Filizko Went to Beijing for Go Things

Filizko went to Beijing for Go things. :)

I won all three of my games!

I’m so happy! So happy! Go has been part of my life for such a long time, but playing in China felt different. In the United States, most people do not even know what Go is. But in China, no explanation was needed. Go was not some strange little hobby I carried around with me. It was understood. It was respected. We were taken seriously there. There was a kind of respect around it that made everything feel bigger, older, and more real.

That meant a lot to me.

I had my teachers, Fan and Thomas, with me. My friends Tanguy, Ben, and Ali were there too, always beside me, making the whole trip warmer than Beijing itself. Every game carried a little bit of everyone who had taught me, helped me, encouraged me, laughed with me, and sat with me through the strange little emotional storms of playing a serious game.

And Beijing was cold!

Very cold.

December in China did not come to play. I could not visit the Great Wall because of the ice and snow, which still breaks my heart a little. But maybe that just means China is asking me to come back. :)

The hardest part was not the freezing Beijing weather. It was sitting in the traditional seiza position (zhengzuo (正坐)) during the Go games!

By the time the game was over, I was not sure whether I had won a match or simply become part of the floor. Let’s just say getting me back up was a team effort. :)

I did get to visit the National Museum of China, and I absolutely loved it. It was magnificent. Truly one of those places where you walk around quietly and feel very small in front of history, in the best possible way. After spending so much time around an ancient game, being surrounded by so much history felt almost too fitting.

The Chinese people I met were incredibly welcoming. I also learned that the Chinese way of showing love is definitely feeding you. Ahahaha. There was always more food, more tea, more “try this,” more “eat more.”. Beijing was freezing, but people kept putting warm things in front of us, so in the end, maybe that was the real weather of the trip.

Huawei was our sponsor, which also made the whole thing feel a little surreal. We stayed in Wangfujing! One moment I was playing Go, the next I was in Beijing, surrounded by people who cared deeply about this ancient game, eating lamb skewers in the freezing cold, and thinking, “Life is so good!” Me being a female also a little shock to most people. A white girl playing Weiqi!

And now, after winning all three of my games, I can finally apply for pro qualification.

That sentence feels unreal too.

Three games. Three wins. One very frozen, very happy Filizko.

I rang in the New Year in a completely different country, and today I’m flying to Tokyo for a learning game. My “little” (ahahha!) gift to myself for winning is Mount Fuji and a short Kawaguchiko getaway. Don’t worry, I’ll enjoy the onsen enough for all of us. :)

So yes, Beijing was cold. I missed the Great Wall. I ate too much lamb. And I came home with something more than three wins. I learned once again that Go is not just a game; it is a language, a culture, a discipline, and sometimes, somehow, a doorway.

And this time, it opened in China.