This past weekend was the annual Cotsen Go Tournament here in L.A., and I once again participated in the vain hope that I might get better. My record ended up being 1-4…

Of course, I have nobody to blame but myself. I’ve just not had enough time or patience to do any playing or studying of the game at all. In fact, I haven’t played since the first part of August after returning from Japan. “You can’t win if you don’t play” is, I believe, the old adage. The worst part was that on the first day I had to play on this flimsy, vinyl mat goban that was on a table that was too narrow; about 20 minutes into the game, I accidentally knocked the 1/4 inch edge of the board that was hanging off the table, all the stones on my half of the table slid to the center and I had to forfeit! There was absolutely no way I could’ve put the game back together. AARGH!

The one game I ended up winning (by a sheer fluke, I assure you) turned out to be the most fun and interesting game for both myself and my opponent (Lisa from the Tucson Go Club). She and I were both the same ranking (22 kyu) and we both did good and bad moves. It was really fun—thanks, Lisa! That was my fourth game—the fifth and final game was up against a charming young lady who basically handed me my head.

So in the end, I suppose it was good practice. There were actually 6 of us playing for the Ventura County Go Club this year, up from only 2 of us last year, so that was good. I also promised my fellow club members that I would begin playing again regularly and studying the game—specifically because since I’ll be a new homeowner soon and have absolutely ZERO disposable income for other distractions, I’ll be able to concentrate on free hobbies like studying my Go game! That way maybe I’ll be able to get out of the 20’s someday.

I’ll look forward to next year’s tournament to have a little better success!