Game 2: I think this has to be mid single-digit kyu or lower. I think almost any SDK should know better than to play this, but nothing is impossible.
Game 3: The shoulder hit is a Go Seigen idea, but the followup is weird. No idea how to translate that into an evaluation.
Game 5: I don't read anything that makes the contact not a mistake, and it feels like a bad mistake. Unless there's tricks waiting here, I want to say it's DDK.
Game 8: Is that whatshisname from kgs? 5 or 6 dan? Plays exclusively 6-4? Other than that, I see nothing that tells me the grade of this fuseki.
John Fairbairn wrote:I do know that many pros have a sort of table in their heads that tells them e.g. if he doesn't know this he can't be 1-dan, or the like, but I regret never having made notes of specific examples.
1. 10 kyu and above. I don't see anything distinctive in it. 2. 15 kyu. 3. Certainly dan level. I've never seen anyone of my level play like this, let alone do so consistently. 4. 10 kyu. 5. Stronger than me. Low amateur dan? 6. 20 kyu. 7. Strong SDK. 8. Dan level, but if the example is representative of the players' style, it's probably not top dan.
i could believe any of these openings have been played by pros. i like game 3 in particular, and i am singling that one out as PRO! give another 10 moves and i'll judge more carefully
1. 10k 2. 15k 3. high dan amateur or pro 4. 8-15k 5. dan level (can't quite estimate this one) 6. 20k 7. 2k 8. 2d
The first game confuses me. Most people recognize dan-level play but the top left doesn't look very remarkable for black to me. Not that I have a deep knowledge of whatever it is they're trying to get there.
I might as well give this a try too, even though I wasn't on board from the beginning.
Game 1: Low Dan (1-2dan) Game 2: 10-12kyu. M4 seems a little scared. Game 3: Professional level. Game 4: 4-5dan. Experimental feel to it. Game 5: Professional level. Game 6: 15kyu-20kyu. Game 7: 10-12kyu. Game 8: High dan. 6-7dan.
Honestly, my fuseki drags me down a bit sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if the games I marked as pro are actually 10kyu.
Hmm, might have been worth hiding the first round results. If I had more focus, I could refuse to check my guesses against the strong players in the thread, but...
1: W is probably trying some tricks, so around ~ 3d 2: 7k 3: W: Chang Hao 4: 2k 5: 5d (Actually I initally put lower-dan, but I try to spread the ranks around as OP probably did that ) 6: 15k 7: 9k 8: 6-7d KGS (seems like some kind of blitz bullshit game ^^)
After update:
1: I stick to 3d 2: I stick to 7k 3: I'm quite positive I've seen the game in question with Chang Hao playing as White. 4: 2k was a bit harsh, but still really hard to judge because of Blacks unorthodox. Perhaps around 5d. 5: White is strong enough to play O3, so it's strong players for sure. 5d+, but I would say around professional. 6: 15k was too mild, 20k. 7: 9-12kish seems reasonable. I stick to 9k. 8: I stick to 6-7d KGS, some blitz game..
Game 1: I do not like what White is doing in the upper left. It could still be any strength from 3 kyu to 9 dan, though. I put them at 3 dan now.
Game 2: Moves 7 to 11 look quite clueless to me, move 12 is too close to the rather thick black group, move 14 is too timid. However, the players seem to know about the need for a base and access to the centre. I put them at 6 kyu now.
Game 3: I would have said "somewhere in the strong dan region" and put them at 5 dan for now, but in another thread, this game has been shown as professional.
Game 4: I do not like move 7, since Black already has a (loose) pincer in place, and I do not see why Black does not jump at least once before counterpincering at move 15. Other than that, basic shapes seem to be known, so I put them at 1 dan for now.
Game 5: Move 9 strikes me as odd, but move 18 really looks like a blunder to me. 3 kyu, say I.
Game 6: Completely clueless, board too big. 12 kyu, perhaps.
Game 7: Move 5 and 8 are odd already, but the next 10 moves really show the kyu players. I put them at 5 kyu for now.
Game 8: Black seems to have a plan for the centre, but I am not yet sure whether it is sound. White is quite calm, so I think that these players cannot be too weak. I say 2 dan for now, but I think the next 10 moves will really help in the assessment.
A good system naturally covers all corner cases without further effort.
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