Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of Randie. This one turned out a little longer then I expected, though it was exciting to write. If you like reading this series, then please comment and share! This series is nothing but a small hobby I did when I had some free time, so your comments and support give me the energy and motivation to continue it. Without that, I will probably get bored and scrap this as something I did for fun one time. So let me know that this is actually being read and what you guys think!
As for Randie, I am finding it fun to see things through his eyes. I sometimes forget what it is like being a brand new player to the game and things that I see at a glance is something a new player could taking minutes pondering over. It is also fun to see how excited Randie gets every time he learns a new shape or tactic and gets to apply it. Something as simple as a ladder becomes the most advanced strategy when seen through a beginner's eyes. So while we may know many shapes and strategies, I find it enjoyable to learn them again with Randie. I hope you guys feel the same way!
Please ignore grammer! I am not proof reading this, nor do I intend to. This is nothing but something I am doing for fun when I feel like it. Proof reading just makes it feel like work, and I don't want this to become work or I'll never get it very far. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, that's fine. Just don't expect this to be professional quality. ^.^
Chapter 4: First Win
Several days had passed since my first Go lesson. Every day I went to the after school Go club and
played capture Go. I also received more and more homework each day before leaving. I had only
managed to get all the answers on a sheet right once. After that, Mr. Tom noticed my enthusiasm
about getting the problems done so he started to give me multiple Go problem sheets to take home.
After doing so many problems, I also learned a few new shapes and tactics. The first one I learned
was the net, apparently there are some shapes where you don’t have to take the liberties directly. But
rather it is better to play a move that blocks all the exits so the stone cannot run out. Mr. Tom said it’s
called a net since it’s like a fishing net. You place the stone down to surround the other stones and
block their escape paths, just as if you scratched out a net to catch fish by blocking the fish’s escape
path.
Another tactic was reviewing what I had learned by watching Tommy and Molly play. Pushing the
stones to the edge was a good way to capture them. Mr. Tom had given me several problems where I
had to push the stones in the right direction or they would escape. Most of the time they were to the
edge, but you have to make sure your own liberties are fine as well when you try it. I had one played
a wrong variation because I put my own stone into atari while trying to capture my opponents.
I was about to leave class to head to Go club when a classmate had stopped me and asked me why I
had been skipping out on Kickball. When I explained to him that I had been playing Go, and what Go
was, he had given me a weird look. Apparently I didn’t sound convincing when I explained how Go
worked. Because in his eyes, I had just described the most boring game ever, a wooden board with
black and white rocks. Perhaps you have to play the game before you truly realize how fun it is.
Upon arriving at the Go club, I noticed Tommy and Molly were already playing. Seeing them, I
quietly approached their board and started to watch. I had been informed that it was considered rude
to talk to people while they were playing the game, so I waited to greet them. Though Tommy had
looked up and me and smiled briefly before returning his attention to the board. After I sat down, I
started counting liberties and seeing how many stones had been captured. Molly had one and Tommy
had three. So tommy was ahead in captures. Looking at the moves on the board, it seemed Tommy
was about to capture two more of Molly’s stones. If he captured them he would win. After I had just
realized that though, Molly’s hand came down placing a stone on the board, connecting them and
gaining another liberty. Tommy seemed to have expected this though and placed his stone right
above her’s. She followed up by placing another stone, with much less though this time. Apparently,
she had already considered how this was going to play out before placing that first move to save her
two stones. Tommy once again placed another stone to take her liberties, and then Molly’s final stone
came down.
It was a cut that took black’s liberties. Although black could try to capture her now, he would self
atari in doing so. Therefor, he couldn’t capture her. At the same time her cut had split Tommy’s
stones off from connecting. Now they were going to be forced to run, except he had no where to go
except the edge of the board. Tommy had also realized this so he lowered his head and resigned. This
means he declared he had lost without playing the rest of the game.
“That was close.” Said Molly. “I thought I was about to lose until I noticed that I could cut after
extending.”
Yea,” replied Tommy. “I didn’t see that cut at all. I thought I was about to win, but when you played
it I couldn’t find a way out.”
“That was a nice cut Molly.” I said. “Do you do a lot of Go problems too?” I asked, thinking that
she had done lots since she was able to see such a cool cut.
“I used to.” She said. “When I first arrived I did the problems daily. But after a while I started to
become busy with my school homework and didn’t feel like it afterwords.”
“I know the feeling.” Said Tommy. “I also don’t like doing problems after homework. It just feels
like even more work, you know?”
“Really?” I responded. “It doesn’t feel like homework at all to me.”
“Yea, you’re a bit crazy with those problems.” Said Molly. “How many sheets do you take home
every day?”
“I started taking home four sheets after Go club now.” I answered.
“Four?!” Said Tommy, shocked. “I’ll bet your reading is really good!”
“Want to test it?” I asked challenging Tommy to a game.
“Sure.” He said, rising to the challenge.
“Let’s play five stone capture Go.” I said. I had been playing capture Go all week, while I had yet to
win, (even though I’ve come close several times) I wanted to try some new ideas.
