Go with the Flow Read online

  My experience of being a commentator at a few major competitions has helped me to let go of the bitter feelings. Watching the games as a commentator has allowed me to look at the games in a different way and accept that games are not just about winning. Go games are nerve-racking to the players, but exciting for the fans to watch. From the historical point-of-view, it is at these games that new game records are created. My role as the commentator gave me the distance to observe how emotions can run high during the game, only to quickly diminish when the game is over. I realized that all competitions, whether they make me smile or cry, are only ephemeral moments.

  Imagining how my opponent must have felt after losing to me helped me get through the feelings of disappointment after I lost a game. I would prefer to win all the time but then my opponent would always be miserable, and the fans at the game would be bored. Where is the excitement in winning all the time, or in a life where everything goes as planned? It is the hardships that make one appreciate happiness; failures make success meaningful. It is rather assuring to think that winning and losing comes in cycles. Neither is permanent.

  The sooner one overcomes a failure, the better it is. There is no time to waste on regretting past mistakes. Tomorrow is another day. Time should be spent wisely, perhaps going over one more game record rather than feeling depressed. One should not dwell on poor test results or job interviews that went wrong. The sky will not fall because one gets reprimanded at work. One needs to prepare oneself for the next opportunity, which will come very soon.

  The purpose of review sessions is to create new strategies rather than to dwell over the mistakes. It is an opportunity to identify the causes of failure, for self-reflection, and to equip oneself with more creative and new ideas. One needs to find a way of letting disappointments go that works best for oneself and regain self-confidence as soon as possible. It would be lamentable to have the past anchor one down and keep one from moving forward.

  Chapter 7

  Think Beyond

  Sharing and offering favors are never one-way. We are merely paying forward the generosity others have shown to us and making an investment for a shared future.

  Sharing and Giving

  Countries perceived to have the strongest cultural ties to the game of Go are somewhat still limited to Korea, China, and Japan. These three countries have the largest number of people playing the game, stand out in terms of the frequency and size of professional leagues and competitions. Above all, their players have far outperformed other nationalities in international competitions that there seems to be none who are at par with these countries.

  But Go has actually grown out of the Korea-China-Japan tripartite zone. Taiwan is a Go success story outside the tripartite zone. Taiwan’s only natural shortcoming is its small number of top-level players inevitably because of its relatively small number of population. But the impetus to popularize Go is there. The country knows how to organize professional competitions with vigor. It has also invested heavily in nurturing world-class players by sending its talented people to Japan to study Go. Rin Kaiho, who ruled in Japan before Cho Chikun came along, is Taiwan-borne. Chen Shien, the undisputed leader of Go for a decade in Taiwan, learned to play the game at the Gwon Gapyong’s Go school, the cradle of professional players in Korea, including the famous Lee Sedol and Choi Cheolhan. But, more than anyone else, it is Ing Changki, the Taiwanese billionaire who has contributed to build the ecosystem propitious to scaling up the size of the market and competitions. Without the Ing Cup that bears his name to honor his unselfish contribution of 400,000 dollars in prize money, there would be no Fujistu Cup. And without these two important championships, Go would not have gone global so soon. In this sense, Taiwan is a small giant in the history of Go in Asia. Outside East Asia, the number of people playing Go decreases sharply. Nevertheless, Go aficionados do exist and can be found around the world. The International Go Federation has 74 country members; 37 in Europe, 15 in the Americas, and 3 in Africa. The number of Go players in the U.S. is estimated to be 200,000, followed by 100,000 in Russia. Germany, the U.K., France, and the Netherlands each has 30,000 to 50,000 Go fans. In other words, there are 38 million people playing Go around the world. Although they are outnumbered by people who play chess, 600 million, it means something.

