You know you're still a beginner when...

[daal]

Funny thing about this thread is trying to think of some boneheaded error that I would never make anymore.

[MarkSteere]

These seem more like relative beginner stories. A true beginner loses a stone in the first ten moves of the game. A true beginner doesn't have a clue. Play is a linked series of Doh! events.

[Simba]

When you lose given a 9-stone handicap on a 9x9 board (also 25-stone handicap on a 19x19) .

[Naurhir]

...you are surprised when your opponent deviates from joseki and still gets a better result.

How about when you have to look up what the definition of joseki is?
http://senseis.xmp.net/?Joseki

Brand new around here, and to the game.

[Simba]

...you are surprised when your opponent deviates from joseki and still gets a better result.

How about when you have to look up what the definition of joseki is?
http://senseis.xmp.net/?Joseki

Brand new around here, and to the game.

Welcome! If you're new to the game, I wouldn't worry at all about all these random Japanese words people throw around - just try to enjoy yourself and have fun, get to learn the basic shapes and such just by playing some 9x9s and getting some experience .

[shyin]

You miss a snapback. Then again, I was playing at 2AM, so I should have expected to make some stupid mistake.

[Simba]

You miss a snapback. Then again, I was playing at 2AM, so I should have expected to make some stupid mistake.

You'll still do this at dan-level saw a 1d in my old club do this. Also saw a 1d self-atari in a tournament recently which was quite surreal (have seen the pro do it too in that video on YouTube, but still, was quite unexpected!)

[leichtloeslich]

I recently took a month off from playing and when I came back I lost against people I would have slaughtered before, and I couldn't put my finger on why that was the case (except for some obvious decline in reading ability).

But then it dawned on me with a vengeance: everytime somebody would cut me I had an *irresistable* instinctive urge to atari the cutting stone immediately. Jesus Christ, I thought, what's wrong with me? :D

So ... you know you're still a bloody beginner when you want to give atari to cutting stones without thinking.