Strength discontinuities

[jeromie]

I'm experiencing the gratifying but weird phenomenon of having very quickly gained (at least) one stone in strength after having been stable for quite a while. Because I play go for self-discovery as well as fun, I wanted to explore why I may have had this sudden change in my game. Perhaps it will also help me (or someone else) who desires to get stronger in the future, too.

First I'll present the numbers. I've been a KGS 5k since April of this year. In July, I played 93 ranked games on KGS and won 55% of them. However, I only won 50% of my even games and 68% of my games against weaker opponents. I had a losing record against people stronger than me. In August, I have played 38 games and won 76% of them. Even more telling is the fact that I have won 88% of my games against people at my rank or below. Because I played so many games in July, my KGS rank hasn't changed yet, but the sample size is large enough that I feel confident saying I've improved.

Now I'm going to speculate as to why I may have gotten better.

• Mindset. I read a few posts where Bill Spight mentioned rapidly improving when he decided to be a 2k. I was getting kind of bored by my 5k mistakes and decided I would like to make new, more interesting mistakes.
• Motivation. I suggested that sparky314 and I could share a friendly rivalry, and we started playing semi-regular games together. He has been improving rapidly, so I felt like I needed to get better if I wanted to keep offering quality games. I've never had someone that provided this sort of extrinsic motivation before, and I think it helped to sharpen my focus.
• Self-review. Over the summer I played a lot of games, but I was not generally reviewing them very closely. I took a good hard look at some of my games around the time I started getting better, and identified some significant changes I needed to make to my game.
• Pace of play. This has dual meanings: in August I have played fewer games and I have generally played them more slowly. My reduced rate of play is largely a function of the school year starting again (I'm a teacher), but it is also part of a conscious effort to play higher quality games.
• Study. I've been reading two books in August: The Endgame, from the Elementary Go Series, and An Encyclopedia of Go Principles from the Mastering the Basics series. Both have been helpful.

It's hard to say which of these factors has contributed most to my improvement. Perhaps it's just an accident of timing: there have been other leaps in my go strength, and I think improvement rarely happens in a slow, linear fashion. (This is a limitation of the KGS rating system, which assumes steady improvement if a person has been playing regularly.) Regardless, I thought it was an interesting phenomenon. Have you experience sudden leaps in your go strength, or has improvement been more steady?

[skydyr]

I think, particularly in the kyu ranges, that sudden leaps are pretty common. Often when you get stuck at a particular rank at that level, it's not a specific technique you need to learn to advance, but a basic skill or a matter of outlook that changes your perception of what the game is.

I know my own improvement was in leaps and bounds, rather than a steady pace. I dabbled with the game and played quite poorly for years, then played a few games against a 10k and quickly caught up. Then I jumped to maybe 7k, then 4-5k, then...

I don't know about all of them, but the one of the later jumps I attributed to reading a book by Yuan Zhou with commentary on a few games by Kitani and Cho. It became apparent over the course of reading it that I didn't have a good sense of how valuable certain things were, and I switched to a more territorial style and immediately jumped forward. I think the following jump was when I became more focused on kiai. There was also a definite period when I remember thinking that a large number of my opponent's moves were stupid, and that I didn't have to go all out to punish them because they were self punishing, so I started tenukiing and assuming that that gigantic loose moyo would disappear when I poked at it, so there was no need for a crazy invasion.

Somewhere in there, also, I became quite good at endgame for my level, and this helped me not panic earlier in the game, since I knew that I could still win even if I felt behind. Of course, the thing I didn't focus on was general reading, and this continues to be my bane today with frequent hallucination that lines work when they don't, or vice-versa.

[Kirby]

Good for you, jeromie. I'm glad you are improving! And, rivalries are always nice!

[DrStraw]

I think plateaus are a normal part of progress and almost everyone encounters them. It isn't obvious why they happen but I have always thought that it was a matter of trying to digest newly learning techniques. Once they are mastered you will see a sudden jump.

[Mike Novack]

Add another possibility, a mistake you were consistently making that you aren't now. Not having been aware of the mistake, you don't notice that you are no longer making it.

[jeromie]

Add another possibility, a mistake you were consistently making that you aren't now. Not having been aware of the mistake, you don't notice that you are no longer making it.

There are some mistakes I at least tried to consciously eliminate after posting a couple of my games for review here and taking a long look at them myself. In particular, I was frequently attacking in a way that was producing two weak groups, one of which would end up struggling for life while giving the opponent profit. What's surprising, though, is that I'm not sure I've ever been able to decide "I'll stop making that mistake," and have it immediately show results. You're right, though, that it could be something else of which I'm not even aware.

