Re: New tsume-go technique
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:46 pm
I'm revisiting this thread because Hiramoto has updated his own thoughts in the latest Go World (Feb 2015), and has given more details of what he calls the "Hiramoto Method". These extra details add quite a bit of insight into how he makes the process more effective than just visualising a go position in your head before you got to sleep and (if you can do that) trying to solve it in your head.
Two techniques stand out. One is to train your brain first with simple positions. One he shows is below:
The other technique is to make the tsumego positions memorable, and this is where Hiramoto's special skill comes in. His shtick is to create tsumego that depict kanji, letters or numbers, but with the important feature that he manages to do this without any redundant stones.
The latest GW has a large collection, ranging in difficulty from 9-kyu to dan level. You can download this latest issue via the Nihon Ki-in for a very small fee, and the supplement to this issue has all the problems (one for each letter a to z and one for each number 0-9) in easy to follow format. If you read Japanese there is also an article inside the actual issue. In this he says his method has met with a good critical reception, as a result of which various publications are planned.
Leaving aside the ulterior motive of the method, some problems are very unusual and nice simply as ordinary tsumegos.
Here are a couple of examples that do indeed seem very easy to visualise and memorise (solutions omitted, but by all means offer your own - hidden, of course). The first is the letter 'z' and is rated as 3-kyu.
The next problem is at least 5-dan level and is one he says he is especially pleased with.
An interesting comment he makes is that the grades he gives are for life and death only, and may not correspond to actual-game strength.
Two techniques stand out. One is to train your brain first with simple positions. One he shows is below:
The other technique is to make the tsumego positions memorable, and this is where Hiramoto's special skill comes in. His shtick is to create tsumego that depict kanji, letters or numbers, but with the important feature that he manages to do this without any redundant stones.
The latest GW has a large collection, ranging in difficulty from 9-kyu to dan level. You can download this latest issue via the Nihon Ki-in for a very small fee, and the supplement to this issue has all the problems (one for each letter a to z and one for each number 0-9) in easy to follow format. If you read Japanese there is also an article inside the actual issue. In this he says his method has met with a good critical reception, as a result of which various publications are planned.
Leaving aside the ulterior motive of the method, some problems are very unusual and nice simply as ordinary tsumegos.
Here are a couple of examples that do indeed seem very easy to visualise and memorise (solutions omitted, but by all means offer your own - hidden, of course). The first is the letter 'z' and is rated as 3-kyu.
The next problem is at least 5-dan level and is one he says he is especially pleased with.
An interesting comment he makes is that the grades he gives are for life and death only, and may not correspond to actual-game strength.
