, and each players overall strategy. Of course, I am about a 29k player, so I can guess a few moves in the opening, and that's about it. The best part is that in the games I have watched, commentary is made by high-ranking amateur dan players. While the commentary itself is in Korean, Chinese, or Japanese, the commentary is followed by a link which opens a small Gibo, complete with interactive buttons, to view the possible moves to follow. As the game progresses, it is very interesting to see these possible strategic ideas and be able to replay them at your own leisure. The stones themselves are the universal language and one need not worry about the characters on the screen that aren't understood.
Here is the an example of the number of games being broadcast at the time I am writing this entry:

At some point, the pauses between each move may get a little long, but armed with the power of speakers, you may surf the web or study what you have seen in the game so far at Gobase.org and wait for the next stone sound the click.
While I was on the server, a 9dan Korean pro logged on, the user name starting with Cho, and at first I thought it was Cho Chikun. Alas, the name ended with a "B". If anyone knows who it may be, let me know (not that it is some great mystery like the hot dog bun/hot dog count... I was just curious.)

I thought I would finish this entry with a quote from The Korean Times article of Go Etiquette: The following is an example of how the old Chinese book Yi Lu (弈律, ``The Rules of Baduk’’) regulated the players’ manners.
``Telling lies by saying that a group will die, feigning joy or sadness, feigning surprise or entreaty, or disturbing the other person’s mood is punished by 50 light lashes. This type of trickery is about aiming to cause the opponent to make a mistake by thinking that there is no other move here so that he plays elsewhere. Lying by saying that `that group will die’ is referring to a group as dead when it is not clearly so and, in fact, is a trick to make him make the last move elsewhere. Feigning joy refers to saying `I have won, I have won’ when the game is not yet over, and is a trick to cause the opponent to lose his attention on the game. Feigning sadness is showing a loss of fighting spirit by saying `that is hopeless’ in a game one has not yet lost, and is a trick to reduce the opponent’s attention on the game. Feigning surprise is suddenly noticing something and exclaiming `Ah so’ and is a trick to make the opponent treat one lightly.’’

Try getting your online server to give you 50 lashes!

The Korean Times has, what I think is weekly- article on an introduction to Go in the Arts and Leasure section.

win... lose.. or DRAW?!?

2005-11-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

scene from the film 2ldk

While on Dashn I received a challenge from HJS3689 (28k) with no handicap. On Dashn, even the 30k players beat me down to a pulp of Go stone dust, but since the challenger selected a "fun" game, I decided it could be a good losing experience, I mean, learning experience. I was very surprised when we reached the heart of the middle game and the score was about even (by my very unskilled judgement). During two small skirmishes, my opponent overlooked his liberty count and I killed two small groups, taking the lead. All was well, but in the back of my mind i repeated, "you need to secure the top right group... you need to...." Well, I didn't.... and he killed it, negating my lead. At the end of the game I couldn't tell who was ahead. When the score was tallied, it said.... A DRAW!!??! Shock! Horror! (yes, I have been watching British movies.) Evidentally my opponent had removed the komi, making a draw possible. I hate ties. I can't stand watching a 2 hour futebol match that ends in a 1-1 tie. I like even less playing a long game of Go that ends a draw. Pluh!
I was happy to obtain a draw against a 28k Dashn player. We will have to see if I could do the same in a contended match.

Down from the Mountain

2005-11-20T16:05:00.000-05:00

My first game back took place against Moscowvip (24k) on the Orobaduk server. I immediatley noticed how different my playing style is. Each stone had a little more thought and an intended purpose (not that each stone was placed where it should have been, but at least I thought it should go there and had a reason for it). The game might have been closer if I had any invasion or contact fighting skills, but given that I do not, I was left with only Reduction as a fighting tool.

The game ended at 98 to 67, the victory going to Moscowvip. I was happy with my play after such a long break, and starting off so mediocre in the past made a small improvement much easier. Though my opponent was a 24k on the Orobaduk server, my guess is that the Orobaduk 24k is roughly equal to a 29k on KGS. I am barely 29k, if not 30k, on KGS and lost by only 27 with no handicap. This would make sense when also taking into consideration that Orobaduk ratings start at 25k. I have learned a little about shape from Joseki and think it is time to finally start learning the art of contact fighting. No matter how the remainder of my games go this weekend, it is good to be back to playing, learning, losing, and wondering if I will ever get better.