[jeromie]

Oh, and one other note:

It could very well be that this is how I've improved every time I've gotten stronger, and it's just more noticeable because my KGS rank is more stable. I may not have thought to comment on it if I just gained a stone and kept winning games at about the same rate. Two stones improvement each year has been normal for the last couple years, and if I stabilize at 4k for a while I'll just be maintaining that pace.

[Pio2001]

I have also had jumps in my learning curve.

I jumped from 12 to 9 kyu when I learned to evaluate the global situation in order to decide if I had to attack (if I am behind) or defend (if I am ahead). Before, my strategy was the same whatever the global situation was : play the biggest move.
It was a french book who taught me that : Chûban, by Dai Junfu.
Strangely enough, I have never seen this fundamental principle in any other book that I own.

Then I jumped from 9 kyu to 7 thanks to a game review where I learned to gain profit from attacking weak groups.

I also experienced regressions in my level. These were caused by playing too fast, with too much frustration. I had to learn to evaluate carefully all moves without exception, and my opponent possible answers, before playing my stone. Not just playing "the obvious one".

[Bonobo]

[slightly off-topic]

Very interesting, thank you, from your posts and comments I just realized there are two ways to view this common phenomenon:

Some say they have “hit a wall” at n Kyu, others talk about a “plateau” …

I like the “plateau” description more than the “wall”, I think it gives me more options for moving onward and for thinking about what’s holding me back.

[Kirby]

[slightly off-topic]

Very interesting, thank you, from your posts and comments I just realized there are two ways to view this common phenomenon:

Some say they have “hit a wall” at n Kyu, others talk about a “plateau” …

I like the “plateau” description more than the “wall”, I think it gives me more options for moving onward and for thinking about what’s holding me back.

As someone stuck around the same rank for several years, I can understand the perspective of having come to a "wall". Considering it a plateau is nice, and of course idealistic - who wouldn't want to have the confidence that their strength will eventually increase? But without some external drive, that's not what happens. Reality is that I have some degree of experience - and I have some degree of confidence. And when placed into a situation that requires a decision - I can recall a time that I've been in a similar situation before - and I "know" how I should respond. So I play the same way I usually do. And win against the same level of opponents that I usually beat. And I lose against the same level of opponents that I usually lose against.

To get over a "plateau", I think I need to play in a different way than I am playing. Maybe I need a bit less confidence that the way I am sure of is correct. Not really sure, though. Maybe I just need to study more and play more games

[Bonobo]

Well, Kirby, I am 59 now, I work too much for my taste, and I have too little time for study and play (and also some other priorities in my life) … so I can well imagine myself getting trapped forever in a 0.5k pit on this 10k plateau

Today, after losing two games against my regular Real Life opponent when I played Black (W+R), I took two stones from him for the first time (B+3.5). When he first came to the weekly Go evening two years ago, he took two stones from me. I assume it will oscillate for a while, with me going back to just playing Black and then again taking two stones, and then some day it will be three … he’s less than half my age, a bright young man, I have to be happy to see him move forward, like <whoooooooosh> … so, OK, if it’s the pit, then I’ll make myself comfortable for now. Maybe I can move on over the plateau and rise to the next one when I (hopefully) reach retirement age and will have more time … if not, then I guess I can still enjoy the game (while being thankful that there also are other things in my life where I do make progress; beard is growing longer, for example ).

[Anzu]

Gained 2 stones suddenly last week. Played a few games, was real happy. Gave 2 stones to Gnu Go instead of playing even.

This week, back to previous level.

[jeromie]

I also prefer the language of plateau to that of wall.

As someone who lives within sight of the Rocky Mountains, I don't think the word plateau necessarily implies that the next step in the journey is easy or inevitable. Ascending from a plateau can be difficult, and some people may reach their physical or mental limit before others. I like the word because it can be used as part of a rich metaphor that matches, to some degree, my experience of playing go.

Just like climbing a mountain, there are parts of my growth in the game of go that have passed easily and parts that have been difficult. In both activities, proper preparation is necessary before moving into more difficult terrain. And, most importantly, while I strive to reach the top of the mountain it is important to enjoy my current surroundings. I may eventually reach a level from which I cannot make progress, but that doesn't mean that my pleasure in the game needs to diminish. And I'll probably still look up at the peaks and find inspiration from those who have reached their lofty heights.

"Wall" versus "plateau" may not seem like a big deal, but I do think that the words we use have important implications for how we view the world. Language is powerful, in part, because of the symbols and metaphors it implies. That doesn't mean that referring to a wall will always hinder your progress, of course, (and perhaps you have positive associations with that word) but the language you use may affect the way you approach the game.

[skydyr]

Gained 2 stones suddenly last week. Played a few games, was real happy. Gave 2 stones to Gnu Go instead of playing even.

This week, back to previous level.

It might be a good idea to look at (or post in the forum) the games you did really well in, and the most recent ones where you think you're back to your previous level, to try and figure out what you were doing differently.