Kirby's Study Journal

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:00 am

jlt wrote: Concerning languages: western people learning asian languages are usually in a comfortable situation, as they are usually praised for making the effort, even if they make mistakes.

In my experience, this is mostly true. I'd say I'm still judged based on my appearance when I first meet or speak with someone from Korea or Japan, but overall, folks are pretty welcoming of speech in their native language.

On the other hand, I am also welcoming of broken English, and focus on communication, so I wouldn't say it's not reciprocal.

Individual experiences may vary..

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:02 pm

Went to Ann Arbor go club today. This week I've only been studying korean, so I didn't do any problems or anything like that.

After work, I ate at a korean bbq place and practiced speaking.

Then I went to the go club.

I probably played like 12 blitz games with Don, giving him 6 stones each time. I won them all, except for the last one before closing.

The 5d guy that beat me at 4 stones the other time came again. I played him again at 4 stones and got revenge. I just got solid territory at the beginning and kept things simple.

He might not be actually 5d. My feeling is I could probably have a decent chance at 2 stones. I'll challenge him with a lower handicap next time.

Anyway, not studying go right now, so I won't bother with transcribing it.

This week was a good week.

EdLee · Post by **EdLee** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:25 pm

I probably played like 12 blitz games with Don, giving him 6 stones each time. I won them all, except for the last one before closing.

And neither of you thought about changing the handi after 10 straight wins ?

Perhaps 50/50 at 9 stones.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:46 pm

EdLee wrote:
I probably played like 12 blitz games with Don, giving him 6 stones each time. I won them all, except for the last one before closing.
And neither of you thought about changing the handi after 10 straight wins ? Perhaps 50/50 at 9 stones.

I just play whatever he wants to do. I have beat him at 8 before. Today, he wanted to do 6. If he wants to play even, I'll do that too.

At the club, Don and I are kind of friends, and we'll just play quickly- I don't care about the result much. If it's someone else, I'll be taking my time more.

If you're ever at the club in Ann Arbor and meet Don, you might understand the dynamic. He's an interesting character.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:31 pm

Go club today. Played Don a few times, then a guy named Greg.

He said he was about 1d, so we did nigiri.

I was black, and won by capturing his group. This is the approximate game from my memory:

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:33 pm

Actually looking at the game, we had j6 l4 exchange earlier (I had j6), so that was helpful in capturing his group.

I have a few moves wrong, but this was the gist of it.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:23 pm

Inseong sent out an email advertisement for the AYD. I've been turned off on go since last fall. Probably the last serious game I played was last year at the Cotsen. Since around December, I've been focusing on studying Korean. We go to a Korean school on Saturdays, and I actually participated in a speech contest two Saturdays ago. I won the adult division, so I will do the state competition this Saturday.

Given all of that, when I read Inseong's email, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I missed playing go. I was getting frustrated last year, but at least for now, I feel that go brings enjoyment to my life. Also, last year I was depressed about not going to the US Go Congress, and it'll probably be the same again this year, if I don't go. So I decided all at once that I'd give go another go, and sign up for the AYD. I'll switch to studying go for awhile, and I'll go to the US Go Congress. It's fun for me for now, so why not?

So here is the game from today:

I lost the game, and left my own review, before listening to Inseong or consulting any sort of AI. As you can see, I'm quite rusty, but I'd like to polish up.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:28 pm

Biggest takeaway from my own review was that I shouldn't have kept pushing:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$ Position at move 59 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O O | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . B O . . . . X O X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O O O O O | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O . . X X X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . X O . O , O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Instead, maybe something like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$ Position at move 59 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O O | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O B . . . X O X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O O O O O | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O . . X X X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . X O . O , O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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I heard an interview recently, though, and they mentioned Kasparov. One thing that he mentioned was that, when he reviews his games, he tries to review not a specific move, but *why* he made the bad move - his thought process, etc.

So what was my thought process here?

