Planet Go

August 06, 2008

Think2Improve

I told myself, "I can't get off this bench until I figure out a way to prevent that from happening again." But how?

"It's not enough to say I'll try harder in the future. There has to be a way to change how I think, so that the process by which I choose a move is different, more mature."


Yes, that sounded good. But how?




"I can burn the image of this bench into my mind so that I'll never forget the ache in my throat, the pain in my chest. So that I'll never play an impulsive move again!"


I stared hard at the green bars of the bench and thought about how upset I was.



"Hum. Wait. It would be a big hassle to have to think about this green bench and how upset I was feeling before every move."
There had to be a way to add a layer of thought that wouldn't interfere with the game itself. Eventually I came up with a solution that I was satisfied with, and I got off the bench to go find my friends.

I made it as far as the railing overlooking campus.


Sigh.

Looking down I saw a lot of people walking around looking happy and chatting about their things. It made me feel better. After a little bit I felt relaxed and not so sad anymore. Life was good! Look at all those happy faces~

So I went off to have some lunch with my friends who promptly told me I looked really depressed.




"Ah, yeah," I said to Jun, "But you know the feeling." He nodded compassionately, and we continued to eat the only vaguely edible cafeteria food. We talked about other things with Hye, and after a few laughs I was feeling pretty good.



Then there was a pause in conversation and Jun looked at me, and told me to shut up.

I stared in surprise.

"Shut up." He said again, more firmly. When I still didn't say anything he asked me, "Shut up?"


"Uh?" I said. I hadn't been speaking. Was he telling me to stop talking about the loss? I didn't think I had said much about it, but maybe it was more than I thought?


He looked confused too, and after a quick exchange with Hye she turned to me and translated, "Cheer up!"




"Cheer up!" He repeated.



Good friends. :)



82 assumed he would play left of 79 and connect, and when he played his 83, I read only one variation, and played within a couple seconds. I noticed that in a previous post I also lamented about playing impulsively, so it seems I really need to work on this!

by Jayme Fosa (noreply@blogger.com) at August 06, 2008 12:16 PM

August 04, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

Will



Only a minor update today because of the Go Congress (while I’m not in attendance, it appears that a good portion of my audience is). Just a few new links worth mentioning:

  1. In the top navigation bar, there’s a new link called “Resources.” I hope to use this to “sticky” links that players will find useful, but might not need constant and repeat access to.
  2. St. Louis native Myron Souris is the editor for the “Problem of the Week” as featured by the AGA website. I’ve added a link in the left hand navigation to the collection of these problems, which players at all levels should find useful.

I hope those readers who are in Portland are having a good week and building up good records. I look forward to hearing from you after the 10th. (Though feel free to comment any time during the Congress as well!)

by Will at August 04, 2008 11:45 PM

August 02, 2008

As you name it!

Go / Weiqi / Baduk useful links

A thought in mind to post a wonderful game called GO which is being shared among all today. Yeh time to post some of my favorite sites/blogs/software commonly used by myself. On line Go Server KGS Go Server One of the famous Go server on line. You can watch many people ...

August 02, 2008 06:00 PM

August 01, 2008

Terri Schurter

Self Promoting To 9k At The Congress

Although I don't tend to self promote at tournaments I decided to ask Mr. Yang's advice about my entry rank for the U.S. Go Congress before our lesson yesterday.  He said he would like to see me enter as a 9k, so I am going to do that.  Having him suggest it takes the heat off of me in a way.  I don't have to be conflicted about it.  I can simply follow my teacher's directive.  


Just to be silly I printed our our conversation so I can show it to the people at the registration desk if they are reluctant to let me promote.  Since it is a two stone promotion I know they will let me do it, especially since I have a solid 8k KGS rating.  But it would just be fun to flash the document for a laugh.


It is hard to argue with a 7p, so I don't think I will have any trouble.




by Terri (noreply@blogger.com) at August 01, 2008 02:58 PM

St. Louis Go Association

Will



When I first starting playing Go, I was more in love with the idea of playing than actually playing. As a result, I wasted a lot of energy on Go-related pursuits that didn’t necessarily improve my game. Recognizing these mistakes and correcting them has done a lot for my recent improvement. So, without further ado, how to get stronger (and avoid some of the mistakes I made):

  1. I began reading books on the subject entirely too early in my study, and while I could make the rough outline of what was suggested, these strategies existed without the context gained by personal experience (and thus considerably less useful). Avoid this, and during the time you would have been reading, play games.
  2. Play games as many games as you can - Get the personal experience you need by playing as many games are you’re able to. You’ll eventually reach the stage at which books on Go will be useful, but don’t count on it happening too soon. Suggestions on local responses will be much more useful and meaningful to you at this stage (see #7, below) which no book could be thorough enough to cover.
  3. Play quickly and base your play on intuition - In order to get a good number of games under your belt quickly, play quickly. Remember basic principles of shape (bamboo joint, table) and template (attach, hane, extend, connect). Try to stay connected. Eventually, you’ll try to simultaneously cut your opponent.
  4. Don’t try to read ahead too early. Typically, you’ll follow the wrong path in your reading (based on what you HOPE your opponent will do) or you’ll simply read wrong. First, play where you think something needs to happen. Keep doing this and you’ll eventually develop ideas of what you want your opponent to do and how to encourage him to do it.
  5. Once you begin developing pattern recognition of board situations, study life or death problems. Go Problems possesses an incredible database of these, both timed and untimed. Wait until you’ve read the problem out to your fullest ability, then try it. If you get it wrong, look at the solution, but then stop your study for awhile and go back to playing more games. Give yourself awhile to build up stronger reading skills, then tackle more problems.
  6. Study fuseki before joseki - Fuseki study is easier to comprehend. General board principles and the type of pressure they put on your opponent are much more straight forward and obvious at lower levels. Find out what a three star opening is. Learn Chinese fuseki. What did Go Seigen suggest about openings (and why)? These will begin helping your “whole board” thinking and awareness. 
  7. Ask a player stronger than yourself to review your games. If it was saved automatically because you were playing on the computer, simply submit your game for review to the Go Teaching Ladder. Be gracious to your reviewer and accept that the advice given is correct (or at least, more correct than what you did). Then, try to implement that advice in future games.

Not necessarily as a suggestion for improvement, but remember to start wild fights. Don’t just play something that is going to be chased and killed, but threaten your opponent’s life and try to simultaneously make yours. Whether or not you do this should be determined by the importance of the game but this is a very fun way of playing and will assist in the development of your reading skills. I linked to this article a few weeks ago, but this is part of what I interpreted as “Spirit” from this article by Cho Hun Hyun.

