Sungsoo Kim first learned Go from his dad. “One summer day during my sophomore year, my dad asked me if I was interested in learning Go,” he said. “Like many, I grew up watching Hikaru no Go, so naturally I always had some interest. Also, after leaving his friends and hometown, my dad seemed a bit lonely.” Kim told his dad, “Sure,” marking the start of his Go journey. “It quickly became a typical father-son rivalry, and it motivated me to look for every Go lecture I could find online at the time,” he said. A year later, Kim started defeating his dad in an even game and soon, began giving him handicap stones. It seemed that the father-son rivalry would never end. But that was not meant to be. “As much as he was proud of my progress, he also probably didn't want to lose to his son even with handicap stones. So we gradually stopped playing together,” he said. A few years later, his dad passed away. “To this day, I still regret not playing with him more when I had the chance,” he said. “I took a long break in Go after his passing. He was the reason why I played Go in the first place.” Fast forward to 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic motivated Kim to “rethink and revisit my old passion.” He discovered the Evanston Go Club and made friends with many of its members. Since 2021, Kim has attended two Go Congresses, two Midwest Opens, one New York Go Summit, and five Chicago tournaments. Kim has never had a formal Go teacher, besides watching BadukTV professional commentary. But he is surrounded by a spring of Go wisdom. Sungsoo Kim encountered world champion Kim Jiseok 9P at the 2023 U.S. Go Congress and New York Go Summit. “I learned a lot about how pros think and how they evaluate the quality of moves,” Sungsoo Kim said. “But my biggest takeaway from him has nothing to do with Go skills or techniques. It's actually about the attitude and the mindset people should have, not just for their Go journey, but for their life in general.” Despite not being an official translator, Sungsoo Kim found himself translating the 2023 U.S. Go Congress lecture of Kim Jiseok. “In his speech, (Kim Jiseok) said that a lot of people asked him questions like "how to get stronger,” "how to win,” "how to get over a painful loss,” etc. He was sad that too many people were too focused on winning, and admittedly, I was one of them,” Sungsoo Kim said. “KJS 9P's advice to them was, "Have a grateful heart for your opponent.” He wanted people to view their opponent, not as an enemy that must be defeated, but as a partner who will help them improve, grow, and get closer to their ideal perfection of Go.” Sungsoo Kim went on to reflect on how his perspective “changed my Go experience.” “I now have a better appreciation of my opponent's moves, of the time and effort they spent on preparing for the tournament, and of the lessons, I learned through the game,” Sungsoo Kim said. Sungsoo Kim said he suffered two “embarrassing” blows at the 2023 New Go Summit the week before the 2023 Chicago Rapid: a cold and a 0-4 record. Disheartened, he asked Kim Jiseok for advice. “One must bend their knees to jump higher,” Sungsoo Kim said. “(Kim Joseok) told me that sometimes he also performs poorly in a tournament, namely this year's Samsung Cup, where he was eliminated in the first round by an amateur player. He also said that there are tournaments where he does much better than his perceived capabilities, and he thinks those good days only come to people who are willing to overcome discouragement and people who can continue putting in the necessary work even during the low moments.” Looking back, the advice motivated Sungsoo Kim to not give up. “His advice made me focus on what I gained instead of what I lost. I might have lost a few games and ratings, but it was also an opportunity for me to learn the importance of physical health and a gentle reminder of his advice at the Congress,” Sungsoo Kim said. His 4-1 record at the 2023 Chicago Rapid shows that Sungsoo Kim has put the advice into practice. “(At the New York Go Summit), I was having the worst cold of my life,” he said. “My Go strength couldn't have changed significantly over a week, so the only major difference between my performance in New York and Chicago is my physical health. Based on my anecdotal experience, I think the impact of good health, or lack thereof, can have upwards of a two-stone difference. In Go, I think the winner is often the player with better focus. If your body is unwell, then any kind of bodily discomfort or irritations can drain your focus. It can make you miss even a simple idea that you wouldn't have missed otherwise. Also, when there are multiple rounds in a single day, stamina plays a key role in one's overall performance.” Sungsoo Kim said that in the end, Go is fun. “From solving tsumego to playing a hard-fought game, it's immensely entertaining to me,” he said. “But why I want to improve is a bit difficult to explain. When I look at a well-crafted tsumego problem or a brilliant move by a top professional it reminds me of beautiful math equations or the vast mystery of the universe. I know it's a weird thing to say about just a board game, but whenever I see pros play a move even AI can't find, I get the same level of thrill, if not greater. Because of that, I have a desire to understand this game at a deeper level, so that someday I can play moves like that myself.” Yet his journey in Go has only begun. “Being surrounded by people who love Go reignited my passion for Go. I have to say that it is a blessing that I'm surrounded by such a supportive community. My Go journey has been nothing short of a miracle,” he said.
