THE BEGINNER'S CORNER

Taking the Fork in the Road
November 24, 2003
by David "Bippy" Boyer

Yankees manager Yogi Berra used to say "When you come to a fork in the road.... Take it." This came to mind the day that I lost five straight games at the recent Empty Sky tournament in Rochester, New York. What do I do now? I wondered. Am I THAT weak? How much more time can I invest in trying to learn go? And the big one: Can I hack it? After all, I'm 48 years old and never heard of go until three years ago. 
To take the new fork in the road on my Go journey, I talked with fellow members of the Empty Sky tournament. I was surprised to find that many of our stronger members lost some games too but I wondered how often someone posts a 0-5 result. "Many times!" other club members assured me, including a dan player who revealed that he lost a "bunch of games" at a Go Congress. 

The moral support was encouraging. "Let's get stronger together.  Let's play more Go!" Eugenia Huang e-mailed me enthusiastically. After the fourth round, Ed Brannin coached me about an opening move that was more aggressive than what I usually play. I had brought a Japanese goban to the tournament from home and everyone used it between games to discuss strategies. The goban had been a gift from Miss Tomoko Sasaki-san on one of my trips to Japan and had been in her family for over fifty years; what an encouraging gesture! 

I enjoy many of the people that I meet in the go world and some have become new friends. I've been able to use my humble experience in professional photography and caricature to capture go players and some tournament and club action. I lost all my games at the Rochester tournament and it is almost certainly not in my future to be a pro, but I have demonstrated go to curious people wherever I travel. I do want to get stronger and play more go, so I took the fork in the road toward more go: see you at the Go Congress in Rochester, New York in 2004!

Check out Bippy's photos, caricatures and the Empty Sky Go Club at  http://www.bippies.com 

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