Nobody in my company interested in Weiqi

[Bonobo]

Hi guys, I' m back to report my progress. I successfully attracted some attentions. And now I have several beginners, I'm organizing a 9 by 9 board tournament from next week in Starbucks downstairs to get more notice. I would upload some good photos if everything goes well!

Now THIS sounds really amazing … it’s much more than I’d have expected. Good work!

[asura]

Or just wear a t-shirt with a tsumego on it. Anyone who plays weiqi will recognize it and approach the one wearing it.

Nice idea! Should catch go players like bacon would catch mice

[msgreg]

Hi guys, I' m back to report my progress. I successfully attracted some attentions. And now I have several beginners, I'm organizing a 9 by 9 board tournament from next week in Starbucks downstairs to get more notice. I would upload some good photos if everything goes well!

Can you confirm your method of attraction? Can you confirm your method of teaching? For example, did you start on a 5x5 or on a 9x9?

[Archivist]

I've had the "What books are you reading?" Blank stare reply. It's my first question, because I love books even more than Go.

Tried to get people into go, but no one at work has caught the bug. Behind my desk last week, I drew a 9x9 board on my whiteboard and put a black stone on 3x3. Wrote next to it: Your move, (Red marker). Under that, wrote "Hint: It's not Othello" to see if any of the people interested in puzzles would attempt to figure it out, and if they do choose to draw a move, I'd reply. We'll see.

[tekesta]

I've had the "What books are you reading?" Blank stare reply. It's my first question, because I love books even more than Go.

Tried to get people into go, but no one at work has caught the bug. Behind my desk last week, I drew a 9x9 board on my whiteboard and put a black stone on 3x3. Wrote next to it: Your move, (Red marker). Under that, wrote "Hint: It's not Othello" to see if any of the people interested in puzzles would attempt to figure it out, and if they do choose to draw a move, I'd reply. We'll see.

A caveat. I believe you should avoid doing anything to present Go as a difficult game, if you have not done so already. In hindsight, I remember doing this frequently and scaring away a lot of potential novices as a result.

Have you tried challenging some of your co-workers to a few games of capture Go? All you need are 9x9 boards and stones. Teach concept of liberties and capture, and how playing stones on these results in the capture of a group. Next, show how to capture single stones and groups of stones. As well, show how two groups can be connected together with one move to form a large group that cannot be captured easily.

Very important! Since novices are not yet going to know when to stop playing, it's OK to let them play on until either Black or White is reduced to one liberty on the board and a minimum number of stones or more is captured. After doing this a few times both players will realize two things. One, it is necessary to know when to stop playing and, two, the side that controls the greater amount of points on the board will still have liberties, while the side with the lesser amount of points will run out of liberties.

Finally, do not mention kō. If it comes up in a game, then you can talk about the kō rule. As well, explain life & death to the novices only after a few weeks of capture Go; as an emergent property of the concept of liberties & capture, life & death is easier to understand when it is explained as the skill of making groups of stones capturable or uncapturable.

Then, let them play away! Just let the novices play on their own, without any criticism or assistance on your part, unless they ask for it first.

Eventually, the novices become so good at keeping their own stones safe that they cannot capture more than a certain number of stones or any stones at all, short of playing on until one side is reduced to 1 liberty. (Hopefully by this time the novices have grown out of their impulse to capture everything.) At this point you can introduce regular Go.

Try this method and let me know how it turns out.

[nacroxnicke]

I think it's very difficult to get beginners, I always end asking for a listening as if it were a favour. At least in my age it seems everybody is more intrigued by Dota 2 or LoL instead, nobody really appreciates the minimalist behind the game.

Normally when a player is intrigued by the game he just picks it up and it's easy to see that they will become a common player after a while, but in the case of random people most aren't really interested by it. I don't think it's a bad thing as there are millions of hobbies in the modern world, but if the people doesn't get interested it will be impossible to introduce the game at a cultural stage.

