American Go E-Journal » Why We Play

“Why We Play” videos wanted

Wednesday July 8, 2020

The E-Journal team will be covering the upcoming e-Congress in the E-Journal and on our Twitch channel; watch for a program schedule soon. In addition to covering some of the e-Congress events, we want to hear from you, our readers and viewers. Why do you play go? What’s your most memorable go experience? Share your story with us – just record a brief video on your phone or webcam – and we’ll share it with the world during the e-Congress! Videos must include your name, where you’re from, how long you’ve been playing go, and should be no longer than 3 minutes; send them to journal@usgo.org

2020 e-Go Congress schedule released (7/4)

2020 e-Go Congress announced (6/30)

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Your Move/Readers Write: Why we play Go

Monday June 24, 2019

By Mark Rubenstein

Why do we play this game? Some might say it’s just for fun, but I believe it goes deeper than that. I think many of us have discovered that Go is more than a game; it’s a space where we can experiment with a way of thinking that helps us engage more fully in life.

When we play Go, the fundamental question we are asking throughout the game is; what’s important? Every move we play, we ask ourselves; where is the most important place for me to be playing now? Every time our opponent makes a move, we ask ourselves; is that move important? What does he want? Why is he playing there? Do I need to respond to that move? Do I agree that what he finds important is also important to me? These questions resonate deeply within us, even when they are only being asked in the context of a game of Go. They trigger a way of thinking that we find engaging and meaningful.

Some people say that you can see aspects of someone’s personality in the way they play Go. I think there’s some truth in that. Do you live and let live on the Go board? Do you try to kill everything? Do you shy away from a fight? Are you willing to sacrifice unimportant stones? I think as we ask these questions on the Go board, we also see their application in our daily lives. If these questions only applied to the game of Go, I don’t think we would all find ourselves as deeply interested in and enamored of the game. I think these questions tap into something more fundamental in our nature, and stimulate our desire to express our personalities more fully in the world.

As we review our games, we are replaying our thoughts and feelings. We aren’t looking for the perfect move we missed; we’re looking for the thought that kept us from seeing that move. The game story is not a list of the moves that were played; it’s a narrative of a conversation each player is having with himself and his opponent.

In this new era of AI, I fear that we are orienting ourselves to a narrow goal; to win the game. Of course, we all want to win games. But there’s much more to each game we play than just winning; there is the discovery of what we find important, and how that affects the course of the game… and maybe the course of our lives.

Rubenstein runs the Evanston (IL) Go Club 

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Why We Play: Melissa Cao 4D, Edward Gillis 2D

Friday August 5, 2016

Melissa Cao 4DMelissa Cao
Age: 13
Lives in: New Jersey
Home Club: Feng Yun Go School
Years playing go: 4
Favorite thing about go: “I like how sometimes when you fight you get the outside, you get a wall and you’re able to use that wall to make territory and use that for other battles during the game.” Melissa said she’s mostly been playing that way this tournament, and that’s her typical style. “I usually like go because it helps my concentration too. Before I wouldn’t concentrate as much but after I’ve been playing go I would concentrate more.”

Edward GillisEdward Gillis 2D
Age: 58
Lives in: Boston, MA
Years playing go: 44
Favorite thing about go: “The rules are simple, but the strategy is complex. The margin between winning and losing is narrow so it makes it a good game from the point of view of developing strategies.” Edward used to play chess, but transitioned to go at a young age. “I like go better than chess because it seems more universal. It’s simple rules, you can cultivate a sense of attack and defense or who has the ability to force his opponent (sente). I only heard about go much later than chess. I was making a go board for myself in high school shop class. It turns out my [math] teacher was a go player, so I advanced rapidly. That got me a good start, so I was lucky.”

– report/photos by Samantha Fede, E-Journal special correspondent, reporting from the 2016 U.S. Go Congress  

 

 

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Why We Play: Aniket Schneider 1D, Anna Wegiel 15k

Thursday August 4, 2016

Aniket Schneider 1DAniket Schneider
Age: 31
Lives in: Boston, MA
Home Club: Massachusetts Go Association
Years playing go: 14
Favorite thing about go: “Exploring the space of probabilities after the fact… We moved through this landscape of possibilities and just seeing where else we could have gone in the game. In many ways I play games of go so that I have something to analyze later, not analyze so I can play more games. It’s also why I enjoy go problems so much.”

Anna WegielAnna Wegiel
Age: 25
Lives in: Warsaw, Poland
Years playing go: 1
Favorite thing about go: “I like the elegance of it and I like the satisfaction that comes with it. And I like that you’re really learning a lot very quickly. Mostly I play with my friends, so it’s not really a learning thing, it’s just for fun. I feel I’m starting to be interested in it during this tournament. After three games that I’ve already had at this tournament I feel I know a lot more about this game.”

– report/photos by Samantha Fede, E-Journal special correspondent, reporting from the 2016 U.S. Go Congress  

 

 

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Why We Play: Nqua Xiong 1k, Alister Hake 12k

Tuesday August 2, 2016

Nqua XiongNqua Xiong 1k
Age: 28
Lives in: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Home Club: Twin Cities Go Club
Years playing go: 9
Favorite thing about go: “The adrenaline rush. It’s the whole game… being able to see all the different fighting variations that come out from different people.”

