The Empty Board

The Burden of Winning
July 19, 2004
By William Cobb

It is definitely fun to win. Recently I won all of my games in a tournament and I have to admit it was a lark. There's a danger in winning, though. It's a moment in go when you can easily get caught up in yourself and your own feelings and forget that there's more to this game than just your own winning and losing. Go naturally creates a wonderful community of cooperative and supportive players, which is one of its main attractions. But when you get excited about a win you can lose sight of the importance of the community and forget about the person you were just playing with. There's an ancient tradition in go that the winner owes the loser a lesson, which the loser is eager to receive. This practice aims at helping both the winner and the loser continue to have a positive attitude toward and involvement in the interactive community that is the go world. So as the winner you have a burden. You can't just indulge your glee and dance around happily. Your job is to help the loser find a positive dimension in the experience. Be generous as well as helpful. Focus on lifting the loser's spirits as well as improving his or her understanding. If you remember that the community of players is what makes go such a marvelous game, you'll know what to do. This is what Buddhists mean when they say that understanding produces compassion.

The Empty Board #3; Past columns are archived at http://www.slateandshell.com/billcobb.asp


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