  Full-scale globalization of Go owes much to Japan. Nihon Ki-in published the English Go magazine in the 1960s, the ‘Go Review,’ for the Go fans in the western hemisphere. Go centers were set up in the U.S., Europe, and South America and Go instructors were dispatched by none other but Japan. As such, the game became known in the west by its Japanese term, ‘Go,’ instead of the Korean term ‘Baduk,’ or the Chinese ‘Weiqi.’ As such, it was natural that Japanese became the language of Go.

  Korea’s impressive track record of outdoing Japan in many international competitions and its subsequent rise as a Go powerhouse makes it all the more prepared to take the initiative to promote playing Go around the world. Although the scale of its endeavors remain small, Korea has recently dispatched professional players as instructors to many European countries as well as the U.S., Australia, and Singapore. Volunteers, like Han Sangdae, professor of Go Studies at Myongji University in Korea, and former professor of Korean Studies at the University of Sydney, offer Go classes in English for the expatriate community in Korea and teach English to Go instructors before they leave for their overseas assignment. The Korea Amateur Go Association and the Korea Baduk Association have also raised funds to give financial support to the Go instructors who were dispatched overseas.

  One might wonder why Korea, Japan and China care so much about making Go a globally popular game. There is only one reason. The more people play Go, the more competitions are held, and the more related market will expand. The globalization of Go can contribute to the development of relevant industries, which, in turn, will create more jobs. If growth picks up momentum and Go becomes widely played in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa, one day Go may become an official Olympic sport. The shared-vision is to see Go become the next ‘chess.’

  No country can achieve this aspiration alone. Japan provided the impetus to push both amateur and professional Go forward in Korea and China, and the rise of Korea as a new strong player worked as an incentive to Japan and China to strive for more. Friendly mutual exchanges and the sense of healthy competition in the trilateral relationship must continue for the three to achieve collective growth and enjoy win-win outcomes. China, as the country of origin, Japan, as the birth place of the modern Go, and Korea, as the new player, can collectively reach out to countries that want to learn Go and offer them the benefits of the game.

  Globalization of Go has seen a slow but passionate progress. The World Amateur Go Championship, an annual competition for amateur players, has had 50 to 60 players every year, who are willing to pay out of their own pocket to participate in the tournament. Their nationalities are also becoming more diverse, ranging from European nationalities to Vietnam, Brazil, India, and the Azerbaijani Republic. In addition, 500 to 700 Go aficionados play at the European Go Congress, an open competition for all amateurs and professionals, and their performance has progressively improved every year.

  According to Professor Han, who also served as the chairperson of the Australian Go Association, there are a few Go enthusiasts in Australia who takes their passion for the game to the next level. A professor who taught French in university loved Go so much that he learned Japanese to become a professor of Japanese as well. His devotion for Go did not end there. Curious to learn the Korean approach to the game, he taught himself Korean and registered himself in the Gwon Gapyong’s Go school in Korea. He lodged in Jongno, downtown Seoul and went every day to Tapgol Park where he found senior citizens to play Go with. He did not care how the elderly locals in the park looked at him. He was very happy as long as he could play Go all day. Perhaps, he was lucky to learn some real life Go from the grandfathers who cheerfully agreed to play with him at the park whose name
s are not known to us.

  Another Australian Go enthusiast, a PhD of Oriental studies who decided write a master’s thesis on Go out of his love for the game. One day, two decades ago, he bought a big ranch in Tasmania, Australia. He put out an ad to hire ranch workers and one of the conditions was to play Go about two hours after work. Everyone who worked on his ranch came to enjoy playing the game and one of them even went as far as becoming 2K and later advanced into an international Go competition as an Australian youth representative. Years later, this eccentric ranch owner sold his ranch and moved to another city where he taught children in the town how to play Go. He put prize money of 2 dollars per game to make it interesting for the children and his strategy worked.

  It is human nature to want to share something good. We recommend good movies, good music, and good books to our friends because we want to share the joy that comes from experiencing them. If a Go enthusiast can invite close friends to experience Go, and they refer the game to other people in their network, we can hope for the number of people playing Go to increase.

