I have a background in regular western chess (64 square board, white and black pieces) and had been playing that game for more than 20 years. Gave it up after being told I had to get rid of my large chess library collection taking up too much room. But I had despaired to part with my hard addiction to chess until I searched for an alternative to the game and found Go.
Getting the iPad helped greatly as I was able to find programs like Go Eye, etc that helped wean me off chess and let me learn at my own pace in Go. I came to appreciate the benefit of playing a game that prevents booked up opponents from catching you unaware of the latest theories in opening line preparation, etc.
The added benefit in realizing this game is made of 361 points or squares, which is an odd number, making it impossible or next to impossible to have the games ending up as lifeless draws an added attraction. So it's been fun relearning something new and enjoying the benefits of a much more complex game that values discipline, imagination and resourcefulness more than overt memorization of opening theory that western chess does.
Welcome and hope you enjoy the game for a long time!
Go isn't completely without opening theory; you can be caught unaware in a complicated joseki in Go, and it can be disastrous. But it's probably true that that's less likely to happen in Go than in chess.
This topic is actually very interesting. I have played go for about 10 years now and I have sometimes tried to play some chess to see if I like it. Somehow I cannot see it as good game as go. How strong (elo) are you in chess? How about go? Which game do you prefer?