As always, I appreciate any comments about this article. Feel free to add your own voice on how to study (even if that means contradicting a point here). Based on my experience, what I listed above is true, but Go is a big enough game that what is true for me may not be true for the next person. Don’t be greedy with your knowledge and keep it to yourself rather than strengthening those around you. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

by Will at August 01, 2008 01:52 PM

Hye Yeon

Hello, Baduk fans in Canada!

Hello, Baduk fans from Canada. 



I will be going to Vancouver to visit my aunt after finishing up US Baduk Congress.

After that, I want to meet Baduk fans in Vancouver on 11th or 12th. 

Is there any Baduk association or club in Vancouver? 

I want to visit them and have a good time

with simultaneous games or delightful conversations of Baduk.

Please let me know how to contact any Baduk association or club in Vancouver, Canada.

Feel free to leave your comments. I am waiting. 

 

 Thank you for your present, Mr.Dankenzon. ^^;;

August 01, 2008 03:43 AM

July 31, 2008

Terri Schurter

The Tablet Is Coming Along For The Ride

I am no longer conflicted.


I have decided to bring along the Tablet PC to the U.S. Go Congress.  But the main reason I am doing so is because of the horribly long eleven hour journey to Portland with the stopover in Phoenix.   I am downloading episodes of Photoshop User TV to watch in the airports and on the flights.  Books and magazines just won't be enough to keep me happy for that long eleven painful hours.


Whether or not I lug the tablet to the playing area each day remains to be seen.

by Terri (noreply@blogger.com) at July 31, 2008 08:36 PM

361 Points

The Game of Go Mentioned in Financial Results

The game of Go is mentioned in the financial results of the French company Bull, which is an “expert in open, flexible and secure information systems and one of Europe’s leading players in the IT industry”:

“And for the first time ever, a supercomputer has recorded an official victory against a grand master in the game of Go. The game is more complex than chess, with more different possibilities than the number of particles in the known Universe. So this world first - which combined the use of a NovaScale supercomputer and artificial intelligence software developed by INRIA (the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control) - represents a real achievement.”

The reference seems to be to the 9×9 match between Catalin Taranu 5p and the computer-Go program Mogo, about which I wrote an article a while ago, when Mogo won one game of the 3.

There will be soon another match between Mogo and a professional player, this time Kim Myungwan 8p of Korea. The match will be played on August 7th on KGS, at 1:00 PM PST in the Computer Go room. The board will be the normal 19×19 this time, and there will be some preliminary games to establish what the proper handicap should be (Catalin previously won against Mogo on 19×19 by giving it 9 stones handicap).

Link to complete Bull financial results article.

by Sorin at July 31, 2008 07:35 AM

July 28, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

a140bddf-be8e-4844-84e7-385cfdeb770d



a140bddf-be8e-4844-84e7-385cfdeb770dMost of my friends who play Go aren’t members of the AGA, and for good reason: It simply doesn’t benefit them. Benefits of AGA membership, as listed on the website are:

  • Receive the weekly American Go E-Journal Games Edition ($20 value)
  • Receive the annual American Go Yearbook ($15 value)
  • Participate in local and national tournaments
  • Participate in the national rating system
  • Participate in the annual US Go Congress
  • Support the development of Go in the US

In all honesty, I only joined the AGA for two of the reasons listed above (and for clarification, I’m merging two of the bullets which I think are too similar).

First, I enjoy participating in tournaments, for which AGA membership is required. I’m extremely jealous of the social fulfillment the community enjoys in Chicago in comparison to our situation here in St. Louis. So that I might experience a part of fulfillment, I travel up to Chicago to participate in their tournament series. Playing in the tournaments also means inclusion in the “national rating system.” So, I’m an official participatory member in the AGA with an official AGA-recognized rank.

Second, I encourage the “support and development of Go in the US.” As an instigator of several clubs and a participant in a few more, I’ve tried to do this in a very personal way. Now, the AGA acts on my behalf to do this on a much larger scale. Honestly, who doesn’t support this idea? It’s a no-brainer in my opinion.

My two complaints with the AGA: 1: The Congress is very coast-centric. Between 1985 and the planned Congresses through 2011, only 4 or 5 have really been accessible to people in the middle of the country (SL - US Go Congress). 2: Our website has a very dated look (circa 1990’s) and desperately needs an overhaul in both form and function. Look to our European cousin’s association pages to see what I mean.

All said, the AGA is a good organization that I wish more people (including myself) supported it in more ways than they do. If you’re reading this and aren’t an AGA member, seriously consider joining.

by Will at July 28, 2008 09:56 PM

Think2Improve

The Mass Boston Go club held a tournament recently. The number of people surprised me. There were almost 25 people there! I thought it was a lot, because I almost never see that many Go players together. The last tournament I went to had like 9 people.











I didn't think to ask if the biker girl was a player or not, it seemed like she was just signing up a Polish kid. Check out that speedo!











On the left we have some visiting chinese 5 dan kids. They were incredible!



I wish.

They were 18k.



























Ke Lu



Meet Ke Lu 5d. Handsome devil. Intensely strong too.



I definitely felt the fear in this game. The sweat on your hands when you look down and think it's all lost, and you struggle to find a way.



Your heart beats faster, and you pray that the blind path ahead of you is the right one. That day, Lady luck smiled at me, and everything was alright. Next time though she will laugh at me and tease me, and tell me to count more for myself~











SuCo, for those who don't know her, is apparently a top notch recruiter for the AGA. She loves teaching new people the game and brings in 20 a month!



She captured this shot during the game, and you will have to pardon my bed head. I almost didn't make it to the tournament and barely had time to brush my teeth!



Good hygiene is important though!

(note the nalgene, don't leave home w/o it!)

((Also, those boards might look nice but the are really cheap! Hollow inside! Plus the wood is super thin almost like cardboard!))







Keith





Keith 4d is a good guy. Not enough confidence though. He tried to get me to sign up as 6d before the tournament but I wasn't having none of that! These newfangled board things always get me confused. Give me a mouse and a monitor.



The first time we played I managed to eek out a win from a really bad opening, it took a lot of BS tho. Ever since that game he's given me more respect than I deserve, and I get the feeling I won this game more out of intimidation than anything else. He missed some really strong moves at the end right before he resigned.



This is after he resigned.



I've heard the debates back and forth about whether or not to record your tournament games with a PDA or Kifu or not at all, and I can't decide what to do. I definitely want my games to be reviewed and discussed later, but it seems really distracting to have to record your own game and I can't remember the moves for the life of me.. Not sure.