IMG_7754Alister Hake 12k
Age: 29
Lives in: Sedona, AZ, originally from Liverpool, England
Home Club: Started a local one with friends, and the ASU Go Club
Years playing go: 3
Favorite thing about go: “The subtlety to the way it moves.. it’s an amorphous game. It’s just the way it shifts. Things that are all dead come back to life, things that were alive die. That interchange, the way it just spins with the moves. It’s mind-boggling and at the same time enigmatic and intriguing and that’s the best bit about it. Especially when you watch pro games, like Andy [Liu 1P] and Myungwan [Kim 9P], you see the depth of thought and visual imagination and how powerful that is. That level of skill is just mind blowing.” It’s not just about the game for Alister. “It’s really friendly, everyone’s welcome. Everyone can just play and have a good time. It’s an overwhelming characteristic of the US Go Congress.”

– report/photos by Samantha Fede, E-Journal special correspondent, reporting from the 2016 U.S. Go Congress  

 

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Why We Play: Alexandra Patz 13k, Lee Schumacher 1D

Sunday July 31, 2016

Alexandra Patz 13k
Age: 43Alexandra Patz
Lives in: New York, NY, originally from South Africa
Years playing go: 5 years, but learned almost 20 years ago and took a break
Favorite thing about go: Alexandra likes how stimulating go is for the brain. “Very engaging,” she explained. When asked if she plays other brain games, she says, “It’s really just go, I tried chess as I child, I never really liked it, I never learned bridge. I lived in Japan for a year, so I became interested in Japanese culture. And when I moved back to South Africa, I joined a go club there.” 2016.07.31_lee-schumacherShe’s also fascinated by AlphaGo, and the deep learning involved. “[Go] is an amazing community, too,” she adds, “Clever people.”

Lee Schumacher 1D
Years playing go: Since the age of 13
Lives in: California
Favorite thing about go: “The focus, the immersion.”

– report/photos by Samantha Fede, E-Journal special correspondent, reporting from the 2016 U.S. Go Congress  

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Why We Play: Edward Zhang 6d

Wednesday October 28, 2015

Age: 362015.10.28_Edward Zhang-self
Years playing go: 26
Lives in: McLean, VA
Home club: Capital Go Club

Life is unpredictable: could be great, could go south. Playing go for nearly three decades has taught me strategies that have benefited me tremendously in my current career in financial planning. Reading out the variations helps me understand which is a manageable trade and which is an unfavorable battle. It’s also important to keep a couple byo-yomi periods for the uncertainties at the end. That said, it’s still impossible to predict a go game or life, but we can always plan to avoid the unnecessary pains, taking only the calculable risks.

Why do you play? Tell us in 100 words or less your favorite thing about the game of go, include your name, age, how long you’ve played go, where you live and your home go club, and email to journal@usgo.org. Be sure to include a current photo!

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Why We Play: Michael Albert 8k

Wednesday September 23, 2015

Age: 212015.09.24_Michael-Albert
Years playing go: 7
Lives in: Richfield, Minnesota
Home Club: Twin Cities Go Club

“Before I started playing go, I was constantly bullied and abused. Once I discovered Hikaru No Go, I have not looked back. Since I started playing go my life has changed. I play not only to better myself as a human being but to communicate with others who do not speak my language. It is because of go I now have friends from all over the world: China, Japan, Korea and Mexico, just to name a few. I play go because it saved my life. I play go because it lets me be me.”

Why do you play? Tell us in 100 words or less your favorite thing about the game of go, include your name, age, how long you’ve played go, where you live and your home go club, and email to journal@usgo.org. Be sure to include a current photo!

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Why We Play: Devin Fraze 3K

Wednesday September 16, 2015

Age: 25OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Years playing go: 3
Lives in: Columbus, Ohio
Home club: Columbus Igo Club

“I love to travel. In the past, I always sought out swing dancing events as I traveled. Now, I often search for local go clubs or tournaments. Thanks to go, I’ve made friends all over the world. I’ve trained in the mountains of Costa Rica, played in the back alleys of Korea, competed in China and Ecuador, and hitch-hiked and cycled from New York to California visiting every club along the way. My opponent and I may not always speak the same language, but when I sit down across a board from them our hands begin to talk. Through grunts, sighs, and bursts of laughter we engage in a deep and meaningful conversation and by the end, I’ve made a new friend.”

Why do you play? Tell us in 100 words or less your favorite thing about the game of go, include your name, age, how long you’ve played go, where you live and your home go club, and email to journal@usgo.org. Be sure to include a current photo!

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Why We Play: Kevin Hwang 3D

Friday September 4, 2015

Age: 322015.09.03_Kevin-Hwang
Years playing go: 12
Lives in: Dallas, Texas

“Go is possibly one of the last things in this world that involves long-form communication. In a society of five-second videos and messages, go is one of the few opportunities you have to sit down with someone and do something for at least 30 minutes. That chance to interact, to discuss, and to mutually change one another, is what I like most about go.” photo by Phil Straus

First in a series; if you’d like to participate, tell us your favorite thing about the game of go, include your name, age, how long you’ve played go and where you live, and email to journal@usgo.org. Be sure to include a current photo!

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