I look down at the Kaya-wood goban board.
"Do you play?" I ask my company.
My answer is a slow but clear nod.
For no intelligent reason, I quip "I thought you always preferred chess. Isn't that the tale?"
The response received immediately makes me regret having opened my mouth.
"No. You *people* all seem to think I prefer Chess. Chess is a fine game. 'Man versus man'. Go is superior, for several reasons."
I swallow. Taking a moment to settle my retarded tongue against the bottom of my jaw, I ask "Such as?"
Without emotion, the explanation comes echoing out from behind the stony mask.
"...'Man versus self.' There are more permutations. It is elegant, with multiple layers of learning and understanding. It is potentially more philosophical. Some people consider each game a microcosm of the universe. The scope of the game is less romanticized."
In the tiny silence between sentences, I interject "Romanticized?"
"People like chess because it affords them fantasy. They can pretend that they are the king. Or the knight. Or the bishop. They can pretend that they can see the structure in the world, and humanism in the pieces. It's a metaphor for the way people need to see life. Individualized and unique, with some similarities and echoed repetition. Chess is a game of projection of basic human principles into a the shape of a fancy game with elaborate pieces."
Having not considered this, I fell silent. And suddenly, more than ever before, I was very thankful I chose to meditate in front of my Go board.
After several minutes that stretched into infinity, I moved. Reaching into my stones bowl, I placed my first piece-- black-- on the center of the board.
My company immediately responded, with immaculate restraint and measured movement. Their move: white stone to my right-hand corner dot.
I could not help but chuckle.
11:57 p.m. - 2014-12-23
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