Am I getting old? When did you feel yourself slow down?

[shapenaji]

So, recently I've discovered that my blitz game has taken a journey to nether-netherland, Blitz always used to be my forte... now I just don't feel like I have enough time to think things through.

28 now, (I know, still young), but just wondering, For those whom it applies to, when did you start feeling things get harder? When did you start finding yourself relying a little more on experience and a little less on lightning-fast calculation?

[topazg]

I'm 28 too, and I would have said about 25 or 26 I started noticing it

Maybe because I've steadily ended up with more and more on my plate and thus found it harder not to be distracted by thinking about something else, but I suspect age may be part of it too. I hope not!

[kirkmc]

28 and worried about feeling old? Pfftt....

[daal]

when did you start feeling things get harder?

Things were hard when I started (in my mid-40's) and they are getting easier.

[shapenaji]

28 and worried about feeling old? Pfftt....

Well, in the sciences, 28 is usually (anecdotally), around the cutoff for whether or not you're expected to do brilliant work. Is it old? no, but old enough to start noticing differences.

[kirkmc]

Well, in the sciences, 28 is usually (anecdotally), around the cutoff for whether or not you're expected to do brilliant work. Is it old? no, but old enough to start noticing differences.

They say that about mathematicians, but do they say that for other sciences? You're probably still a post-doc at that age anyway, so you're not doing any work on your own yet, I would think.

[HermanHiddema]

I'm 33 and haven't noticed any slowdown yet. I have noticed that my game has matured though, I'm less likely to start all-or-nothing fights, more willing to play honte once in a while

[Magicwand]

I'm 33 and haven't noticed any slowdown yet. I have noticed that my game has matured though, I'm less likely to start all-or-nothing fights, more willing to play honte once in a while

i didnt notice any slowdown until i was 34

[kgsbaduk]

Good way of slowing this procces is active life style. Not only you will feel better but also you will avoid most popular diseases like heart attack, hypertension, diabetes mellitus or obesity.
There are rumors that exercises will give you 2 stones

[Kirby]

I plan to hold onto the belief that age concerns are psychological.

The one thing I do notice, lately, is that I have a bit less time due to increased responsibility.

But I maintain the belief that age will not make me weaker.

[daal]

Good way of slowing this procces is active life style. Not only you will feel better but also you will avoid most popular diseases like heart attack, hypertension, diabetes mellitus or obesity.
There are rumors that exercises will give you 2 stones

Popular disease...well my favorite is the cooties... but I think you mean "common."

But as to the rumor, I'd probably have reached 4k by now if I would get outside more often instead of sitting on my butt in front of the computer playing go.

[rubin427]

when did you start feeling things get harder?

First grade was significantly harder than kindergarden.

Maybe posting on the forums is my grown-up version of staring out the window and wishing I was playing outside.

[Joaz Banbeck]

Ahhh...to be 28 again...

You lucky bastards!

@Shapenaji: Your raw calculating ability supposedly peaks in your early 20s. You probably have been delining slightly over the last few years, but it has been so minor that you might not notice it until you get near 30.

You've been losing brain cells since your early twenties. That's what does it. But the upside is that you will be making more connections between those remaining cells for several decades in the future. Your judgement about complex non-linear subjects will improve. ( In your forties and fifties you will look back on things that you did, decisions that you made, and beliefs that you held in your twenties - and be appalled! )

This improvement in judgement will continue until sometime between 70 to 100 when you start to lose the ability to make connections. Then you'll start getting senile. Unless some medical breakthroughs are made. And because of the aging baby-boomers, there is a lot of research being done in that area. There may be preventative drugs available when you get there. ( That's why I say that you are lucky )

When all is said and done, I'd rather have my 20-ish body than my 50-ish body. But I'd rather have my 50-ish brain than my 20-ish brain. Everyone my age says that. You'll enjoy having it too.

[gowan]

So far, the stronger I've gotten the harder the game has become, and I've been getting stronger since I started playing. The rate at which I've become stronger has slowed with both age and strength, probably somewhat logarithmically. 30k to 6k one year, 6k to 1d four more years, 1 d to 5d twelve more years. I imagine it is this decrease in the rate of improvement that makes you feel old.

Interesting comment about blitz play. At the second US Go Congress, in 1986, Sakata Eio was visiting. He was pretty much a "senior" player then, well past his tournament winning prime but he still did well in the rapid play TV tournaments. Another Japanese pro told me that in Japan older pros retain their rapid play form but don't have the stamina for the two-day games so you see older players like Ishida Yoshio still formidable in rapid play tournaments when they are no longer really competitive in the longer games. It is considered remarkable when a player over age fifty wins a big title.

[mohsart]

There are rumors that exercises will give you 2 stones

But too much exercise and you may lose a stone!

/Mats