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!

Games

So I've been winning more than I've lost at the 13 kyu level. I expect a promotion soon. I'd like to get to the single digit kyus by the end of the year but truthfully I would settle for consistently playing at the 11 kyu level. I am working more go problems online and legitimately trying to improve. I'll review some more of these games soon to look for areas of improvement.

First, I've been fighting a lot of real battle games lately. These opponents are making unreasonable attacks. Worst thing is, sometimes they are successful. I rarely lose large chunks of stones but often they beat my territory down to little or nothing and then have great thickness pointing out towards the middle. This is different that my old opponents who would just wall me in. These guys are aggressive about it when they make this wall. Sometimes I'm able to bust through and then I capture their stones in large numbers. Sometimes I can't and the thickness usually causes me to lose by 15-25 stones. I'll win battles all over the board and lose. Very frustrating.

Second, my wife continues to improve. She's 20 kyu but consistently beating me now with a six stone handicap. She's catching up in a hurry.

Weekend

We hosted company this weekend so my go was a little limited. I played my wife in a game. She has worked her way up to 19 kyu on KGS. I spotted her a 6 stone handicap and won by 9 stones. I was very surprised by how close it was. A few weeks ago I was spotting her a 9 stone handicap and beating her soundly. I think the lesson here is I need to get better. If only I had money for lessons!

It's a Family Affair

So now I'm not the only one playing go. My wife is picking it up. She is getting good in a hurry. I beat her twice last week with a 9 stone handicap. She is now 20 kyu on KGS. I'll play her again with 9 stones but I should only give her 6.

As for me, you know, gutters and strikes. All my games are close. I'm losing a little more than I'm winning. I really need to work on not allowing my opponent to get thickness. I've lost three games to people I felt I was better than. I would beat them in running battles all over the board only to find they got thickness in exchange and turned that into territory to beat me by 10 stones.

Look for my wife, MaidMarian and me, Alcibaides on KGS.

After Seven Matches

So I beat a fellow 14 kyu player by 40. I played white. I think I may actually be a 13 kyu like KGS (now) says I am. I really feel like I'm seeing the board well. I understand better now how to make moves count for more than one battle at once. I do have some crazy battles with hyper aggressive players. I'm doing more work on goproblems. Apparently I'm better at tseuji than life and death. Anybody know of any good life and death english language books?

Not that I have time for this.

Alright, I have a question about 4x4 joseki. I approach on the third line with a knights approach. More often than not, my opponent attaches to that stone on a 3X5 space. I play attach to my own stone on the fourth line then make a base with my next move. I know this exchange is bad for my opponent but I can't figure out why? Am I supposed to play behind the original stone with a 3x3 play for life in the corner? Any help would be useful.

Back at It

I've been gone a long time. I haven't played enough games this summer. I played this weekend and remembered why I loved it so. I went to the Go club with my wife, La Bonita. She is now learning the game. I did ok. I was around a 12k when I last played. I think I'm closer to 14k now. I won 3 of 5 games played since then on KGS. I need to read some more and do some studying (in between law classes) but I think I can get down below 10 kyu this year. Maybe one day I'll make the dan ranks . . .

Facebook

So here's another source for advice for your online game. Facebook. I swear I don't know how I got along without it. I've recently found friends I forgot and found out who is dating who and it just never came up.

It is also a good source of discussion boards and advice on the game as well as news and information.

I think I am close to jumping up to 13k. Maybe I can break 11 or 12 by the end of the summer. The fifth Janice Kim book is the best improvement I've seen since the first two. That said, I'm more focused on law exams right now. I hope to translate my tseuji to my exams.

Games

I've played some more online in recent weeks than usual. Maybe I'm trying to escape again. Good news is I'm playing at about the level I'm supposed to be playing at. I'm 14k and winning and losing the same amount so I guess its accurate.

Maybe this summer I'll be able to play some more without the added pressure of school work at home.

