Sorin Gherman and The Expanding Go Blogosphere
Some of you already know of Sorin Gherman (6D), one of the few people in the west who have had the opportunity to study as a Japanese insei. I had blogged about his advice for getting strong back in July of 2005; not long after I started taking Go seriously.
Sorin had recently joined the forums at GoDiscussions.com and I was pleased to learn that he has updated his website and added a blog. There's a good amount of free educational material on both so it's well worth a visit and a browser bookmark.
Ye Early Go Blogs
The Go blogosphere is now in a growth stage but it was in its absolute infancy only two years ago. I recall that when I started my blog, there weren't too many that were regularly updated and many others were abandoned only months after being launched. NannyOgg's "Go Shodan Challenge" was then the most well-known and it still is, thankfully, going strong to this day.
But even NannyOgg's blog was preceded by an older one entitled "A Go Player" started in July 2004 by an author known to me only as Jay. Sadly, this blog has, since April 2005, not been updated. It went silent after Jay achieved a KGS rank of 15k. It was then the only lower-kyu blog that I could find and relate-to in my first months.
These two blogs, in fact, gave me the idea of tracking my progress and sharing pieces of my Go-education in an online journal. I owe Nanny and Jay for that.
To Nanny, keep blogging and more power to your game!
To Jay (wherever you are now), thanks for the gift of your lower-kyu blog and I hope your game has continued to improve!
Latest Entrants to the Blogosphere
Here are five recent entrants to the English-language Go blogosphere; most launched in January of 2007.
Alejo, the author of Alejo's Tenuki, blogs in English from Spain. This is a low single-digit-kyu blog.
rayen, the author of rayen's Go Blog, blogs in English from Norway. I think rayen is single-digit-kyu.
noir, the author of noir's Road to Shodan, blogs in English from Romania. His blog was launched in September of 2006. noir is currently ranked at 7k on KGS.
chinmay, the author of Go!, blogs in English from India. He is a rapidly-advancing beginner.
And finally, Rajmahendra, the author of As you name it!, blogs in English from India. His blog isn't Go-centric but he's rather enthusiastic and he does touch upon it frequently. His was probably the first Go-related blog from India. Raj is a rapidly-advancing beginner.
posted by ChiyoDad @ 6:29 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Did you forget mine on purpose?
I am actually 7kyu Romanian GO federation and 4 kyu KGS :) But this comment is not about this. I just want to thank you for mentioning me in your blog. I like your blog very much. I'll try to update mine as often as possible.
It seems that there has been some sort of Go blog "boom" in the beginning from this year...
Hello alejo,
Yes. There was a notable increase in blogs this Winter.
Hello noir,
Thanks for the clarification and my apologies. I tried to gather as much as I could from the data on your blog. I probably misread.
Hello let's go (aka VincentV),
No, I didn't forget yours. I had mentioned it months ago. This was a listing of recent entrants.
I'd like to do something as your "white facing komoku" but I think I haven't got enough level to do so, yet.
That's why I focus on videoreviews and listing other websites for beginners...
Hi, I am the author only known as "Jay" :)
NannyOgg pointed out that you had featured me in an email today, and I'd just like to say that I find the entire Gosphere to be amazingly synchronous. I quit playing Go after I reached 15k, and haven't touched a stone in a year-and-a-half.
Yet last week, I once again picked up the game and a copy of my problems book and once again prepared to enter this world.
I was even reading your blog this weekend :D
So, there will probably be sporadic updates to my blog, assuming I can remember the password.
Onegaishimasu
Welcome back to the blogosphere, Jay!
Nanny and I were discussing you last night via private chat on KGS. Apparently, it was you who introduced to her the teacher known as Sendol.
It's wonderful to finally make your acquaintance. It'll be great to see your blog active again.
Great post! I've set up a new aggregator at http://planetgo.org/ containing all of these and more -- please check it out and offer more (recently-updated) blog links if you know of any. :)
Thanks!
Aha!! Now I am really surprised that you mentioned my blog in the post. Your blog is a motivating place. I hope to learn from it, and share my learnings with others through my blog.
Thanks:)
hi Chiyo
How are you ? Long time no see :)
Thanks for including my name and blog :)
Meet you soon in KGS!
Bye
Good luck,
Raj
Hi ChiyoDad,
Thank you for mentioning my new Go page and blog.
I have to confess I have been a silent fan of your Go blog for quite some time now - it's very fun, refreshing, and informative.
My favourite entry, even if it's not Go related, is the first part of http://chiyodad.blogspot.com/2005/11/original-chiyodad-and-close-game.html - that artwork by Azuma Kiyohiko (?) it reminds me of a lot of nice things: Japan, summer vacations, childhood, etc - it's very warm and touching :-)
Oh, and I also like your drawings a lot: the "Homer Simpson as Fujiwara no Sai" cartoons are hilarious!
Hello Chris,
Impressive aggregator which mirrors the efforts of the first one. At some point, these aggregators should be formatted to look like an online magazine.
Hello chinmay,
Always my best wishes in your progress and your blogging. Good to have you with us on GD.
Hello Raj,
I'm doing well and you're very welcome. Hope to see the Go-scene continue to expand in India! I'll see you on KGS.
Hello Sorin,
Your compliments on my blog and my little comic strips really mean a lot to me. Thank you! I'm really looking forward to reading more improvement advice from your blog.
I know what you mean about that picture; lazy summers, seasonal fruit, and the hum of an electric fan. There was something about it that resonated with me too.
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