Too old to start?

[Jnak6]

Thanks all for the input, glad that I have hope yet for Go aptitude.

Can someone help me with this question: I played my first game on KGS versus a robot ranked about 27k. I captured a ton of stones (32-17 advantage) but ultimately lost by 3.5 because I let the CPU have the top and top left portions of the board without invading at all (thought my other efforts would still let me prevail). From this score, can I glean a rank? I'd like to know where I stand, rank-wise, even if it's 30k.

I hear you about rank obsession. I'm setting my goals low overall so that I don't get discouraged. But, I like how rank shows objective skill (like an ELO rating). I felt like I had the CPU beat and may have left some captures on the board before I ended the game. But, everyone has to start somewhere.

[DrStraw]

Thanks all for the input, glad that I have hope yet for Go aptitude.

Can someone help me with this question: I played my first game on KGS versus a robot ranked about 27k. I captured a ton of stones (32-17 advantage) but ultimately lost by 3.5 because I let the CPU have the top and top left portions of the board without invading at all (thought my other efforts would still let me prevail). From this score, can I glean a rank? I'd like to know where I stand, rank-wise, even if it's 30k.

I hear you about rank obsession. I'm setting my goals low overall so that I don't get discouraged. But, I like how rank shows objective skill (like an ELO rating). I felt like I had the CPU beat and may have left some captures on the board before I ended the game. But, everyone has to start somewhere.

You will get a tentative rank after your first win. Until then don't worry. As you gain more wins it will become more reliable.

[Jnak6]

You will get a tentative rank after your first win. Until then don't worry. As you gain more wins it will become more reliable.

Gotcha, thanks. Does this also apply if you beat a robot? If not, I'll focus on human opponents. On that note, I'm open to handicap or no handicap games if anyone wants to play sometime. PM if interested. Note I'll be able to play on weekends only for the next few weeks, then more liberally after that point.

[Solomon]

I've studied for a few months focusing on the basics of invasion, approach, attack/defend and light joseki/fuseki

...before I can win a game...

I'm sure I could study like crazy and get it done, but does anyone have any input as to why I wouldn't be able to make it to SDK or beyond at this point?

Sounds like you're focusing too much on studying instead of playing. Rather than focus on the basics of invasion or joseki/fuseki, focus on exposing yourself to the common patterns and playing as much as you can.

[Abyssinica]

He sounds like me.

[jeromie]

Thanks all for the input, glad that I have hope yet for Go aptitude.

Can someone help me with this question: I played my first game on KGS versus a robot ranked about 27k. I captured a ton of stones (32-17 advantage) but ultimately lost by 3.5 because I let the CPU have the top and top left portions of the board without invading at all (thought my other efforts would still let me prevail). From this score, can I glean a rank? I'd like to know where I stand, rank-wise, even if it's 30k.

For what it's worth, you won that game. There was one white group that you should have marked dead, and another that would have been dead if you made one more play or alive if the computer made one more play. Review your game and see if you can find the group that can live or die depending on who plays next, and it will help you begin to see what living groups look like.

The bots on KGS play two types of games: Ranked and Free. If the game is ranked there will be an R next to it in the KGS game list, and it will count toward helping you establish a rank. The game you played the other day was a free game, so it has no bearing on your rank on KGS.

[Jnak6]

Thanks for looking at the game. I thought it auto-filled in the dead groups, so I didn't highlight white's dead groups. Whoops. Good to know it was a winning effort if scored correctly. I'll be able to look at the game when I'm back in town this weekend, so I'll take another look. I'll play some games on my phone in the meantime to get some reps, so to speak.

[joellercoaster]

Hi.

Colour me envious - I wish I had my twenty-something brain to apply to learning Go instead of my nearly-forty brain

I started last October-ish, have only really played correspondence Go (it's what is available to me right now) and have not been madly crash studying like some people do (because I have a nearly-forty life to keep moving with other very energy-consuming hobbies, and a nearly-forty job to look after to pay for it all ), but am presently in the low DDKs. You have to take ratings with a grain of salt and it's a pretty arbitrary line to draw, but I feel like SDK is very close.

I may suddenly hit a wall, who knows? But so far I haven't seen anything that might suggest that age is any barrier to my one day being an OK amateur player. Give me a year or two

[peti29]

This question just made me realize that I'm getting old(er). I'm 34, but I still think of myself as twenty-something...

I started GO in my early twenties (not counting the childhood games I had with my brother) and I'm now 6k. I had a little stop around 14k but other than that I reached 6k with minimal effort, slowly through the years. Now I'm kind of stuck and have to fix my "fundamentals" and catch up with the learning I skipped until now. But it's working, and the more I learn the more interesting the game becomes. I don't feel my brain would be the bottleneck for my progress - but rather lack of free time and lazy-ness.

[joellercoaster]

rank is not something to worry about. It just allows you to set a reasonable handicap with someone you don't know.

This is the best piece of Go advice I have had so far (and this is not the first time it has been given).

Another way to say the same thing is that it's a good tool for finding challenging even games (on OGS, I use the ladder tournaments to supply me with a steady stream of even games against people 1-3 stones stronger, occasionally more, and it's been lovely).

[wineandgolover]

I first played just shy of 30, and eventually made dan. So there is precedent.

But there is no magic at the low-dan level. You become just good enough to truly understand how not good you are. (And I'm okay with that.)

I guess it's fine having a goal, but the key is to enjoy the journey! If you become disenchanted because it is taking too long to become 1k, well, that would be a real pity.

Rejoice in your good games, take pride in your advancement, learn from your mistakes, and enjoy go. This should be the way at all levels.

Enjoy!

[teancoffee]

I read an old post from here telling the story of a Japanese man who advanced from 1kyu to 5dan after hitting fifty, and it only took him several years.

I also remember reading somewhere about an amazing woman who learned how to play go at 50 and was a 3 dan by 70.

[TheBigH]

I'm nearly 32 and I'm ~13k. SDK is not out of reach.

[karaklis]

I started at the age of 38 about six years ago. I peaked at 4k some three years ago (before I stopped playing regularly). When I am retired I will pick up my go books again and make it for shodan. Yay!

[DrStraw]

Some of you will be familiar with Geoffrey Gray, aussiemate on KGS. If I recall correctly he started playing in 1966 at age 41 and was British shodan (now about KGS 3d) when I knew him in the mid-70s. He still logs on to KGS every day, where he is now 9k. He will be 90 year old in four months.