Kirby's Study Journal

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:44 pm

Had a review from Inseong's friend, Seongjin. It seems he was surprised white won, and thought black had won. I guess I made a lot in the endgame.

He highlighted the same bad move as I did:

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

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:55 am

Well, the day of my running race came yesterday. I had been preparing for a 5k, where I'd race along with some coworkers. Back in high school, I had done a lot of running, but that was 17 years ago, and I pretty much gave up on competitive running until this year.

In high school, my personal best was 17:45, and I was usually running low 18-minute 5ks. But when I ran a 5k for the first time since then two years ago, my time was a lot slower (almost 24 minutes). Then last year, I tried again, and had something like a 23:02... Still a lot slower than I was in high school.

This year, a coworker that's really into running organized for us to all run a 5k race on November 17th. He's really into running, but seems to average around the 19-minute range (his best was something like 18:50, maybe?). Given my high school times, I made it a goal to beat him: yes, I was a lot heavier than high school, and more out of shape, but with a few months of training, I could get back on track.

So I did some 5ks to practice along the way. In August, I ran a 21:22... Still not where I needed to be, but a lot faster than the previous year's 23:02. Then in September, I tried again for a 20:48. Still, and improvement, but not under 20 minutes, yet. I really needed to get at least under 20-minutes to have a chance.

In contrast to high school, I don't have a coach, so I looked up tips online about how to improve 5k race times. A consensus seemed to emerge in doing speed workouts. So I tried to aim for 2~3 speed workouts a week, along with a distance run. One of the speed workouts would be a tempo run - at race pace for a longer distance than a typical speed workout.

I worked on that on and off, but as the days got colder, my motivation began to wane. I'd often run once near the start of the week, then *maybe* get an easy workout in around mid-week, and then I'd slack off heading into the weekend.

November 17th arrived yesterday, and driving to the race, I was angry with myself: why hadn't I trained harder? I'd have a bad result for sure. I had all of this time to train, but I kept taking it easy. I had pretty strong feelings of regret.

I came to recall a time in middle school, when I was racing for school. There was another teammate who always came in right ahead of me. At that time, by the suggestion of my father, I made a notecard that said, "I, Brian Kirby, have beaten <name-of-kid> at the <name-of-race> on <date-of-race". I'd read it to myself every day in the morning and night, as soon as I got up, and right before going to bed. When the day of the race came, I ran as usual, but didn't feel as tired as I often did. I didn't notice it, but I ran about a minute faster than usual, and ended up beating my teammate without much thought. It was an impressive display of the power of psychology.

Well, I didn't exactly use the same method for the November 17th race against my colleague. I hadn't made a notecard, and I hadn't thought about it at night before going to bed. But hey, I thought, I could at least try to psych myself up this morning before the race.

I arrived at the race, and saw my rival. And in that instant, self-doubt filled my consciousness. Here was a kid, several years my younger, about 50 pounds lighter than me, with probably 8% less body fat. And running was his passion - perhaps he liked running as much as I liked go. In what world could there exist a possibility such that I'd beat this guy?

It was a negative thought, but it was the self-talk that entered my mind prior to the race.

Shortly after, the race began. I have a fitness watch, and tracked my pace - I started out a little bit fast, but I felt good. And I was going faster than my rival. I was also on track to break 20 minutes, which has been my goal. About 2.2km into the race - not quite half way, I was still on pace, and my rival came up next to me. I said, "good job" to him, but was again filled with negativity. "I can't beat this guy. He's done under 19 minutes not that long ago," I thought. And after only a few seconds, I began to slow down - my goal was to beat 20 minutes, but if this guy was going for 18:40 or something, I wouldn't be able to keep up.

And so, the distance between my rival and I increased. As the race went on, I felt more negativity, "Well, if I'm not beating my rival," I thought, "what difference does it make what my time is?" And I had a very hard time keeping up the pace.

The end of the race came, and I finished after my rival with the slowest time for a 5k I've had this year: 21:34. Even the race in August was faster than this, which happened shortly after I started "training". Then I noticed my rival's time - he had finished in the low 20-minute range. I guess it was a slow day for everyone.

I thought to myself, then, that I had lost psychologically. It had been my goal to break 20 minutes all along, and I let the negative talk get to me. It was unfortunate, but that was the result.

Despite the sad result, now that the race is over, I feel a burden lifted. And I also feel that I'm not finished training. I don't have to be stressed about an upcoming race. But I still intend to break 20 minutes for 5k... Maybe without the extra pressure, I can lose the weight I need to get into better shape. And with any luck, my psychology will improve, too.

