Amelia wrote:So I was at the Kido Cup the last three days. It was intense. I didn't fare very well in the tournament with only 2 wins in 7 rounds, though I did beat an 11 kyu. (On average the strength of my fellow DDKs seemed to have not so much to do with their actual ranking).
Over in Ireland anyway everything above 10k is pretty much in flux. People seem to gain 2 stones over a day sometimes but it's probably just due to variance in their play or something. DDK ranks are rarely very accurate for very long anyway at the rate many people improve.
Boidhre wrote:Over in Ireland anyway everything above 10k is pretty much in flux. People seem to gain 2 stones over a day sometimes but it's probably just due to variance in their play or something. DDK ranks are rarely very accurate for very long anyway at the rate many people improve.
Well, in this case it's their EGF rating, which comes only from playing on tournaments, so it may be months old. For example if I play in the next local tournament in november, my rating will be the one resulting from my performance this weekend (14k or something). It's not like a KGS rating that's getting updated as soon as you play a game. Many DDKs also don't really have an EGF rating, so they have to pick a number more or less accurately. Anyway, all those games were pretty balanced. Their were all challenging but definitely playable, with mistakes on both sides, and who made the bigger mistake lost. It's funny though that my easiest game was against an 11k and my toughest against a 17k.
Boidhre wrote:Over in Ireland anyway everything above 10k is pretty much in flux. People seem to gain 2 stones over a day sometimes but it's probably just due to variance in their play or something. DDK ranks are rarely very accurate for very long anyway at the rate many people improve.
Well, in this case it's their EGF rating, which comes only from playing on tournaments, so it may be months old. For example if I play in the next local tournament in november, my rating will be the one resulting from my performance this weekend (14k or something). It's not like a KGS rating that's getting updated as soon as you play a game. Many DDKs also don't really have an EGF rating, so they have to pick a number more or less accurately. Anyway, all those games were pretty balanced. Their were all challenging but definitely playable, with mistakes on both sides, and who made the bigger mistake lost. It's funny though that my easiest game was against an 11k and my toughest against a 17k.
Well, it's more that people have to guesstimate how much stronger (if at all) they have become since their last tournament which as you say could be months old. Trying to work out what their KGS rank translates to or whatever (which again doesn't really work well at DDK level, or well in general for some people). If you carry forward a 4-5 month old rank as a ddk and were playing and studying in the meantime it's not going to be accurate for the majority of people.
I changed my study plan because really, I'm tired to keep going through the same books.
Problems: - Get strong at Tesuji: a bit confusing and I don't have a good solving rate, but I think there is much to learn from it. - 1001 Life and Death problems: many basic shapes to study, at least the first levels should be easy enough for me.
Game collection: - Learning from pro games, from Yuan Zhou I bought it because I heard it was easy to understand even for weak players, and indeed it's instructive and fun to read.
I only just realized that the L19 website has a pro game database. I take this opportunity to post the pro game that I'm currently studying: Kong Jie vs Chen Yaoye
Move 5 and move 11 have especially caught my attention (with the help of the very easy to read commentary of Yuan Zhou of course ^^) Move 5 looks like an approach from the wrong direction. Move 11 is interesting to me because I had no clue what 3 points pincers were for before reading the game commentary. Now I am a little less clueless. I tried it right away: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=8425
thanks, I also met nice people, including you, which was a special pleasure
and got tons of games against stronger people
[..] actually relieved that the game was over so I could just go and collapse on a bed somewhere.
Then I found out that the pro players were offering one on one fast games and anyone could participate, so I got myself two cups of coffee and asked for a game. Obviously I got wiped from the board, it was fascinating.
Wow, you’re made of hard stuff, respect!
So, in summary, lots of fun
Yes, it definitely was, makes me want to visit more tournaments if they’re this near. Slept most the two following days though.
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali
[..] actually relieved that the game was over so I could just go and collapse on a bed somewhere.
Then I found out that the pro players were offering one on one fast games and anyone could participate, so I got myself two cups of coffee and asked for a game. Obviously I got wiped from the board, it was fascinating.
Wow, you’re made of hard stuff, respect!
Or a little crazy.
Yes, it definitely was, makes me want to visit more tournaments if they’re this near. Slept most the two following days though.
The Rahlstedter Tengen is in November. It has 7 rounds like the Kido Cup but in two days instead of three, so you won't get bored. I hope I can go.
After my account had drifted to 12k, I thought I'd lose a few games and fall back down. But I won and got to 11k. Then it drifted to 10k. I thought I'll lose pretty quickly now and fall back. But I won again and I'm now a 9 kyu KGS
I know, it's not stable, I'm not really 9k level (still lose to a stable 8k with four stones!) But still I never thought I'd ever make it to 9k KGS that quickly. I mean come on, 2 months ago I was thinking "rah, a 13 kyu, how am I ever going to beat him?".
I'm happy with myself And as a reward for getting there, I'll buy myself the GoGoD CD. Let's see how long it is before someone kicks me back in the DDK ranks
I haven't played much lately, and I've also been slacking on tsumego. But tonight I was at my club and played a 10k evenly, it was the first time she did not give me handicap. With 1-2 I'm satisfied with myself. She has a very aggressive style that I have trouble with, but I fought back with some success. She still is slightly stronger than me, be if my reading keeps improving I should become a worthier opponent I also played a 3d with 9 stones. I won by a large margin. Strong people trying too hard not to slaughter me is something that happens on a regular basis at the moment. They try harder the second time It makes me proud even though I end up losing.
After getting to 9k by winning a single game, I climbed to 8k KGS by winning another single game (against a 10k with no komi). That's absurd, but funny I wonder if I only play people who get distracted a lot? It doesn't matter, this way I get games against stronger players, and I will fall back soon enough. I also played on tygem, expecting the sandbaggers and crazy fighty games everyone talks about, but I ended up against a calm player who merely had to let me destroy myself in the opening and cash up on it.
Hello everyone. Most people here will not remember my existence considering how long I didn't show a sign of life.
Many things happened in my life since the last time I posted here. I had a promotion at work, I moved to the other side of the country, and I found out I might have Asperger syndrom. There has not been much go.
Lately I've been feeling the need to play again. I started on KGS last month and I was pleased to see that I didn't lose that much in terms of skills, despite barely ever glancing at a board for the last one and a half year. Since I am once more playing regularly, I decided to reactivate this thread.
In terms of study plan, I'm not doing anything fancy: Playing when I can, and tsumego when in the train.
Let's see if I can do it again 
