My name is Florescu Ion but everybody knows me as Mirel, a name given to me by my mother. I'm Romanian and was born in the countryside city of Spineni on the 26th of June, 1970.  I started to play chess when I was five and enjoyed some success in local tournaments.   But after discovering the game of Go nine years later my preference changed and I have played Go every day since.

I am attracted to the old style of playing.  My favorite players are Honinbo Dosaku and Shusaku. I also very much admire Go Seigen sensei and Fujisawa Shuko sensei.

The biggest dream of many Go players is to study in a professional school.  I accomplished this dream with huge support from Mr.Nishimura Chuichiro of Fukuoka Japan, to whom I'll be forever grateful. I entered Makuhari Igo Kenshu Center (The Makuhari Go Studying Center) April 1995 and I studied there until Nihon Ki-In closed it, for financial reasons in June of 1998. I played in the Insei (Go students) league all this time, my best result being the promotion to the best class (A class).  Among my colleagues were gifted players like Kono Rin, Kim Su-Jun, Cho Riyu , and many others who are now strong professionals in the Japanese Go league.  While studying in Japan I also made a study trip to Korea where I visited Go schools and played many strong students, amateurs and professionals. In Japan I had the opportunity to assist the world's strongest players (e.g. Lee Chang Ho, Cho Hun Hyun , Cho Chikun, O Rissei, Rin Kaiho, Kobayashi Koichi, Otake Hideo, Takemiya Masaki, Fujisawa Shuko, Sakata Eio, Kato Masao) by acting as a game-recorder during more than 100 important encounters. I saw them "at work" and after the games I watched their commentaries.  All of this was a big help for my study. Sometimes a game started in the morning and finished at midnight, yet the room was so filled with tension that time seemed to stop.

I left Japan in September 1998 after almost three-and-a-half years of intense study. Now I'm 6 Dan and I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to the spreading of this wonderful game. I want to share the things I learned with everybody and this is the reason I created this web site. The Internet is an easy way to get in touch with people from all over the world and I hope you will find this way of learning Go fun and convenient. For playing and teaching online there is a fee but I'm working now to make some lessons accessible to everybody.

I have considerable experience as a Go instructor, having been teaching since I became a top amateur.  In Japan I had a group of students who enjoyed my classes. I hope that you too will like the way I teach.  Following are some basics.