I discovered Go about a half a year ago, and I have really gotten into it about 2 months ago. I'm 16 kyu on KGS, and advancing. The only problem is, I know no-one who plays Go or even wants to learn.

I have played against everyone in my family, and whooped them. They don't want to take a handicap. When there is no chance to beat me, what's the point of playing me?

I really want to play Go against people who want to play me. It would be really nice to be able to play against someone in a real live Go match setting. I don't want to be the only one who wants to play.

I live in north-western U.S. and the nearest Go club is 1-2 hours away. My parents wouldn't ever drive that far.

Anyone have this situation? I still love and play Go.

You could try to start a school club.

to start school clubs, you need people. I can't seem to find anyone who wants to play Go, and I don't want to seem like a Go maniac, lol.

I've only ever played Go online. One thousand games and counting. Opponents of your level are available all the time and most of them are civilized people. If you can't find people interested in Go near you, just remember that online servers like KGS are definitely viable alternative.

Is there somebody near you on igolocal? But about 99% of my games have been online.

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Sanity is for the weak.

there's not much you can do other than playing online. if some of your friends watch anime, you could show them Hikaru no go, it is pretty good for recruiting new players. or among chess (other board games) players you would have better chance that someone give go a try than in "random" sample. but from my experience, converting others to do what i do unfortunately doesn't work very well anyway

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Spilling gasoline feels good.

I might be wrong, but probably not.

Never give beginners a choice about handicap!

You could also consider smaller boards when playing against beginners.

Yes, I've been starting my girlfriend with capture go on a 9x9 with 5 handicap. She's got to 50/50 win ratio.

If you are the oldest in the family, your bros and sisters would right away start to play Go, because you know the saying that all the kids imitate their oldest sibling. If you are not, then let them win a couple of times and you will get what is want. You can also try at school, and if the other kids begin to shout at you that you are a go maniak or any other bullshit, then simply tell them to go to hell.

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Stefany, web programmer

Thanks, I think I have found a local Go club, that I have never heard of. I recently contacted someone for the times they meet. I am waiting for a reply.

I will try to give a handicap and let them beat me. It will be hard though because they are blind that my territory is impenetrable.

I think you should give a high enough handicap that you don't need to let them beat you



Maybe you'll get good practice defending territory this way

When they are placing them there, and I kill all their pieces, they get frustrated and then don't think that it is fun to play me.

I'm giving my dad 25 stones:

http://www.dragongoserver.net/game.php?gid=607320

I think he's too good already though, next time we'll try 15

try to win without killing

If you're having issues where you're easily winning, try playing while talking about the logic behind every move. You won't be able to hoodwink them, because they'll know exactly what you're thinking. Getting to see your thought process can be a huge jump for them

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Tactics yes, Tact no...

Not the OP, but I'm guessing this is general advice. I've tried this a few times, from each side. The first time was in a club, IRL, with a player who was about 4 stones stronger than me-- we talked through the whole game. I'd ask questions like "Are you really that worried about those 4 stones?" after almost every move, and he'd answer describing what his actual goals were. I found it really helpful, because usually his reasons for playing a stone, and the directions he intended them to support, were completely different from how I'd seen things. I ended up responding to a lot of moves from directions I wouldn't have thought of, and ended up winning by about 30 points.

Another time I played someone in a club about 10 stones stronger than me, specifying that I wanted to talk through the whole game in the same way, he did give me a lot of useful suggestions and comments. It was very useful to be able to ask questions-- I still remember his recommendation for the optimal development from a 2-point stretch-- but at the same time, it was difficult getting recommendations about responses from someone that much stronger than me. It almost felt more like I were watching the game than actually playing it at times.

Another time was online, playing someone at least 10 stones weaker than me. I tried to do the same thing, explaining to him the motivation for each move, and some of the possible answers. It felt really awkward, because first, it took just so ridiculously long-- I let him take back moves whenever he wanted, and we chatted over almost every move-- and secondly, because he was so unused to go that he made a lot of very limp moves. I didn't want to beat him by too much, particularly when I was supposed to be giving him the advantage, and it was a struggle to find moves that weren't entirely bad but that still left the weaknesses that I wanted him to find ways to attack. In the end he won by about 20 points, but I didn't feel quite satisfied.

I've taken many teaching games and game reviews from stronger players online, but I don't think I've ever had one in that talking format. It's just so much easier to play the game and then go over the issues, if it's online. Talking games are difficult from both sides: from the stronger side, because each stone can have so many purposes and can carry so many implied threats, and you don't want to overwhelm the other person by trying to explain the full meaning of a move-- and from the weaker side, because it's hard to know what to ask or how to use the information you get.

I suppose what it comes down to is an endorsement of Malkovich games-- maybe it's easier in that format. But I definitely think that talking about the logic behind every move is easier said than done!