Life In 19x19

I'm not a big fan of tsumego, and I mostly like to do tesuji because I find L&D to be too tedious. Regardless of the problem, I never spend more than a few minutes. My feeling after that is if I haven't been able to get it in a few minutes, then my reading is inefficient enough that I've in effect already gotten the problem wrong. It's like doing a math problem which you can't solve through the actual methods that you're supposed to use, but instead stumble upon the answer randomly.

lloydv wrote:

TominNJ wrote:I do think (for what it's worth) that looking at a problem on a board (actual or screen image) and going through the solution one move at a time better helps me internalize the sequences. It takes longer but I think it's more effective for me.

Everything I have read says that actually going through the pattern on a board is several times better than just reading from a book. They say that after a while your fingers will learn for you.

Just make sure you get the pattern right. I entered one problem then stared at it for a couple minutes and decided it was impossible. I flipped to the solution and saw that I had left a stone out. No wonder I couldn't solve it!

If you later (next day, next week) return to the problem you were unable to solve, it is likely that the solution will come in a glance.

I think this is good advice. Sometimes you can't solve a problem not because it's too difficult to read, but because you somehow didn't notice a lack of liberties or you looked at it in the wrong way. If it looks impossible after 3 min I go to the next problem. I try the problem I couldn't solve again next day and usually solve it pretty fast.

I seldom spend more than five minutes on a problem because I'm not that patient No idea if this is good or bad.

Sometimes I like to solve many easy problems very quickly (usually problems I've solved slowly a few months before).

Kirby wrote:I think it's personal preference. Get to the point where you really enjoy doing tsumego. Then the time you spend doesn't matter to you.

It is rare that I completly agree with Kirby, but this is the essence. We all have our opinions - some say do easy problems fast, some say do slightly hard problems and don't give up. Listen to people's advice, but do what keeps you doing it.

Because ultimately you MUST do problems, and you WON'T if you DON'T enjoy it.

Time spent not studying tsumego will be regretted, as Rick said to Ilsa - "Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life"

Horibe wrote:... Because ultimately you MUST do problems...

Why? I didn't ever put time aside to regularly do problems, and still haven't.

topazg wrote:Why? I didn't ever put time aside to regularly do problems, and still haven't.

Yeah and look at where your rank is stuck... Oh wait, hmm...

Helel wrote:

topazg wrote:

Horibe wrote:... Because ultimately you MUST do problems...

Why? I didn't ever put time aside to regularly do problems, and still haven't.

With the kind of solving frenzy you get into, regularity is probably out of the question.
(Yes, I'm thinking of GoChild. Awe inspiring! )

Hahaha, hem, yeah, ok, guilty as charged. That site is awesome.

Other than that, and the Graded Go Problems books I read on the train every now and again, and the occasional dabble with MFoG 10 go problems, what have Go Problems done for me?

Seriously though, I don't think people should ever feel obliged to force them into their routine, that's all

topazg wrote:

Helel wrote:

topazg wrote:
Why? I didn't ever put time aside to regularly do problems, and still haven't.

With the kind of solving frenzy you get into, regularity is probably out of the question.
(Yes, I'm thinking of GoChild. Awe inspiring! )

Hahaha, hem, yeah, ok, guilty as charged. That site is awesome.

Other than that, and the Graded Go Problems books I read on the train every now and again, and the occasional dabble with MFoG 10 go problems, what have Go Problems done for me?

Seriously though, I don't think people should ever feel obliged to force them into their routine, that's all

How did you get from 3k to 1d?! I must know!

Jedo wrote:How did you get from 3k to 1d?! I must know!

Absorbed stuff I guess. Watched the way professionals developed from familiar positions. Learned some josekis and tesujis. Changed my attitude to sente/gote. Read some really good Go books (Kageyema Fundamentals, Kageyama Handicap Go, Kajiwara Direction of Play, Kato Attack and Kill to name a few), and tried new things.

Practiced counting, practiced sacrificing things, reminded myself to always consider tenuki.

Played games against stronger people. Analysed the losses, remembered sequences where the stronger player deviated from what I would have done and stored for future use. Remembered little comments where people say "don't clamp here, hane here because this is sente and that's gote" and stored them for future reference.

Visited and revisited and revisited the fundamentals, things like staying ahead, one point jumps vs kinght's jumps, learned the value of capping and elephant jumps, learned weak points and aji points in shapes.

Lots of subconscious stuff I guess, just no study routines or problem sessions