Cho





This man was the beginning of the end of me! Look at him smile about it!



He and I played a fast game right before the tournament started and I got the sense that he thought I was a bit weaker than him. I got that same sense about him.



So then it turns out he's from England and over there he's a 2dan, so TD signs him up as a 2d over here. I give all my respect to the time and effort the TD's put into these, but setting him as 2d AGA was a bit of a mistake and made for a really annoying game. (Although I guess not everyone knows the BGA->KGS->AGA rank conversion.. hehe.)







Here I have resigned. Giving him 3 stones was too much.



Despite that, I wasn't as upset about losing as I was about losing focus during a critical moment. There are just some times when you need to be alive at the wheel, and I kick myself for not doing it.



If you look at the top middle of the picture you can see a little 4 star shape, well, the middle of that was my mistake. It should have been on the right to the stone to the right of it. And then maybe his group would have died. Maybe. Who knows. It really irritates me that I wasn't able to maintain focus at such a critical point! And being irritated about it now, irritates me~ Just relax yo, accept it and move on~



(Cho went on to win all 4 of his games, and I'm assuming the tournament.)











Hum. I should probably apologize to this guy. But he was kind of pushy before the game. Something about wanting to be in a different room. I relented.



The situation goes like this: I give him 5 handicap stones and say to myself "How the hell do I win this in a non blitz game?"





Well it turns out that they do all the work for you.

  1. Just sit back and let them make mistakes, or try to be fancy, or be nervous, what have you.

  2. Then get yourself into a winning position and hold it for most of the game.

  3. At this point I quickly recommend being greedy. Also, don't read out important moves. It will probably work out for you!
  4. If you followed step 4 above then you will have now lost the game and can proceed to flip out.
  5. Ok, so I didn't mean to flip out. He was really pissing me off by slamming his stones down, and then slamming the timer. It felt like he was attacking me personally.

  6. So I responded in kind, by deciding to slam my timer too!

  7. Except I'm not used to slamming timers, the whole business isn't really my style. So I hit it too hard and knocked all of the stones off the board.

  8. Oops.



I had to leave after that. I was too upset. Someone later said they gave me 4th place and 10$ or something. But you all know that feeling you get at times like those. It's really heavy. Really too heavy for one person.



Luckily, I had some great friends who could talk me through it! Big thanks to all of them! <3

by Jayme Fosa (noreply@blogger.com) at July 28, 2008 03:09 PM

Terri Schurter

Conflicted About Whether To Drag Tablet To The Congress

With five days left before departure for the U.S. Go Congress I have yet to decide if I am going to take my Tablet PC with me.  For every tournament and Congress in the past couple of years I have used my Tablet PC to record games.  It's always been a hit, and to some extent an interesting distraction to my opponents, which may or may not offer me an advantage across the board.  But mostly, for the past four years, my tablet has just been a very important part of who I am as a go player.  I'm the middle aged gray haired woman with the incredibly cool contraption that people just can't keep their eyes off.


Recently, however, with my new found addiction to everything Mac,  I have lost patience with this aging technology.  Compared to my iMac my tablet is slow, and the only thing it has going for it anymore is that I can place it flat on the table between myself and the go board.  There is no doubt at all that it still carries an amazing coolness factor for that alone, but I am not sure if it worth lugging around for 11 hours from Philadelphia to Phoenix and on to Portland.  Of course there is something to be said for the entertainment value of having the tablet with me during those long waits in the airport and the flights.


I'll have my Palm to record games if I want.  I'm still conflicted.  


Next year I will probably have a nice new Mac Book Pro to take along once the tablet dies and I wean myself away from my PC hardware altogether.


When I come back from the Congress one of the first things I will be doing is installing VMWare Fusion on the iMac so I can run SmartGo.

by Terri (noreply@blogger.com) at July 28, 2008 01:01 PM

July 27, 2008

361 Points

Cho U Evens the Score in Gosei Title Defense

Cho U, on the right side in the photo below, won the second game in the Japanese Gosei title against challenger Yamashita Keigo. The score is 1-1 now.

Gosei 2008, game 2

Here is the game record.

 

Next game will take place in just a few days, on July 31st.

by Sorin at July 27, 2008 10:28 PM

Go Shodan Challenge

July 25, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

Will



Having watched my nine year old niece and her seven year old brother’s skill at Connect Four (seriously, they can beat most adults without trying), I figured that those same spatial reasoning skills would make them natural go players. Not having a board handy, I decided to build one:

The board

  1. Go to the Pittsburgh Go Association’s section entitled Materials and download the 9×9 Board.
  2. Print the 9×9 Board and fasten it to something. I used a glue stick (of which my sister had PLENTY) to attach it to the gray side of a piece of cardboard I had cut out from a Golden Grahams box. Use your discretion if Golden Grahams aren’t available. :)

The stones

  1. Go to your local game store (game meaning DnD or miniatures, not game as in xbox 360). Here in the St. Louis area, we have several options for stores, many of which can be found at the Game St. Louis website, in the Links section. Otherwise, just do a search for ’st. louis game store’ and look for something in close proximity.
  2. Look for something called ‘gamer stones’ or as a more generic term ‘glass stones.’ They won’t look like your typical Go stones, but for the board I was building, this wasn’t an issue. In fact, I felt that being able to buy tubes of blue stones and tubes of yellow stones made the set more interesting for my younger audience. These tubes (with 25 stones each) cost me $2.50, but a few of the local places I’ve found have them for under $2.00. I made sure that each player had 50 stones (based on a 9×9 board having 81 points) and then bought them a nice velvety bag to hold them in.

Altogether, less than $15 investment for the knowledge that I’ve contributed to the mental development of my niece and nephew. While this set was for younger children, there’s no need to consider it only a set for juveniles. A club with a limited budget and newcomers would be just as well playing on a similar set.

Further Recommendations

Consider stopping by Wal-Mart and picking up one of those cheap lamination kits. Your board might have a tendency to last longer with this added layer of protection.

Also, I’ve read somewhere that local glass places will often have spare pieces of glass that could be used as stones. I haven’t tried it, but it might be worth it for the cost-conscious buyer (allegedly, these stones are practically given away).

Finally, remember you could always do something like making stones out of construction paper. Get a compass and construction paper in two different colors. Find the right size measurement (I’d estimate between .5″ and 3/4″), then draw and cut.

If there are any other suggestions about construction feel free to leave them in the comments field. Otherwise, good luck on your own endeavors.

by Will at July 25, 2008 01:32 PM

Go Shodan Challenge

Well...

