Day 133 - 136: Guanajuato - Rest days - Mostly a Go entry
Sorry in advance but this entry is mostly me nerding out about Go (the board game). Will put all non-go content into the first 3 paragraphs so you can freely skip the rest.
Guanajuato is a very beautiful pueblo magico. It is absolutely stunning with colorful architecture, cobblestone streets and vibrant culture.
If anyone hasn’t seen the Disney movie Coco, then you should stop reading this nonsense and go watch it for a taste of Mexican culture. No, really… Go watch it. Pay particular attention to the afterlife world. That afterlife world is heavily inspired by Guanajuato, and I can definitely see this.
Was only planning on taking a day or so rest in Guanajuato. However, then I went on https://baduk.club website and realized there was a Go club that meets in the town on Saturday so decided to book my hostel until then. After I booked my hostel I decided it would be a good idea to send a message to the club just to make sure they still meet and the details are correct. Gerardo quickly got back to me saying that the website details were incorrect and the club now meets on Tuesday. However, he said that they would meet me that following day (Friday) for some games. Myself and Gerardo are quite evenly matched so had some good games. The first game resulted in 8 not alive groups in 1/4 of the board whose lives were all congentent on the killing of the surround or cutting group. So insanely complex and not my usual play style. Luck more than anything gave me this win. The second game with Gerardo was a moyo game. I got a huge center and he failed to live inside so won this too.
Then another club member and 4 dan called Nicolas arrived and we also played 2 games. He beat me around the board. In the first game I made a Jōseki mistake resulting in a weak group which he punished for the rest of the game. I fought back as well as I could but to no avail. The 2nd game we played I don’t really recall other than I lost.
This impromptu Go session lasted maybe 6 hours which was a very pleasant surprise. We decided that we would meet the following morning at 10am and continue our Go marathon.
The following day I played Nicolas’ girlfriend who gave a good, very creative fight but I was ahead in mid game. She then had to leave for a meeting so Nicolas took over and managed to fight back and make the game close. Such is the magic of mid Dan level play.
Nicolas and I then played another game. We nigiri ed and I got black and quickly opened with my signature dual 5-5 points. We both ended up with a pretty loose moyo structure. I invaded his first. He soon made a cut meaning someone would die. He seemed confident which is always scary especially when he is so much stronger than me. However, it turns out he didn’t read one variation in the resulting capture race. The obvious move where I make an eye and then he starts the capture race would fail for me. However, not making the eye and taking a liberty from his group simply worked. This means in early mid game I had a significant lead. This is even more stressful than being behind as now I need to convert this winning position into a win. Winning the game isn’t so trivial. He fought back really well and created complications but managed to simplify the game at a couple of key moments resulting in a win. This is my first win against a 4 dan opponent so I am quite delighted with myself, even if it was mostly a fluke.
During this 2 day Go marathon I learned quite a bit. This is the strongest Go club in Mexico outside of Mexico City. This is quite amazing for such a small town.
Nicolas also has an encyclopedic knowledge of Go players in all of Latin American from his own travels and attending of Latin American go congresses and events for so many years, way more so than the baduk.club website map I am using to seek out go players. He has promised that when possible he can put me in contact with Go players of countries I am traveling through. This is absolutely great and something I will definitely take him up on.
Re my plans from here. Am meeting a friend on the 8th Feb in Pueblo which is a town south of CDMX. This means I am not in such a rush south. So 2 options are just take my time going south or continue at a usual place and take some time off in cdmx before going to pueblo. Haven’t decided yet.
