captures directly the four stones, there is no ko.Ian Butler's Go Journal
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - More Life & Death!
Of coursejlt wrote:In your last variation,
That's the difference of things read out (earlier variations where white answers wrong) and variations by quickly clicking through them on cgoban
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dfan
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - More Life & Death!
Where is the facepalm smiley when you need it?dfan wrote:In this line: Can't White just recapture after?
Of course.
Thanks dfan and jlt for pointing out my mistakes!
One of the harder L&D in this collection for me for some reason 
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Bill Spight
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - More Life & Death!
The key piece of knowledge, it seems to me, is that capturing three stones in a row produces an eye.Ian Butler wrote:One of the harder L&D in this collection for me for some reason
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - More Life & Death!
2 comments about Go today:
1) TsumeGo!
There is something very rewarding about going back to a book you were struggling with less than 10 months ago and doing 150 problems in about 30 minutes, scoring 99% correct.
In case you are wondering, it's Graded Go Problems for Beginners 2. I'll be doing parts 3 and 4 of the book tomorrow, too, probably equally fast. Then back to GGPB 3, which will be a bit tougher. Hopefully this time I can make it all the way through and start GGPB 4.
Yes, tsumego pays off. But you don't notice your progression until you take a big step back and do problems that you were doing months ago, and you realize you see the answers sometimes instantly.
2) Improvement!
When you're open to it, Go can teach you a lot of things. While I try to let me Go teach me just about anything it can, I sometimes feel it fails. I can feel frustration when I play badly, or if I think I didn't progress a bit after such hard work... Sometimes I think: why can't I stay calm during a game? Etc Etc...
But then I also notice, wait a minute - these skills are actually improving a lot, but I notice it more with things not-go related.
I am a calmer person than I ever was. Even in my class room with 23 hitting-puberty students I almost never have to raise my voice, instead I treat them gently, calmly, smiling and - at times, when necessary - firm.
When I fail in things I set out to do, I more and more cease to feel frustration.
So where I'm "failing" in my Go, I succeed in life. I can't explain why this is, maybe because I focus my efforts so much on Go, it's harder to accept it, there, yet I'm training these skills enough anyway?
I don't need to explain it. Because it's working. For now, Go is improving me. Whether I'm improving my Go is another matter
Although I also have to say this probably has to do with other factors, too. My research into the teachings of the Buddha, for example. But I know Go plays an important part, too.
1) TsumeGo!
There is something very rewarding about going back to a book you were struggling with less than 10 months ago and doing 150 problems in about 30 minutes, scoring 99% correct.
In case you are wondering, it's Graded Go Problems for Beginners 2. I'll be doing parts 3 and 4 of the book tomorrow, too, probably equally fast. Then back to GGPB 3, which will be a bit tougher. Hopefully this time I can make it all the way through and start GGPB 4.
Yes, tsumego pays off. But you don't notice your progression until you take a big step back and do problems that you were doing months ago, and you realize you see the answers sometimes instantly.
2) Improvement!
When you're open to it, Go can teach you a lot of things. While I try to let me Go teach me just about anything it can, I sometimes feel it fails. I can feel frustration when I play badly, or if I think I didn't progress a bit after such hard work... Sometimes I think: why can't I stay calm during a game? Etc Etc...
But then I also notice, wait a minute - these skills are actually improving a lot, but I notice it more with things not-go related.
I am a calmer person than I ever was. Even in my class room with 23 hitting-puberty students I almost never have to raise my voice, instead I treat them gently, calmly, smiling and - at times, when necessary - firm.
When I fail in things I set out to do, I more and more cease to feel frustration.
So where I'm "failing" in my Go, I succeed in life. I can't explain why this is, maybe because I focus my efforts so much on Go, it's harder to accept it, there, yet I'm training these skills enough anyway?
I don't need to explain it. Because it's working. For now, Go is improving me. Whether I'm improving my Go is another matter
Although I also have to say this probably has to do with other factors, too. My research into the teachings of the Buddha, for example. But I know Go plays an important part, too.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - Succeed in life (fail at go!)
I played a 3H game against a KGS 9kyu.
I'm not used to playing handicap games, but I tried to make it work. My main focus was to dictate the pace, go for influence early on (not for territory) and see what'd happen.
In the end, I managed to build up an impressive middle, which black tried to invade without success. So I won the game.
However, I also made some weird mistakes in this game. I ascribe them to a combination of factors: low concentration (stomach flu...), relative quick pace of game, it's an online match, bit lazy in reading today.
Perhaps most of all laziness today. I wasn't up to a real, serious match today, and I took little time to read. Bad habit I'm trying to get rid off. Some days I manage better than others.