Let's just say I still have lots of room for improvement in my tournament play.



First game against European 2d, I lost.

Second game, against American 1k, another loss.

Third game, against 2d, lost.

Fourth game, against 4k, giving 4H, lost.



Yes, that is 0-4. It happens. Will study my game records and get stronger. I feel good about getting tournament experiences and having good games to review. Now I just need to figure out how to win in tournaments ^^

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 25, 2008 05:58 AM

St. Louis Go Association

Will



The official post for the STL-Go blog isn’t until tomorrow, but I found this and thought I’d share it with everyone. The article Cho Hun Hyun 9p (profile @ Gobase.org) at the blog Full of Suprises describes the issue he has with new players today. The message I took from it: Don’t be so worried with winning. Take chances. Have fun. But don’t “tl;dr” this one, it’s worth it.

by Will at July 25, 2008 03:17 AM

July 24, 2008

Hye Yeon

Cho Hun Hyun 9p







After all, professionals must have their spirit upon the Baduk board. 





Long ago, I found the burning spirit from one boy, an apprentice. 

His attitude toward competition, rather than  his Baduk, was resolute 

and I felt his every move powerful.

As young players got stronger, 

people recently tend to consider the Dan-system  good for nothing. 

Not to mention, pro players can be recognized by their many victories. 

They will study hard to win games and sweat blood to overcome themselves. 



The main thought of professional Baduk world is a competition. 

It is natural that people try to find the best way to win. 

However, I am not writing to only emphasize the logicality of the competition. 

I want to think about the subject with blooming youth players, 

'Is victory an absolute virtue?' 



From time unknown, I haven’t been able to feel a marked individuality in plays of young players. 

They are good at basic skills and calculation so they seem similar to top rankers. 

Still, it is hard for bystanders to find the Baduk with refreshing inspirations. 

It seems that youths lack their spirit because they pursue safety instead of adventure. 

It is important to seek out efficiency of every move, 

but spirit is more necessary for the bigger stage. 

Young players who don’t have to play Baduk for living 

have to show his own character on the Baduk board to his heart. 

It is desirable that young players have to make his Baduk distinguished as his own, 

whoever watches the game.

In the course of pursuing his self on the Baduk board, 

he will bear fruit someday, whatever it will be. 

The lads with spirits rose to the sky, so do not lose your spirit no matter what. 

Your Baduk full of high spirit will make the opponent happy for the will to fight. 



(The source of writing: Cho Hun Hyun's essay / Translated by Cho Hye Yeon) 





 

Dragon Zakura_Ending Theme

July 24, 2008 11:14 PM

July 23, 2008

361 Points

Hane Wins Honinbo

Hane Naoki went all the way in his recovery from 0-3 by winning all 4 remaining games, capturing the Honinbo title from Takao Shinji!

Honinbo 2008, game 8
Honinbo 2008, game 8

Here is the game record. There was a lot of fighting and sharp moves on both sides.

 

by Sorin at July 23, 2008 03:20 PM

July 22, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

Will



Put simply, Sensei’s Library is one of the best resources for weiqi players.  From Aji to Yose, you’ll be able to find pages on any weiqi-related term along with examples along and past discussion on that term.

Sensei’s is a wiki similar to Wikipedia, in consideration to a few differences that include Sensei’s specialization in weiqi-related material. The community on Sensei’s is generally friendly, and wiki faux pas are usually forgiven with a light reprimand for failing to do more research concerning etiquette.

The question of where to begin can be overwhelming to the new visitor, but Sensei’s provides a “Starting Points” link which gives the user just that: A place to begin their understanding of Sensei’s Library and through it, weiqi.

Starting Points

  • Pages for Beginners - This section will be of most use to the new players (although some “old hats” might benefit from a revisit from time to time). From a section on “Rules” to suggestions on how and what to study, this really is a fantastic place to begin, and a section that players of every level should visit when they first begin working with Sensei’s.
  • Guided Tours - Here you’ll find many “themed” paths to pursue to gain a better understanding of this resource. The possibilities branching from this page are many. I’d recommend not missing out on this one during initial visits too.
  • Recent Changes - Once you’ve become a regular at Sensei’s, this will probably be your most frequented page. Any time a change is made on a page, it shows up here. Find out something interesting about a recent cup tournament or follow a discussion on a newly developed joseki.

A page I just recently discovered is Benjamin Teuber’s Guide to Become Strong. Stressing study around tsumego, this guide also includes a great discussion from some of the giants of Sensei’s. Regardless of skill level, pages like Joseki and Japanese Go Terms will probably help in your study of the game.

Once you’ve gotten a feel for how Sensei’s is run and what a good page looks like, you might feel the need to begin editing pages. While entering the edit mode itself is quite easy, Sensei’s does have a few peculiarities all of its own. From text formatting to diagram guides, all of the relevant information can be found on the page How to Use Wiki.

One of the first pages you’ll probably be apt to create will be your own personal page. While not a stunning example of what you can do, check out my personal page. On it, I include not only a little bit of information about my life, but relevant links to other pages of mine, how to catch me for a game, and what to expect in terms of skill from that game. Take it as a starting point, rather than a template. The great thing about the Wiki-style site is that you have complete freedom over what you include.

As cliche as it sounds, Sensei’s is what we (the weiqi-playing community) make of it. The more we contribute, the more useful it becomes. It really is a fantastic site that encourages a bidirectional flow of information (between the contributors, viewers, and site admin) rather than the one-way flow (from the contributors to the viewers).

Likewise, this blog needs contribution in order to really be effective for the weiqi playing community of St. Louis. Do you recommend any pages from Sensei’s that I missed here? Feel free to leave in comments where they’ll probably be edited back up to the article.

by Will at July 22, 2008 01:53 PM

July 21, 2008

Terri Schurter

Look For Me At The Congress



I don't look much like my picture here on my blog, nor that on Go Discussions.  I don't much resemble the highly stylized image that functions as my KGS identity either.  On KGS I am buzzsaw.   I should be easy to find at the U.S. Go Congress this year, however, since I will be sporting the cool name tag pictured above, which I have slipped into the highly functional tag holder provided at the 2007 Congress.


I hope to meet many new go players this year and visit with old friends.

by Terri (noreply@blogger.com) at July 21, 2008 02:34 PM

July 20, 2008

361 Points

Hane Evens the Score in Honinbo: 3-3

Hane Naoki won game 6 in Honinbo Title and the score is even: 3-3.