“Are you sure about that?” Asked Tommy. He was concerned since I hadn’t won any games yet.
“Sure.” I answered with confidence. I had been recently thinking about how Tommy tends to focus
on one area too much and loses focus on the rest of the board. That is how Molly won many times.
She would let Tommy capture one or two stones while she attacked several more.
After taking Molly’s place in front of the Go board, I took a black stone and placed my first move in
the center of the board. I was informed recently that the middle dot in the center is called Tengen. It
apparently means the center of the universe. I like the idea since that means I would start in the center
of the universe and go whichever direction I wanted.
Tommy took his white stone and attached to mine. Taking a liberty and starting a fight. I placed a
stone next to his leaving a cut, which he of course took advantage of. We then played out the next
couple of moves threatening the ladder on each other’s stones. The shape that resulted was the
windmill shape that I had learned on my first day here. It had only been a few days, but already my
game had improved quite a bit. It was then that the real fight started. Tommy started to try and
surround two of my stones without directly touching them. This had been some advice Mr. Tom had
mentioned earlier this week, sometime just surrounding is the best attack. Because while a touching
move does take your opponent’s liberty, it also takes one of your own. When that happens your
opponent may counter attack. Therefor it is sometimes not good to touch a group of stones without
good preparation.
It was then I decided to put my plan into action. I started to counter attack his other stones while he
attacked mine. I wasn’t sure if he noticed my plan or not, but he kept attacking my two stones while I
attacked his. After he had finally captured mine, I had completely surrounded his, though I didn’t
take all the liberties yet. When he had finished with my stones he started to defend his. However, I
had already surrounded him. It was too late for him to save them now, he should just give them up
and go play somewhere else. After all, as Mr. Tom said, once the stones are dead you shouldn’t add
to them. Otherwise you may lose a game you still have a chance at winning.
Then Tommy’s next move came down. It put my stone into atari. Somehow I had missed that move.
It didn’t directly connect to his own stone to increase his liberties, but if I tried to cut, I would only
have one liberty. I would be putting myself into atari. At the same time, if I extend with the stone that
he just put into atari, he would walk out of my surrounding shape. I had failed. I thought he was
surrounded, but he found a way to break out. Now not only do I not have him surrounded, but I don’t
have any captures and he has two. I am completely losing this game.
I stopped myself then. Mr. Tom had told me when I find myself in a bad position, or realized that I
had made a mistake, I should calm down a reanalyze the board. “You can’t win a game of Go without
a calm and collected mind.” He had said. So I took a deep breath and recounted all the liberties on all
the stone. I was in atari, sure. But that was only one stone. If I give it up, he would have three stones
and I would be losing by a lot. But it wouldn’t be game over. I continued with that thought and stared
at the bored with as much focus as I could. It was then that I noticed something odd about the shape
that I was staring at. It seemed as if there was a Go problem here. If there was, then surely I could
solve it. After all I did four pages of Go problems every night now.
A couple minutes had passed and Tommy had started to look at me in wonder. He was likely
wondering why I was taking so long. But this shape, this position, looked strange. I just felt like there
was something here. It was then that I saw it. A brilliant play that combined many tactics that I had
learned. Once I saw it, a smile had appeared across my face. Tommy’s eyes grew wide and he saw it,
and Molly also seemed to notice and had a similar face of confusion as Tommy. But I payed them no
mind and picked up my stone and placed it on the board.
It had put his stones into atari, but it also was a self atari. He seemed surprised that I played such a
move. To him it must look like I am throwing away the game since I just gave him a stone to capture.
With a concerned look on his face he placed his stone and captured mine. While it may have seemed
like a terrible move to him, I know all too well what I am doing. I then placed my next stone. Once
again forcing him into atari. He now had three captured stones, and I had another one in atari on the
board. But even if he took it, I wouldn’t lose just yet. Additionally, if he did, he would be ignoring
the three stones that I just put into atari. But that was the trap. If he takes my one stone, I will take
three. Tommy would still be ahead by one capture, but I would be back in the game with a fighting
chance. However, Tommy knows this, thus he will likely consider preventing that. But if he does my
trap will activate.
Not expecting my plan, Tommy had done just that. He connected his three stones to his other two
white stones in an effort to not let me capture. Right after he did that, his eyes grew wide. Molly’s did
as well, because neither of them expected that after white connected his liberties would still only be
at one. While it’s true I had self-ataried a stone, that stone had forced white to place a white stone
next to my own in order to capture it. This meant that white had one less liberty than before when he
connect. Also, since my black stone that is in atari, until Tommy captures it, it is still on the board
taking a liberty. When all of this came together, Tommy had connected into a shape where not only
his three stones, but his other two stones with in atari along with the stone he just placed. Now he has
SIX stones in atari, and it was my turn. I then placed my stone down and captured all six of his
stones, winning my very first game of Go. Molly and Tommy both looked up at me in surprise.
Apparently, neither of them had seen or expected my trap that I had just played. Behind me though,
someone else had seen exactly what I saw. He wasn’t the least bit surprised at my moves…
