Who is Moon Cha?

The Last Move: My First True Teacher

By Keith Arnold 5d, published in AGA E-Journal 9/2005

Moon Cha, a great man and a great go player, passed away two years ago this month. The upcoming first annual Moon Cha Memorial Tournament provides a welcome opportunity to remember an old friend and teacher.

Moon was amongst the first wave of strong Asian players who dominated an increasingly active tournament scene on the East Coast in the 1960s and '70s. Along with Matsuda, Kwon, Horiguchi and Shen in New York, Ishikawa in Philadelphia and Kang in Baltimore, he was one of the stalwarts of the "pre Ing Cup" generation - challenging for the U.S. Championship in 1965 and 1966. He was perhaps unique amongst these strong Asian players in that he came to go as an adult, and after becoming a master level chess player.

Despite this late start, his knowledge of the game was second to none. By the time I started attending tournaments, Moon was no longer a favorite in the Easterns, or the New York Meijin, but you could always count on him to knock off one or more of the top players. Moon was my first true teacher, and he loved to go over games, his criticism as scathing and blunt as his advice was clear and authoritative. I have never seen an amateur player so proficient at tewari analysis, the method of changing the order of moves to discover inefficiencies. Even into the 1990s, Moon's analysis was held in such high respect that far stronger players would never miss a chance to show him their games.

I will always be thankful for the interest he took in my game. I don't know whether he actually saw some talent in me, or perhaps he simply recognized that I shared his absolute love for this game. I guess I will never know, but I'll always remember staying up late into the night going over my Congress games with him in a steamy dorm room at the 3rd Go Congress in Mass. Hours later I felt better prepared for the weekend Easterns, but envious of Moon's energy and brilliance.

When I got stronger, he was delighted to be paired with me, not because it was an easy win -- which it was -- but because he was truly delighted with the opportunity to measure my progress. Always the competitor, when I finally beat him in what would turn out to be our last game, I know he was proud of me, but he was also eager to get his revenge. I wish he had the chance.