I was surprised by just how much more focus I had when I played at the tournament and again, playing on a real board at home since I got one. I find it far easier to focus on the stones and what's happening if it's physically in front of me. I just don't have that level of concentration when I play online and I've even less when I'm playing against an AI on my iPad (I just can't take games seriously on it for some reason, I play it like a computer game but if I set the game out on a real board and play it out on that instead I'm able to take it far more seriously).

Does anyone else find this? I've a feeling it's fairly common.

It's the same for me most of the time, unless I play a person who doesn't take the game seriously. Than my concentration can drop also.

Related reading: Kinesthetic Learning Style.

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http://go7.at/ – Go7: Europe's biggest Go club, in central Vienna.

I think all there is about it is your personal motivation. As for me when I play tournaments, I really really give my best to avoid a negative result, trying to ponder on each stone, reading out as far as I can using all the available time. By doing this I try to give an interesting and challanging match to my opponent and a contented feeling to myself, because I know that I would get angry at myself if I didn't play for the best of my ability. While I cannot always avoid a negative result, this attitude is responsible for the fact that my performance at tournaments is far better than my online play, and has probably been responsible for 99% of my improvement over the last twelve months.

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SL | EGF | KGS | GMT+1

I simply enjoy playing live much more than online, and I think that results in improved concentration and slightly better performance.

I used to think there was a wider gulf between my live and online play levels, but the fact is that only a small portion of my live games were clocked, whereas all my online games are. Once I started playing all of my live games with a timer, I noticed that my blunders are just as egregious live as they are online... But I also got better at playing faster clocked games which helped to increase my online level of play.

I think I'm the black sheep here. While I enjoy much playing online and I do my best there, I absolutely don't like playing live in tournaments or against people in general.
My last tournament, in fact, is marked 2008, my last live game is of 2010.

Most of my games are online and when I play over the board at first my eyes doesn't focus well. A very different perspective but once I can visualize the board my concentration is better than online play. I get more serious.

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si no puedes triunfar, muere gloriosamente

Sadly I'm in the exact opposite place. I have never faced a human over a goban but have only played people online or bots/engines. Unless something unexpected allows me to attend a tournament I will likely never play live.

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill

Never is a long time. I am sure there must be other players in El Paso, and most definitely there are some tournaments across Texas.

I'm sure there other players here but I have no idea how to find them. The AGA doesn't list a single member in el paso besides myself. I'm going to check with a Japanese friend's mom as she's wired into the Japanese community here.

As to tournaments in Texas I'm 600 miles from Dallas. Not economically feasible.

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill

You might try your local China town - there is one in el Paso I think. Look for Weiqi...

For my two cents I prefer live play bit I'm in a priveledged position of being surrounded by Chinese players who are much better than me.. having said that I'm not too familiar with winning a game live.....

If you don't stumble across any other go players in your area, you should make some!

No local Chinatown. There was one 100 years ago but Korean and Japanese communities are much larger here. Hmmm... I wonder if a Korean church might have a baduk club...?

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill

Even if they didn't, someone there would undoubtedly know where to find one.

I like both, really.

In person, it's more social and less stressful. Probably because almost everyone in my group is a raw newbie being coached, and only one other player is stronger than I am. Even when I get beaten, it's all fun, if somewhat slow. If I play really badly, we just laugh it off, and I swear to get revenge next time.

Online is much more emotionally intense and stressful. I am afraid of looking like an idiot when I play a bad game. I'm ashamed to have my rank go down, but feel like it's over-stated as it is, which is frightening, because I know people will expect me to play at that level. I find that I can often read the opponent's emotions in the way they play, which is interesting and surprising. There's an awesome variety of players to challenge and the room is never the same twice. Losses can be humiliating, victories are exhilarating. It's exciting, but not always in a good way.

It would be very hard to pick one over the other.

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The Witches of Castle Crabapple

The tensity of online play for me tends to vary depending on which server I'm on. For the most part, I only really tend to care about my KGS account. I don't really mind losing on Tygem or Wbaduk. I consider those my relaxation destinations, and go there when I just want to play for fun.

I honestly can't say how I feel about in person play vs online play, but I have a feeling I'd greatly prefer playing in person. But I haven't really had a serious game on a real go board, so that's all there is to it.

Hopefully that will change-and soon- but until then, I'm going to have to say I'm fine with online play. I get nervous when people watch me. When I used to play Pokemon and Yugioh when I was a kid, tournaments presented that problem. I made mistakes and often overestimated opponents.

I imagine it would be the same for Go. I suppose after enough times that nervousness would vanish, but I don't have that experience right now.

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"I got an idea, an idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about."
- Peter Griffin

YMMV, but I always feel nervous before a tournament game, i.e. really all gamnes without exceptions, and the first match a day even a bit more. But when the first few stones are on the board, the nervousness vanishes and gives way to a feeling like as if I were on an adventurous journey where I try to get out of it without major injuries.

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SL | EGF | KGS | GMT+1

That's really funny--I am exactly the opposite! Online losses and even playing terribly doesn't bother me but I find live games rather stressful, especially when I am thinking hard and my opponent is replying instantly, I get mortified and my face turns red when I make a blunder etc.

But the (I hate using this word like this) "energy" the games when live is so much better--there is an extra dimension there that makes it into a game rather than just a mental exercise, which is what it feels like online.

For some reason my online rank feels "fake" to me, even though it is much more statistically robust, and my live rating feels more "real" even though I can see that there are huge problems with how my rating gets calculated at my level.

Well... When I played live I was much more annoyed than stressed or anything else...
About playing online, after doing my best during 6 years and achieving only a 6k on KGS (it's impossible for me to improve reading, but that's another story) I just play for fun. Almost.
I think that online players can be safely divided in three categories

1. People that are obsessed by rank and play to win
2. People who enjoy playing well
3. People who play for fun

I think I'm in category 2. I like playing well, trying my best and not trying to overdo anything. Sometimes I'm much more satisfied by my losses than by my wins (it happens to play badly and still win, and to play well and lose to a strong opponent).
Sometimes I just play for fun.
I think that ranks should be considered (especially on online servers) just as "tools" to find a suitable opponent (ie not too strong nor too weak) to play an enjoyable game.
That's it!

Playing in person (club games, as I haven't yet been in a tournament).

Pro:
Knowing and being friendly with everyone involved.
No official time limit.
Comfortable and occasional amusing setting.
I like having an actual board and stones. I enjoy the feel of putting the stones on the board.
Sometimes the music is good.

Con:
Seeing the faces of the other people when you make a bad move.
Stones moving around when someone bumps the board or table.
For whatever reason, I find reading harder with a real board.
Travel time and effort to go and come back.
Sometimes the music is godawful.

Playing online:

Pro:
Many people from many places with varying levels of skill and experience.
Easier to read (not that this helps much).
Stones don't move.
Games automatically saved for future reference.
Scoring is automatic.

Con:
Don't know the people I'm playing (for some reason, this is something I don't like)
Hard to find time when my family won't distract me.
I used to get bothered by the clock. This has been fixed by finding the right time settings (I tend to play slowly)
Get more nervous while playing for some reason.

For me, I find that I play better in person. This is a combination, I think, of the second and fourth points in the online con section above. I think I can get over most of the nervousness by playing more, but finding time is difficult during the week and essentially impossible during the weekend. When I go to the club, I'm not forced to engage in conversations while playing, which enables me to concentrate better. Unfortunately, the club only meets once a week. I wish it were more.