Interestingly enough, there are a lot of go players on facebook. Maybe I can find a dan level player interested in tutoring me. ;)

Go Lesson in Church

Our pastor today invoked Joshua 5-6 today in the sermon. Before the Israelites entered the promised land, they circumcised their young men and prepared themselves. Not for battle, which was looming over them, but to make themselves right with God. The lesson is that the enemy before us should not concern us. Only the enemy within can destroy you. See also II Kings 18-19. While I don't want to trivialize the Scriptures by analogizing them to Go, I did think of this:

In Go, my opponent is not my enemy. He will attempt to claim the board and will try to thwart my plans but he is not my enemy. My enemy lies within. I must continue to play my best and trust the end result will take care of itself.

The pastor went on to say that the only way to defeat the enemy within is to feed the spirit continually to make him strong through going to church and studying God's word so that daily you can become more Christlike each day. It isn't an overnight conversion and that's it. To grow stronger as a Christian, you need encouragement and training.

Again, I went back to Go. The march to becoming a recognized master is very long.

You'll never achieve perfection in this life. But it is necessary that we strive to imitate perfect examples and improve. At death, the good work begun in me will be perfected by God. Phillipians 1:6.

KGS World

Good news bad news.

Bad news: I've dropped to 15 kyu on KGS.

Good news: I've broken my losing streak.

Yes I know the two may be related...

Local Players

The biggest problem with a hobby like Go is that there are very few local players. There is a Birmingham Go Association but it is pretty small. Bookstores rarely carry any games on the subject. That is what makes the internet so important in your Go development. There are so many people to play online in your strength range. There are so many materials from people around the world who have been there and recommendations on books. Truth is, I wouldn't have learned about the game absent the internet. I read about it when I was reading another page about how Deep Blue beat Kasparov in chess but no computer was even close to conquering Go. Made me want to be part of something that only the human mind could conquer.

That said there is something about the feel of the stones in a bowl. The sound of the stone hitting the board. The human interaction. That said, if there are any Go players in Alabama, particularly near Birmingham, Alabama, don't despair! There are others...

Real Game

This is what a real game looks like kiddies. In Hikaru no Go, Sai, the ghost returns in search of the divine move. A divine move is one that is not obvious, original, and turns a losing effort into a winning one. It is a tesuji on a global scale.

There are very few recognized divine moves in the history of Go. Here is one such move. Honinbo Shusaku, generally recognized as the greatest ever to play the game, only played this one. It is known as "the ear-reddening game" because his opponent, Gennan Inseki's ears turned bright red after Shusaku played the move. The move is the jump into the middle. It created potential framework in multiple directions. Anyway, this is how the game should be played.

Another Website

Here is a website that provides reviews of tons of books about Go. Some of these books are older or out of print but it is very comprehensive. Congratulations gobooks.info. You've made the list. Click here to access the site or look to the links to the left of the screen.

Joseki Tutor

I found an interesting website that is going in my Go Links and Resources list to the right of the screen. It is called Joseki Tutor. It can be found at turbogo.com. It allows you to play through joseki's by allowing you to click on the board. It only allows you to play through regular josekis by restricting which spaces you can play on a turn. I wish it gave more commentary on why the moves are made but it does a good job on getting you used to good shape.

Joseki

I went to the local go club here in Birmingham. I feel good about my progress. There are some players I could never imagine beating right now but everyone is friendly. I played two three stone handicap games against an 11k (on KGS) opponent. I barely lost both of them. Afterwards, one of the members who is very, very good gave us both a lesson on joseki. We replayed some that we had played and asked for some comments which he gave.

Right now in my development, I understand the concepts in almost all beginning Go books. I haven't looked into any books on a specific topic like joseki or life and death problems. I asked him if joseki were comparable to chess openings. Should I just buy a book and memorize positions, moves, counters, etc.? He told me that was absolutely wrong. They are different because they have different objectives.

In chess you are trying to gain a positional advantage over your opponent. You are trying to play to gain superiority. In joseki, and Go in general, the point is to come to a mutually agreeable arrangement. If both sides play perfect Go, every game should be decided by half a stone. The point is not to kill groups but to come to agreement and divide territory.

