I first met Pieter Mioch in Tokyo, at some world championship that we both attended unfortunately not as players but as interpreters. At that time he was doing weights and drinking proteins and he did look much more like a pro wrestler than an amateur go player. Anyway, I immediately liked his laid-back attitude and his sense of humor. Soon we were playing go occasionally (sometimes at parks, much to the annoyance of Japanese passers-by) and mah-jong not so occasionally; we were both hooked on that devilish game and did not stop to think about the steep tuition fees that we were paying to our seasoned Japanese opponents.

In spite of this and other reproachable habits, Pieter somehow got to marry a charming and talented girl named Waka, and they moved to a house far out in the wilderness (some say that Waka chose the location so that Pieter could not find anybody to play mah-jong with, but I could not confirm this.) Since then Pieter has become a difficult-to-reach man, but in these days the Internet goes really everywhere and he's got a connection in his country retreat (I've heard that he charges the local children a fee for playing games online, but this is also probably a hoax.)

Thanks to the net now we can have a glimpse of his go wisdom, so please read on. Pieter has the knack of explaining old concepts in a refreshing way, and even if you don't understand a thing I guarantee that you won't get bored.

Eduardo López Herrero
(Argentine representative at the 2nd, 3rd, 13th and 18th WAGCs)

In the picture Pieter is playing with his employer, Mr Tsuchida 9 dan professional and head of the Gifu branch of the Nihon Ki-In.