Social go vs. Competitive go

There is no formal term for playing the game of go for fun or playing for competition but I have to make a distinction here. For this blog I'm going to talk about two kinds of go play. I am not talking about strategy or rank but how one plays the game and the goal of each player.

Social go is playing for fun or learning at leisure. 

A go player may play online, go to a club, play with friends and family, participate in a summer camp and so on. This is a time to socialize and learn about the game without too much pressure. Go is a very competitive board game and winning is the best result. There is going to be a level of competition no matter what or where you play. Being competitive is not the same as competing in a formal competition. In order to take part in an arranged competition one must go through training if they expect to do well or win the tournament.

Training for competition is different from leisure play. 

This is a very serious matter. I do get a bit worried about go players who are from countries where go is not popular and is not commonly played in their communities because they are unaware of certain things that go on where go is popular and taken very seriously. One of the things about formal competitions is that it separates those who are amateurs from those who are advanced or experts. Go is such a thing that there are many levels and when one improves it is obvious because they move up one rank at a time. Those who will become good or masters of the game become apparent. There is no question about who is better at the game, a 10 kyu player or 1 dan player.

Go/wei qi is a mind sport.

Hours and hours of repetition and learning from playing and experience is required in order to improve. If you want to succeed in this area you must prepare yourself for this. Go is a mind sport just like a physical sport or learned skill. There is no difference here when it comes to practice, learning and mastering the skill or sport. Notice that mastering and learning or even being good at aren't the same thing. Be prepared to put in time, effort and to suffer the strain from losing because it will happen to you. 

I want all wei qi/go players, especially the beginners, to remember that playing for fun is not the same as training seriously for competition.

If you play for fun and love the game there is a chance you'll want to compete in a tournament some day. There is a wide spectrum of players and you can not expect to skip to the top of the go world because of a fluke. It is pure folly to hope for this. Understand where you're really at before entering a tournament and professional world. Doing so will save you from being crushed, feeling absolutely disappointed in yourself and then wanting to quit playing altogether.