h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good entry, especially for me, as I am trying to start at Go (sounds like Monopoly).

I have played some chess and enjoy using computer chess programs (ChessMaster, Fritz), on a good day I might get a rating of 1300+ (beginners are ~900, typical chess club member 1600, Grandmaster way over 2000).

But Go is very different, as I see it so far. A vast board (19x19 vs 8x8 for chess) with LOTS of options. Yes, the rules are simple, but the strategy is evidently not. And there are few if any programs that TEACH Go, and only a small number that you can play against (igowin is one at the link for the American Go site). I have read that while chess programs are on the verge of defeating World Champion chess players, there are only mediocre Go programs.

I'm still interested, but one problem may be that the method of listing Go games is not very well developed (unlike chess). So its hard to play through master games to learn.

As an aside, the founder of Atari (the original arcade game company, Pong, Missile Command, Tempest, etc.), Nolan Bushnell, was a second board chess player in college. His favorite game is Go.