Okay, I accept that about Go more than Backgammon. The only reason is that I first learned Backgammon as a youngster and so there all sorts of buried dreams of playing big games and rolling 6-6 to pull off a miracle upset.
I have been playing Go for only a short time, and have not yet even lost my first 50 games. But I love the game as an exercise in harmony.
I see myself playing Go as a form of mediation, of relaxation. I will "advance" when I advance. I will stall when I stall. I will neglect to play when I neglect to play. This last point is especially important in gardening season. Why use Go as metaphor for the harmonies of nature, when I can just experience them directly? But rainy days, as well as those that are cold and hot will call for games.
As I want to be as humble as I can in relation to Go. And not to be arrogant about humility, but I do have a lot of practice being humble, much more than a 10 year old gloating over beating his mother at Backgammon.
As a testament to my humility toward this game, I have watched some videos, really built for beginners. If I had followed my normal mode of operation, I would have played a few games and starting thinking of "disruptive strategies" that will allow me to have my own style and compete with the big-boys. Ah, youth,
I learned a lot from the following videos and will probably refer to them as I move up in beating Fuego, the free Go engine I am playing with on my computer. All of the videos had a common feature that in the past I was have gagged on: they are all a bit hokey. But somehow, in my more humble, open state, I found myself smiling at them, even if it would not be my style to say. All the videos are on a 9 by 9 board. I plan on getting at least 25 of games in on a 9 by 9, before switching to something a bit bigger.
The first video is a near-total novice playing a more experienced player in a game that just divides the board up:
The second video gives a little more open game from the same players:
The third video is someone beating a computer at different level of stone handicap. Helpful in facing my current Go opponent.