I feel some regret about what happened. But as I said - I'm not finished, yet. I still want to improve more.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Nov 18, 2019 1:39 pm

Had another AYD game this afternoon at lunchtime. I had some issues, because I didn't realize my battery was only 2% on my laptop. So I tried a game on shinkgs for the first time, using my phone. It worked alright.

Here's the game:

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Nov 18, 2019 1:41 pm

My general feel of the game was that my opponent was somewhat lax in the opening. So I didn't feel like I had to do much. Somehow, I let things get a bit risky on the right side, even though I didn't need to. I thought he'd turn this into ko:

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

But he didn't. After that resolved, I figured I'd just live with the middle group, and it'd be enough.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Nov 19, 2019 7:23 pm

I played the last game for the month in the AYD.

I'm not that proud of it, but here it is:

So this month, I had a perfect record (5 wins)... I'm kind of weak against mustwin - I lost to him before, and I think he often out reads me. I got lucky this game... It was amazing that he didn't kill my bottom right corner, and that I killed the right, and that I lived in the end. Everything lined up this game, I guess.

Anyway, that marks the end of the AYD season. I have been thinking about what to do next. I considered joining the online BIBA program. It's more expensive than Inseong's program, but it has other features (game against pro, go problems, etc.). There's also the added benefit that I haven't tried it, yet.

On the other hand, Inseong's program is more affordable... And I'm friends with Inseong, so that's another plus for the AYD.

I'll think about it a little bit more. I don't think I have to decide quite yet.

Thinking of playing some more Zelda today (breath of the wild), since my game finished early. That game is too fun...

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:20 am

I've been slacking with playing go. But new year, new start, right? I'll try to do better this year.

I played a game on fox for the first time in a long time. I lost, but more than the loss, it felt painful about my bad judgement, and some simple misreads. Here's the game.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:26 am

Some highlights...

Position 1

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

After white just played here, I don't think it's really sente. So I think it's quite reasonable for me to either invade 3-3 or play on the top:

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

OR

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

After wiping out the right side, if I can make a reasonable position either in the corner or on top, I think I can move to endgame and win.

Position 2
This seems questionable:

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

Perhaps I can play more inside, but it doesn't seem totally safe, yet - maybe I could still die:

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

Position 3
I almost LOL-ed after I played this:

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

In my imagination, my stones weren't captured, and he just let me get in:

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

WTH kind of hallucination is that?!?

That's my real pain point from this game. Instead, I think something like this should be enough:

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

Just go inside, and I think I'll have enough points... But my evaluation seems rusty.

---

Oh yeah, one more point. I had to decide whether to play big endgame or whether to try to make a group live inside after this:

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

I probably don't have quite enough if white gets it all. So probably invasion is inevitable. But it sure was a painful game..

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Jan 06, 2020 10:20 am

Trying to be more consistent, so I got back on the horse and played another game today on fox. this one i won.

overall, my thoughts were:
* i felt stronger than my opponent
* but i also made some big mistakes
* overall, my go feels a bit sloppy - I have some OK ideas, but i'm not that sharp right now. missing some obvious stuff

Here's the sgf:

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Jan 06, 2020 10:24 am

Some highlights...

Position 1

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

I distinctly read out the variation starting with the marked move, instead of the one I played. But then I had second thoughts, and remembered, "no that's not stylish - i should atari first". but i didn't read out that variation, and tried to play "stylish" without reading the "stylish" variation.

Very sloppy.

I should just play as I read - or try to read the "stylish" way, at least:

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

Position 2
Here, I'm at a crossroads - not sure which way is best. Pincer on top feels doable, but I also don't mind just defending:

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

Position 3

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

I misread the variation starting with the move above - I got lucky because my opponent did, too, I think. But anyway, it was sloppy..

--

Overall, the theme for the game today is: sloppy. I think I need to be more sharp. That's the lesson I'll try to take away. Sometimes when my opponent seems to play sloppy, I feel like playing sloppy, too. A bit of a problem, I suppose.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Jan 06, 2020 8:21 pm

Was going over a little bit of one of the English-translated commentated Lee Sedol books, and he discusses variations in one of his games against Cho U.

One variation that's there is this one:

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

He goes through a couple of variations, and I've played these in games, too. In particular, there's this one:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 9 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 . | $$ | . . O , X . O . . , . . 5 3 X X O 2 . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 6 O X O O X 8 . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . 4 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

He said it was a nice result for black with the outside framework. I've played something like this in a game before, but I sometimes feel a bit unsatisfied. So I looked up on a couple of bots (kata and whatever version of LZ I have). They have earlier recommendations, but here, both have the instinct to play here for

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . | $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . | $$ | . . O , X . O . . , . . 5 3 X X O 2 . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 6 O X O O X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . 4 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

What I like about this variation is that it ends in sente for black. That feels a lot better than the other one.