  Building the infrastructure to enjoy the game must go hand in hand with recommending the game. There is a need for more Go centers or classes, Go text books for free distribution, and more instructors. I believe those who have benefited from the game must be mandated to lay the ground work to build the infrastructure and the environment propitious for learning Go. The pay-it-forward approach will create the virtuous cycle of rewarding those who are part of the Go network.

  And it can do more beyond the Go network. I am a firm believer in sharing and rewarding those who shared with more returns, whether it be in psychological or material sense. Even if the reward is not directed to those who have given, someone in the chain is bound to have received it in the form of benevolence. In this way, the pay-it-forward approach can drive the society closer to our desirable model where the action of sharing is emulated and rewarded. Sharing and offering favors are never one-way. We are merely paying forward the generosity others have shown to us and making an investment for a shared future.

  Short ‘Friendship’,

  Long-lasting Ripple Effect

  The year 2013 was marked by a seismic shift in the balance of ‘Go’ power between Korea, Japan, and China; in 7 international competitions, China swept away 6 trophies, and Japan took 1. For the first time in 17 years, Korea failed to win a single trophy from an international competition, which, to the eyes of many observers in the Go community, was an indication of the ever-deepening crisis Korea was facing.

  By contrast, China was riding on the upward trend. Unlike Korea and Japan where the number of people playing Go was on a downward spiral, China was seeing the number of its Go population on a continuous rise. Increased funding and investment from the government and businesses stimulated the growth of professional leagues and China hosted one major international competition after another. It was also in 2013 that China overtook Korea in the total amount of prize money offered for all international competitions hosted by Chinese organizations and companies. Until 2013, Korea had offered the largest pool of prize money of 800 million won for three major international competitions combined; the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance World Masters Baduk, the LG Cup World Baduk Championship, and the Nongshim Cup. But, that year, China increased its pool of prize money to 900 million won when it decided to host two more global competitions, the Shugo Cup and the Mlily Yumeyuri Cup World Championship.

  Another new development was the generational change in professional Go that was taking place quickly. By the end of 2012, Lee Sedol ranked 1st, while Park Jeonghwan and Choi Cheolhan each ranked 6th and 7th in official world Go ranking. Both were much younger than Sedol. But, in 2015, Sedol ranked 5th when Jeonghwan rose to 2nd, and Kim Jiseok and Cheolhan, ranked 3rd and 8th, respectively. One may think that having 4 Korean players in the world top 10 should be good enough, but it was not. The prevalence of Chinese players in the world top 10 was something to be worried about. Shi Yue 9P ranked 1st, while Chen Yaoye, Mi Yuting, Gu Li, Zhou Ruiyang, and Tang Weixing also topped the chart. There were even more Chinese players below the top 10. It was imperative to notice that top-ranking players, except for Gu Li, were in their late teens or early 20s with a bright future ahead of them.

  The Korean Go community took China’s growth spurt very seriously. It was worried about the future of Korean Go. Japanese Go had been on a downhill trend ever since Korea took over its place as world champion. Korea was concerned its leadership in world Go could be on the same downward path. The Korean Go is in a crisis because it has lost the momentum. But I feel we need to look at the disintegration of its leadership with a different perspective.

  Korea had dominated world Go for almost two decades. It could be time to handover the position to China, for the time being. In every sport, rivalry can push athletes to their limit. The rise of China also meant there were more opportunities for professional players regardless of their nationality to compete on the world stage. In the past, Japan and Korea were the Big 2 that hosted most of the international competitions. With China organizing large-scale international championships and starting its own professional leagues, professional Go players had more exposure to international experience. Quite a few Korean players were already playing in the Chinese major and minor leagues and were enjoying a huge success. They were celebrities with annual pays ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions won. Nobody but Jimmy foresaw that such enormous change was imminent.