So not my best game tactically, but I think I make up for it with my strategy/whole-board-thinking today, where most of my "reading" or most of my attention went to this game.
Some of my bigger tactical mistakes:
White 33
White 73
White 129. I mean, what is that move?
White 137 I'm not sure off. I disconnect but it seems there are less dangerous alternatives.
White 141, better at J11?
White 153
Leela is very scared for white when white plays 157. Apparently there is some throw-in and ko, which neither of us saw. I played 157 to keep black disconnected.
White 169
White 201. I blunder completely here. For some reason I thought black 200 had set up a snapback. But it's not so, and I have no clue why I saw that wrong.
Worst part of it was: I continued to believe I couldn't take the D11 stone off the board, and I thought my group was caught! That explains the weird 205, 207 moves.
White 219
Anyway, like I said, not my best game, mostly because of laziness today, but also some mental blocks, like the odd "snapback". However, definitely not a game under perfect circumstances and it was a blitz game.
So to sum up easily for today:
Positives: strategy
Negatives: tactics
I'm not used to playing handicap games, but I tried to make it work. My main focus was to dictate the pace, go for influence early on (not for territory) and see what'd happen.
In the end, I managed to build up an impressive middle, which black tried to invade without success. So I won the game.
However, I also made some weird mistakes in this game. I ascribe them to a combination of factors: low concentration (stomach flu...), relative quick pace of game, it's an online match, bit lazy in reading today.
Perhaps most of all laziness today. I wasn't up to a real, serious match today, and I took little time to read. Bad habit I'm trying to get rid off. Some days I manage better than others.
So not my best game tactically, but I think I make up for it with my strategy/whole-board-thinking today, where most of my "reading" or most of my attention went to this game.
Some of my bigger tactical mistakes:
White 33
White 73
White 129. I mean, what is that move?
White 137 I'm not sure off. I disconnect but it seems there are less dangerous alternatives.
White 141, better at J11?
White 153
Leela is very scared for white when white plays 157. Apparently there is some throw-in and ko, which neither of us saw. I played 157 to keep black disconnected.
White 169
White 201. I blunder completely here. For some reason I thought black 200 had set up a snapback. But it's not so, and I have no clue why I saw that wrong.
Worst part of it was: I continued to believe I couldn't take the D11 stone off the board, and I thought my group was caught! That explains the weird 205, 207 moves.
White 219
Anyway, like I said, not my best game, mostly because of laziness today, but also some mental blocks, like the odd "snapback". However, definitely not a game under perfect circumstances and it was a blitz game.
So to sum up easily for today:
Positives: strategy
Negatives: tactics
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - More Life & Death!
Of course!Bill Spight wrote:The key piece of knowledge, it seems to me, is that capturing three stones in a row produces an eye.Ian Butler wrote:One of the harder L&D in this collection for me for some reason
Having re-discovered this knowledge consciously, I managed to solve another L&D easily the other day.
It's probably different for everyone, but for me Go is learning, re-learning, re-learning, re-learning... the same knowledge. The first time you learn something won't be enough. Only after you've "learned" it a 100 times, you might never forget it again.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - Succeed in life (fail at go!)
Some things (sequences, shapes...) I want to study, learn and possibly memorize in 2019:
- More 3-4 joseki. High approach pincer joseki, Low approach joseki.
- 4-4 double approach joseki, some variations
- Corner shapes. I'm playing CrazyStone regularly on small board and too many times has he turned some corner into a seki when I thought it was points. So I want to learn some of the corner shapes.
- More 3-4 joseki. High approach pincer joseki, Low approach joseki.
- 4-4 double approach joseki, some variations
- Corner shapes. I'm playing CrazyStone regularly on small board and too many times has he turned some corner into a seki when I thought it was points. So I want to learn some of the corner shapes.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - Succeed in life (fail at go!)
The Next Level!
In April 2019 I'm going to Germany for 2 weeks to go train Go. I've made the arrangements with the JIGS school in Jena, a new Go school which is doing its pilot year; I'll go for 2 weeks and receive lessons, teachings games, play games with other students there etc. The two main teachers there are Manja Marz and Youngsam Kim (EGF Rated #1 (as of January 2019)).
I hope this will take my Go playing to the next level. And in any case, it's bound to be an interesting experience, to surround myself with Go and Go-minded people for 2 weeks!
In April 2019 I'm going to Germany for 2 weeks to go train Go. I've made the arrangements with the JIGS school in Jena, a new Go school which is doing its pilot year; I'll go for 2 weeks and receive lessons, teachings games, play games with other students there etc. The two main teachers there are Manja Marz and Youngsam Kim (EGF Rated #1 (as of January 2019)).
