Shin-Kaya - 1-1/2” (4cm) Go Set

Overall Rating: 10 /10 Ponnuki

Highlights

• This is a fantastic set that is complete with high quality yunzi stones, kitani jujube bowls, shin-kaya board, and a travel case for the bowls and stones.
• A perfect set for any player interested in playing go and wants a quality set without breaking the bank.
• The go board doubles as a table and floor board, so the set has even more value than simply having a floor board.

Product Description

• One 2-3/8” (6cm) thick Tibet Spruce (Shin-Kaya) wood board
• Made of 2-4 solid pieces of wood joined together to prevent warping over time.
• Measures 18-1/4”L x 17”W x 3-3/4”H (46.5cm x 43cm x 9.7cm)
• Board is 1-1/2” (4cm) thick
• 180 white and 181 black genuine Yunzi Go stones.
• Large, double convex, size: 9.2mm tall and 21mm wide (about 3/8” x 3/4”)
• Two Kitani style jujube wood bowls that measure 5”W x 4”H (12.7cm x 10cm) with travel vinyl case

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Yunzi Biconvex Stones Set

Overall Rating: 10 / 10 Ponnuki

Highlights

• This is a fantastic set that comes with quality stones and bowls.
• The stones are durable so you can play them with as much force as you’d like without fear of easily damaging them (as you might with slate and shell stones).
• Bowls are excellent quality and have a beautiful finish to them.

Product Details

• 180 white and 181 black genuine Yunzi stones.
• Large Size 33 double convex stones measure 9.2mm tall and 21mm wide (about 3/8” x 3/4”)
• Two Kitani style jujube wood Yunzi stone holders that measure 5” W x 4” H (12.7cm x 10cm)
• Vinyl travel carrying case

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Go Bowls and Stones Carrying Bag

Overall Rating: 8 / 10 Ponnuki

Important Notice

This review is based on the bag that I received two years ago. Since then, YMImports has upgraded the carrying bag to also include bowl straps as well. With that new feature, the bag’s review would escalate to a 9 or 10 Ponnuki status.

Highlights

• Best carrying bag for go stones and bowls that I’ve seen on the market.
• The bag is made of durable material that hasn’t shown signs of ripping.
• The handles are a little more fragile, so be a little more careful relying on those.

Product Details

• Travel vinyl bag with two handles and a single zipper for the top.
• Fits standard Go bowls up to 5’’ wide and 4’’ high

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Shin-Kaya - 1-1/2” (4 cm) Go Floor / Table Board

Overall Rating: 10 / 10 Ponnuki

Highlights

• Legs are removable, which allows the board to function as both a floor and table board.
• The floor height is not nearly as high as the standard floor board, but it is pretty good for the price and quality of the board.
• This is a good board that is more suited for staying at the house and not quite suitable for bringing to a coffee shop to review a pro game.
• Stones that measure 9.2mm (Size 33) fit comfortably on the board. Any size larger maybe a bit of a squeeze.

Product Details

• One 2-3/8” (6cm) thick Tibet Spruce (Shin-Kaya) wood board [including feet].
• Made of 2-4 solid pieces of wood joined together to prevent warping over time.
• Measures 18-1/4”L x 17”W x 3-3/4”H (46.5cm x 43cm x 9.7cm)
• Board is 1-1/2” (4cm) thick.

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For those of you who read my series of posts on the North American Go Convention, you might recall that on Day 2, there was a crew doing a special interview with Joanne Missingham. Guess who made the cut? I guess my play was so incredible they decided to feature me! Hahaha. Just kidding! Anyhow, I can’t seem to download the video from Facebook. So here is the link to the video and some screenshots below:

Joanne Missingham Interview

Fun times. xD

*Thanks to DeepSnow for seeing the scene at 8:10. I have no idea how I missed it.

Kitani Style Jujube Bowls

Overall Rating: 10 / 10 Ponnuki

Highlights

• This is my favorite style of bowls for holding go stones since they remind me of the ones on Hikaru No Go.
• They have a nice finish to them that makes them very beautiful to look at.
• Since the lid is also made of wood without any rubber coating, do not expect the lid to stay securely shut in the event the bowls tip over.

Product Details

• Two Kitani style jujube wood Yunzi stone holders that measure 5” W x 4” H (12.7cm x 10cm)

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Games

• KGS - 2 games ( 1 win : 1 loss )
• DGS - 6 ongoing games

Tsumego

• Go Game - Life and Death (iPad App) - Practice Phase 2 ( Class 11 - 17 )

Other

• Five Hundred and One Opening Problems - Page 1 - 54

Thoughts

It’s been a rather light week in terms of playing and studying, but hopefully the Study Group Kyu website will be up and running soon! In addition, starting tomorrow I will be releasing updates and revisions on previous equipment reviews and integrating new reviews as time goes on! So it was still a productive go week even though I didn’t get to play as much as I would’ve liked. Here’s to hoping my schedule will stabilize next week so I can play more ranked games!

Weekly Go Wednesday, Issue #21

Winning and losing. Two basic concepts that what makes much of the world go round and round. After all, if every game ended with no conclusive result, who would want to play that game? People like the feeling of a conclusion, even if it is only a speck of dust in the scheme of things. So, of course, how does this apply to go?

As I discussed last week, one of the methods I recommended to avoid going “on tilt” was to let go of the emotional attachment to winning and losing. Most of you will scoff and me and say, “Ben. That is impossible! Even the infamous Stone Buddha has been known to lose composure in games! How could you expect us amateurs to do better than he?” Well, it starts with a detour into a more fundamental philosophical question: Where does your happiness come from?

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So it seems that this week will definitely not be nearly as productive in regards to playing games as last week. Although it will be game light, here are some of the things I am working on:

1. Giving the Equipment section a complete makeover in order to improve the look and feel and to maximize its usefulness to anyone looking to purchase go equipment or books!
2. Designing the first layout for the new StudyGroupKyu website in preparation for the April tournament launch!
3. Continuing my study of all the go books I have so that I can add more books to the book review section!
   I’ll be sure to post updates when the new Equipment section are updated for your comments and critiques!