Since he was led 3-0, this is one of those rare, miracle come-backs in 7 games titles. I remember reading in a Go World review that more often than not the one that comes from behind has better chances statistically to win the 7th game and the title.

Takao Shinji, the current Honinbo title owner, seems disappointed in the photo below:

Honinbo 2008, game 6

Here is the game record.

Hane looked very inspired in this game: the attachment at 57, and the following sequence (including the sacrifice at 67) show that he deserved to win.

 

The 7th and last game will be played in just a couple of days, on July 22nd and 23rd.

by Sorin at July 20, 2008 05:00 AM

July 19, 2008

Go Shodan Challenge

Boston Tournament

Today made arrangements so that I can go to Boston on Sunday to play in the MGA tournament. Looking forward to a day full of go and serious games.

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 19, 2008 04:47 AM

July 18, 2008

Think2Improve

After a recent loss, a thought struck me.













































Yes that's right. Lions are the reason that losing hurts. To sum it up quickly, from an evolutionary perspective winning is not as important as losing. If we do not win over the deer and get to eat it, it's no big deal compared to losing to the tiger. Plenty of biochemical incentive not to lose.

by Jayme Fosa (noreply@blogger.com) at July 18, 2008 11:41 PM

Journey in Stones

The Best Laid Plans

Well, looks like no tournament this weekend for me. I knew I'd come in dead last anyway but I was looking forward to my first face-to-face games and getting to interact with other Go lovers. Trust me, you can look at my record on KGS and tell that I'm not much good. I like to think that time will bring improvement and that my current inability to do much good in games stems from about a 3 month gap in my being able to play much at all.



My dear wife is on her Emmaus walk this weekend. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it is a 72-hour prayer retreat for Methodist ladies (well, at least this weekend is). When I began planning to go to the Birmingham tournament, we didn't realize it was the same weekend. Ah, the joys of family scheduling.



Oh well. Given the choice between my tournament and such an uplifting weekend for the wife, I'd choose the latter anytime.



Hopefully there'll be another somewhere nearby soon.

by Brandon (noreply@blogger.com) at July 18, 2008 12:48 AM

July 17, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

Will



Since everyone visiting will be new to this blog (because the blog itself is new), a description of its features seems wise.

First, the navigation: Look above this article. At present, there are three navigation links: “Home,” “Clubs,” and “Events.” The “Clubs” link will provide you with information about all the go clubs currently meeting in St. Louis. Unfortunately, there’s only the Creve Coeur club right now. Hopefully there’ll be more in the future, and they’ll all get space here.

After that is the “Events” link. If we every organize a tournament locally, information about it will be posted there. Until that time, it’ll basically be listing any tournaments within a reasonable radius around St. Louis (e.g. Chicago).

On the left there are several links which the aspiring go player will find useful. “Blogroll” is a collection of other go-related blogs which will have their own unique take on the game and life as a go player. As I find (or am recommended to visit) new, quality blogs, they’ll be added to the presently short list.

“Go Links” includes various sites, including the AGA website, which didn’t fit neatly into any particular category because of its content. The AGA website is a great place to find information on events and other clubs. Milt’s Go Page has many Go-related anecdotes and articles which, during a break in studying, is a nice change of pace.

“Play” provides many different opportunities to play over the Internet. IGS, KGS, and Yahoo! games are all active game sites, where both players are “sitting” at the same board at the same time. Dragon Go Server, or DGS, is an asynchronous site where players can take days to play a single move (this is great if you want to play, but aren’t sure you’ll a large enough block of time to sit through an entire game).

Finally, “Study” is, as the name suggests, a collection of links where go players can find studying resources. Check each link out, as they are all incredibly useful to players at every level of strength. Game records (ancient and recent), game review, and much more can be found within those links.

These links will change over the course of this blog’s life. If it becomes obvious that a few of the blogs I’ve linked to are no longer being actively maintained, they’ll come down and hopefully replaced by new ones. If there’s an exciting new site added I’ll try to make mention of it here with a brief introduction, but generally speaking it’ll be on the reader himself to pay attention.

I sincerely hope that this helps all readers, local and otherwise, in their growth and enjoyment of go.

by Will at July 17, 2008 07:16 PM

Go Shodan Challenge

Back to Basics Yet Again

And yet again, I find myself going back to basics. Corner shapes. Been there before, will be there again, and trying to regain my earlier mastery of L-groups, J-groups, and variants. Or should it be called mastery if I have forgotten so many details?



Anyway, I am studying basic corner shapes and pondering the fact that go study always end up going back to basics. How peculiar. And I never seem to have mastered any of the basics as much as I should. How annoying!



Maybe it's time to reread Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go, just need to find some spare time somewhere.



For now, a L-group problem for fun and entertainment, black to play.







Enjoy!

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 17, 2008 04:37 AM

July 16, 2008

Hye Yeon

Gwangju Tour (08.7.13)

I haven't seen a mountain for a long time.





(It is Mt. Mudeung. I am sorry that I am such a poor photographer. 

The scenery was undoubtedly splendid.)





I arrvied Gwangju after finishing up KU event

and it was Mount Mudeung in Gwangju that welcomed me first.

There I loved to hear birds' singing.



The next morning, I wanted to see the mountain more,

but I had a very tight schedule.

Before everything,I participated in church service and after that, I ate lunch with my teammates. 



Frankly speaking,being an onlooker that never shared a player's part, so I had no burden.

However, I felt depressed in spirit, since I was worried about my own Baduk.

 

Jun Sang, Hyung Woo, Yoo Tack started to play their matches 

and Yeong Ho and Ji Seok examined them with players of 'Kixx'.

Also  I sat down before the Baduk board to study their matches. 

How did it come that I suddenly felt solitary and my head was full of complicated thoughts?

'I want to see something, but I cannot see anything. 

I am in total darkness.' I thought. 



Is Baduk a mountain that is impossible to climb?





Yeong Ho gave his voice cheerfully, but I just saw it in agony.





 Then some adults called me to have a conversation. 

Though they were supporters of team 'Kixx', they treated me nicely as well. 

I smiled at them awkwardly because of my own agony toward Baduk.



 

 It was unexpected that Yoo Tack and Hyung Woo beat 

Cho Hun Hyun 9p and Lee Chang Ho 9p respectively. 

Hyung Woo made a come-from-behind victory.



Lee Chang Ho 9p had a gloomy face, coming into the discussion room.

Normally it's painful for me, the weaker player, to lose the official match.

How hard for him, the dominator of Baduk world for the last decade,

to endure the stabbing loss!



