Looking for more problems to solve

[Donovitch]

I had been solving problems at http://www.playgo.to/iwtg/en/ at the suggestion of someone that helped me some and found that in addition to helping me see things in a different light, I quite enjoyed that challenge. I was wondering if there were some other places I could find some good problems and a rough guesstimate as to the ranking on them (I like to know when I am making some headway in improving).

[Li Kao]

I'd look into GoChild: http://gochild2009.appspot.com/
Another popular problem website is http://www.goproblems.com/

But you shouldn't neglect playing actual games either. As a beginner I played blitz games against IGoWin for a few days.

[hyperpape]

The goproblems.com time trials are ok, but I think there's too wide a disparity of skill level in the early ones.

Gochild seems great--lots of people on the forum use it.

[jts]

And if the GoChild problems (which are great, btw) make you too click-happy, you can try the Beginner Exercises on Sensei's Library.

[Donovitch]

really liking the ease of playing igowin- is there somewhere I can post games that I can get critiqued?

[hyperpape]

Yes viewforum.php?f=4

[SoDesuNe]

http://tsumego.tasuki.org/?page=tsumego

On this page are a handful problem compilations. The only downside: They don't include answers.

[xed_over]

The only downside: They don't include answers.

some people consider that an upside

[SoDesuNe]

Yeah, I heard those rumors, too ; )

[tchan001]

The only downside: They don't include answers.

some people consider that an upside

Try the Igo Hatsuyo-ron pdf and see how much upside you get without the answers

[Donovitch]

So was playing the igowin game and was hovering between 20k and 16k, played a couple games on KGS against people that were in the 30ish k range and got dominated. I know I am new, and that an ai can only simulate so much of a real person's game, but how much defeat should I expect before I can start to hold my own against 'the bottom of the barrel'?

[Mivo]

Playing 9x9 against weak bots is fine, but 19x19 against those 25k+ bots is a little "dangerous". They make exceptionally weird, senseless and almost random moves that will confuse you more than teach you. It's different when you play against better bots/AIs, but they are higher ranked.

Just play against people. They may play poorly too, but you at least have a chance to figure out why they made this or that move, which is nearly impossible with the 25k+ bots. 9x9 against bots is okay because you'll learn making living groups. Also, Igowin's rank has nothing to do with ranks on Go servers and such.

Avoid falling into the rank obsession trap.

[nafets]

for future reference, when a game is over - especially in the beginner's room - don't leave immediately, give it a few seconds.. your opponent might offer a review. or just ask for a review, or a few hints.

[Donovitch]

Avoid falling into the rank obsession trap.

Sorry, have a tendency to obsess over improving in some way, no matter how small.

[Mivo]

Sorry, have a tendency to obsess over improving in some way, no matter how small.

See, the thing with Go is that improvement doesn't necessarily have an effect on the rank. You're so new to the game that you learn and improve all the time! Even if you lose (especially when you lose), you learn and improve.

In fact, there is nothing you can do that won't make you improve!

You played a game and lost? You improved!
You struggled with a problem and failed to solve it? You improved!
You tried an invasion and got slaughtered? You improved!
You thought your corner was safe and someone snatched it? You improved!
(I'm sure this could be continued!)

The rank catches up, but it's more of a long-term indicator of where you stand in relation to others. Not in the short term, and especially not right now when your KGS rank is as soft as a baby butt. The peculiar thing about Go is that your rank is very likely to drop when you experiment with new ideas. Down the road, these experiments will improve your rank, but in the short run (might well be months), you'll lose more games than you did when you played in the old, familiar way and avoided taking risks. Go is kind of like syphilis, just in a good way!

For me, one of my beginner problems was that worrying about the rank caused me to play less and less. I studied more, but then had even more knowledge that I couldn't apply, so I got more frustrated at my perceived lack of progress, got totally anxious about playing at all, only played when I felt perfectly, which I rarely did, etc. Fear and obsession really slow down one's Go progress. Of course, all that is super easy said and much harder done, but hey, at least you can't say no one told ya.