Ah, shodan. A fond idea in my single-digit kyuu heart.

Let's share some adventures, surprises and lessons. I hope it is enjoyable.


A bit of history.

I learned go in 2006, but only begun playing in 2007, after creating a
go club in my university. I played a few games once a week then and
until 2009, when studies took over. I was an average single digit kyuu then.

Time goes by, and I did not play go anymore. The desire to play was there,
a fond memory, yet never enough to break the inertia. I believed to have
found other things in life that filled the same void, yet had practical
implications (perhaps go is just a game... I thought).

At some point (may or june 2016) I find myself thinking of go again
and again. I found myself searching online for goban images, and
even caught myself musing over why, somehow, the fact that computers
can play go did not change my appreciation for the game
(perhaps go isn't just a game... I wonder)


Now, without further ado, let's go!
(Thanks to EdLee for helping me get the sgf inclusion correctly!)




Also, a simple problem.
What is the situation of the black group below?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ --------------
$$ - . . . . . .
$$ - . X O O . .
$$ - . . X O . .
$$ - . . X O . .
$$ - . . X X O .
$$ - . . X O O .
$$ - . X O . . .
$$ - . O . . . .
$$ - . . O . . .
$$ - . . . . . .[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ --------------
$$ - . . . . . .
$$ - . X O O . .
$$ - . . X O . .
$$ - . . X O . .
$$ - . . X X O .
$$ - . . X O O .
$$ - . X O . . .
$$ - . O . . . .
$$ - . . O . . .
$$ - . . . . . .[/go]

To debug:

• Start small;
• Baby steps;
• Test your theory;

Thank you EdLee for your time and tips!

I am back to go after a long time.

Much happened. I have now a degree, and a wonderful son.

With life regaining some balance, it's time to step on the road again.

I am posting two games. One victory and one loss. Comments are quite welcome!

I am now essentially playing correspondence games on OGS (I am ~6k), as
it is very (!) hard to find 30 minutes without interruptions.

Best to all of you!

Here are the games:

In the diagram, the black group is unsettled.

Congrats² !

Hello! It's been a while...

Earlier this year, my (now 7 year old) son begun playing go (he'd played a few times before, but it didn't seem to interest him more than an odd session here and there). That, and a slightly more favourable work context, meant I could allow myself to play go again... and what a year this has been!

I am now a somewhat regular player (in the sense that I play somewhat regularly). Throughout 2024, I have done tsumego and played correspondence games, with an eye ( ) for building the habit of play and (I'll explain later) lowering the stakes of a game of go. I begun sprinkling in one or another quick game at night, and as of the last few weeks, I have been playing at least 3 games a week.


About lowering the stakes in a game. I love go, but life is quite busy, so for many years I had little to no time to play. Every opportunity was extremely valuable, and so I felt a lot of pressure in each game: I must enjoy it, and I must learn as much as I can from it. But, especially the latter, meant that I would use a lot of time thinking about each move, which in turn meant that any live go game would take prohibitively long to play.

I did not see a way to fix this, until I saw my son playing go online. He'd pick a 9x9 game, lose it and start another, nonchalantly, more interested in continuing to play than on whether he was learning from it. And I noticed that there is value in this approach (it's a spectrum, really!). I can play more, and think less, and just review to learn from my mistakes. It's not either mulling over every gesture or carelessly throwing stones at the goban, there is room for playing (it's a game, after all! with all due respect), experimentation, and why not, plain goofiness!


I decided to worry less about how much I am learning, just do my best and trust that with time and dedication I will improve. As a "criteria" I decided to reevaluate once I have played 1000 games. I am a bit over 450 games at the moment, on a mix of quick games on goquest (~50), and about 200 games on both KGS and OGS.

I am happy to report that I am learning. Currently working on ironing out silly miscalculations at yose (I still lose groups by not noticing ataris!!!!!!! )

I also try to both a) play a little bit faster (while removing my hands from the mouse/goke as I think), and b) trying to count the points if the clock permits.

Here is one of my recent games. Did I talk about silly miscalculations?