School

So school has gotten in the way of my game. Gotta have priorities. I'm too old to be an insei so I'm much more likely to go pro as a lawyer than as a go professional. Especially seeing as I really suck at Go. I am slightly better than the average player on KGS but not significantly so. The players at the top play games I can't quite follow. So work trumps play. I still go to the Go Problems website when I can to work on scenarios.

Back at It

Yesterday I played for the first time in a week. I won twice in even games against a 12k and an 11k. I beat the 11k by forty-something points. He made a big mistake but I think I win even without it. It just felt good to win again after losing like four or five straight.

Go Teaching Ladder

Here is a link to my game review from Go Teaching Ladder. You'll need KGS or another .sgf editor to open it. He made some very good comments on my bad shape. I played a guy who put me in positions to make a lot of unforced errors and I made every one of them. Here's the link.

Go Teaching Ladder is one of the best resources to help you learn Go on the internet. You can get your own game reviewed or look at reviews of games played by other players of your own ability level and learn from their mistakes. That is always the easier way to learn. All of this is provided at no charge.

Promoted

I won a game this morning. I am back to the 12k level on KGS. Strange game. I won 148 to 121. There are only 361 spaces on the board and most of them were empty. We basically drew a line down the middle and I stole a corner with a 3x3 joseki. That was the difference. Is single digit by the end of the year possible? Doubtful. But I might come close.

I'm still waiting on a couple of reviews from the Go Teaching Ladder. When they are available, I'll post a link for you.

Game Recognize Game

And I'm looking kind of unfamiliar right now. My game is stalling out at the 13k level. I am very close to 12 kyu but just can't get promoted back. Maybe I don't belong there yet. My wife keeps improving. She is around 19k and rising on KGS. Here are some videos on common joseki. They are very short so we'll put a few up each day. These are very common joseki. The first one on the list should be used with caution. Don't jump right in and play it. Play it late when you can't get anything else.



This second one is more useful in fuseki (opening).



The third one is similar to the second.



Yes I know the videos aren't in English but stone placement is universal.

More Lessons from Guo Juan

Here are some more lectures and lessons on Go brought to you from Guo Juan. She is an excellent teacher. The seminar is aimed for people 10 kyu-30 kyu.



Today she discusses joseki. Most of it is information I already knew but thought it might be useful to someone. Remember, when making a base for your stones, you can jump two points to make a base for one stone and three points to make a base for a two stone wall giving thickness.

I sent another game to the Go Teaching Ladder. I need to learn how to deal with over-played stones. I got my butt handed to me recently on a game I felt like I should have won. I'm calling for help from someone better than me.

Guo Juan 5 p Lesson

Here is a lesson posted on youtube. In it, Guo Juan gives beginning Go lessons. She aims it for 30 kyu - 10 kyu players. Sadly, I am still in this range. The most interesting this she says in this lesson to me is that she finds that children who don't share are never good at Go. This is a game of territory and sharing, not cutting and killing. If only she would tell that to the people giving me headaches on KGS! I think I'm finding my mojo again but I need to win a few more games before they let me rejoin the 12 kyu club. Anyway, here's part one of the lesson!