Thoughts on Go

I played Go against my wife tonight. She is familiar with the rules and has played a few games. She hasn't read nearly as much about the game or spent as much time obsessing over the subject as I have. She pushed me hard. I won by eight or nine moku not including my komi for playing white. For someone who really hasn't studied the game she plays very well. She is one of the smartest people I know so it isn't a surprise that she is an intuitive player.

I play the game because it relaxes me. It allows me to clear my mind of all extraneous thought and for a while escape onto the board. There it is only me and my opponent. We take a blank board and create shapes and duel until the borders form and one has claimed more space. The number of correct moves is virtually infinite. It is more art than science.

My wife has the opposite response. The vastness of the board stresses her out. We came to Go from a poker background. In poker, you can check, raise, call, or fold. There are only four moves. Usually only one or two is correct. Occasionally more than one could be correct. In no limit, there may be mathematical calculations to figure out how much to raise or if the pot odds are sufficient to call. Facing a board where there could be a dozen moves that would help claim position or firm a boundary, my wife gets stressed.

I suppose the game of Go isn't for everyone. At least she reads the blog...