About four years ago (wow), I came on this site with the intention of improving my go game. I also was on the very precipice of fatherhood.

While I knew the difficulty of learning and playing go, I greatly (and naively) underestimated the challenges of having a baby daughter, and quickly my go playing (along with my reading, writing, cooking, movie watching, and every other avocational activity) was pushed to the side.

But now she is in preschool, and a few months ago I dusted off my goban and fired up KGS for the first time in years. It took some time to remember and relearn -- and while I do not feel completely confident that I play so well now as I did then in every facet, I have reclaimed my former KGS rank: 11k.

I don't want to stop there. I don't want to be a lifer in the ddk ranks, if I can help it. My Go Sensei has advised that he believes I can achieve 4kyu within a year. I have no idea whether that's at all realistic, either in general, or in my particular circumstances, but it provides a convenient target.

It is also somewhat a poetic one, as I am currently on the verge of turning 39. Thus a year from now, I shall be 40 years old. And when I turn 40, I will do my best to achieve 4k.

I plan on tracking my progress here.

I'm not yet certain what my specific training will entail, and as a year is a long time, wider life is bound to provide its own novel challenges. Of course I shall play games, do tsumego, and read what literature I can find. I'll report back here on some of those activities as well.

Also, I shall try to review games. In that spirit, I shall occasionally be posting games here, and I would greatly welcome such insights as others choose to share.

Below is the first, a game that I just finished about an hour ago (my most recent). I happened to have won this one, but I'm certain that there are plenty of egregious mistakes to address regardless. I've gone ahead and annotated the game with some of my thoughts, as I recalled them afterwards.



Thanks, one and all! I hope to talk to you again soon. (And sooner than four years from now, for sure!)

DonAthos
5/24/16 (11k)

Hi Don, good luck.

Did you consider E15.

If K17, then N16 more severe.

Take. Think about the consequence of connect v. take --
what White gets -- White's follow-ups -- in each case.

See.

Re: Your notes here -- You wasted a move at .

See what happens if R12. Re: your notes here -- the problem was earlier,
at . You shouldn't have allowed sente.

N9.

This doesn't do much. W is already connected after your M11 stones died.
L4 is huge.

J14 may be better.

100 Re: your notes here. It has to do with --
re: your notes, you probably played based on your "feeling",
instead of accurate reading. That's the problem.

121 You missed the vital point D17.

123 What if E4 (or C4) ?

127 What if F2 ?

My comments focus on the main theme that will get you to SDK: connect and cut. It's a theme that you have at the forefront of your game plan anyway so I have good hopes for your progress.

47 - if you worry about the cut, then connect, rather than seeking life for one part
56 - White has a ladder here; not an easy one to see, so I understand both players (and Ed) missed it
61 - so, when White plays a snapback-threatening move, why not connect and run with the cutting stones?
107 - a great ladder by yourself to connect your stones!
112 - I like your comment; if you are that detached from mere stones, you'll progress quickly
149 - although White shouldn't have had it so easy here, your idea to take territory now and let him live small is great
157 - a great consolidating declaration of victory
211 - simply connect and let him do the work of trying to live
229 - very good damage control by connecting and not stubbornly trying to kill
249 - biggest endgame; it doesn't matter, you win by 50 points