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by Aria von Elbe
August 6, 2004
How’s this for nerve-wracking: it's the final match of the table at the Pair Go Tournament and you're staring at a tricky life or death problem that will win or lose the game. Worse, your partner is a 6 dan pro who blithely started the trouble you’re now facing.
Honestly, I didn't think we'd even win one game. Although I’d teamed up with Maeda Ryo, a 6 dan professional from the Kansai Kiin, I had serious doubts about 18-kyu myself. Not only have I never played Pair Go before, but I’ve heard it's much more difficult than regular go. And while Maeda-sensei had never played Pair Go before, he's a pro so that wouldn't be a problem.
I only have myself to blame, though. After all, I asked Maeda-sensei if he would be my partner, and then waited until just minutes before the match to go over basic techniques. I didn't want to get to the goban and make a complete fool out of myself in front of the pro who has taught me most of the things I've learned this week. So why did I ask him? I guess at the time it just seemed like it would be the best, most fun thing to do.
Now though, in the actual event, fun was the furthest thing from my mind. Instead, a one-track train kept chugging through my mind as I second-guessed every single move that I made and wondered what Maeda-sensei was thinking I should do. Some in the large crowd of spectators told me later that I looked as though I was about to cry. Others said I looked like I was going to kill myself over the goban. "Don't worry, you did well," is what I heard from my partner, and it was somehow both reassuring and even more nerve-wracking at the same time.
In the end, of course, it was a good time. We won the top board at our table, but more importantly I learned a lot from the review we did together afterwards. Still, I think I'm going to put playing Pair Go with the pros off for a while. It takes more years off my young life than I can really spare right now. Maybe next year, huh?
-16-year-old Aria von Elbe
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