For those new to the game of Go, one aspect of the game that makes it so much fun for me is the way that a good commentator or author can tell an entire story around the game (and Will Lockhart is one of the better commentators). Attacks, counterattacks, being bold vs being cautious, going for territory or strengthening defenses...a good game commentary can be more enthralling than many novels.
This also means that an individual's personalty shows through in a game of Go more than it would for, say, Chess. I know I'll never be a top-tier player, but I also know that by improving my Go game I can improve my performance in other aspects of my life. I am often impetuous and overly-optimistic. In Go, this means that I tend to attack when I should defend, and when I do defend I tend to do so imperfectly. In life, it means that I often start more projects than I can finish. So, in a way, Go is my own personal meditation strategy.
Finally, for those who want to get into the game but may not have time to play a full game in one sitting, I highly recommend Dragon Go Server (http://www.dragongoserver.net/). Games are played out in "correspondence" style. This means that a game may take a long time to play, but it also means that the play tends to be very strong. I'm personally only 14kyu on DGS, whereas I was 11kyu on KGS 3 or so years ago (back when I had time for it).
Oh, I realize that personality plays some roll in chess, but I think the degree to which is shines through in Go is on a whole other level. There is only so much you can do in chess that is still considered sound play. For example, you keep your queen back if you're a cautious player or bring it out early if you're not, but doing something like sacrificing your queen early in the game to take a pawn would just be regarded as stupid.
There are many fewer truly "stupid" plays in Go, especially early in the game. In fact, if you look at a lot of the commentary around the games that Alpha Go played, one thing said time and again was how Alpha Go made moves that seemed "amateurish" only to follow up later with connecting moves that seemed almost prescient.
This also means that an individual's personalty shows through in a game of Go more than it would for, say, Chess. I know I'll never be a top-tier player, but I also know that by improving my Go game I can improve my performance in other aspects of my life. I am often impetuous and overly-optimistic. In Go, this means that I tend to attack when I should defend, and when I do defend I tend to do so imperfectly. In life, it means that I often start more projects than I can finish. So, in a way, Go is my own personal meditation strategy.
Finally, for those who want to get into the game but may not have time to play a full game in one sitting, I highly recommend Dragon Go Server (http://www.dragongoserver.net/). Games are played out in "correspondence" style. This means that a game may take a long time to play, but it also means that the play tends to be very strong. I'm personally only 14kyu on DGS, whereas I was 11kyu on KGS 3 or so years ago (back when I had time for it).