The book taught me how to play Go

In 2003, the Mongolian Go Affiliation turned the sixty fifth member of the Worldwide Go Affiliation, and the next 12 months, it participated within the World Newbie Go Championship. In our nation, many gamers play Go board video games. Amongst them is Ts.Sansar, who’s the grasp of sports activities and has the fifth dan (Go ranks). He studied along with newcomers beneath the management of Aketa Katsuyuki, a high-ranking Go trainer and coach who got here from Japan in 2003 as a part of JICA’s cooperation, which significantly influenced his later success. After studying from the whole lot the trainer taught and bettering his expertise by way of his efforts, he headed to Kurashiki, Okayama to compete within the twenty fifth World Newbie Go Championship. It’s mentioned that 68 Mongolian athletes competed within the match, which was an unprecedented quantity within the 30-year historical past of the game. In as we speak’s version, I talked with him, who represented our nation within the World Championships thrice.

Athletes prefer to share their reminiscences of taking part in sports activities. Are you able to inform an fascinating story about Go to our readers?

Within the fall of 2002, I turned inquisitive about studying Go and began finding out it. The primary trainer who taught me the sport was the e-book. After studying the “Getting Began with Go” e-book, I realized find out how to play and the principles. At the moment, my uncle used to check and play Go. I used to be very shocked that I beat my brother, though I used to be not taught by anybody. And sooner or later, he introduced me to the Mongolian Go Affiliation and put me in coaching. Subsequent 12 months, as a part of the cooperation of JICA, Aketa Katsuyuki, a extremely certified trainer, got here to our nation to show college students, and he mentioned that he would assist an athlete to get the third dan. On account of his two years of educating, I used to be awarded the third dan. Individuals spend time on issues they’re inquisitive about. I’m additionally a kind of gamers who realized that manner. That 12 months, I received the primary Go Match in Mongolia and strived to follow persistently.

You may have the fifth dan. There isn’t any different athlete in Mongolia who has reached such a excessive rank, proper? 

I’m the one one of many Go gamers to have a fifth dan. At the moment the trainer checked how a lot the scholars’ expertise had improved through the course of. A number of the youngsters overlook and train once more from the start. For me, I realized the whole lot taught diligently and repeated continuous day by day, maybe the trainer discovered it encouraging. One widespread weak point of Mongolians is jealousy. Individuals used to say “The Japanese trainer teaches Sansar greater than different youngsters.” Because of my trainer and my efforts, I represented my nation in lots of competitions. After I first studied Go, I needed to check Japanese historical past and tradition. The extra I studied, the extra I spotted that Go has developed into a worldwide sport, not simply in Japan. The birthplace of Go is China. With a historical past of 4,000 years, Go is very developed in Asia, together with China, Japan, and South Korea. So it has well-known athletes who compete in skilled classes. The quickly rising mental board sport is known as “Go” in Japan, “Wei chi” in China, and “Baduk” in South Korea. However Mongolians have been known as “Migman”. There’s a Go membership with this title in our nation. After I was a toddler, I bear in mind telling my relations, “I used to play mignon after I was a toddler.” I used to be very when the German exploration expedition introduced it to the Mongolian Go Affiliation and confirmed it to the trainer, saying that they’d discovered Go in a Thirteenth-century artifact. I used to be quick-tempered as a toddler. Enjoying Go made me sit calmly and make the precise selections.

What had been your ideas if you noticed one of the best gamers within the World Go Championship?

