ISTR one or two people mentioning (in passing) that they played. Maybe we could get a game going here. (Do I need to ask permission from the mods for this?) Or perhaps I could do online teaching (I’m amateur 3 dan).
I was intending to, but I need to think about how best to do this. Go doesn’t really lend itself to algebraic notation, but I don’t know how to post graphic diagrams here, or if it’s even possible.
Next, glee is going to tell me that he has played Shogi.
I have bought a book on Go, understand the premise, but I don’t think I have actually ever played a game.
Same for Shogi, for that matter.
*I bumbled through 3 games of Shogi in clubhouse games for the Nintendo DS, but, not a fair pass at it.
I’ve only played a couple of games of Go (I read a book on it and discussed it with a club player).
I’ve never played Shogi (though … I’ve read a book on it!)
I’ve played chess variants (Kriegspiel, Losing chess) and even invented one (Madrasi chess).
I’ve played Go a very little bit, but I have no understanding of it. It’s a very confusing game to me.
I played GNUGO against the computer, and Go computers are pretty bad, from what I’ve heard, but I got crushed :).
And I played Go on Yahoo a couple times, but one of my opponents thought I was throwing the match or something (I wasn’t)
But nonetheless, Go is a fascinating game to watch good players at. I find the spacial structures of Go to be very interesting. Go seems to require the ability to see the big picture to a very large extent, while also keeping the tactics in mind as well.
Gnugo is quite good, as Go programs go. I would expect it to crush a beginner. I can beat it, though. Any dan player ought to be able to. As you say, Go programs aren’t very advanced yet.
As for Yahoo, it’s got a bad reputation among Go players. Too many obnoxious kids and too much general rudeness.
I can give you 9 stones if you like. We could play on SL. Interested?