Skip to content

Generic Viagra generic viagra 50mg bizrate com

Skill To Gain: Become a Go Master

By Micah Redding
January 10, 2009

Ever since I watched the movie Pi, I’ve known that the game of Go contained the secrets to predicting the stock market, seeing the future, and controlling the universe. At least, I think that’s what I was supposed to get out of that movie. At least, I remember there being a Go board somewhere in there. The first Go game

So I’ve always wanted to learn to play Go. Even a chance at ruling the universe is better than an afternoon arguing over Monopoly money.

Go is an ancient Chinese game - kind of like the Asian version of Chess. Except that it’s not about moving pieces around like you were in control of a battlefield - it’s about laying them down carefully like you were installing plumbing in the Emperor’s palace.

Before Christmas, I didn’t know anything about how Go worked. But somehow we ended up with a board and a set of a whole bunch of black and white stones. And then set out to become Go Masters.

Fortunately, the gameset also included a handy instruction booklet.

My approach to Go was based on the idea that the best way to learn a new skill is to try it out before you completely understand it. So I got a basic (and completely wrong) idea of the rules, and started.

Our first game (pictured above) was intense. I started by delicately placing a stone on a random spot on the board. Then he responded with another stone of the opposite color. Quickly, I countered with a third stone.

I was sweating as I watched him move to place the fourth stone, then feint to the right, as he placed it exactly where I would not have expected: right in the middle. My stress level was going through the roof, but I had to keep this under control.

At the fifth stone, I faltered, placing it down heavily. I was losing my cool.

He set the sixth stone down like he was dropping a torpedo on a band of unsuspecting Nazis. Brutal.

“Remember,” I said to myself. “You are the Go Master!”

Suddenly the haze of confusion cleared. The world seemed to move in slow motion, as I executed a Matrix-style stone placement that left the fabric of space-time warping behind me. My fingers were like harbingers of doom, flying through the air, leaving destruction in their wake.

Effortlessly, I countered, blocked, and surrounded his stones. One by one they fell, like so many flies being led to the swatter. I placed one last stone, and his hope for victory disappeared in the wake of my Matrix-style power.

“Your move”, I said.

I knew that I was The One.

All I had to do now was learn the rules.

Follow more of the adventures of Micah and Ryan and friends as they become Go Masters, and finally learn the rules of the game, next time.

Posted in Skill To Gain.

One Response

Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.

  1. HB1983 said
    on January 12, 2009

    This made me snort laugh out loud at work. Thanks! :)

Some HTML is OK

(required)

(required, but never shared)

or, reply to this post via trackback.