Attack of the Happy Stones!

One of the most intense and pressure-packed fights I've ever been in happened this week against Owen. I'm not too proud to admit that the result was due to a hunch and some lucky guesswork!




Owen had already killed a number of stones on the bottom of the board, but it was my feeling that if I took the center, I'd have enough to squeek by. This game took two Club sessions and about 4 hours' playing time to get thru.

Luckily, my hunch was correct!

:)

One Ide Beats No Ides!!!

Green Mountain Go Club Represents! David, Ethan and myself made the trip up to Middlebury on March 15th for the "One Ide Beats No Ides" spring tournament. This was the group's second and my fifth trip to the event. Four rounds of "casual, relaxed violence." Ethan improved on his first trip by going 2-2 this year, seen here facing Lihu Ben-Ezri Ravin.




David went 3-1 again, and beat the strongest player present, Quenin Dombro 1k! While actually winning on time, David performed the famous "Monkey Eats His Master's Banana" tesuji, killing a large group of Quentin's and proving that One Eye does, in fact, beat no eye!


The end was set for some drama, though, when 5 players were 2-1 and one, Jack Cary, was at 3-0. Some poor unfortunate sap was gonna hafta go up against the only undefeated player and beat him to give everyone else a shot at the tournament. As we clustered around the scoresheet, I started whispering "Not me, not me, don't let it be me..."

Why such a coward, Sobosan? What game would have more import? What game could be more exciting? Isn't that why we play - to have a shot at a game like this?

Well, I should've known better, because I got exactly what I'd feared - I was set to play Jack in the fourth round! Jack was an 8k, so I gave two stones - something I felt a little better about after losing in round three to Zack Garrett 3k (pictured) the previous round. I felt like I'd be able to get away with something, pull out a trick or two - as long as I was patient and waited for the right moment to get belligerent....

As you can see, I waited five whole moves before starting trouble.....

Funny thing is, all the other games just *happened* to finish first, so there were plenty of witnesses on hand to watch me kill two corners, solidify my Cosmic moyo, and give everyone a shot at the title. Talk about pressure!

In the end, based on Sum of Opponent's Scores, David finished fourth, and I won! The Miracle of Middlebury Part 2: Return of the Weirdo! Wow. Will I ever understand this game? I hope not.

And to top it all off, David won a poster of Go Seigen's "Game of the Century" against Honinbo Shusai, and I took home 25 pounds of Jasmine Rice! Who says you can't make a living playing Go????

All in all, GMGC's 8-4 total record at the tournament proves that we have a decent little Go enclave down here in Bennington!


:)

Four Boards In The Center of Heaven

Tuesday night was an unexpected wonder - Andrew (standing) and Michael (in the Hat) returned from far afield for a game. Add in Colin playing in his first Honinbo league game, and we had four boards going at once - a rare (and electric) occurence!
It's funny how Go can be a quiet, contemplative game up to a point - add that one extra board, those two extra people, and suddenly the air positively hums with tenuki, semeai, and watari. It's quite a rewarding feeling!

It probably didn't help that I was giving 10 stones and my 3-0 start in the league was in serious jeopardy. Griff has learned a lot in the past year, and I was certainly up against it. For the results of this most tense of games, follow the Honinbo link to the left...

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same...

Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed an afternoon's Go at David and Ethan's - on what certainly could be the The Only Goban In Town. It's funny how a goban focuses your efforts, brings your game to a different level. It was during this game that I managed (however poorly) to make two embattled, attacked, and expertly surrounded groups live. I've never been a real 'life or death' player, dying my prerequisite 10,000 times so far... But there's something about a goban that makes you...






...think.

Welcome, Owen!

Green Mountain Go Club has a new member - Owen Cartwright(L, versus Ethan). Coming in at 9k, he'e right in the middle of the rankings, and will get and give plenty of stones. He kicked off his first full day at the club by winning his first Honinbo League game against Tristan Wilkins (see game record at 1st Honinbo link).

We look forward to finding out just how good he is both on the board and at trash-talking.

Especially the trash talking.

:)

Just a Cotton-Picking Minute!

Whilst going through the Green Mountain Go Club archives today, I found some evidence... STARTLING evidence. I found a picture that proves I ACTUALLY WON A TOURNA- MENT!






April 30, 2005.



"The Miracle of Middlebury".

After one win in seven games over the previous two years, yours truly pulls into town and wipes everyone off the map.

Go figure, huh?

Never mind that Karen Plomp, to whom I gave three stones at the time, is now a 2k on KGS giving lessons... I must've thoroughly bored her into resigning at the time!

So this brings GMGC's treasury up to TWO wins.

I didn't get a natty trophy, though... I got a Yutopian Gift Certificate.

That goes a long way towards explaining the reciept from Yutopian for an Ing set that I have no memory about...