Returning

2005-11-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

It has been about a month and a half since I have played a game of Go on any server. I stepped aside to spend time studying, with the intention of returning stronger. My time was restricted in unexpected ways such as a long power-outage from Hurricane Wilma and a lot of little things here and there I had to take care of. Sadly, I had much less than an hour a day to study. In that time, I went over joseki patterns and tried to learn good play and strong shape from them. I had hoped to buy a few Go books and pick up new skills and knowledge but Hurricane Wilma brought unexpected expenses. Even with that, it was nice to take time to learn what I could, and now I am happy to begin to play again. Thinking about my rank before I left, around 28k, I wondered if I had gained any this month and a half, and was reminded Bodhidharma's journey to China and his meeting with Emperor Liang.
Bodhidharma (Da Mo in China, Daruma in Japan) was a Buddhist monk from India who set out to China to pass on further teachings. Many people think that Bodhidharma brought Buddhism to China, but that isn't so. Buddhism had been there for some time, but the number of enlightened teachers was few, if any. When Bodhidharma arrived in China he was granted an audience with Emperor Wu Di of the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Wu Di is famous for his large Buddhist temple and monastery projects and patronage of Buddhism all over China. Upon meeting Bodhidharma he asked, "In my vast building projects and patronage of Buddhism, what merit have I gained?"
Bodhidharma replied, "None, whatsoever."
The Emperor wasn't pleased.
And so I imagine myself face-to-face now with a Bodhidharma of the Go world when I ask, "With the study of the Opening, and joseki patterns, what strength have I gained in this month and a half?"
I imagine the reply would be, "None, whatsoever."
Though I have learned more of the game and have a better understanding of heavy/light shape etc., my guess is that this will have little effect on my immediate rating or ability. Thankfully I do not play Go for this reason and enjoy playing and studying as a journey, and not as some fixed goal or rank. That attitude will come in handy in these next few days. Let's hope I fair better than Emperor Wu Di.

Over the weekend, while visiting relics of Buddha Shakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Marpa, Milarepa, Atisha, Tsongkhapa, and many other Buddhist saints, I had the rare honor of being blessed by a Tibetan Rinpoche, who said a blessing while holding a relic over my head. Though it won't help me much with Go, it crosses oceans in the few things more important.

Hurricane Wilma

2005-10-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

I had decided to take a few weeks off from playing on KGS and just study on my go board. Each night I would sit down, study from one of the few Go books I have, and then replay a professional game. It was nice.

I made an unwise and badly scheduled decision to start playing again over the weekend. When Wilma first touched us, our power went out, and being on the 14th floor, the winds were so strong, the entire building was shaking. The walls felt like two kids jumping up and down on a mattress. After it was over, we had no electricity or water (being that it takes a pump to get the water to floor 14). The hurricane had pushed enough water through the cracks in the window to give us a small flood and drips from the ceiling told that the upstairs neighbor had fared worse.

We were the lucky ones. Many apartments in our building had both walls and ceiling fall in, with shattered windows thrown in as a bonus. The street was littered with uprooted trees, broken windshield glass, roofing tile, and an assortment of personal items. Though most cars on our parking platform had shattered windows, our car was fine. Our truck was parked on the street, where many cars had more significant damage. Our truck was fine. We were very lucky.

Florida Power and Light told us it would be three weeks until we received power, which for us, meant no power, ac, light, running water, toilet, or shower for three weeks.

During the downtime, I sat by candlelight and read, studied some Go, meditated, and trained a little. Without the distractions of the modern world, which even though I fight against, I fall victim to, I found myself reorienting to the shugyosha path. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

We used what little gas we had to find a store running on a generator to get a little food to get us by. We passed the long lines waiting for water and ice and decided to do without.

Two sleepy faces looked up yesterday as the lights in the apartment popped on, and air began to chill in the heat, and the printer cartridge began to dance back and forth, as if happy to be alive again. Power? What happened to the three weeks? We were happy. Both of us were a little sad though, thinking of all we could have accomplished by candlelight, away from this crazy floating world. We sort of missed the power outage. I said something to that effect just before the power flicked off for just a second, and I said, "OK, I TAKE IT BACK!"

I am sure I will have plenty of time for reading and study this weekend, however, given that neither car has gas, and the lines for gas wrap the blocks, with most being turned away after 4 to 5 hours, with nothing to show for their time, but less gas than before. The neighbors across the intercoastal waterway still have no power, and I feel sad to look out at their houses and think of them looking at our building, as if the lights in each home taunt them. We keep our lights off whenever possible, to remind us of what we have and what they don't. We were the lucky ones and our minor struggles, past and to come, during Hurricane Wilma are tiny.

I have lived my life with one fundamental premise: that if you live in harmony with nature and embrace the universe and take refuge in it's laws of action, it will craddle you. Sometimes it dishes out bitter medicine, but in the end, it all ends up sweet.

My photos of Wilma

Give Me Sente Or Give Me Death!

2005-10-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

Any beginner kyu knows the feeling of being led around the goban like a dog on a leash. The advantage of going first as Black can be lost within only a few moves while playing a higher kyu. Not only does this make it hard to win a game, it also makes for a less enjoyable game. The question is: How do you take back the initiative? The first answer would be to wait until your opponent plays a move you don't have to respond to. That usually doesn't happen. For me, as a beginner, I decided to make a small sacrifice and ignore my opponents good move and attempt to gain sente elsewhere on the board. This helped me very much in my 5 handicap game against
JohnBrian (25k) [5 stones making it an even game]. Rather than respond to many of his moves, I chose instead to build moyo and ignore any move that I could. If I had to respond, I made every attempt to make it a dual-purpose move. By the middle game I had a large moyo and knew an attack inside my territory was imminent. At move 123, White jumped inside my upper left group at the 3-3 point. I have not spent much time with Life and Death problems, and had no desire no lose the game over a lost corner. Instead I played only to contain him. Thinking me a coward, he jumped inside my upper right corner. That changed my mind. I fed him a stone, causing White to become heavy, and after a short exchange, killed his attacking group, and a few moves later, killed off the straglers that tried to crawl further down. I am certain that I owe this victory to taking off the leash and playing my game, and not responding to my opponents' moves. [I hope very much that JohnBrian doesn't speak English because he did not respond to my greeting or thanks at the end of the game. Go has a long heritage of tradition and respect, and the greeting is very important. --I don't know many people named John Brian who don't speak English, but we will give him the benefit of the doubt-- For further reading on the greeting, please stop by and read Chiyodad's blog entry about Greetings. Very well done.