This is a zero sum game that encourages cooperation. It is blowing my mind.

Go Lesson for Beginners

Here's the latest from Goplaygo. He gives some information about his playing on here. Apparently he doesn't play online because his school has a club. I think he is from the west coast. He is a 2k player. I am a 13-14k player. These ranks go to 30k on KGS but it is a bell curve. A 2 kyu player is significantly better than a 13 kyu player. If I were to play him heads up, he would spot me the full nine stone handicap and still be a favorite to win.

I read in Kaoru Iwamoto's book, Go for Beginners, that with study and serious play, a player should be able to progress from raw beginner to 10 kyu within a few months but then the progress to the dan ranks goes slowly. I would love to be a recognized, official ameteur dan one day in the American Go Association. Just have to do it one step at a time...

Oh, here's the video, it deals with joseki patterns. Joseki are common exchanges in the corner that are favorable to both players. Such an odd concept for

Go Lesson for Beginners

Here's another video from our Youtube sensei, Goplaygo. Today he is focusing on the ladder capture and how to break the ladder. It's very basic stuff but he explains it well. The third example is one of the most useful explanations of how to place a ladder breaker I've ever seen. I'm honestly embarrased I never thought of multitasking this way.

Total Games

I've played 124 games on KGS. Only 876 to go right?

Streak Ended

I was on a tremendous losing streak. I know that you aren't supposed to focus on winning and losing this early in development but it was getting to me. I think due to the pressures of real life, my Go game completely went out the window. I'm not moving as well either in global strategy or life and death battles. I'm going to try to work a little harder on my game. I checked Go for Beginners by Kaoru Iwamoto out of the library and read it. I almost need to start over from the beginning and go forward.

Next I'll start over on Janice Kim's series on go. Reviews of all books forthcoming. I'm also going to goproblems.com to work on making better decisions in battles. I really want to get better. It said in Go for Beginners, that it takes 1000 games to become a shodan. I am over 100 games in. Maybe 200. I've got a long way to go to get to dan ranks.

Book Review Hikaru No Go Volume 1

Ok, Ok, so I admit it: I got the manga comic book of Hikaru No Go from my local library. This was volume one of the series. It contains games 1-7.

Game 1 - Descent of the Go Master
Game 2 - From a Level Beyond
Game 3 - Matters of Life and Death
Game 4 - Inexcusable
Game 5 - Akira Bares His Fangs
Game 6 - A Decisive Blow
Game 7 - Three Problems of Life and Death

The series is the story of a 6th grader who is inhabited by a spirit from the Heian Period of Japan who teached him to play Go and helps him do well in social studies. Believe it or not, its actually a decent story. OK, so I'm a huge nerd. The comic does a good job of explaining the game and gives life and death problems for the reader to solve along with the characters. It also gives some historical background on the game.

Well worth the read if you have some free time before bed. Which is all the time I have nowadays. I'll try to do better.

Silence

Well law school strangled everything including this blog! I think my friends have forgotten what I look like. I suppose that moot court and second amendment issues just became more important than "life and death." I hope to do better with real life and Go life soon.

I am up to 14 kyu on kgs. Movin' on up!

Crest in Abilities

I think I've finally reached the apex of my knowledge and abilities. Given my study, I quickly went from 30k to 15k on KGS. I think I've topped out on my meteoric rise. Every game I play now is either close or a loss. Fortunately, I got two books on Go for my birthday so maybe my improvement will begin again. I will review these books in due time.

For now, I have to obsess over other issues for my moot court class. I have until Wednesday to organize research and write my brief.

Ko Fighting

Since Ko was the word of the day in my last game, here is a lesson on Ko fighting from our favorite, tripod challenged sensei, Goplaygo.

Game File Review

I found that someone posted one of my games for review on the go teaching ladder. The game was reviewed from his point of view but I thought it was interesting to see. The reviewer was not impressed with this game. Truth is, neither was I in retrospect. You can download it in .sgf here.

