Jared Beck Go History
This page is number 40 in a long list of answers to the question Why Did You Start Go
I am Jared Beck
Table of contents |
1. How did you become interested in Go?
A family friend whom I respected taught me to play Go.
2. Why did you decide to start pursuing it more seriously?
I've always loved games. Go became my favorite game in 2003, when I found my University's Go club.
3. Before you started playing Go, having only heard about it, what did you think about it?
I heard about Go from a friend, then learned the basics from a book. There was really no one to play for 10 years. I thought it was a neat game, but since no one else played it, I couldn't get too excited about it.
4. Did it turn out to be anything like you expected it to?
Not at all! I never guessed how much I would come to enjoy it.
5. What could we do to make Go more popular in the West?
Interesting question. We cannot directly make Go more popular in the West. The current Western culture cannot support a game such as Go. The people's attention spans are too limited, and not enough emphasis is placed on personal mental development. Without this emphasis, not enough respect is given to those who do develop thier minds. Without the cultural support for Western Go celebrities, Go cannot attain mass appeal.
Nonetheless, Go can still become somewhat more popular. I teach anyone who listens. I don't, however, see Go becoming broadly popular, without a change of paradigm among the populace.
I would note that the University atmosphere is the perfect place to spread Go: lively, competitive environment of peers/friends, with respect given to acknowledged masters (just as students acknowledge professors).
See also: Publicity
6. My Rank History
Early 1990s
Introduced to Go by family friend, who loans me a Go book. Given a cheap set by grandparents, who most likely purchased it while traveling. The set must have sat in thier house until I randomly mentioned the game. At this point, I am interested in the game, but have only the family friend to play against.
Late 1990s
Forget about Go altogether.
2003 Spring - reach about 14kyu
Discover Empty Sky Go Club, attend Empty Sky infrequently. Play every other week or so with a friend.
2003 Summer - from 14kyu to 10kyu
Study goproblems.com while at work. Play on Fridays at Ithaca Go Club.
2003 Fall and Winter - from 10kyu to 7kyu
Play frequently at Empty Sky.
12/20/2004
Play online (on KGS) for the first time.
1/26/2004 - 8kyu
2004 Spring - from 7kyu to 4kyu
I had a hard time concentrating on my job (an internship) at the time. The company network blocked just about every port but 80. I could get no internet at my apartment, only at work. So, to play on KGS, I wrote a proxy program in Java. The proxy ran on my friends' machine elsewhere. My KGS client was set to port 80, and my friend's machine would relay my moves to kgs.kiseido.com on the real port.
I played at least three serious games a day.
- 2/6/2004 - 7kyu
- 3/11/2004 - 6kyu
- 3/29/2004 - 5kyu
- 4/30/2004 - 4kyu
5/16/2004
I play a game on KGS with someone who played Iwamoto Kaoru. This makes my "Iwamoto Kaoru number" 2, Go Seigen 3, and Shusaku 5.
3/1/2005 - 2kyu
On 2/27 and 2/28 I won 4/5 AGA games at the NJ Open, entered as a 3kyu.
5/29/2005 - 3kyu
I am 2.8k AGA, but I am still 3kyu on KGS.
8/18/2005 - 2kyu
For the first time since mid-January, meditation is 2k.