Hi, my name is Oybek. I'm a father and software engineer from Kyrgyzstan. I enjoy solving problems. The path to a solution matters more to me than the solution itself. That's what I write about in this blog.
My cousin introduced me to this game in second grade. I still remember losing to him for the first time - I was genuinely excited. The game felt alive.
We played on paper. He beat me.
The game went something like this, with my thoughts as it unfolded:
| Board | My thoughts |
|---|---|
| He takes the center. Makes sense | |
| I go top. Looks safe | |
| He takes the left corner | |
| I block the diagonal. Smart, right? | |
| He leads to the state where he has two options to win |