I just posted a topic in a math forum explaining the game (not the rules, not overexplained stuff, just stuff to make someone interested in it, and added some stuff about the clubs where we play), we will see how it ends (I had tried this in some videogames forums, but it went badly, very few responses and only two guys got interested.)

[Archivist]

LoL is an atrocity. More power to you if you can get people interested in Go.

Update to my last post: One (or more) of my coworkers are playing against me on my board. I haven't seen who marked the board, so I don't know my opponent, but they've either got some experience or are looking up how to play. Their positions aren't bad. Game still in progress. It's quite fun.

[Bonobo]

[..]

Update to my last post: One (or more) of my coworkers are playing against me on my board. I haven't seen who marked the board, so I don't know my opponent, but they've either got some experience or are looking up how to play. Their positions aren't bad. Game still in progress. It's quite fun.

This is so cool! Please note the moves, or make photos or whatever, and post here

Greetz, Tom

[LarryHH]

About teaching Go to novices:
People like to win. Let them win.

Go is played on a board with a grid. It's a game so we take turns.

Go was invented in China perhaps 5000 years ago, came to Korea about 1500 years ago, to Japan about 1000 years ago, and to the rest of the world about 120 years ago.
Japan published many books in English so we have adopted many Japanese terms like atari, fuseki, nozuki, kosumi, nobi, tenuki, degiri.
Degiri is a strategy, to push through and cut, then capture the weak side.

In China the game Go is called Wei qi, wei means surround, qi for game board.
So, Go is called the surrounding game or surrounding chess.
In Korea it's called Baduk, in Japan it's called Igo, which is where the English term Go came from.

Go is like golf. There are amateurs and professionals, go clubs, tournaments, equipment, and lessons. There are Go books and magazines.

The game is both simpler than chess in that all the pieces are similar and don't move once placed on an intersection,
but it is more complex than chess because the board in larger, 19x19 is 361 points.

Go is both a game of harmony where you create beautiful shapes, and a game of war with two armies trying to surround each other.
Whoever surrounds more than half the board wins.

The elements of Go are strategy, timing, and reading ability.

The game Go is like street gangs.
There are four ways to make points:
expand your territory, reduce the enemy territory, cut and capture enemy stones, and connect and live your stones.

I start with a 10 minute lesson on placing stones on the intersections, making groups and walls, territory vs. influence,
corner territory (like gold), side territory (like silver), and center territory (like straw),
counting liberties, two eyes to live, minimum group to live, settled and unsettled shapes,
three-in-a line, four-in-a-line, bulky five, cutting points, 3rd line for territory, 4th line for center influence.

Go stones have power. Use their power to surround territory and prisoners.
(a quote from the book Direction of Play (1979) by Takeo Kajiwara.)
Each intersection surrounded and each prisoner captured is worth one point.

I start them on a 9x9 board with a 5-stone handicap. This works for adults and kindergarten aged children.
The handicap is to equalize our fighting strength so you have a chance to win.

I give advice and aphorisms along the way.
Playing Go is like life when it is your move, build, create something.
The empty board represents freedom of choice.
Only hold one stone at-a-time in your hand.
Put all your mental energy into choosing the best move.
Don't be jealous of what your opponent is building. Build your own group.
When you see your stones try to connect them and make them live.
When you see the opponent's stones try to cut them and capture them.
When choosing a move, what's good for black is good for white and vice versa.
Look at the whole board, look at your stones, see who needs help. Give them some help. (a quote from Yi-Lun Yang.)
Look, where can you make your territory larger?
Where can you make my territory smaller?
Where can you connect your stones together and make them live?
Where can you cut and capture my stones?

[EdLee]

In China the game Go is called Wei Chi, wei means surround, ...

It is wei²qi², 圍棋. In pinyin, chi is different from qi.

...chi means game board.

No, qi² does not mean game board.

So, Go is called the surrounding game or surrounding chess.

This is OK.

In Korea it's called Paduk

One might find that "baduk" is more relevant for online searches.

...in Japan it's called Igo.

Which is where the English term Go came from.