I'm a bit of a sucker for stories of how pros learnt go, even if more than a few seem embellished, but I enjoyed reading about young Japanese pro Hirata Tomoya, currently 2-dan at age 17. Apart from his different beginnings, there's a nice little tailpiece that will make a few eyes pop.

Hirata's personality seems to stand out in an engaging way. Most pros asked out their style just give stereotyped phrases (e.g. "orthodox"). Hirata gives "absurdly mad about territory". I've always had a hunch that pros who start very early love territory more than most, and Hirata would confirm that. He started at the absurdly early age of three. He was already playing Othello, but when he went to his grandfather's house he saw that granddad would watch the NHK go games on tv. At first he thought it was giant Othello, but granddad taught him the rules of go, and soon he was taking lessons at a local school. It possibly helped that this was in Hiroshima, which is historically noted as a prime centre for go in Japan. It's where Shusaku came from.

Even in kindergarten Hirata began taking part in local tournaments. He claims he was weak, but he was beating university students and so getting his games published in Go Weekly. Equally engagingly, he admits to reading those reports.

A turning point for him was when his father changed jobs and moved to Tokyo. He was thus able to dream of becoming an insei. He actually became a pupil of So Kofuku instead, as a result of meeting him at an amateur tournament, and he also kept up his schooling. He was in his first year of high school when he became pro. He said the school was very understanding, sanctioning his absences for official games and (very interesting this - suggests it's seen as part of trainingh) game-recording duties. He said this was because the school saw go as part of traditional culture. So much for the tradition scoffers!

Hirata has a nice line in comments: "All my moves in the upper right were careless mistakes". His natural-sounding honesty thus makes his assessment of his strengths believable, too, and this is the promised tailpiece. Asked whether he was confident about his endgame, his eyes lit up and he said, "Yes" and then added: "Even in games at 10-seconds a move I know what the points difference will be at the end of the game." This is the first time that I at least have seen specific confirmation of something I imagine most of us have always suspected. Even after "knowing" it already, I still found this eye-popping.

Thanks John, for another terrific story.

On counting the score, a few days ago I played a game with a fellow shodan (that's what I consider myself these days) and another soon-to-be-shodan was watching. I find myself to be just a little stronger and not for long anymore, mostly in terms of gamesmanship and not really in skill. The game ended and I said "1,5 pts for me". It was a game without time constraints and I had counted it repeatedly. That this was exactly the score earned me kudos around the table while my opponent admitted he didn't really know but felt slightly ahead.

I thought it was strange for this "ability" to be praised and I am not surprised pros excel at it to the point of the supernatural. It indicates once more how relatively important the endgame is and how underdeveloped it is among amateurs. Without time constraints, really all it asks to count the score is discipline.