http://www.emptytriangle.com/ Comics about romance, crazyness and love for Go. http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/60 Third part of the ongoing compendium series! It is great to follow in the comments the various sighting reports of the most peculiar behaviors of go playing people, and here are three that strike me as rather common, in one way or another: the BOARD-SHATTERER A behavior glorified by some as the epitome of the self-confident go master, criticized by some as the most obvious opponent-intimidation strategy, and, and this is a personal view, a behavior that makes me want to hide under the table seeking cover (I got hit by a stone at near bullet-velocity once because someone who likes to play this way had slippery fingers.) No real shattered boards were reported to me as of now, does not mean that it never happened though. the ABSENTEE Known to almost all go players, the "wanderer", alternatively. This player is curious what is happening at the other boards, eager to take pictures of the players during the game, has a severe nicotine addiction or likes to pace around to calm himself - the reasons are numerous and highly variable. If two of these get paired up at tournaments, it is possible they actually meet at the board for the first time after the fuseki has been played already. the COMMENTATOR Less common at tournaments, and if it is the case, tends to restrict his vocal assertion of the game to occasional sighs or vague mumbling. Some specimen do not elaborate only on the current game on the board, topics can range from the story of his/her life to general remarks completely unrelated to anything at hand. http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/60 http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/59 I drew this for three reasons - firstly, because I felt the need for a long time already to somehow express something I have noticed about go players: an amazing readiness to help out, and not only with tsumego or difficult board positions. Does this come as a result of the philosophy behind go, does playing this game help us become better people? Or does the game simply draw the attention of a specific kind of person in the first place? Secondly, this is a small thank-you for one of those helpful go players, whose first intention was to play against me and who ended up explaining probabilities and Mendelian inheritance to me instead :) And lastly, which is partly a reason for me almost not having posted this, is my lack of time for anything apart from studying for the university entrance exam I am planning to take soon. I will have to cut on drawing time too, so please excuse the poor quality of this strip - and that there probably will not be many updates in the following weeks. http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/59 http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/58 Based on the suggestion from Javaness of KGS. I was first reluctant to put it to paper, but the more I thought about it the more it seemed to me that I can no longer neglect the peculiar spectacle: a simultaneous game against a professional player. I myself participated in a few throughout my go career, and though I didn't learn much from them (I was too nervous) it always was a thrilling experience. Pro skill never ceased to amaze me, be it in the hundreds of games I replayed or be it in the few games I had the opportunity to play myself against them. this strip therefore is not only dedicated to Javaness but also to Kang Seung-hee 2p, who was my first pro to play against at the 2007 go congress in Villach, Austria. She might not remember it, but on me it left a lasting impression ^^ http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/58 http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/33 This years congress is being held in Tampere, Finland and I am very happy to be able to take part again, and draw for the participants :) I will as always offer t-shirts, pendants and little portraits - and this time, even one or two little suprises. and of course this poster :) I can't wait to see Finnish lakes up close ^^ http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/33 http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/32 It is one of the emptytriangle-goes-to posters, but this time I was, very very suprisingly, invited to a local tournament! I am not really going anywhere (maybe a short tram ride or something), and the tournament has a very artistically uninspiring title, so I just improvised and chose the topic according to what I associate with Prague - my desire to study here. So here is a mix of go and science :) http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/32 http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/31 A commission work I did for the organizers of the Potsdamer Panda tournament. Quite a challenge, I am not used to drawing realistic animals. http://www.emptytriangle.com/artwork/show/31