Free lectures on KGS by Professionals -- every Sunday

Free lectures by MingJiu 7p and GuoJuan 5p in the "Ing's Goe Internet Class"
Please check details: http://guojuan.demon.nl/goschool/ing.html

Go proverbs -- Keep your stones connected!

You probably heard one of the stronger players throw some Go proverbs here and there. These proverbs are the result of experiences of Go players over thousands of years and they help one make decisions more easily during the game.

Go proverbs should not be applied blindly and they are most effective when their deeper meaning is understood.

A very useful reference page on Sensei's Library.

Go rules in Greek are posted on www.gobase.org

The rules of Go on gobase.org are now available in Greek, thanks to Andrea Roussou. You can access them here

Hikarunix!

A Linux distribution called Hikarunix is available, with many useful Go tools and resources. This is based on the famous Knoppix distribution, which can be booted from a CD, without any installation on your PC.

For those who have no idea what Linux is, it is an alternative to Windows operating system, which is Unix-like. It is not as intuitive for a first time user...

Nevertheless, check out the information at
http://www.hikarunix.org. The distribution is available for download for free, but it's a big file (190 MB).

The Kyus and the Dans

Strength in Go is measured by a system similar to the one used in martial arts. In fact Go is considered to be a martial art in the Asian countries.

A complete beginner starts from about 35 kyu (35k) and as progress is made this number is reduced. When a player reaches 1k he/she is becoming ready to get the first dan (shodan).

There are 7 dan levels for amateur Go players. Professional Go players rank on top of these dan levels, and there are 9 additional dan levels which professionals may attain.

The amateur rating systems are not consistent over the world (see comparison chart). For example it is said that European and American dans are stronger than Japanese dans.

People who play in tournaments in Europe, including us in Cyprus, get the opportunity to be included in the European Go Federation rating system. This can be accessed here. Similar systems are maintained in the United States (by the American Go Association) and in other countries.

There is a rating book for use when teaching children, developed by German Go player Kalli Balduin. Such a book is used in Cyprus by Dimitris Regginos. You may check it out here.

Starting a Go club from scratch!

This is a very nice article on the American Go Association's web site. I recommend it to everyone who loves Go but complains that there are no Go players in his/her area :)
Start your club

The Game of Go and the Chinese Way of War

See "Learning From the Stones: A Go Approach to Mastering China's Strategic Concept, Shi," by David Lai, U.S. Army War College, May 2004:

Available here.

Promoting Go on IRC

I have recently started going on IRC and talking to people in the #Cyprus channel (Undernet servers) about Go. The atmosphere in #Cyprus is nothing like it used to be 10 years ago (i.e. its mostly filled with ppl using foul language).

However, I have happened to find some people who would be interested to play Go either on the Internet or the real thing.

When you have 5-10 mins to spare I think it's worth the try to target some people on IRC. They are usually in search of new things...

Go at Summer Schools

The Cyprus Go Association is planning to provide Go teachers to some local summer schools. The same was done last summer with success. Contact us for details.

Giant Goban events

We are organising two Giant Goban events as follows:

Nicosia: Ledras and Onasagorou Streets, 21 May 2005
Limassol: Enaerios, 28 May 2005

These Go promotional events are a lot of fun, plus we need help from everyone who is available on those days.

See info on a past Giant Goban event here.

Kaoru Iwamoto KGS Tournament 2005

For information and registration visit the tournament web site:
http://www.achgo.cl/iwamoto/

I hope many players from Cyprus and Greece will play in the tournament.

Welcome to the Go blog

Everyone is encouraged to post and comment on others' posts, on anything Go related that would be interesting to the Cyprus and Greece Go community.