War Legacy In a Little White To-Go Container

2005-09-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt that Go has been changed by the mange, Hikaru No Go. The mass of players flocking to internet Go servers because of the manga has renewed popularity of the game in Japan, and created new market overseas. You can expect that when a large group of people begin to play a game based on a comic book that there will be plenty of bad with good. I am not really interested in debating the pro's and con's of the manga's influence, but I have heard one thing more than once: You mean Honinbo Shusaku was a real person? History twists it's legacies in strange ways and I fear Go's greatest player will one day only be known as a puppet-body of a fictional character, Fujiwara-No-Sai. It reminded me of another strange twist of history.

General Zuo Zongtang was a brilliant Qing dynasty leader who helped put down both the Taiping and Nian Rebellions in China. While in China he is still known for his wise leadership and battlefield skills, in the West, his name has somehow found a home with a dish of fried chicken parts, spicy sauce, and rice. History cannot tell us for sure how one famous General became stuck with America's favorite Chinese food. No doubt a Chinese restaurant owner used the name to add "spice" to one of his dishes. And so the West is left with the legacy of General Zuo Zongtang, that General with that Chinese fried thing-chicken dish that you always order when we go out. History........ Masters of Go and General Tso's Chicken dance to a strange tune.

A Matter of Life and Death I

2005-09-21T21:27:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be interesting to post a Life or Death problem from one of my games into my blog. From the looks of things, White is in bad shape, starting off with a 6-stone handicap. Don't you worry. This White is much stronger than me... and has ME! as an opponent. In the meantime, I played a tenuki and ignored White's move toward my upper left group, just so that I could get into this situation, and find a way out. This game is taking place of the Dragon Go Server. For those not familiar with Dragon, it is not real-time, and each player has about a 3-month time limit. That's right folks: 3 months. [plus sleep and vacation time!]
I have decided to let White have the top while I try to secure the other corners and sides, and hope that I can read Go books fast enough to be able to fight him by the time it gets ugly.
This is probably easy for a lower kyu, but for us 30k's, these positions end up dead. So here is the problem: How can you save the marked Black stones. I don't just mean save them and then get even more stones killed down the sideline. Save!
It's best if you can show move numbers for both Black and White, and keep in mind that White gets to make good moves too.
The problem is posted below in JPG form for viewing, or you can download the SGF file by [RIGHT CLICK] [SAVE TARGET AS] on the SGF <--- I left in the moves so those who would like to see how the situation developed may do so. To go to the problem, skip to the last move. Please email the responses to me, either as a JPG with move numbers, or as an SGF file, and in about a week (once I receive enough responses), I will add the move I chose, how it ended up and the choices other people made.
This one is easy, but has many moves. I will start looking in future games for more suitable Life and Death problems.
-ed note- I have already chosen my move. Don't think I am cheating! :)
-email to Bodhiwater@aol.com

Hwarang of Dashn

2005-09-20T00:41:00.000-05:00

Those of you who began playing Go on KGS, and enjoyed the relaxing, teaching atmosphere, were most likely shocked during their first game on Dashn. These players take aggressive to the extreme. It is 'all-out attack'. Brazilian soccer players play less aggressive than these Hwarang of Korean Computer Go.
Aggressive moves in warefare typically leave large openings, and as my skill increases, I hope to use Dashn as a testing ground in thwarting the onslaught. Teamed with knowledge and a lifelong passion for Sun-Tzu, I hope to change from "The attack are coming!!!" to "Let them come."
In the meantime, here is my very horrible drawing of a Hwarang of Dashn:
P.S. Anyone who has seen the nicely done CG on Chiyodad's blog should avert their eyes to the following. (i missed art class for music class)

In The Opening

2005-09-17T01:15:00.000-05:00

I was shocked... SHOCKED... to find that In The Beginning: by Ikuro Ishigure had already arrived in the mail today. What a great way to start the weekend. That FREE shipping was worth every penny! I was a little surprised to see how tiny the book was. Though I understand that a Go book isn't going to be as thick as the 500 pages of torture that most Bestsellers are, I was taken aback by the fact that it could fit in my wallet. (Nothing could actually fit in my wallet. It is the messiest clump of stuff known to man)
It still looks worth the money-don't get me wrong-but don't be expecting a TOME!

Proof:

As you can see from my many images... I do not have Photoshop... but use an ancient form of picture editing which is difficult to understand given my lack of familiarity with Maya characters, and so the interface is hard to work with. Photoshop donations are always welcome.