If you want to see my original review I did of the game, the post is here.

It inspired me to send one of my games to the teaching ladder. This might be the best game of Go I have played. It isn't perfect but right now, this is as good as I get. I'm posting my questions and comments on the game along with the game file for the curious.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bzb40wrjyll

Move 8, should I have instead moved somewhere worth more points like claiming a star point on the side or fanning out the corner at R 14 like I did on his first approach?

Move 28, I don’t know what I was thinking, it just felt instinctive to attack while I had him pinned elsewhere, given a second chance, I would have played C 10 or R 10

Move 40, I should have let this battle go shouldn’t I? I wanted to go ahead and finish off and expand this corner but I think instead I should have played a bigger point

Move 66, yes I know I should have just gone to S 19, captured, and put the group on Atari; for some reason this move was just dumb enough to startle me

Move 76, I think I must have gotten bored or something, I should have pushed outward on the right side of the board towards the middle with that group

Move 94, Instead of capturing, should I have run with this group until I ran out of room and destroyed some of his territory, I allowed him to wall off quite a bit of territory by capturing

Move 106, I should have kept moving out towards the center here, it is obvious he didn’t intend to cut with his response to my last move, I could have made a bigger territory but allowed him to cut me off with this backtracking

Moves 112 & 114 I make these knights moves quite a bit when I am trying to wall off territory, is this the most effective way?

Move 130 starts the most tense ko battle I’ve ever been in, I would like your comments generally on this, by move 138 he knows I intend to capture not survive; move 174, should I have gone elsewhere? I felt the need to answer his threat at R 2 and had nowhere else I could think to go; move 178 I capture and end it, did I do right to end it or should I have answered the threat in my corner? I think I did right but sometimes I capture stones that are already dead so I want to double check…

Move 182, I should have connected at R 3 shouldn’t I? How would you have minimized this damage? I lost virtually everything here; was winning the big ko battle even worth losing this corner?

I missed a capture at E 14 that would have gained an extra point;

Lesson on Seki

Here is the newest lesson from GoPlayGo on youtube. It deals with the concept of seki. Seki is the situation where two groups of stones have each other mutually surrounded so that neither group can capture the other.



His go problem is interesting but easily solved today. More to come later. I'm a little overwhelmed with school right now.

Go Lesson 4

Here is part two of Go lesson four from GoPlayGo. I think this is one of his better lessons and go problems. It deals with some issues I've had in my own game lately.

Brawling

So I've played the same game like the last 12 games. Every time I try to get out they keep dragging me back in. I really prefer to play a simple negotiating game. I want to outline territory, place stones, play hane, fill out borders, and call it a day. I'm not a capture oriented kind of guy. I also am tired of people trying to hem me in by allowing me to claim corner territory. They get greedy and want to wall in the entire center. Here's how it goes down. I gain solid territory in the corners and sides. They try to minimize damage, no they try to beat me, by walling off access to the center. There's always a flaw. I push, they bend. Eventually there's an opening. I make a gambit. They chase me for a while and suddenly realize too late that they are being chased. I capture a group of seven or so and have access to the entire center. Even if I don't capture a large group they never capture the group before I've made two eyes and destroyed large amounts of potential territory for everybody. I win by somewhere between 20 and 100 stones. Seriously why do people around this ability level want to brawl? Why are they greedy? Anyway I'm on a hot streak. I've won like 9 of 11 since I went up to 17 kyu. I know I shouldn't complain about winning but it just seems so formulaic.

Access Random Go Games

I just found this section on 361 points. They have a page that allows you to see a random game between two go professionals. These games are in applet viewer format so for those of you without an .sgf editor, you can still see the go games. You can observe them at your own speed.

This website, 361 points, is an amazing Go resource. You can buy Go boards, stones, study games, and find commented games. It is a must visit for anyone who wants to learn more about Go.

Obsession?