  Since the early 1980s, whenever the occasion arose, Jimmy has openly said that the fate of world Go depended on the success of the Chinese Go. Jimmy became deeply involved in efforts to promote Go in China even before the Chinese government gave any form of support. In the mid-1980s, the Korea Baduk Association wanted to start a meaningful exchange with its Chinese counterpart but to no avail. Diplomatic ties between Korea and the Communist China did not exist nor was there any channel to communicate with each other. The Korea Baduk Association thought of Jimmy who had immigrated to the U.S. and had become a U.S. citizen. He seemed to have the perfect profile to be the intermediary for Korea and China.

  Jimmy was asked to meet with the representative of the Chinese Weiqi Association as the special envoy. He met chairman Chen Zude to talk about potential partnership. Their first meeting ended without any promises because the Chinese government was adamant about strictly forbidding any form of exchanges between the two parties. But it did plant a seed of hope in Jimmy’s heart. The encounter moved Jimmy to want to help the Chinese take professional Go in China to the next level. Jimmy paid out of his own pocket to invite one top player each from Korea and China to play in California, U.S., in 1985. This match became known as the ‘Korea-China Match.’ I was grateful to represent Korea against Nie Weiping who played for China. Simply put, it was a historical event. For an individual to successfully pull off a self-organized exchange before diplomatic ties had even been established was sensational. But Jimmy did not stop there. He wanted to do more. He had a bigger picture in his mind.

  “Go must thrive in China to keep international Go moving forward. For more people around the world to fall in love with this brain sport, the game has to gain more popularity and prominence in China.”

  Back then, no one in Korea understood what Jimmy was talking about because the Korean Go community itself was struggling day-to-day to survive. For many, Jimmy was the lucky guy with the financial resources who could afford to fantasize about the future of Go. A few years later when I met Jimmy, he was busy organizing a big title match in China. Jimmy was going to contribute 60,000 yuan directly to the pool of prize money. At the time in China, prize money ranged from 5,000 or 10,000 yuan at most. Even if a player wins the prize money, 90% went to the Chinese Weiqi Association as tax, leaving only 10% for the player.

  Jimmy made a deal with the Chinese Weiqi Association. He offered to sponsor a championship cup in China with a prize money pool of one million yuan including 60,000 yuan set aside for the winner
under one condition; the Chinese Weiqi Association was never to claim any of the prize money and the appearance fee. Jimmy was also willing to pay the Chinese Weiqi Association to cover for the preparation that went into organizing the championship. They had no reason to reject such a generous offer.

  “We need to offer hefty prize money to professional players to entice young geniuses to the game,” said Jimmy to Chen Zude.

  That was the beginning of Jimmy’s Friendship Cup. The Friendship Cup was important at two different levels. It instilled a sense of pride in professional Go players as their reputation improved befitting the colossal size of the prize money. It was also a learning experience for the Chinese Weiqi Association to facilitate further progress of Go in China. The Chinese Go players welcomed the Friendship Cup with much enthusiasm. Players thronged the Friendship Cup. Among the 140 were star players like Nie Weiping, Ma Xiaochun, who later ranked 1st in China in the 1990s after Nie Weiping, and Liu Xiaoguang, another world-class player of the 1990s.

  The Friendship Cup lasted from 1995 to 1997, during which it was held three times. I had the honor of being invited to the gala evenings and each time I was moved by the very devotion of my dear friend Jimmy. Jimmy was an incredible man. He had big ideas and a bigger heart for Go. I have never seen anyone who was more than happy to mobilize his own resources unconditionally for the benefit of others. I felt the depth of his love for the game of Go.

  The Friendship Cup was short-lived but it had a great ripple effect in the Chinese Go community. In 1998, immediately following the last Friendship Cup, the inaugural Chunlan Cup World Professional Weiqi Championship with 150,000 US dollar prize money was held. The overall prize money for local competitions in China made a huge jump. It was around this time that the game received more public attention and the professional Go league gained full-scale traction. Though it lasted for only three years, the Friendship Cup left a significant footprint in the history of the Chinese Go.