My friend Russell moved back to the KW area after spending many years in California and The Netherlands working on his PhD. Back in the day when we worked together and he rented a room from me one summer, we became interested in the game of Go. Now that he is back, he suggested that we get together on a regular basis to play Go and improve our skills, or at the very least get more experience playing.

For those of you unfamiliar with Go, it is an ancient game involving two players, and the goal is to surround more empty territory on the board than your opponent. There are very few rules, but the apparent simplicity of the game belies the incredible complexity that emerges from those few simple rules. For example, it is much more difficult to write software to play Go than it is to play Chess. The best Chess computer has beaten the world champion human player, but the best Go software is nowhere near professional levels yet.

The game has many logical and aesthetic properties that appeal to me, and I find I can draw many comparisons between a game of Go and subjects such as mathematics, tactical battle strategy, construction, nature, and philosophy. It is also one of the few games that has a well developed handicap system, so that any two people can sit down and play a game regardless of their relative skill level without one person feeling totally inadequate. I think part of the reason I never got into Chess was that whenever I played I would not only get slaughtered, but my opponents would often get frustrated that I was making such suicidal moves that the game was not interesting for them. I have never experienced this problem with Go -- every game is interesting to both players.

So, for two Saturdays now Russell and I have met during tea time at the Lotus Tea House in Waterloo to play a game. Armed with a Go board, some black and white stones, some Himalayan Triangles with Curry Dip, and some Honey Lemon & Ginger Tea, it makes for a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. We are still in the process of trying to work out what our skill levels are relative to each other, but both games have been quite interesting, and I can feel the cobwebs start to clear from parts of my brain that have been dormant for years.

Technical details: This image was taken with my Rebel XT + kit lens at 18mm, ISO 100, f/4.5 for 1/4th of a second. I used my Gorillapod, which Dad and Sheila gave me for Christmas in 2007. I have used it several times now, and it is perfect for situations when using a regular tripod is impossible. Thanks!

Comments

Very nice picture! I love how aesthetically pleasing Go is. It looks like such
a nice way to spend an afternoon - I am also jealous of your Himalayan
Triangles with Curry Dip and Honey Lemon & Ginger Tea. 

Gabe and I have sworn
off Chess and other similar similar games - including checkers, after the
particularly memorable "Checkers Incident". I remember playing Go with you once
though, and thinking that I was doing fairly well the whole game, only to
discover at the very end that I had lost horribly.