Life In 19x19

hey all,

i've been playing go for years but never followed any pro players. i'd like to start learning and rooting for my favorite players.

can anyone suggest a good resource for learning the background of the tournaments, the players and rivalries that can sort of catch me up. i figure it's best to follow one country, at least first, so i'd love to hear the reasons you like to follow the country you do!

http://gogameguru.com/top-20-pro-go-2010/

And check the homepage for recent pro news e.g. detailed coverage of the ongoing jubango between Lee Sedol and Gu Li.

This page on Sensei's Library gives an overview of professional tournaments: http://senseis.xmp.net/?ProfessionalTournaments

This one has links to pages for individual famous pros, both historical and contemporary: http://senseis.xmp.net/?Professional

It is a little unfashionable now but I am a fan of Japanese go. I lived in Japan decades ago and I speak and read Japanese so I have access to all the literature in Japanese. Also I find the history of Japanese go interesting. Particular Japanese players whose games I tend to enjoy include Dosaku, Chitoku, Jowa, Shuwa, Shuei, Go Seigen, Takagawa, Fujisawa Hideyuki (Shuko), Otake, Rin, Takemiya, Kobayashi (Koichi). These are all either historical or senior contemporary players.

And over here you can find recent results of major tournaments updated quite often.

great places to start

thanks all!