While I'm on it, now and then, I've seen this type of variation for the low 1-space pincer after approach to 3-4:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . 3 . . | $$ | . . O , X . O . . , . . . . X 2 O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

It doesn't always stay as the recommended sequence when I am looking through lizzie, but I find it to be an interesting sequence.

It reminds me a little bit of this old sequence that was played a few years back:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 7 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . | $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , X . O . . , . 5 . . X 2 O 3 . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O 4 . . X 6 . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If I compare the two, in the latter, black is completely alive and has territory - and is not surrounded. On the other hand, white has a little bit more of the side... Kind of interesting.

I don't have much in terms of analysis here - just fascinating.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 10:19 am

Another game on fox today. This one is a little sloppy - I *am* tired, so maybe I can use that as an excuse. I have insomnia at night these days...

That being said, I was conscious about trying not to be sloppy before the game, so maybe it's not an excuse.

Still, I won. Here's the game:

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 10:23 am

Some highlights...

Position 1

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

I should know better than the move above. I misread this, and it should be a pretty simple shape. I guess he freaked out and screwed it up, though :-p

Instead, I should focus on the top.

Maybe this:

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

or if i'm ambitious:

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

Position 2

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

I think I was unnecessarily afraid, above. It's self atari for white to try to cut, so there's no immediate danger that I can see in retrospect

Instead, I think cap is good:

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

I think I'll leave it at that for now.

Takeaways:
1. I'm still a bit sloppy with reading. I go a bit too much on feeling, without really reading it completely out. Or I miss branches.

I think that's what I'll try to keep focusing on.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 10:41 am

Reflecting a bit on my sloppiness during games... One book that I like, and have been going through a bit lately is this 囲碁の力が10倍になる山田式トレーニング:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%9E%E3%8 ... 4839935912

This book is fun, because the problems are often about capturing some set of important stones, and there aren't a ton of variations. But sometimes, the depth of reading stretches my limit a little bit - I don't quite see the end sequence.

I like this practice, but what I find myself doing sometimes is that I have some intuition on how to start the capture, and I can read out some variations for a little while, and then when it gets near the end, there are one or two branches that I can't quite see. But it seems like it's the right answer, so after some time passes, I get a bit lazy and I'll check it. And often, what I read was mostly correct, so I get kind of a positive reinforcement for this behavior. I can tell myself that I got the problem "wrong", but it still feels correct, because in a game, I'd probably be able to work out those fuzzy branches once I got to them.

But in a real game, when it's not a constructed problem, these fuzzy branches might be actually problematic - maybe they are the branches that don't work for me. And this contributes, I think, to sloppiness.

I think there are a couple of things I can do to aim to sharpen my game:
1. I can mix in some easier problems where there are no fuzzy branches;
2. I can try harder to be disciplined, and not look at the solution until the fuzzy branches become clear.

The latter is ideal, but it takes some work, because I'm stretching the limit of what I can see. But I guess that's one of my ultimate goals - high dan players probably don't have that fuzziness, so I have to break through it somehow or another.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 07, 2020 8:47 pm

I recently finished this book: https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surpri ... oks&sr=1-2

I received it for Christmas. The basic premise is to focus on one thing deeply. I decided that I wanted my “one thing” to be go a little bit before the new year.

However, yesterday I learned that my lead/manager at work was leaving the company. With him gone, I have the most experience so I expected to be promoted. Today, though, I learned that someone else was getting the job.

Frankly, it hurt my feelings. Why didn’t they give the position to me? With that negative emotion, I wondered if i should change my “one thing” to getting a new job.

But after a few hours passed, I decided that it’s ok for now. I’ll keep my one thing as go for now.

Still a bit sad, though. Why didn’t they choose me?

SoDesuNe · Post by **SoDesuNe** » Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:35 am

I didn't get a (grade-wise) promotion either, despite getting (literally) excellent performance reviews and even discussing the promotion with my superiors. They told me, they would look into it and later when I asked how it was looking, the relevant partner told me: "He wouldn't know, why the promotion shouldn't go through."

Since I already know him for a couple of years I knew this sentence meant, he has no clue about the status of my promotion-process and mostly he does not care about such things either. But that would been okay, if he actually had entered my promotion into the process. Turns out he didn't.

I'll adress this with my more immediate supervisor after my vacation because I want to know why. If they don't care about my career, I won't care about delivering excellent results, too.

Life In 19x19

Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal

Re: Kirby's Study Journal