1.) I was a little flustered, because white tenuki'd so many times - on the bottom, and top left. It was painful. So I thought I should compensate by making big territory by trying to kill the group.

- So what's the takeaway from this?
a.) Maybe I should have taken initiative to tenuki before white.
b.) After white got those moves, maybe I should have focused on just being thick - stop the attack if I can't profit. At least black would still have been weak, and maybe I'd get a chance later.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:34 pm

Inseong reviewed my game. A couple of takeaways from his perspective:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W Moves 38 to 38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . B . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The move above was a bit passive. He likes cap better:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W Moves 38 to 38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . B . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Why didn't I do this?
- Thought process: maybe I thought it'd be enough to just put pressure. Maybe my thinking was wrong in that white's tenuki's were more valuable than I thought.

---

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Moves 33 to 33 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Inseong thought this wasn't big enough - pretty passive, again.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Moves 33 to 33 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O X X X O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . X . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

He suggests this better - at least I get profit first.

---

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Moves 81 to 81 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O O . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . O O X . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . X , X 1 . . . , X O O O X X X O O | $$ | . . X X . O . . . . . X X X . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . . X O X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O O O O O | $$ | . . O . . . . . O O O O O . . X X X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . X . X O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . X O . O , O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I totally missed just connecting here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Moves 81 to 81 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O O . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . O O X . O . . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . X , X . . . . , X O O O X X X O O | $$ | . . X X . O . . . . . X X X . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . . X O X | $$ | . . 3 2 . . . . . . X . . . O O O O O | $$ | . . O 1 . . . . O O O O O . . X X X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . X . X O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . X O . O , O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I "know" this shape, but I guess I didn't recognize it.

General takeaways:
- Make sure I'm playing in the big area. Attacking a group isn't always sente.
- If I do count on the attack, make it severe.

EdLee · Post by **EdLee** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:37 pm

do the state competition this Saturday.

Go, Kirby!

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:50 pm

FWIW, the computer seems to think I'm ahead until this stuff:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Moves 89 to 89 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O O . . . . . . . X O . . . O . | $$ | . O O X . O 1 . . . . . X X O O O . O | $$ | . . X , X X O . . , X O O O X X X O O | $$ | . . X X . O X . . . . X X X . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O . . . . X O X | $$ | . . . . X . . . . . X . . . O O O O O | $$ | . . O . O X . . O O O O O . . X X X . | $$ | . . . . O O . . . X . X O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . X O . O , O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . O . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Interesting, but above my level to understand right now.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:50 pm

EdLee wrote:
do the state competition this Saturday.
Go, Kirby!
DeepLeela, a low-level bot, thinks your is totally fine, its first choice, 58% for ; not game deciding:
IMG_3761.PNG

Thanks, Ed. I guess it's a playable game.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:54 pm

All in all, a fun comeback game, though, I don't like losing. I feel I concentrated during the game, though, and that was enjoyable.

In the meantime, I'll try to keep this quote in mind:

Archilochus wrote: “We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”

Chop wood, carry water.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:41 pm

Game #2 of the AYD. I haven't been able to play another game since last week. Maybe I can arrange to play more next week. This Saturday is that state competition thing for the Korean speech contest, so I have to spend some time practicing that, too.

Here is the game:

I won the game. To summarize, I think I put too much risk in the top left corner situation. But suddenly, it became my corner, and things worked out.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:46 pm

So I want to post a diagram of what move I would have played differently.

The problem is, I don't know exactly which move I would have changed. I was led into it, and I didn't see a clear path to the finish. I could have played safer, but then it conceded what was unclear to me.

It was like this:
- The path to the end of the variation seemed foggy. I couldn't tell if I'd lose out or him.
- Given the uncertainty, it was risky to continue.
- But to not continue meant a concession of what might be too much, what maybe should be mine.

I cannot think of a solution in this situation except to aim to read further ahead, and to make those foggy variations less foggy. If I could clear the fog until the end of the variation, I would resolve this problem in my game.

Life In 19x19

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