My week in numbers (was "Tiny steps towards shodan")

[Bill Spight]

Namii told me that I seem to be making mistakes in easy problems but I am able to solve complex tsumego...

Interesting. Sounds like a lack of knowledge, not a lack of reading skill. Unless he is talking about play in actual games, which raises the question of playing up to yourself. "A man who plays up to himself is hard to beat." -- Terence Reese

[RBerenguel]

Namii told me that I seem to be making mistakes in easy problems but I am able to solve complex tsumego...

Interesting. Sounds like a lack of knowledge, not a lack of reading skill. Unless he is talking about play in actual games, which raises the question of playing up to yourself. "A man who plays up to himself is hard to beat." -- Terence Reese

This is exactly the problem. I lack a large enough set of "basic shapes" I can resort to. In complex problems, I just turn on the pattern-matching-read-ahead mode and eventually get it (well, for problems my level, that is), but in simple problems I fail for easy katteyomi. Case in point:

$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+[/go]

This comes from a failure diagram in one of the NGA problem assignments. Occasionally I add failure diagrams, to make sure (to the teacher and to myself) that I have found "what was lurking in there." This has caused me to lose more than 1 or 2 points because I make mistakes in failure diagrams.

As a the follow-up for white I used this, in my failure diagram:

$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X 1 O . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X 1 O . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+[/go]

Totally overlooking

$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X . O . . . . |
$$ | . 1 . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ +-----------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . , . O , . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . |
$$ | X X X O . . . . |
$$ | O . X O . O . . |
$$ | X X . O . . . . |
$$ | . 1 . . . . . . |
$$ +-----------------+[/go]

Which is a problem I can solve without even thinking... But somehow, these basic shapes elude me in a lot of cases. When the problem is complicated somehow I escape this problem due to just reading it out, but when the shape is simple I default to making stupid choices. Hopefully ingraining many simple shapes in my memory should help with it.

[Bill Spight]

Hmmm. Do you make use of the diagonal relationship between stones when thinking about eyes? (See, for instance, http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 66#p131766 )

[SoDesuNe]

I like your study regime =) And I really need to get this 5*5 book, the problems look great!

How do you replay/memorize the pro games? Do you just play through them (including endgame?) or do you make an conscious effort to memorize them (for a day, for longer?)?
Do you plan to "overlearn" problem collections or just go for the more the merrier?
What are your blitz time settings?

Sorry, when you answered these questions before.

Keep it up! : )

[RBerenguel]

I like your study regime =) And I really need to get this 5*5 book, the problems look great!

Thanks I'm a little off in playing, so the regime is slightly broken right now. I have to solve this if I want to be called iron man in the summer camp

The 5x5 book is a lot of fun, but Namii told me that it will probably not help "that much" my gameplay. It's essentially just reading and counting, so even though it is training "something," the shapes and tesuji are not that much applicable. But it's a lot of fun, and probably a great kind of book to just copy a problem in a business card and take it for your commute (bonus points if memorising the shape and solving it afterwards.) It's a pity it is so hard to find, someone should re-issue it.

How do you replay/memorize the pro games?
Do you just play through them (including endgame?) or do you make an conscious effort to memorize them (for a day, for longer?)?

Just go over them relatively quickly, from start to finish. A game takes me 10-15 minutes, sometimes 5, sometimes 20. If I find something striking, unusual or funny I stop for a while and consider it, maybe check a variation or two, but it's essentially admiring a work of art, not learning how to use the brush. The idea and motivation was just getting some shape-sense, but without compromising other aspects (time-wise.) So, it's more worthwhile for me (at least right now) to do tsumego 30 minutes than memorise a pro game during 1h. So, given 1h better to spend 30 doing tsumego and 30 checking a couple of pro games.

Aside from the "real" pro program, I have memorised so far 2 9x9 pro games (the relatively famous Go Seigen games, for my "9x9 improvement plan"), but I think they are already starting to fade, I haven't rechecked them for 2 weeks.

Do you plan to "overlearn" problem collections or just go for the more the merrier?

For the Cho Elementary, I plan on sticking them on Anki and doing them daily until either I burn out or Anki gives up. For the rest of the books, there's no specific plan right now. I want to revisit GGPFB3 to check if I have improved my reading, but in general I will probably work through books I have done previously as I see fit. I.e. even though I have solved LCH Tesuji & tsumego vol 1 several times already, I still know I'm 99% likely to miss 5 or 10 of the problems there in a game setting. No good! Right now I'm spending around 30 minutes/day with reviewing problems in Anki, so for now I won't be adding any other source (beside NGA assignments.) If I do, it would quite likely be the first volume of GGP for Dan players, tsumego, Japanese edition (so, 150 problems instead of 300, the easiest ones.)

What are your blitz time settings?

KGS' automatch. IIRC it's 1' main time, 5x10" byoyomi. At first it felt rushed, now I'm more used to it and it's relatively ok. I still do plenty of mistakes, though.

[...]

Keep it up! : )

Thanks, I will! I'm improving slowly (reeaaaally sloooowly) but I guess that at least, steadily.

[RBerenguel]

Hmmm. Do you make use of the diagonal relationship between stones when thinking about eyes? (See, for instance, http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 66#p131766 )

Not "consciously," but I tend to check these diagonal moves more often than not, specially when trying to live. Interesting!

[Bill Spight]

Hmmm. Do you make use of the diagonal relationship between stones when thinking about eyes? (See, for instance, http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 66#p131766 )

Not "consciously," but I tend to check these diagonal moves more often than not, specially when trying to live. Interesting!

