That's the one nice thing about discovering Go in your 50s, going pro is the one temptation you never have to worry about.

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"Play confidently. Make the best of mistakes."
- Janice Kim, Learn to Play Go Vol. 1

I certainly learned too late, already in College, and pre-internet so it was even difficult for me to get to play. So I had no illusions.

By the time I started playing in tournaments, ambitions began to materialize. I can remember being at the 1st US Go Congress as an 8kyu, looking at the player list and thinking, "Man, if I could just get to 5 kyu I would be in the upper half of the field"

At the 2nd Congress a 5 kyu looked at the player list, "Man, if I could just get to 2 kyu, I would be in the upper half of the field"

At the 3rd Congress a 2 kyu looked at the player list, "if I was 1 kyu I would be in the upper half of the field".

Now I am content with working on my game, trying to get better, and teaching others. I do not think I will ever reach my highest ambition - not to win the U.S. Open - never realistic, but I had hoped to be someone the winner beat someday.

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My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle

I chose "other"

Go is a fun game and I do want to get stronger, but I would not want to devote the rest of my life to it.

Plus I started late and would have to study every waking hour to get that strong.

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I think therefor I have a headache.

This was the answer I was looking for as well. When I learned to play it didn't occur to me that there were professional players (though I guess if I had really given it the thought it would've made sense, given that there are professional chess players).

Technically, I chose "No. I wasn't that naive" because I never considered it more than a fun game. However, I guess this applies to me as well ... I did not realize there were pro players when I discovered the game. When I found out there were, I filed that idea away with the idea of becoming a pro Chess player ... something I did not have the drive to achieve with all my other interests.

That being said, I've started to look at the game from a different angle lately, and it's become more fun for me to play. In addition, this new way of looking at the game has improved my skill in it and it feels like I'm improving faster now than I was 6 months ago. Right now, I feel as if I could eventually be as strong as a pro player. I believe I have that potential. I'll never truly be a pro, though.

No one really knows how go associations give pro ranks to foreigners, since they are willing to make exceptions. There are foreign players that get pro ranks without passing the pro exam as we all know; and there were cases where they gave pro ranks to even the native players that were over the age limit.

(other)

When I just started playing, I assumed that I was the next Takemiya Masaki (this was when I was 19 maybe?). Then, after I stopped playing and restarted at least once, I started forming goals like becoming a casual amateur 1 dan.

Now though, I'm inclined to the hazy goal; become as strong as I can, given the amount of time and resources I am happy putting into it.

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Revisiting Go - Study Journal
My Programming Blog - About the evolution of my go bot.

Becoming a pro never seriously crossed my mind anymore than becoming a professional bicyclist or movie critic. There's more than enough room for improvement and understanding in this game to last me several lifetimes. I don't need to be a pro for that.

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"This is a game that rewards patience and balance. You must think like a man of action and act like a man of thought."
-Jonas Skarssen

Yes, like some people said i too when i started playing go i dreamed of becoming pro, but i realised i was wrong because im already too old and i had to probably walk,run,eat,sleep,dream,study Go 24/7, and of course there always the pro exams and the chance of passing them is always the slightest, so now i treat Go as a hobby and trying to become the strongest i can be.

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There´s always more important things than someone´s dreams.

Never thought I could be pro. I had understood my limitations prior to getting into the game. I've always wanted to get into the dan ranks, though. Hope I will still.

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a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

No, I have never actually thought I could go pro. However, I will maintain the stubborn delusion of being able to reach pro strength for the rest of my life.

this is no delusion ; )

I think most of people could go for pro level, if they really wanted to.

What's the difference between a strong player and a weak one if it's not age / years already played ?

I think it's the personal effort/dedication
You get as strong as you want to get.

anybody can reach very strong KGS 6 dan or even 7 dan.
but to be a pro you must start when you are young.
there are very few people (non that i know of) who reached that level when they learn the game after 20 years old.

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"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

i don't think so. I just think many people think like that and never try.
"I am too old" is just a self-justification for "i am too lazy to try" or "i don't want to spent my freetime with Go" which would be much more honest

but of course if you say: to get a pro (title 1p) you have to be young, thats correct. I think for the pro exams you have to be under 30 ?

22 years old in Japan. Less in others.

If I recall correctly Japan changed it to 23 in 2009 from 26. But there were cases where a pro rank was given to a players who was over the age limit

About pro ages, I spoke with an ex-insei in Japan, and he said that both the insei and pro age limits are adjusted sometimes for Westerners, because they want to promote the popularity of go in western countries. I believe that James Kerwin was pretty old when he became a pro.

But basically for such a special circumstance to occur, you have to be really good at go - at a level that is far above most of us here.

So the point is not about worry about what age limit you can become pro at, I think... It's about reaching that level of expertise.

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be immersed

Money is a lot tighter in the go world right now. There have been a loss of sponsorships and tightening of budgets. There would have to be a pretty good reason to allow someone to join that is outside the current rules.

Point is still the same: we have to be a lot stronger for it to even matter to talk about it.

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be immersed

I was almost 18 when I learned about Go
and didn't know more than 5 people playing it.

What did I know about professionals, their strenghts, possibilities to become one?

Nothing !

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Greetings,
Tommie

3dan EGF (AGA no 13477) || Tommie on KGS: 'June'|| DGS: 'Zhi Laohu' 纸老虎 = 'paper tiger' || Senseis : http://senseis.xmp.net/?tderz ||
ENFP (MBTI) - 'Find your own style within the Fundamentals of Go! '