I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Brenno and I started playing go about 4 years ago, getting better acquainted with it right after I moved to the USA from Brazil in order to pursue a doctorate. I was impressed with the liveliness and helpfulness of the English-speaking go community, and during the first year or so my enthusiasm only grew. Dedicating one afternoon a week (all I could afford timewise!) to play locally with a friend who I had just introduced the game (and my enthusiasm) to, and spending a few late-nights a week in the study of go theory (yeah, having no time to play, I decided to immerse myself in books and hopefully relate it to a PhD in Literature/Philosophy...Among other things, for those who might be curious, I found a strong affinity between wholeboard thinking and the dynamic concept of Haengma/Suji in Go and the holistic dialectics of Hegel (!)...And, believe it or not, Go helped me understand Hegel a bit better, and vice-versa
During this initial period I was able to raise to about 15-14kyu on KGS. Being in the middle of a doctorate, however, I soon found myself with very little time to dedicate to the game, and had to all but stop for the last two years. I am now trying to get back at it, gradually. At first, I was dismayed to find the community I first knew (Godiscussions, basically) so inactive. I thought I had perhaps missed the chance to immerse myself in the game; that Go perhaps had gone out of fashion in the English speaking world, that it had been just a passing fad, etc. etc. It was then (a couple of days ago!) that I discovered Lifein19x19, and to my relief realized that the English Go community was not only alive and well, but even more so than when I first met it.
I am glad to be here, and hope to learn from all of you, and help however little I can.
-Brenno