Jun Sang, whom we expected to lose long ago, succeeded in counterattack 

and his victory brought victory to Yeongnam. 

Though I was happy to see my team winning, I was not cheerful because of me,myself.

No doubt that no one will be always happy in front of enormous mountain, Baduk, 

the mountain that I will climb over and over. 





When I was in church in the morning, I read Bible.

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

I always learn 'peace', while I doubt that I am in peace in the care of Jejus Christ.

And yet I am wandering upon the Baduk board. 

Someone doesn't understand the reason I cannot be satisfied with myself, 

but he never knows my passion for Baduk.

Looking at Lee 9p's loss, I thought, 'what about me?' 

How can I find my peace? 



 The next day, I saw Mt. Mudeung that stretched endlessly. It was beautiful.





Baduk is like Mt. Mudeung. 

It is beautiful, charming and  attracts many people including me.

However,it is a mountain that never allows to be conquered easily.

Lee 9p, my teammates and I stand somewhere in this mountain.

As a matter of fact,I stand a little behind them, that's all. 

I will try to keep up with them. 

Let's climb it slowly, step by step. 

I don't know where the pinnacle that I dreamed of reaching someday, 

but as long as I do not give up climbing, I may smile someday.

It's impossible to climb it at a time, yet I was totally mistaken all along. 

I tried to stride away, but bumped against the rock and fell down.



I want to live in peace. 

Just step forward from a position that I stand up now. 

Lean on God that leads to my whole steps. 

Many pro players and I are walking along the mountain called Baduk. 

At last, we will look at each other and laugh loudly, 

after climbing this mountain together. 





It is called "jindogae", means 'Korean Dog'. 

His name was Jindol and he was the handsomest man I've ever seen!

 

 

July 16, 2008 02:31 PM

July 14, 2008

Hye Yeon

The Baduk Event of Korea University





The Baduk contest called 'The First President of Alumnus Cup' 

was founded by Korea University and was hosted on July 12th. 



   I came to school early in the morning, because I was supposed to play 

against the president of Korea University and the president of alumni.

It was still early, but there were more than a hundred participants crowding the hall. 





 At ten o'clock, 250 alumnus Baduk players got together.

I had no idea that there were so many seniors who loved Baduk. 

It was amazing. 





I gave my teaching game twice to the president of alumni in the morning.

He said that he wanted me to graduate from school with hardworking.





 I sighed, thinking of my graduation. 

It's very tough to deal with study itself, while it is also delightful. 

"Keep continuing this, the time for graduation will come". I thought.

 The president of KU came at 3:00 P.M. 

He also played against Ha Hojeoung 3p, one of my seniors. 

He took the office as the president last year and it was my first time to see him that day. 



To my surprise, he got the strength of highest level of amateur 5-dan. 

He placed 3 stones beforehand and I felt his strong power of destruction. 

To be frank with you, at first I thought that 

the Korea Baduk Association had given him an honorary certificate of ama 5-dan. 

I was wrong.

It's really wrong.

It was not a flattery that I told him he got a power of Baduk 

which came from a great number of battles. 





He asked me to study Baduk harder. 

"Yes, sir." 

I answered him with clinching fist, while sighing deeply. 

I am not satisfied with my current Baduk at all and I want to be stronger.

I want to make good moves to the bigger stage. 

It's a long way for me to walk. 

Still, I want to be changed and I need more time and efforts. 

I have to put my heart and soul into every move.



I was weary after getting through ten simultaneous games for seniors. 

In fact, I was supposed to go to Gwangju for the Baduk tour for next day, 

but I decided to eat dinner with some of my seniors, since I was already late for joining my KB league team. 

The president of KU was delighted that 

I told him I would be going to US and Canada this summer. 

He commanded me, "Get more experience!"

Having a good time,I felt his tenderness as well as a pressure. 





Some people asked me to sing a song .

With hesitation  and finally I sang a song 'Shall We Dance'. 

During  dinner,I spent a good time with great concerns of many seniors.



I had to head straight to Gwangju after supper. 

July 13th, the next day, would be a day that 

my team Yeongnam IIbo would have a match against the team, "Gwangju Kixx".



Someday, I want to meet my seniors with better Baduk abilities. 

I will run as fast as my feet carries me to turn my sigh into the pleasure upon the Baduk board.



 

July 14, 2008 11:26 PM

July 13, 2008

Go Shodan Challenge

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

More of the teaching game against minue.



Second interesting situation in the game:







Here, we had a fight in the upper left, which got good result for black, and black needs to figure out what to do now. Sounds easy, eh?



I looked at the board, and decided that I wanted to pull out my F10 stones. Mostly for lack of finding better moves, not because I was convinced it was the right thing to do. The game goes downhill very fast from there. Bad bad bad idea.



What I didn't recognize, was how light my F10 stones were. I used them to get good corner result. They served their purpose and are disposable now. Instead, the focus point of the game is somewhere else.



Let's pretend black will pass, where would white like to play? White would love to get move A. Black just has to prevent white from doing so, and black's game is fine.







Black has pretty easy way of checking the top, for example this:







Game is good for black now.

Moral of the story: Don't try to save light stones by making them heavy.



The game review has more followups and variations.

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 13, 2008 02:52 AM

July 12, 2008

361 Points

Good Start in Gosei Challenge for Yamashita

The Japanese Gosei title started yesterday.

The challenger (and Kisei title holder) Yamashita Keigo (left in the photo below) won the first game against Cho U Gosei.

Gosei 2008, game 1

Here is the game record. Yamashita (Black) mounted a double attack and eventually killed one of Cho’s groups.

 

Next game will take place on July 27th.

by Sorin at July 12, 2008 01:46 AM

July 11, 2008

Go Shodan Challenge

Interesting Moves

I played a game against my teacher Minue with two interesting board situations. This was a 2H game. Here is the first board situation. Black to move.







This was where I wasn't sure what would be the correct move for this board. I ended up playing C12:







When I self reviewed the game, with some friends, I did not really like that move, and thought I should have played L17 or E16 instead. Minue didn't agree and said C12 wasn't bad, so that wasn't my big mistake this game. Although E16 got a 'This move is ok too'.



The interesting moves he showed me here were those:







I never pondered that follow up, will have to experiment with it. The other move I could consider was this one:







Interesting ideas.



My big mistake was later during this game, but that will have to be posted another day. Stay tuned for further developments!

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 11, 2008 03:42 AM

July 10, 2008

St. Louis Go Association

Will



First post of (what I hope will be) many. The purpose of this blog is to connect go players of all ages and strengths to learning resources and to the community located in and around St. Louis and the Metro East.

