6 ms·

Ask HN: Any Go players here? (Not the language)

22 points by ccvannorman 11y ago

Hello HN, It recently came to my attention that Go is just a pixelated version of life/logic, and that many of you are Go enthusiasts. I myself am a 9k and looking for opponents, and hereby challenge all of you individually to a match. Will you accept my challenge? :-] https://online-go.com/user/view/71952/derpziIIa

valarauca1 11y ago
What is the current flavor of the month Go Client? I've been using KGS until my professional life made me stop playing.
- ashworth 11y ago
  It's still kgs in the western world afaik, but online-go.com is very nice and Ajax-y and runs in browser without being janky.
  - valarauca1 11y ago
    I'll have to give it a try. Thanks :D!
  - CaiGengYang 11y ago
    There is this site too : www.eweiqi.com/. Its all in mandarin, but the level of players there is arguably higher than KGS
CaiGengYang 11y ago
I have a 3d account on KGS called "GengYang". Sure let's play a game sometime, I accept your challenge
trcollinson 11y ago
I had a manager years ago who was a great go player. I always wanted to learn but frankly it becomes a bit overwhelming. Any suggestions on getting started?
- CaiGengYang 11y ago
  The way to learn how to play Go is to start playing games. Join a local club, make friends and start playing Go. At first, you will lose terribly almost all the time. Stay humble, ask for help with reviewing games by more experienced players. It would be even better if there are professional Go players in the club. It takes some time before the basic theory of Go "clicks" in your head.
  - blacksmith_tb 11y ago
    There's a saying that you should "lose your first 50 games quickly," in the sense that it will give you a lot of exposure, and a chance to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. I like Richard Bozulich's books - The Second Book of Go is great, once you have the basics.
    - CaiGengYang 11y ago
      Here's another link to some books on Go : http://361points.com/guide_to_go_books/ http://361points.com/guide_to_go_books/
    - JeffL 11y ago
      When I was first learning, I mostly played against the computer. You can lose a lot faster that way, since the computer plays quickly, and it will brutally punish really newbie mistakes, so you can learn to avoid doing really stupid things before venturing against another human.
- chadzawistowski 11y ago
  Try to practice against real people rather than AI, especially when getting started. It's more fun and veterans can explain things to you. In-person would be ideal, but online communities work too.
eswat 11y ago
Tangent: Started getting interested in Go after watching this Korean thriller that’s slightly-relevant (The Divine Move) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3419894/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3419894/
corruptio 11y ago
I deeply urge everyone interested in go to try to play it in person. Nothing beats a live face-to-face game against someone and then being able to review it on a board afterwards. You'll also find that the people who go to go clubs are very friendly and generally love to teach beginners. There are a surprising number of local go club around the country: http://www.usgo.org/where-play-go http://www.usgo.org/where-play-go Especially, if you're in the SF Bay Area (my area): http://bayareago.org/#local-clubs http://bayareago.org/#local-clubs
patientfrog 11y ago
I learned go (igo) a number of years ago while living in Japan, and when I returned to the US had trouble finding people to play with. Ever since online-go.com started I have been getting back into it. I love being able to play asynchronously. My username on that site is "rob.doherty.127" I'm happy to play anyone beginner to advanced (I am an intermediate level player).
jjengo 11y ago
I've been playing Go for about a year now, and play mostly on online-go.com. If anyone wants to play my username is jon.jengo. I would say I am an intermediate level player.
jayturley 11y ago
I haven't been playing in years, but this is inspiring me to go to the local Go club this weekend :)
matburt 11y ago
I'm one of the developers of OGS (online-go.com) We're really passionate about building the site and providing the best place to play Go online. We also have full public rest and real-time APIs. Stop by chat and say hello!
anoek 11y ago
I'm the other developer of ogs, and I'm always up for another correspondence game, feel free to shoot me a challenge :) (same goes for anyone reading this :))
zorf 11y ago
I've been playing for about 10 years (still about 10k). I usually play on http://www.dragongoserver.net http://www.dragongoserver.net, since it is asynchronous and I sadly don't have much time to play.
TEMPsmalllab 11y ago
Check him! http://www.smart-games.com/david.html http://www.smart-games.com/david.html