Sonoda pointed out the importance of diagonal lines for sabaki in a book a few years ago.

[RBerenguel]

Hmmm. Do you make use of the diagonal relationship between stones when thinking about eyes? (See, for instance, http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 66#p131766 )

Not "consciously," but I tend to check these diagonal moves more often than not, specially when trying to live. Interesting!

Sonoda pointed out the importance of diagonal lines for sabaki in a book a few years ago.

This?

[Bill Spight]

Hmmm. Do you make use of the diagonal relationship between stones when thinking about eyes? (See, for instance, http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 66#p131766 )

Not "consciously," but I tend to check these diagonal moves more often than not, specially when trying to live. Interesting!

Sonoda pointed out the importance of diagonal lines for sabaki in a book a few years ago.

This?

No, but it looks like a good book.

[RBerenguel]

I'm preparing a (blog) post with some details on how to use the newly minted sgfrender (essentially a Frankenstein-esque modification of sgftopng) to generate neatly colored images, BW-plain images or wiggly hand-drawns just in case someone wants to play with it before it goes into sgfutils proper. I've been in contact with the author and we are both unhappy with font-placement and choosing, so far I have found no solution and he is checking to see what he comes up. For now, InconsolataB works neat for me (it's a freely available font at that) and Chalkduster (a common Mac font) works decent enough for the wiggly. So, teaser image (done with Pixelmator merging 3 images):

types.jpg (119.42 KiB) Viewed 14262 times

Plain -> "Neat" -> Wiggly.

I'm currently trying to fix a possible issue with on-board labels and labels above numbers, and also thinking whether to add (or check) if markup works properly (so Ten can use it in his blog.) This morning I added the option to add captions (for the plain or wiggly modes, for rendered it feels quite weird.)

[skydyr]

I'm preparing a (blog) post with some details on how to use the newly minted sgfrender (essentially a Frankenstein-esque modification of sgftopng) to generate neatly colored images, BW-plain images or wiggly hand-drawns just in case someone wants to play with it before it goes into sgfutils proper. I've been in contact with the author and we are both unhappy with font-placement and choosing, so far I have found no solution and he is checking to see what he comes up. For now, InconsolataB works neat for me (it's a freely available font at that) and Chalkduster (a common Mac font) works decent enough for the wiggly. So, teaser image (done with Pixelmator merging 3 images):
...
Plain -> "Neat" -> Wiggly.

I'm currently trying to fix a possible issue with on-board labels and labels above numbers, and also thinking whether to add (or check) if markup works properly (so Ten can use it in his blog.) This morning I added the option to add captions (for the plain or wiggly modes, for rendered it feels quite weird.)

I like the idea of being able to choose your design, but wiggly just makes my eyes hurt.

[RBerenguel]

I'm preparing a (blog) post with some details on how to use the newly minted sgfrender (essentially a Frankenstein-esque modification of sgftopng) to generate neatly colored images, BW-plain images or wiggly hand-drawns just in case someone wants to play with it before it goes into sgfutils proper. I've been in contact with the author and we are both unhappy with font-placement and choosing, so far I have found no solution and he is checking to see what he comes up. For now, InconsolataB works neat for me (it's a freely available font at that) and Chalkduster (a common Mac font) works decent enough for the wiggly. So, teaser image (done with Pixelmator merging 3 images):
...
Plain -> "Neat" -> Wiggly.

I'm currently trying to fix a possible issue with on-board labels and labels above numbers, and also thinking whether to add (or check) if markup works properly (so Ten can use it in his blog.) This morning I added the option to add captions (for the plain or wiggly modes, for rendered it feels quite weird.)

I like the idea of being able to choose your design, but wiggly just makes my eyes hurt.

It was just created almost "for fun," since I saw the algorithm over here and wanted to implement it somewhere. Also keep in mind that the image is reduced, normal size is ~1000px wide and high, so it's pretty easy on the eyes. And it lets you do this, then:

final.jpg (116.04 KiB) Viewed 12171 times

[skydyr]

Blasphemy! Everyone knows that go goes with green tea, not coffee

[RBerenguel]

Haha! Well, it was hard enough finding two interesting images of coffee stains, so I wonder if green tea is any easier! (surprisingly, wine is far, far easier to find in interesting shapes and transparent pngs)

[RBerenguel]

I have just played my 50th blitz game (I know, not an specially big number and it was a loss) with my "secret" blitz account. When I started I played so bad I was afraid of posting the username and somebody looking through the games. Now I realise I play more or less as bad in blitz than as in real time. In blitz I only lose faster and the kind of mistake is more stupid, just that. So, to ease alejo's curiosity about my gameplay, now he can look at some of my games

Username: eldingar (which means lightning in Icelandic)

Code: Select all

|            | Win | Lose |  PCT |
| All        |  23 |   26 |  47% |
| Black      |  10 |   18 |  36% |
| White      |  13 |    8 |  62% |
| Higher     |   9 |   17 |  35% |
| Even       |   2 |    0 | 100% |
| Lower      |  11 |    8 |  58% |
| With H.    |   7 |   11 |  39% |
| Against H. |   7 |    7 |  50% |

Statistics come from KGSanalytics

Here's the rank graph:


I mostly didn't play during April, and when I got at it again in end of April-May I've been having some beautiful losing streaks (May is currently 4-8, April was 2-5 with the 2 won at the beginning of the month, and March was 12-6.) The big slope at the end of Feb is a 0-4 streak, it was pretty heavy since I had played still too few games.