This is a community blog, not my own. Any interested in an authorship role here should email me. All I ask is that you limit your posts to those relevant to the go playing community.

by Will at July 10, 2008 08:00 AM

July 09, 2008

361 Points

Thinking Too Long Often Leads to a Bad Move

The first sentence of an online newspaper article immediately caught my attention:

Lovers of the game of go know from experience that thinking too long often leads to a bad move.

This quote is not from a Go article, though, but from a political article. Here’s the next sentence:

That’s how most Koreans might have felt watching President Lee Myung-bak’s minor Cabinet reshuffle Monday.

Full article link here, for those of you interested in Korean politics…

by Sorin at July 09, 2008 08:17 AM

Watashi no Kido

Playing Igo: The ideal playing environment

Different people have different personalities. This is a constant of our condition as social and political animals. Hence, each go player has a different playing style that suits his own personality and way of life. Whether it is a gentle, yet solid style, or a warlike, aggressive style, go offers the exciting possibility of attempting to discern our opponent's personality without exchanging a single word.



Being an abstract strategy game, which requires extraordinary concentration, it would be quite natural to assume that most people play Igo shrouded in silence and deep contemplation. But, as of late, I've heard the following question being asked quite often: "What musical genre do you prefer while playing Go?". Non surprisingly, the question generates a number of different, sometimes peculiar answers. In a game of Go, the player seeks to relax in order to read as far as possible and deliberate upon the best possible move: this is difficult to achieve when our mental states are in upheaval, for whatever reason. I've heard some people saying that their musical tastes (while playing go) vary according to the situation. Some like to listen to death metal while playing go. I found this answer quite amusing (in a good way), for my personal taste is quite different when it comes to playing go.



Personally, I enjoy sipping tea while listening to Japanese and Chinese traditional music. As a long-time student of both cultures, I could provide a number of arguments to justify my personal choice, from the clearly obvious (and subjective) aesthetic argument to the fact that the simplicity and complexity of go is derived from a cultural matrix that is equally present in the far eastern music styles.



There are some occasions when I burn some incense. Concerning this, I express my clear preference for indian incense. Lately, I've been enjoying chinese gunpowder tea (chinese: 珠茶, zhū chá ) while going through the few matches I managed to play so far. I could say that those elements converge to create, in my view, an ideal environment.



I'd like to hear everyone's opinions regarding this topic.

by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 09, 2008 02:49 AM

Watashi no Kido

Lessons in the Fundamentals: Ji (地)



Dia.1 - Territory



The ultimate goal of the game of Go is to surround territory (地, ji). All the empty intersections that stand surrounded by your stones count as points (目, moku). In order to effectively surround territory, a basic understanding of shape and how to deploy effective shapes must be achieved. In Diagram 1, you can conclude that white 9 points of territory using 6 stones, while black surrounds only 4 points of territory, using the same number of stones.The edges of the board are, in principle, the best place to start acquiring territory: the edges form a natural border that makes it much more difficult for any invasion to succeed. Additionally, playing a stone into secured territory will decrease your score by one point and waste an otherwise valuable move.



Effective ways to secure territory in an actual game



As a beginner, you should bear in mind that it is easier to make territory on the corners, and from there, stake a claim on the sides. Many beginners find it tempting to open a game at Tengen (天元 ), the centermost point of the board, which is usually not beneficial for those that have not developed a firm grasp of the game. Tengen surrounds no territory, and either allows the opponent to calmly take the corners and sides for himself, or invites direct fighting. Situations arising from playing at tengen can be quite difficult for experienced players to manage, let alone beginners.





by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 09, 2008 02:18 AM

July 08, 2008

Hye Yeon

The Honorary Ambassador for Tourism Korea





 I was appointed as one of Honorary Ambassadors for Tourism Korea 

by the Korea National Tourism Organization today. 



It looks like I have a lot of things to do.



I will study harder so as to popularize Baduk and Korea around the globe. 



(http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto)







Step by step one goes far.







July 08, 2008 02:15 PM

Go Shodan Challenge

Focus

Lesson of the day: stay focused!







Yes, I know that has been a lesson many other days. Today, it hit home when I had killed a group, was comfortably ahead, and listened to my kids playing instead of thinking about the game.



He threatens to connect to his dead group and I totally make an unrelated move, taking a few points, but allowing him to get back to life.



What was an easy game, now turned into a 'grab every point you can!' one and I ended up winning by a few points. It helped that his resurrected group consisted of 30 stones surrounding zero points. Gotta love stone efficiency!



And gotta love focus or lack thereof. It is bad form to lose focus during game, just because one is winning. I guess after focus, I might revisit 'Winning a won game.'

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 08, 2008 05:14 AM

361 Points

Gu Li Defeated Lee Changho in Fujitsu Cup Final

Gu Li is the new Fujitsu Cup winner:

Gu Li Won Fujitsu Cup 2008

He defeated Lee Changho in the final. Gu has an interesting way of concentrating before the game.

Fujitsu Cup 2008

The playing room is pretty crowded with reporters - or maybe they allow the reporters in just for a few minutes?

Fujitsu Cup 2008

Here is the game record. Interestingly, the otherwise rarely seen 2-space low hasami from hoshi, about which Jie Lie commented in the Lee Changho - Liu Xing game from the semifinals, occurred in this final game as well (move 7).

 

Gu Li is back in shape less than 2 weeks after losing the China-Korea tengen playoff match 0-2 against Won Sungjin.

by Sorin at July 08, 2008 02:26 AM

July 07, 2008

Damezumari

Induction

Hi everyone, thanks for reading my blog. For my first post I'd like to talk about induction. It's a concept that I frequently find myself explaining during teaching games, so I'd like to have a page about it. It's also a very interesting and effective way of thinking about fighting positions. Induction is a broad concept that can be applied to many different situations. At its most basic,

by avidya (noreply@blogger.com) at July 07, 2008 11:07 AM

July 06, 2008

Go Shodan Challenge

Simul Game Against Guo Juan

Yes, I know, I have been absent from this blog for too long. I seem to have an overabundance of life lately. Not in a bad way, just in an overwhelming way. One good part of life was becoming an American citizen yesterday. Wow! Huge step, I am no longer Dutch.







But back to the weiqi work shop in the Woodlands. The last day, Guo Juan gave a simul. We paired up to decrease the number of boards. The group was way too big for individual boards. The pairing up worked out quite well. It was nice to have someone to talk about the game and discuss best next move.