22 points by ccvannorman 11y ago

valarauca1 11y ago

What is the current flavor of the month Go Client? I've been using KGS until my professional life made me stop playing.

ashworth 11y ago
It's still kgs in the western world afaik, but online-go.com is very nice and Ajax-y and runs in browser without being janky.
- valarauca1 11y ago
  I'll have to give it a try. Thanks :D!
- CaiGengYang 11y ago
  There is this site too : www.eweiqi.com/. Its all in mandarin, but the level of players there is arguably higher than KGS

CaiGengYang 11y ago

I have a 3d account on KGS called "GengYang". Sure let's play a game sometime, I accept your challenge

trcollinson 11y ago

I had a manager years ago who was a great go player. I always wanted to learn but frankly it becomes a bit overwhelming. Any suggestions on getting started?

CaiGengYang 11y ago
The way to learn how to play Go is to start playing games. Join a local club, make friends and start playing Go. At first, you will lose terribly almost all the time. Stay humble, ask for help with reviewing games by more experienced players. It would be even better if there are professional Go players in the club. It takes some time before the basic theory of Go "clicks" in your head.
- blacksmith_tb 11y ago
  There's a saying that you should "lose your first 50 games quickly," in the sense that it will give you a lot of exposure, and a chance to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. I like Richard Bozulich's books - The Second Book of Go is great, once you have the basics.
  - CaiGengYang 11y ago
    Here's another link to some books on Go : http://361points.com/guide_to_go_books/ http://361points.com/guide_to_go_books/
  - JeffL 11y ago
    When I was first learning, I mostly played against the computer. You can lose a lot faster that way, since the computer plays quickly, and it will brutally punish really newbie mistakes, so you can learn to avoid doing really stupid things before venturing against another human.
chadzawistowski 11y ago
Try to practice against real people rather than AI, especially when getting started. It's more fun and veterans can explain things to you. In-person would be ideal, but online communities work too.

eswat 11y ago

Tangent: Started getting interested in Go after watching this Korean thriller that’s slightly-relevant (The Divine Move) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3419894/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3419894/

corruptio 11y ago

I deeply urge everyone interested in go to try to play it in person. Nothing beats a live face-to-face game against someone and then being able to review it on a board afterwards. You'll also find that the people who go to go clubs are very friendly and generally love to teach beginners. There are a surprising number of local go club around the country: http://www.usgo.org/where-play-go http://www.usgo.org/where-play-go Especially, if you're in the SF Bay Area (my area): http://bayareago.org/#local-clubs http://bayareago.org/#local-clubs

patientfrog 11y ago

I learned go (igo) a number of years ago while living in Japan, and when I returned to the US had trouble finding people to play with. Ever since online-go.com started I have been getting back into it. I love being able to play asynchronously. My username on that site is "rob.doherty.127" I'm happy to play anyone beginner to advanced (I am an intermediate level player).

jjengo 11y ago

I've been playing Go for about a year now, and play mostly on online-go.com. If anyone wants to play my username is jon.jengo. I would say I am an intermediate level player.

jayturley 11y ago

I haven't been playing in years, but this is inspiring me to go to the local Go club this weekend :)

matburt 11y ago

I'm one of the developers of OGS (online-go.com) We're really passionate about building the site and providing the best place to play Go online. We also have full public rest and real-time APIs. Stop by chat and say hello!

anoek 11y ago

I'm the other developer of ogs, and I'm always up for another correspondence game, feel free to shoot me a challenge :) (same goes for anyone reading this :))

zorf 11y ago

I've been playing for about 10 years (still about 10k). I usually play on http://www.dragongoserver.net http://www.dragongoserver.net, since it is asynchronous and I sadly don't have much time to play.

TEMPsmalllab 11y ago

Check him! http://www.smart-games.com/david.html http://www.smart-games.com/david.html