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Rattling The Go Stones
Path: BadHabits   · Prev: PointOutMistakesAfterALuckyWin   · Next: RefuseToTakeHandicap
   

There are those who can't stand the sound, there are others who don't mind. I'm of the first kind, but I don't consider it as being a very bad habit.

--Dieter

It's also got to be said that the sound made from plastic stones is even worse than that from glass or shell/slate stones. Brrr.

--MortenPahle

Sasquatch: Wouldn't it also be possible to chip any stones besides those made of plastic, too?


I often flick the stones between my fingers whilst waiting for my opponent to play (purely a nervous thing), this is silent, but is it also rude? -- ian

Yes, I would call it rude; it's distracting to your opponent across the board, partly because it's an irritating movement in their field of vision, but also because if you're concentrating properly on the game it's inevitable that you will lose control of the stone and drop it onto the table, or worse, onto the stones on the board. Apologising when that happens isn't really good enough; it was hardly an accident since you should be focusing on the game, not on a needless stone in your hand. If you don't fiddle, you won't have to apologise for dropping the stone. -- Bignose

I can hardly think of anything worse! Akin to waving in front of someone trying to line up a shot in snooker/pool. Go is highly visual and the peripheral vision is highly sensitive to movement. I have a great deal of difficulty accepting that any player who does that type of thing once it has been brought to their attention is doing it "accidently".

--Graham

Good thing it's out of their field of vision then ;-) ~ian~


I usually pick up one stone and play with that. That way you make no sound and have something to keep the nerves at bay with. As for people rattling the stones, I knew someone who put his hand in the bowl and stirred while thinking!

--Paullym


I actually love the sounds of Go. By that, I mean the rattling sound of the stones in the bowl, the sound the stone makes when it hits the board, even the sound of the game clock being pressed (except for the Ing clocks). I never stir the stones while thinking, but I never try to take the stone from the bowl too quietly, either. This is only because I like the sounds.

--Dansc

The sounds are indeed a wonderful part of the atmosphere. What is irritating is when the sounds are needless and fidgety. The determined rattle of fingers in the bowl seeking a single stone to play, or the decisive "thunk" of a played stone, are lovely. The sounds of sweeping the board clean and pouring the stones back into the bowls give a nice final sound to the end of play.

However, fidgety nervous tapping and rattling are irritating because they betray the tension of the person, and indicate the high probability that stones will be scattered at some point from nervous hands, possibly upsetting the board, definitely upsetting the concentration of the players and their neighbours.

This is one of the reasons I like Go; it rewards a calm mind, and makes a scattered mind obvious, further encouraging mental discipline through public embarrassment :-) -- Bignose


Japanese pros recommend that players should not touch a stone in the bowl until they are ready to play it. This promotes focussing on the move and maintaining a calm attitude. It also may help avoid hasty, ill-considered moves.

Personally I dislike it very much when people rattle the stones compulsively. Even worse are the people who take a handfull of stones out of the bowl, put them in a pile on the table in front of them, and proceed to fiddle with them while thinking about their moves.

BobMcGuigan


I like the sound and feel of rubbing two black slate stones together while I'm playing over master games and thinking, and I would never think of doing it with anybody else in the room. --Scryer



Path: BadHabits   · Prev: PointOutMistakesAfterALuckyWin   · Next: RefuseToTakeHandicap
This is a copy of the living page "Rattling The Go Stones" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.