Undevicienigophobia

Undevicienigophobia - An abnormal fear of playing on a 19x19 Go board.

Perhaps a true student of Latin might coin something better, but let's call it that for now.

I've experienced it, and Mahgy (30k?) alluded to it during our game last night. Beginners who cut their teeth on 9x9 and 13x13 boards suddenly feel lost on a 19x19 board. Take anyone out of their comfort zone and they'll experience anxiety.

But that seems to be what we go through with every game that challenges us, doesn't it? Every new player of greater ability, every unfamiliar move, and every new formation disturb our harmony and force us out of our comfort zone. And yet it's also what makes us grow as Go players. Heat forges steel.


Just recently I got rid of the question mark that was suffixed to my 30-kyu rank on KGS which probably makes me a bona fide 30k ... for now. It's such a small accomplishment on the road to shodan and, as was said to Caesar, "All power is fleeting".

I'm happy with it and it's a good excuse to add a little cash to my goban-for-shodan reward fund (refer to the bottom of that linked post). But I know that I could just as easily drop back to an unconfirmed status so it's best not to dwell on it.

To date, I've played 237 games on IGS, KGS, WWGo, DashN and CyberOro. That's still small compared to some of the other players that I know.