My week in numbers (was "Tiny steps towards shodan")

[Abyssinica]

My NGA game was on Friday, and I saw a remarkable improvement of play (Namii also pointed this.) I was making reasonable plans and ploys and played a decent fuseki (or at least got no fast remarks on IRC about my fuseki, the full review is still not ready.) I can trace at least 2 moments to my Anki training. Soon before ending the fuseki and getting into real middle game, my opponent had a cut, one I may have overlooked before, seeing it as unplayable or just simply being oblivious to it. I had been pincered, instinctively jumped and the next move I focused on the cut, instantly saw the possibility of playing an angle play to cut, then read the cut and saw it worked, so cut there. In the past, I may have ignored the cut, or just cut, not check several local interesting options (if you know what I mean.)

But a Spanish saying goes "Una flor no hace primavera" (Just a flower does not mean it's already spring) so I still quite a lot more games where I feel "decent" to be able to know I have improved.

I would like to see this cut.

[RBerenguel]

Black to play and cut. Straightforward enough. Before playing the cut though I did a forcing sequence on the right-center (hence the numbers there) so I wouldn't need to worry that much about that group. Not so long ago I would have missed the opportunity and just focused on making the group live and nothing else.

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[SoDesuNe]

I know amateurs shouldn't check his games and yadda yadda, [...]

Say whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

:D Haven't you heard this one before? "Don't study Go Seigen's games because they make no sense"

No, never heard it ^^

[RBerenguel]

Can't find a quote source now, but I've seen it several times in different places... Anyway, ignoring it

[RBerenguel]

This week:

• Played no games (aside from NGA)
• "20 hours"-19hours for Cho-1: ~60 minutes (real time for 30-day period:
• 143-136 for LCH-1: 7 minutes
  Total: 67' (1h 7 min)

Also replayed 4 more Go Seigen games on a real goban.

Daily review times are still shrinking, but this week I had a severe case of "who cares" mixed with being extremely tired. So, I was doing my reviews late or not doing them at all, in fact, the past 4 days I have done no reviews. Still, the review counts are low and I can catch up just today, summing all my decks (go and non-go) I have barely 120 cards to study today.

This week I played 3 NGA games, losing one of them. I feel I played pretty well in all of them, I felt a sharpness and sense of knowing what I'm doing that I was usually lacking. Maybe Namii is right and the Ironman training worked.

But made the mother of all game-losing blunders in the one I lost. Had gone for a moyo game (well, kept options open and it kind of appeared) while chasing an eyeless group of my opponent. Had a cutting sequence read out, cut, and then realised I was just short of a liberty after playing it out, so I saw my cutting "lump" as dead, moyo disappears and I had "no points" (didn't really estimate and I don't want to look at the game right now, but it was probably 30 down not counting dead cutting piece). Read it several times, no way, it's just dead. Resigned (this was just move 130 or so, but I essentially had most of the points in the wannabe-moyo and some in corner or sides, but my opponent had solid sides and corners, no way to attack them or invade any more, actually, to chase better this group I had attacked another close, weak group to cut escape possibilities). Just after resigning my opponent shows me how my cutting lump actually could totally cut his own group (because it had 1 liberty more than a close-by escaping lump of his,) thus granting me the center, thickness and a good deal of captured stones. Still kicking myself after this, because the game felt pretty good except for this.

I could blame tiredness (it was the second NGA game on Friday afternoon after a long day of work) but I can't: it was a very easy sequence. I had done more complex stuff during the game, and missing this one feels like missing killing a bulky five.

[EdLee]

Hi RB, what is NGA and what was the time control ?

[RBerenguel]

Hi RB, what is NGA and what was the time control ?

Hi Ed, NGA is the Nordic Go Academy, of which I'm a student (for the past 2 years or so) and PR helper (for the past 3 months.) You can find more info on "their" post on teacher advertising forum.

Time settings for NGA games is minimum 30 min+5x30" byoyomi. If players agree, time can be larger. Games (except for games which are part of the tournament we play in) are even games with nigiri, for the tournament, reverse komi is used. I usually play at this pace, though, only occasionally when playing someone who usually has a lot of time trouble I may add some time to his clock/play with larger settings. Problem is, I make a lot of stupid moves during the beginning of the game, I have a lot of trouble focusing (i.e. taking my time to decide where to move, and avoid switching windows) until the game gets somewhat heated up (and usually, by then, my unfocused opening has left me already 20 points down.)

[EdLee]

and avoid switching windows

Thanks, RB, for the info. You mean it's an online tourney ?

Have you tried longer time controls for yourself ? More than 60 minutes initial time (the US Open is 90 minutes initial time, at least),
or an average of more than 90 seconds per move (for example, Canadian 30 minutes per 20 moves, or slower) ?

[RBerenguel]

and avoid switching windows

Thanks, RB, for the info. You mean it's an online tourney ?

Have you tried longer time controls for yourself ? More than 60 minutes initial time (the US Open is 90 minutes initial time, at least),
or an average of more than 90 seconds per move (for example, Canadian 30 minutes per 20 moves, or slower) ?

Yes, it's online, part of the monthly competition we have. Longest time setting I have ever played (IIRC) is 60 minutes at the Barcelona tournament. I don't think I could bear this amount of time, online. In real life it is somewhat awkward to take out my iPad and start working/reading from my pending list, but online "no-one is watching except yourself," so if I'm pressed from work or I remember all the stuff I have pending to read (and my opponent is slow) I too easily change windows and do something else until I heard the stone sound from their move. Usually by move 80 or 90 I am back to the game (more or less) but the first 30 moves or so are quite "out"

[EdLee]

I too easily change windows and do something else

See also recent thread about discipline.