For me, moderately than successful a spot within the World Championship, I strive to not lose to athletes who’re the identical as me and have a decrease title and rank. There isn’t any set world customary. Any nation can award particular person titles to its athletes. The Mongolian Go Affiliation has been following the precept that it needs to be internationally comparable. For instance, an athlete who has the third dan from some international locations loses to a Mongolian first-dan-ranked participant. In main overseas competitions, the title of the nation shouldn’t be the title of the athlete. Subsequently, if a global fifth-dan-ranked participant loses to a lower-ranked participant, it will likely be ridiculed and won’t make a great impression on the viewers. So, gamers must show the respect they’ve been given by their efficiency. After I went with my trainer to take part within the 2004 World Go Championship in Kurashiki, Japan, my buddies had been amused, saying, “When Mongolians thought they might go to frame Erenhot first, however you skipped the nation and went to the land of the Rising Solar.” After I set foot there, I used to be very amazed by Japan’s improvement, tradition, and the hardworking angle of its residents. I used to be nervous as a result of it was my first time collaborating. Within the first World Championship, with three wins and 5 losses, I used to be in the midst of the rating. At the moment, though the Go sport was growing in Europe, Asians ranked within the prime 10, exhibiting how superior the game was. That 12 months, the athlete from South Korea received and have become the champion. Since then, he has turn out to be a world-famous skilled athlete. 

Is it true that skilled Go gamers have already achieved monetary freedom?

There isn’t any age restrict for enjoying Go. The prize cash of the competitions wherein skilled athletes take part is larger than others. They get a whole lot of consideration as a result of they assure their good life and attain the highest {of professional} athletes. Skilled athletes have excessive requirements and competitors. It isn’t simple to face out from one of the best and be acknowledged on the planet. Even in case you are profitable, it’s tough to take care of your diploma for a few years, so that you study and develop your self day by day. I misplaced to the pc in mental sports activities. In 2003, a big firm in Thailand created a pc program and positioned a wager on successful knowledgeable Go participant with one million {dollars}. However at the moment, Go followers mentioned that this may by no means occur within the subsequent 10 years. Amongst South Korean skilled athletes, the world champion Lee Sedol is essentially the most well-known. He received that competitors greater than as soon as. At the moment, there was no competitor to beat him who had risen on the planet of Go. Lastly, he received in 2016, and he turned a legend with the arrival of synthetic intelligence. He topped the world rankings and received one of many 5 video games he performed in opposition to this system created by Google’s DeepMind Applied sciences Firm. Lee Sedol received the pc program AlphaGo and ended his profession as knowledgeable athlete.

Go has turn out to be a highly-paid skilled sport in Asian international locations. Individuals clarify the the reason why it’s not broadly shared in some ways. What’s your opinion on this?

Go video games had been used to develop battle techniques, methods, and plans just for kings, princes, officers, and navy generals, and had been performed within the palace. There’s a historical past of generals from two continents taking part in Go and fixing battle issues with out bloodshed. Subsequently, peculiar folks had been forbidden to play Go, so it was not broadly distributed. For the reason that starting of the twentieth century, folks have been inquisitive about taking part in Go, and as we speak it has developed right into a sport. Asia developed it when it comes to mental sports activities, whereas the Japanese developed it when it comes to nationwide heritage, tradition, and outlook on life.

Go sport entered the class of mental sports activities on the “Hangzhou-2022” Asian Video games.

For me, I feel that chess and checkers are simpler than Go. The extra you lose in a sport of chess, the extra males of straw will lower and it will likely be simple to make strikes. Go shouldn’t be certain by guidelines. Once you begin a room with black and white stones on an empty ship, you haven’t any room to maneuver within the mid-game. There are 4 primary guidelines of Go that newcomers should study and grasp. Studying something is tough at first, however the extra you strive, the extra fascinating it turns into. Athletes from China, Japan, and South Korea compete to struggle a draw. The developed international locations of the continent like to clarify the event of their international locations in regards to the Go. That’s why they spend some huge cash on coaching skilled athletes.

For instance, the nation exempts the businesses that sponsor the continental and world tournaments of Go. Mongolians also needs to take note of the event of their nationwide sports activities, which carries their heritage and tradition and shouldn’t spend as a lot as foreigners. Investments will enhance if organizations sponsoring main home sports activities competitions are exempted from taxes. I want Mongolians would study from different folks’s strengths and implement what they want. Some academies and institutes practice skilled athletes in China and Japan. South Korea has an mental sports activities middle. Youngsters are skilled within the class of amateurs after which step into the skilled class. Many youngsters are skilled as skilled athletes from childhood. I’ve some college students. Sooner or later, I plan to ascertain my very own membership and practice athletes. My buddies say, “For those who open a membership, I’ll let my baby study Go sport.”