You know it struck me the other day that I might be too interested in this game. I was in my Alternate Dispute Resolution class learning about negotiation at the time. Suddenly it occured to me: Go is the ultimate game of negotiation. You begin the game by staking out initial positions. Some of these are challenged but if you do a good enough job in fuseki, these positions you initially claim remain throughout the negotiation. Later you get into unclaimed territory. It is desirable to both sides. Each watches the other claim some piece of the territory. The decision is made whether to challenge or allow them to take it. There is turn taking between the sides and at the end, both get what they negotiated for. One side gets a better deal than another but everyone comes out with something.

It was then that I remembered I should be taking notes... ;)

Go Lesson 4

Another Go lesson to improve your game from GoPlayGo on youtube. It's hot off the presses and is only three hours old at time of posting! He goes through the Chinese Opening for black, some possible responses by white and counters. This is part one of the video, part two will come later.

Main point: if black has sente, play in areas that claim a lot of new territory.

Law School

I have had very little time to play over the last week but when I have played, I've won. I'm three for my last four ranked games. I lost one strange monkey poop fight of a game to an unranked player but it wasn't ranked. I wouldn't even like to start reviewing that one.

I am up to 18k. I think after my win over a 13k in a handicap match I might be inching toward 17 kyu. Progress is coming less quickly but still I improve.

Real Life

Law school threatens to place my Go game in atari... We'll see how much I can squeeze in on the weekends. I will try to continue posting fairly regularly.

Hikaru no Go

Go was a game that lost popularity through most of the 20th century. It was an old man's game. Then came Hikaru no Go. Hikaru no Go is a group of manga comics about a young boy (Hikaru Shindo) who discovers a haunted Go board in his grandfather's attic. The board is inhabited by the ghost of an ancient go master.

The manga was turned into an anime series. The games in the Hikaru no Go series were supervised for authenticity by our old friend Yukari Umezawa. You can find episodes on toonami jetstream. It is designed for a younger set but it is done well.

Third Lesson

Lesson Number Three from GoPlayGo on youtube. He covers the correct way to respond when a lower ranked player attacks you right away rather than claim territory. He also looks at the proper way to approach and attack a stone. He then covers the Chinese Opening of a Go game.



I hope he posts more videos because he always includes a useful Go problem. I do love free Go problems for beginners...

Lesson Two

Here is another lesson from youtuber GoPlayGo on how to invade a corner. Instead of a 4-4 fuseki, he assumes this time that your opponent plays a 3-4 technique in the corner. The approach is very similar.



What is fascinating is the concept of joseki. Go is a zero sum game. I claim territory to the his detriment or vice versa. In joseki battles, I think I've been getting greedy. I move in behind the stone and try to claim it all. I should use more knight's approaches like these he uses and try to carve out corners that are good for both but better for me. Perhaps find a Nash Equilibrium in the corner. No wonder he liked this game...

Corner Invasion

This is a video about how to invade a corner in a Go game. One of the most common fuseki plays is on a "star point" at the 4-4 point on the grid. This is vulnerable to attack in joseki battles. This video explains how to attack the corner using a knight's move approach. I've been trying to sneak in behind at a 3-3 point. I've been taking the point but allowing my opponent to build up terrible thickness and eventually territory in the middle. This way is probably better.



I think I'll post more of his videos. His concepts are good. His organization and camera skills could be improved but all in all this is a very valuable video.

Go Tutorial

This is part I of a Go tutorial on youtube. It goes over the history of the game, the equipment, liberties, spaces that cannot be played, life and death, eyes, scoring a game, and the skills needed to play a game. It is less geared towards kids than the Yukari Umezawa Yoshihara Go Go Igo series of lessons I posted last month.



Notice the handy label function. All Go lessons are labeled as such (How to Play Go) and can be easily accessed.

Go Problems

I've been going to a website called Go Problems. This is an incredibly useful website. They give you problems created by visitors to the website and several timed trials. This is an awesome site to help your thinking about the game.