Rather than talking about my most memorable game as such, I would like to talk about related memories.

When I was in third year of junior high school, I was an insei (professional trainee) at the Nihon Ki-in. I was invited to play in a public game, held on the stage at a party in a hotel, with, moreover, a public commentary held on the same stage.

My opponent was an established woman professional and I was playing on black with no komi. The party was celebrating something auspicious, and there were a lot of people in attendance.

I remember that I played an awful game: I lacked experience and I was tense with the unfamiliar setting. The game is still a good memory for me, but after it finished I noticed Go Seigen Sensei, whom till then I had seen only in books, in the audience.

A friend led me up to him and said to me: 'Have a look at Go Seigen Sensei's hands.' Rude though it was, I got him to show me.

The middle fingers of both hands were bent. When he was studying as a youngster, he would hold a heavy Go book in one hand and play through the games with the other. When the left hand got tired, he would switch the book to his right hand. The weight of the books caused the fingers supporting them to become bent.

I was aware of this from reading books about Go Seigen, but even now I vividly remember rudely looking at his actual hands.

You could really feel his passion for Go. I remember other stories of players from the old days, of how the nail of a player's index finger wouldn't grow [from continual contact with Go stones] or of how their nails became shiny from rubbing against Go stones. These stories really impressed me.

Nowadays, you can play or watch games on the internet. I should take advantage of this and study much more.