Life In 19x19

Hi everybody! My names Ben. I'm a 20 year old male from the foothills of California. I'm very new to go; I've only been playing intermittently for about 6 months now. When I was in high school a few of my friends used to play go on graph paper during history class. Thinking it was too weird, I had never tried it until I discovered the series Hikaru no Go on netflix (which, I hear, is not an uncommon way to discover go).

I love this game. Though I am still a relatively weak player, I am fascinated by the subtle complexities of the game, the history behind it's 2500 year development, and the culture behind it's expansion. I was a fairly avid chess player in high school, but to me go is a far superior game simply because of the immensely abstract concepts that must be learned to master it.

I've been playing mostly on the Flyordie.com go server. Unfortunately where I live there are a shortage of go players - I know one other that lives in the area. On Flyordie I tend to hover around the 100 rank (out of 800), but I have a hard time figuring out where I stand in terms of traditional kyu ratings. I have a beginners grasp of joseki's and am just starting to really develop my fuseki strategy.

Go is game that I can see developing a lifelong passion for. I'm looking forward to getting started in my first go community. here's hoping for a good experience!

Which foothills of California?

Welcome! Have you also tried KGS or IGS ?

oren wrote:Which foothills of California?

The northern foothills. West of Lake Tahoe and Northeast of Sacramento and Merced. I'm from a small city called Sonora which is in Tuolumne County.

EdLee wrote:Welcome! Have you also tried KGS or IGS ?

Thanks! I haven't ever tried IGS, but I've been on KGS once or twice. It was a very confusing format to me as a new go player and I wasn't quite sure about how to use it. I'm thinking it's probably better than what I'm using now though.

If you're willing to make a bit of a drive, you can attend quite a few events in the bay area.

Welcome to L19.

What leads you to live out in the sticks there? ( The only other person that I've known in Sonora used to grow weeds in the national forests just to the west. )

oren wrote:If you're willing to make a bit of a drive, you can attend quite a few events in the bay area.

I plan to! I want to get a bit stronger before I attempt something like a tournament though. Right now the only reason I don't go down for the lectures is because I have no money

Joaz Banbeck wrote:Welcome to L19.

What leads you to live out in the sticks there? ( The only other person that I've known in Sonora used to grow weeds in the national forests just to the west. )

Thanks! Glad to be here.

When I was living with my parents my dad (who is a mining engineer) got job out at one of the local limestone quarries. After I graduated I wanted to move someplace else and go to school, but I didn't have the funds. Sonora's not too bad really. I've kept my sanity by developing a taste for outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hiking, and caving... Sonora's great if you're into outdoor adventure type stuff. Horrible if you're trying to find go players or anything resembling a night life.

Welcome to the forum!

tsuhre wrote:

oren wrote:If you're willing to make a bit of a drive, you can attend quite a few events in the bay area.

I plan to! I want to get a bit stronger before I attempt something like a tournament though. Right now the only reason I don't go down for the lectures is because I have no money

Davis, CA has an active club I think. No need to wait til you're stronger to go to a tournament -- go to enjoy playing real live face-to-face games, and to meet new people, and you'll learn so much more than online or by yourself.

xed_over wrote: Davis, CA has an active club I think. No need to wait til you're stronger to go to a tournament -- go to enjoy playing real live face-to-face games, and to meet new people, and you'll learn so much more than online or by yourself.

That's awesome that Davis has an active club. Unfortunately it's still a little too far for me to go on a regular basis. It's good to know that beginners aren't discouraged from entering tournaments . I was looking on AGA and saw that there might be an active club down in oakdale, which is much closer to me. Do you know if most tournaments posted on AGA or are there other sites that have event scheduals?

BTW, tsuhre, I like your sig

Bonobo wrote:BTW, tsuhre, I like your sig

Haha, Thanks! I like it a lot too. Now I just wish I was better at winning battles.

Seriously though, I often find that different play strategies or move sequences are comparable to real life situations in how you approach or defend against conflict.

tsuhre wrote:Haha, Thanks! I like it a lot too. Now I just wish I was better at winning battles.

Seriously though, I often find that different play strategies or move sequences are comparable to real life situations in how you approach or defend against conflict.

Exactly how I perceived it in the past 1.5 years since I returned to playing Go.

Welcome aboard!