A beginner's journal of little interest

[jts]

Getting flustered...

That's normal human response. Take a deep breath, wash your face, gather yourself, re-group, maybe take a sip of water, then continue.

Yeah, I think I've been playing too much turn based where one can simply walk away for a while after making a blunder. I need to learn to deal with it in real time.

I walk away after making a blunder online, too. Obviously your time is valuable in a real match, but getting yourself in the right frame of mind is one good use for it.

[Boidhre]

I walk away after making a blunder online, too. Obviously your time is valuable in a real match, but getting yourself in the right frame of mind is one good use for it.

Very true.

[Boidhre]

A crushing defeat. Including two rather severe blunders where I didn't notice my group had been put into atari and then didn't notice that he was filling liberties of a group in a capturing race. An off day to be sure. But I'm sure there's loads to criticise here.

We looked it after the game and we think the white right centre group could have died or been forced into a ko fight with me either killing the group or the top corner and top. Thoughts as always appreciated but since I posted so many games today feel free to ignore this one. Oh, and Alejandro is an EGF 7k.

[Sverre]

A crushing defeat. Including two rather severe blunders where I didn't notice my group had been put into atari and then didn't notice that he was filling liberties of a group in a capturing race. An off day to be sure. But I'm sure there's loads to criticise here.

The final position is quite interesting. Are you sure there is nothing Black can do in the upper right ?

[Boidhre]

A crushing defeat. Including two rather severe blunders where I didn't notice my group had been put into atari and then didn't notice that he was filling liberties of a group in a capturing race. An off day to be sure. But I'm sure there's loads to criticise here.

The final position is quite interesting. Are you sure there is nothing Black can do in the upper right ?

Gah, I can't believe I missed the hane at S19. Nevermind, I don't think that ko is that interesting.

Edit: Ah, connect and die. Very nice.

[Bill Spight]

Interesting game.

[Boidhre]

Interesting game.

Thanks Bill it'll take me while to go through all those. Alejandro says thank you as well.

[Bill Spight]

Interesting game.

Thanks Bill it'll take me while to go through all those. Alejandro says thank you as well.

De nada.

[Boidhre]

For what it's worth:

I'm finding Get Strong at Tesuji excellent at the moment. Combined with Tesuji by Davies, I can see why this combination is recommended so often. I'm beginning to spot moves in my games that I'd have never seen two or three weeks ago. Two books that will need to be read and reread over and over again I think.

Damn book collecting habits: I find myself already desiring books that I opted not to get in the last order.

[Boidhre]

Completed: Get Strong at Tesuji One Star Problems. I'd recommend these to any ddk stronger than 20k KGS.
Next: Get Strong at Tesuji One and Two Star Problems. The two star problems are aimed at 10k-5k, so they should make good reading practice for strong ddk players (i.e. 14k+).

My basic plan is to keep going through the one and two star problems while I read Tesuji by Davies. For variety I'm doing some of the easier problems in Get Strong at Life and Death and the Level 1 problems from Graded Go Problems for Beginners 3.

[Boidhre]

Rar, my brother has come onto KGS to play against me and is interested in going to the club.

[Boidhre]

Productive day today:

Some of Get Strong at Tesuji (2nd reading) done, a few problems from Attacking and Defending Moyos, two chapters of Attack and Defence, Some of Speed Baduk 7 done. Many games played with my brother to introduce him to the game.


Goals for the next week:

Finish Get Strong at Tesuji 1 and 2 star problems.
Finish Speed Baduk 7 first reading.

Is it obvious that I still find go problems fun?

No theory goals. I dip in and out of theory books as the mood takes me, which isn't very efficient but I don't think I'm at a level where theory hugely benefits me yet compared to doing problems which I can see having causing direct improvement in my play.


Impressions of Speed Baduk:

Good series. Good variety of problems. Everything from endgame, to opening, to haengma to tesuji. No. 7 is a good starting one for someone around my level (13k KGS). Loads of problems to drill in them and level tests at the end to check if you've internalised the information or need to go back and re-do the book again soon. Written by a professional go player with a Masters in Education, it's possibly one of the most well designed problem books I've read to date. He introduces a concept and then drills you on it with progressively harder problems. Then introduces a new concept and so on. Very much a problem drill book though, so if you dislike problems this might be your idea of hell!

Edit:

An explanatory note:

Why am I so productive some of the time yet so unproductive at other times? Well, first I'm human but second I've some form of bipolar. I'm in a small high at the moment so I've a ton of energy and focus to get things done. This is both a good and bad thing (trouble sleeping and mild overspending being the bad things). But it beats being depressed! So don't be surprised if I appear to be putting a stupid amount of effort into go at the moment, I'm high so I'm enthused with the world and everything is so much damn fun! But so long as it stays a small high (which is highly likely due to the pattern my illness follows) things will be fine.

[Boidhre]

Oh, (so many posts today but I felt this warranted a one all of its own!)

I have an official GOR and EGF rank: http://www.europeangodatabase.eu/EGD/Pl ... y=16413903

GOR 599: So a middling 15k. I finally feel ready to remove the beginner label from my user info.

[Boidhre]

I got suitably crushed by a 2k at the club. I left far too many weaknesses once the fighting started.

[EdLee]

Still basic shapes. Basic broken shapes.