When I play my serious games online, I always set a slowish time control.
I sit on the floor, cross legged. My physical Go set is in front of me (table board propped up to floor-board height).
I relay my moves and my opponent's on the nearby computer,
but otherwise, 99% of the time I'm looking at the physical board, just like I'm playing face to face.
No difference.

Discipline is in your mind.

[RBerenguel]

My spectrum of concentration/focus/discipline is very varied. I can as easily log a 10+ hour programming/research binge as I can sit in the sofa and read through all my pending stuff while watching TV. I don't think I'm worse when playing go, it's just that it is easily magnified: a slack move caught by the opponent can easily mean loss. Actually, yesterday's win should probably have been a loss. I carelessly played a gote move (I was unfocused and my neighbour's relative and his kid were playing with a soccer ball just beside my window... lovely small town issues) while entering late middle game, luckily my opponent played a gote of his own and I kept sente. But it could have easily turned a relatively easy win (+15 with sente) to a loss.

I actually like this idea of relaying moves to the board, I have to try it (except for the cross-legged part, my right knee can't bear it for long enough.) I'll try in my next game!

[EdLee]

a slack move caught by the opponent can easily mean loss.

Yes. It's one common element Go shares with things like F1 racing, speed skiing, golf, etc.:
very high precision, very low tolerance for mistakes.

except for the cross-legged part

Entirely personal. You can have your set and computer on a table and sit normally in a chair.

I forget how long I've been playing my serious online games like this...
maybe since 2007 or 2008 ? Earlier ? I hope I wrote it down in the SGF's...

[RBerenguel]

a slack move caught by the opponent can easily mean loss.

Yes. It's one common element Go shares with things like F1 racing, speed skiing, golf, etc.:
very high precision, very low tolerance for mistakes.

except for the cross-legged part

Entirely personal. You can have your set and computer on a table and sit normally in a chair.

I forget how long I've been playing my serious online games like this...
maybe since 2007 or 2008 ? Earlier ? I hope I wrote it down in the SGF's...

xD I guess I can add some funky UTF character as a comment after greeting my opponent, something like ⌹ for "playing on goban" (this one is quick to generate for me because it's an APL character and I have a quick command to switch keyboard layout from ES.ES to APL+ES (which is a personal modification on normal APL.) It's technically known as "domino," but it has lines and dots...

[RBerenguel]

A little late weekly post (I was away without connection.) I took a screenshot on my iPad so I could update the numbers, but somehow the numbers for LCH don't make any sense.

This week:

• Played no games (aside from NGA)
• "21 hours"-20hours for Cho-1: ~60 minutes
• ¿¿?? for LCH-1: ~10 minutes
  Total: ~70' (1h 10 min)

I have also added a new deck, where I'm adding data when I have enough time: Corner and side shapes. I'm using Sensei's to create the cards, and you can get it from here.

It's still a work in progress, though (I have only added the L and L+1 groups so far.) The idea is to have in a question-answer format all the basic corner shapes (L, J, tripod, not sure yet about carpenter square, others) and most common side shapes (6 die, 7 depends, 8 live, etc.) The questions are usually "status," (where the answer is a word AND one or two diagrams) and how to kill/live in case of a mistake from the opponent.

I'm also working on a personal deck (for now.) Since my fuseki direction is lacking, I'm trying an exercise lately with the pro games I'm replaying. At move 5 I think of the next move, direction wise. Then I assign myself a score depending on move frequency in GOGOD (A is best, as in most frequent, then goes down until X which is total failure) I do this with 5-6 moves or so, avoiding common josekis (so, if an answer is a tsuke-hiki, only the tsuke counts.) Then I assign a numeric score (A=1, B=2, etc) and average over the number of moves.

If I get something worse than E or G, I create a card, similar to this:

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For now, I don't think too much of the reasoning behind why this approach and not another (as long as some pro has played some other approach, I don't think it's even a question I can ponder,) but try to at least grasp the correct direction, which for me is very lacking currently. If there is some interest, I can also share this deck.

[RBerenguel]

This week I'll put times for all my go-related decks.

• Played 4 blitz (2-2)
• (visually checked bars for past 7 days in graph) for Cho-1: ~47 minutes
• (idem) for LCH-1: ~7 minutes
• DBT: ~9 minutes
• Basic Corner Shapes: ~30 minutes
• Go-From reviews: ~24 minutes
• Go "proverbs": 3 minutes
• OTME: ~6 minutes
• "Pro fuseki": ~10 minutes
• Cho-2: 7 minutes

Total: ~143' (2h 23 min)

Also replayed 8 pro games (keeping up from the 80s and last game from Honinbo), which made up part of my "Pro fuseki" deck.

Outside Anki stuff, I skimmed over Easy Learn Joseki looking for a joseki and quickly checked many BGJ issues for interesting stuff. Still wondering if I should use the very interesting material about carpenter square that is there for Basic Corner Shapes (basically because the CS is not "basic" at all.)

And read quite a bit of stuff about improvement, psychology, deliberate practice and etc, I had already been doing it for a while and Knotwilg's post has strengthened it somewhat.