It's 'Go' Time for This Vo-Tech Club

A few months ago, most of them had no idea what they were doing.

But after some time, some reading and a whole lot of fun, the Go Club at the has mastered playing and loving a board game born in China and played throughout the world.

“I think it keeps you thinking, that’s what I like about it. It’s like chess, but completely different,” said Jamiah Boateng.

Started this year, the Go Club is made up of about 20 students who get together to play the Chinese game, Go. More than 2,000 years old, the game is known for it’s strategy and its simplicity. Go is played by two players who place black and white stones on vacant intersections of a grid. Once on the board, the stones can’t be moved. Once one player’s stone is surrounded by an opponents’ that stone is removed from the board.

The object of the game is to “surround” a larger piece of the board than your opponent.

The club began when Angelo Berardi visited English teacher Lori Solomon one day to tell her about a game he’d discovered.

“He came to me and told me about this game really cool game, and I said, 'well if you like it, maybe other’s will like it,' ” said Solomon.

And from there the Go Club was born. Members all have different reasons for liking the game.

“You have to think of the next move before you make a move,” said Angelo.

“It’s interesting because not a lot of people have heard about it,” he continued.

Luis Figueroa said that even though the game isn’t well known, it’s similar enough to other games to be enjoyable for almost anyone.

“I played a lot of traditional board games and computer games, and this is my favorite board game,” he said.

Jacob Alamo said that almost every meeting is filled with people.

“Most of the time we have a full house, and most of the tme it’s filled with people who are fascinated with the game, with how unique it is, and how different the game is from many others.”

Solomon said the club helps keep a lot of her students focused and gives them opportunities for other activities.

“A lot of the kids who may be fidgiting in an academic class, in here, they’re focused,” she said. “We did a little history on the game, and even raised money for victims of the tsunami.”