Life In 19x19

Magicwand wrote:if you try to win you usually lose.
but if you empty your mind of winning and play your game then you usually get better result.

Have you tried this yourself?

Kirby wrote:What types of things do you do to get in the right state of mind to ensure your victory?

You can't ensure your victory. Try something else.

I see a lot of people talking about getting relaxed - honestly, I psych myself up for intense games. Kick my brain into gear for real reading and fast counting. Music helps a bit, I feel I play my best listening to Cake`s Fashion Nugget.

Also, I play my best after breakfast and coffee in the morning, assuming I`ve had good sleep.

In regard to playing with music, I actually do that sometimes myself... But the reason is not really because of the music itself. It's because I try to make a pattern in getting into a particular mind set. Whenever (well, not always, but almost always) I study tsumego problems, I listen to a particular set of songs on my ipod. Then, when I go to a tournament, I listen to the same set of songs.

It may be somewhat of a placebo, but doing this allows me to "switch on" my go mind. I'm not really sure if it's actually effective, but it's something that I try to do.

daal wrote:

Magicwand wrote:if you try to win you usually lose.
but if you empty your mind of winning and play your game then you usually get better result.

Have you tried this yourself?

yes i did. many many times.
it works. in actual tournament i beat many players who are 2 stone stronger than i am.
my casual game is not my maximum strength. i only play in open tournament and have won few game against strong players before using this methods.

daal wrote:

Kirby wrote: What types of things do you do to get in the right state of mind to ensure your victory?

You can't ensure your victory. Try something else.

While I agree with this in theory, I disagree that you have no control over whether or not you win before the game. I personally believe that you can raise your probability of winning (It can never be 100% or 0%) up before you even set a stone down. Getting into the right frame of mind is one thing that can help. Also, I've found in practice that you have to believe that you are going to win in order to win. It's impossible to win if you don't think you can.

I'm talking about being confident in one's abilities before the game. You can't have an "I am the greatest" attitude. If you have that attitude you set yourself up for defeat.

I do try to "empty" my mind of any connections between my play and my ego. When I make a mistake or my opponent plays an unexpected move I try not to panic. I want my attitude to be that if I have played good moves I will still be in good shape even if my opponent plays something I didn't expect. This attitude helps when my opponent sets up a big moyo. I think to myself that my moves up to that point were good so I can't be behind and I don't need to do anything desperate. It saves me from making hasty invasions, for example.

You may not be able to ensure your victory but you can certainly ensure your loss...

You could try visualising winning and think back to a time when you played a great game and won, remembering it in detail. This isn't answering your question since I've not tried it myself (I don't play many non-online games) but it's what I've read in some sports psychology books.

kokomi wrote:Go to bath room beforehand. This sounds like a joke, but i'm not joking.

I can understand this, because I do the same. It's not that I want to, but I have to . After that I feel released and ready to accept the challenge...

Kirby wrote:But what do you do to play your best game in the short-term?

James Kerwin, 1P, recommends, "When you're playing forget your ambitions, forget winning, forget losing, just play. If you have a goal during the game that goal is not to win, it is to make sure the opponent does not outwork you. There is no shame in losing, but to lose and know you didn't make your best effort is shameful. And you should have the grace to be ashamed when you win if you know you didn't make your best effort."
http://www.usgo.org/EJournal/archive/20 ... htm#KERWIN

Darrell wrote:

Kirby wrote:But what do you do to play your best game in the short-term?

James Kerwin, 1P, recommends, "When you're playing forget your ambitions, forget winning, forget losing, just play. If you have a goal during the game that goal is not to win, it is to make sure the opponent does not outwork you. There is no shame in losing, but to lose and know you didn't make your best effort is shameful. And you should have the grace to be ashamed when you win if you know you didn't make your best effort."
http://www.usgo.org/EJournal/archive/20 ... htm#KERWIN

I really believe this. I am sometimes able to achieve this state in over the board games and I feel satisfied regardless of the result. It definitely helps me to play stronger.

cdybeijing wrote:I really believe this. I am sometimes able to achieve this state in over the board games and I feel satisfied regardless of the result. It definitely helps me to play stronger.

I also believe this. Sadly, I am a perfectionist. As a result, I am (almost) always unhappy with each game I play, regardless of the result. Trust me, this is annoying!

I try to make sure that each move I play makes some sort of sense and isn't just an automatic reaction. So then if I win or lose, at least I had some sort of plan and followed it. Maybe it was a bad plan, but at least it wasn't flailing around the board. To get close to being able to do that, I try to clear my head some before each match and go in fresh. Not trying to last-second remember any new moves I saw or think of some exotic fuseki.

Kind of like taking tests in college. I'd say "I know what I know and cramming just before probably won't help much", and usually come out OK if I'd prepared enough (not that day but the previous 1+ week (s)).

Bruce "Freakout" Young