▦ Go ▦

[Ehrinn]

Hey everyone! Yagami and some of my other close friends have been learning to play an oriental game of strategy called 'Go'. We usually play online together as it's just easier that way, especially when your still learning the basics, but it is traditionally played on a real board. If you would be interested in learning how to play, here is an online guide to learning the basics. It may take about 30-45 min. to go through that, but it's much easier than just reading the rules, as it explains everything right in front of you (also, you will come across a section describing Japanese and Chinese counting differences, Yagami and I play Japanese counting rules, which means we do not count stones as points, only territory... also, 'dead stones' [not to be confused with 'captured stones'] count as two points for the player that has them in their territory). Yagami and I use a Go server online called KGS. Here is a link to where you can download the KGS program to use on your computer. It's free and easy to use (Yagami can vouch for that). You simply click on 'Download the Client and SGF Editor' and follow it's instructions. The program is run through Java. If you have any questions or comments on this subject, post them here.

 

[Ehrinn]

Don't mind the poll Yagami...lol... I'm just messin' with ya.  

[Clutch 45]

Nmfrhm, HMMdidly...  

[Clutch 45]

But yes, it's really easy to learn and quite fun to play! I enjoy it a lot, especially since I can get on and play it online when I have time to.  

[Ehrinn]

Here is an introduction to the idea of the game itself and a few things that I found out about the game after becoming a regular player...

Go is a 2 player game that originates from the orient. It is one of the oldest games known, approximately 4000 years. Unlike Shogi (Japanese Chess) and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), there is no parallel game in the west. This makes learning the game somewhat difficult to grasp, though the rules are simple and logical.

Go is an abstract game based on the concept that if you posses land or territory, you have an area to base life on. You then have liberty and freedom. Without land or territory, you do not have anything to base life on. Then you can be considered without life, or dead.

Go is therefore a game of territory and not movement. You win by forming walls within your pieces that surround more territory than your opponent's walls. When a piece or "stone" is placed on the board, it stays there for the entire game, unless it is captured. Then the stone is removed from the board. But capturing is not as common and being captured is not nearly as detrimental to ones cause as in most western games, like chess and checkers.

Go begins with an empty board. It is focused on building from the ground up (nothing to something) with multiple, simultaneous battles leading to a point-based win. Where as Chess, one can say, is in the end tactical rather than strategic, as the predetermined strategy is to kill one individual piece (the king).

A similar comparison has been drawn among Go, chess and backgammon, perhaps the three oldest games that still enjoy worldwide popularity. Backgammon is a "man vs. fate" contest, with chance playing a strong role in determining the outcome. Chess, with rows of soldiers marching forward to capture each other, embodies the conflict of "man vs. man". Because the handicap system tells Go players where they stand relative to other players, an honestly ranked player can expect to lose about half of their games; therefore, Go can be seen as embodying the quest for self-improvement—"man vs. self".

"On the Go board there are 360 intersections plus one. The One is supreme and gives rise to the other numbers because it occupies the center and governs the four quarters. The number 360 corresponds to the number of days in the lunar year. The division of the Go board into four quarters symbolizes the four seasons. There are 72 intersections on the sides, like the number of five-day weeks in a year. The balance of Yin and Yang is the model for the equal division of the 360 stones into black and white that come into play like the passage of day and night."

~Based on The Classic of Go
by Chang Ni c. 1050 AD

 

[Ehrinn]

Clutch 45

Nmfrhm, HMMdidly...

WTH was that?  

[Ehrinn]

Here's the manga I've been reading that got me interested in the game. (Please remember that this Manga is in the traditional Japanese format, meaning it reads from right to left.) When you click on the link, scroll to the bottom where it says 'Hikaru no Go 1' and click that to get started. It's not as nice as holding the manga itself in your hands (that's why I own them ^^), but it's free and easy. Also, don't be overwhelmed by the numbers... they are Chapters, not Manga themselves...lol.

Hikaru no Go

But if you read past Chapter 156, please don't tell me what happens... this site translates the original Japanese versions of the manga and so, considering the U.S. doesn't have those Chapters for sale yet, I've not read them. I must patiently wait for August to come... T.T

 

[Ehrinn]

Yagami and I both desire to have a Go Tournament amongst our guild members. All who are interested in learning the game and/or entering the tournament please PM Yagami or Kyo. Even beginners may enter as Go's awesome handicap system can even out the odds between players. I will be making sure that every match is as even as possible. But to do that, I will need to first ascertain each entrant's playing level. I will be in the tournament, which means that all of my Prize Dragons will be handed out to the other entrants as Special Prize Dragons. Speaking of Dragons... check out the prizes.... tons of Dragons.... Did I mention that this would be a very good chance to gain Dragons?


The Tournament will be formatted into 3 rounds (could change based on amount of entrants):


*The Tails Round

Player vs Player, the winner = A, the loser = G
Player vs Player, the winner = B, the loser = H
Player vs Player, the winner = C, the loser = I


*The Knuckles Round

A vs B
A vs C
B vs C

If A, B, or C wins twice, they = D
If A, B, or C wins once, they = E
If A, B, or C loses twice, they = F

G vs H
G vs I
H vs I

If G, H, or I wins twice, they = J
If G, H, or I wins once, they = K
If G, H, or I loses twice, they = L

*The Sonic Round

D vs J, The winner = 1st, the loser = 2nd
E vs K, The winner = 3rd, the loser = 4th
F vs L, the winner = 5th, the loser = 6th


Prizes

*1st Place* - (20 Dragons)
+2nd Place+ - (16 Dragons)
-3rd Place- - (10 Dragons)
=4th Place= - (8 Dragons)
~5th Place~ - (6 Dragons)
:6th Place: - (5 Dragons)


So far we have 4 entrants (the more we get, the better the prizes):

Clutch 45
Jade Ralden
XxSuper GxX
Sheraedan

 

[Ehrinn]

Woot! Rock is interested!  

[Clutch 45]

Yes! This is gonna be fun!!  

[Ehrinn]

If you go to look us up on KGS, our names are Clutch45 and RedSpade.  

[Ehrinn]

If I asked you to make two eyes (not false eyes) using the fewest stones possible, how many stones would it take?

There's a Dragon in it if anyone PMs me the correct answer.

Please don't post the answer here  

[Ehrinn]

I just discovered a sweet program called 'Igowin'.

This is a computer program that's free and easy to install. It took me a couple minutes to figure out how to properly install it, so if you have questions about how to install it, just post them here. It's a computer program that plays on a 9x9 board. Your handicap starts at 5 stones and will be reduced bit by bit as you beat it, and your rank will increase (at the top right, you start at 25 kyu and increase from there... the smaller number the better). If you understand the basic rules of the game, you can use this program to practice. Also, once you have a rank determined, I can use it to determine a rank for you to use in our tournament and what handicaps people will receive against one another.

I recommend this program to everyone. Each game can be as short as a couple minutes, so it takes very little time to play.

Here is a link to the place that you can download it from. Simply click this link and then click on the other link on that page that says 'igowin.exe'. Then follow the prompts, allowing the program to download. If you have trouble unzipping the file, and you don't have winzip (I don't either) then you can unzip it using admin permission, which you have. Like I said, if you have any issues with the download, post them here and I'll see what I can do.