Of course, we ended up losing the game, but we had a great grand finale, in which we suicided our own corner. Well, technically it was a ko, but we had played all our ko threats as timesujis.







And yes, that was the Tsumego of the Day I posted last month. Enjoy watching us mess it up.

by NannyOgg (noreply@blogger.com) at July 06, 2008 02:08 AM

July 05, 2008

361 Points

Fujitsu Cup Finalists Decided: Lee Changho and Gu Li

The Fujitsu Cup semifinals took place yesterday.

One game matched Lee Changho of Korea against Liu Xing of China. Lee (on the left side in the photo) won by resignation.

Fujitsu Cup 2008 - Semifinals

The second game matched the two top Chinese players: Gu Li and Chang Hao. Gu (on the left side in the photo) won by resignation.

Fujitsu Cup 2008 - Semifinals

I love the look on the face of Cho Hunhyun (standing, right) as he watches his ex-student, Lee Changho, after Lee’s win.

Fujitsu Cup 2008 - Semifinals

Cho Hunhyun chatting with Otake Hideo of Japan, presumably about the two undergoing semifinals (games are being replayed on the two boards in front of them). (Cho Hunhyun was insei and became professional in Japan before coming back to Korea).

Fujitsu Cup 2008 - Semifinals

The final between Lee Changho and Gu Li will be played tomorrow in Tokyo, Japan.

by Sorin at July 05, 2008 06:46 PM

July 04, 2008

Watashi no Kido

Lessons in the Fundamentals: Atari (当たり)



Dia.1 - Liberties



When a player places a stone on the board, and assuming for the sake of simplicity that the board is empty, the newly placed stone has four liberties. In the picture above, each liberty is marked with a triangle. During the game, each player may capture a stone by filling all the adjacent intersections, thusly, capturing the stone. A stone that stands alone in an intersection may be compared to a fugitive standing at an intersection of a city. The man can see four streets. He remains free as long as one of those intersections is open for him to flee. But if all of them are blocked by those intent on capturing you, then you have no choice but surrendering. The same applies to the lone stone standing on the board. If you allow the black stone to be surrounded, it will run short of liberties, and be captured by your opponent.





Dia.2 - Atari



When a stone has only one vacant liberty, it is in atari. Atari means that under the current circumstances, this specific stone may be captured in the opponent's next turn.



Dia.3 - Capture



When the vacant point is filled, the stone is captured and removed from the board. White gains one point of territory and one point due to the capture of the black stone. White scores two points with the capture of the black stone.



Dia.4 - Liberties on the edge of the board



Because the edge acts as a natural barrier, when a single stone stands at the edge of the board, it has 3 liberties. On the corner, the stone is restrained by two edges, and has only 2 liberties.



Dia.5 - Liberties at the corner



Liberties are the most fundamental aspect of the game of Go. Remember to always count your liberties, and play accordingly, lest your stones are captured, thus providing your opponent with a valuable advantage.



by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 04, 2008 11:15 PM

Watashi no Kido

Lessons in the Fundamentals: The Goban (碁盤)



General characteristics



Go (碁) is played by two players, one taking Black and one taking White. The typical Go board (碁盤 Goban) is 19x19. Unlike Chess, the go stones (碁石 goishi) are played on the intersections, not on the empty squares. Other board sizes are acceptable, and sometimes, smaller boards, such as 13x13 and 9x9 are used to teach the game to beginners, or to play quick games, while 17x17 was an accepted standard far in the past. The most remarkable characteristic is the 9 star points (星 hoshi), a visual aid to orientate the player and mark the spot for the handicap stones.



hoshi (星) point at D4 and D10

by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 04, 2008 07:33 PM

361 Points

Hane Comes Back In Honinbo: 2-3

Hane Naoki recovered after losing the first 3 games in his challenge for the Japanese Honinbo title currently owned by Takao Shinji: he won games 4 and 5, closing the gap to just one game difference.

Photo and game record from 4th game:

Takao vs Hane in Honinbo Title 2008, game 4

Game 5 was particularly spectacular, ending in a huge semeai spawning over most of the board.

Takao vs Hane in Honinbo Title 2008, game 5

Next game will be played on July 16th and 17th. Takao is still one win away from keeping his title, while Hane needs two wins to capture it.

by Sorin at July 04, 2008 05:30 AM

Watashi no Kido

An Epic Review





Last night, Singer 10k appeared on KGS Teaching Ladder requesting to review a game. I accepted, and loaded a game to the room, for him to review. It was a match against Masahiro, played some time ago when my conceptual notions of go were even fainter than they are today. The match is filled with mistakes that only two complete beginners can make, a festival of weak and dead groups spanning the board. Although the kifu is quite ugly, lacking strategic and even aesthetic depth, it sparked a number of interesting and rather deep discussions. kurikuri 5k eventually took over the task, delivering an equally outstanding review of the situations that arose from this particular match. From the first to the last move, the review went for almost 4 hours, with comments from many players, experienced and beginners alike. Sigilus 22k described it as 'epic', and I'm inclined to agree.

by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 04, 2008 04:15 AM

July 03, 2008

Watashi no Kido

My path to Go [Watashi no Kido]

To the beginner, the game of go appears as a jungle of confusion, full of pitfalls past which only Providence could possibly guide him.




With this blog, I intend to keep a public register of the path I clear for myself with my go stones. A difficult and tortuous path in order to achieve the summum bonum that all go players seek: the flow of the stones on the goban, unhindered by anything else but the purpose of finding the best move for each situation, the solution for each problem that arises as each player exposes his views, silently, on the board.



I am a lowly 30k, that can barely solve the easiest tsumego, and stand perplexed by the complex patterns that stretch across the board. I know very little about connecting techniques, and where and when to apply them. I forget to count liberties, and watch in calm despair as my group stands surrounded, dead. I have no sense of shape. I can't open a game properly, let alone understand the patterns that arise from joseki. I can't effectively counter invasions. I can barely find my way through the 19x19 lines.



Still, I feel the calling of the game. I grasp the fundamentals that underlie the philosophy of Go, that inform and provide meaning for each move, be it a move played by a weak amateur or one played by a strong dan player. I stand in awe as each stone is placed in the board, working together with every other stone to delineate and carry on a strategy.



This blog intends to serve the purpose of a public register as well as glossary and a study tool.



To everyone who decides to stand beside me in my journey, I hope to learn much from everyone who walks the same path as I do, and to teach as much as I can to those who stand behind me.

by Diógenes (noreply@blogger.com) at July 03, 2008 06:04 PM

June 30, 2008

As you name it!