The Most Interesting Go Book I’ve Ever Read
I enjoy playing the game of go, and have written a couple of posts about it so far. I have avoided talking about the game much on this blog, because I tend to focus more here on Macs, digital music, books and related subjects. But go is an important part of my life; I play and study regularly, and go is, to me, a game that provides important lessons about life.
The other day, my wife asked me why I enjoy playing go so much. I replied something to the effect that it’s a huge puzzle, and that it teaches many things, such as patience and humility (you lose about half your games, the way ratings and handicaps work), and that it is essentially an endless subject, because no matter how good you are, you’ll never actually master the game. I was surprised to find similar thoughts in a book I bought recently, called Reflections on the Game of Go – The Empty Board: 1994-2004. This book, by Bill Cobb, is a collection of essays about go that appeared in the AGA (American Go Association) publication American Go Journal. It discusses go from a Buddhist point of view; how go contains the Buddhist ideas of emptiness, karma, impermanence, etc.
This book interests me in part because I have long been interested in and studied Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism. (I play on the KGS Go Server under the name “Dogen”; he was the founder of the Soto school of Zen.) Cobb neatly explains the strong influence the game has had on Zen, and elucidates the many Buddhist principles that go expresses.
I had long thought that one could write a book about go with no diagrams: this is such a book. It discusses the attitude of the go player, not his or her moves; it explores the way you play, not how you play. The insights it provides are profound, yet will not be applicable to all players. Cobb discusses the attitude of those go players who care more about creating a good game than winning, something which, in my experience, is not common enough among go players, at least those who play on Internet servers. This paragraph in particular sums up the answer I gave my wife:
As a go player, I have no self other than the self that is constituted by the cooperative activity of playing with another. We both want to be better players. Wanting to win or to beat the other player is subordinate to that greater goal and significantly affected by it. We both want to become stronger players. To do so we must play and that means winning and losing, yet the aim is not to beat the opponent but rather to play better than I have in the past.
Most of the essays in this book are about two pages long; long enough to present a concise point and develop it. Some of the later essays are shorter, and are less interesting, because they don’t develop anything more than simple ideas. But the majority of the book will give go players the inspiration they need to strive to not necessarily play better, but to make their games more honest, more open.
If you play go to win, don’t bother with this book; if you play go, however, for the value it adds to your life, for the opportunity you get to create beautiful games with a partner, then this is a must-read.
I began playing Go somewhat in earnest while I was tremendously ill and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital; the game gave some focus to many visits, and I still play regularly, although I’m sure I’m not a great player.
I look forward to reading the book.
I began playing go this year, primarily due to the influence of some old friends. While definitely still a newbie, I have already gotten a slight taste of what you are talking about here. A wonderful post and I look forward to reading the book.
Also thanks for your article about go on Macs – it was very helpful to me.