| abstract
| - The Go Center opened in September 1995 with the financial help of Iwamoto Kaoru 9-dan (1902-1999), one of the great Japanese go players of the 20th century. The opening of the center was especially welcome because the previous home of go in Seattle, the Last Exit on Brooklyn had moved to a new, smaller location on the Upper Ave and was already in its death throes. Although the Go Center is a membership club (with daily, monthly, quarterly, or annual membership), the first few visits are free, and beginners (especially kids) are very welcome. The best drop-in time for beginners, young and old, is usually Tuesday evening, when people are reliably available to teach the game. The rules of go are at least as simple as those of checkers: you can play an interesting game within minutes. The ramifications of the rules are complex: go is, in a mathematically well-defined way, several orders of magnitude more complex than chess.
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