I hope this will take my Go playing to the next level. And in any case, it's bound to be an interesting experience, to surround myself with Go and Go-minded people for 2 weeks!
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - studying in Germany
Played the first jubango game against jlt today. Next game is upcoming Sunday. Looking forward to it. 2h game, really time to think and do your best.
I did lose. I made a bad gamble and lost by almost 20 points, after trying to kill something, failing and allowing it to swallow up space that could've been territory for me. If I judge it correctly, I maybe lose by 10 pts or less.
jlt is 7 kyu OGS. And I really felt he is pretty strong. It makes me wonder how much stronger a Dan player is and reaching it seems tougher than ever before. Right now I can't see myself getting so much better that I'll ever win 10/10 against a 7 kyu.
I hope that's just an illusion, though maybe I need a lot more patience. Reaching 1 dan probably takes a few years at the least. Just hope I don't plateau too early!
Toughest to know is what I need to do to get stronger, though. I didn't feel any of my moves were really THAT bad. But probably some were.
Perhaps keep doing L&D will eventually pull through.
On the other hand, I don't play too much so it shouldn't surprise me that I'm not getting really stronger.
I did lose. I made a bad gamble and lost by almost 20 points, after trying to kill something, failing and allowing it to swallow up space that could've been territory for me. If I judge it correctly, I maybe lose by 10 pts or less.
jlt is 7 kyu OGS. And I really felt he is pretty strong. It makes me wonder how much stronger a Dan player is and reaching it seems tougher than ever before. Right now I can't see myself getting so much better that I'll ever win 10/10 against a 7 kyu.
I hope that's just an illusion, though
maybe I need a lot more patience. Reaching 1 dan probably takes a few years at the least. Just hope I don't plateau too early!Toughest to know is what I need to do to get stronger, though. I didn't feel any of my moves were really THAT bad. But probably some were.
Perhaps keep doing L&D will eventually pull through.
On the other hand, I don't play too much so it shouldn't surprise me that I'm not getting really stronger.
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Bill Spight
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - studying in Germany
Keep reviewing your games with Leela. Not to try to copy it, but to get to understand its suggestions.Ian Butler wrote:Toughest to know is what I need to do to get stronger, though. I didn't feel any of my moves were really THAT bad. But probably some were.
Perhaps keep doing L&D will eventually pull through.
On the other hand, I don't play too much so it shouldn't surprise me that I'm not getting really stronger.
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - studying in Germany
Thank you, Bill, I'll try to do that.
In that context:
Game review
Played an online game earlier today and won with +40 points. So a good victory, good for morale. Reviewing it with Leela, I tried to boil her suggestions down to 2 lessons.
1) Cut and connect.
This is the situation
Big move is obviously:
This cuts both groups. In the game, I let them connect too easily and that misses opportunities.
Later a similar situation.
Where to play?
This time, though, I thought about this move for a while. But there were many variations and it looked like it might turn into a nasty fight. I decided to play it more safe. But it's still not the correct thing to do, perhaps
Although the thing I end up doing, was Leela's 2nd favorite move, so not too bad after all!
2) Weak vs strong.
This is the position:
I was thinking of diving in that right side, but for some reason it looked too dangerous. I think that's a fallacy in my thinking and I need to rid myself of that. I had read out three moves.
I thought that was no good, because I have no base and I'm weak. But I need to learn that I'm not so weak because the two black stones in the upper left are also weak. Leela even suggests attaching to
for 
(attaching up top). There are possibilities and many of them I don't see. I see black as strong at the upper side, while there are still many things to be done. Perhaps 
in the game is very typical for me in that blindspot and is one of the worst moves in the game.
Other mistakes worth remembering
White 3 is a crude move, limiting my own liberties.
Actual game, for those interested.
In that context:
Game review
Played an online game earlier today and won with +40 points. So a good victory, good for morale. Reviewing it with Leela, I tried to boil her suggestions down to 2 lessons.
1) Cut and connect.
This is the situation
Big move is obviously:
This cuts both groups. In the game, I let them connect too easily and that misses opportunities.
Later a similar situation.
Where to play?
This time, though, I thought about this move for a while. But there were many variations and it looked like it might turn into a nasty fight. I decided to play it more safe. But it's still not the correct thing to do, perhaps
Although the thing I end up doing, was Leela's 2nd favorite move, so not too bad after all!
2) Weak vs strong.
This is the position:
I was thinking of diving in that right side, but for some reason it looked too dangerous. I think that's a fallacy in my thinking and I need to rid myself of that. I had read out three moves.
I thought that was no good, because I have no base and I'm weak. But I need to learn that I'm not so weak because the two black stones in the upper left are also weak. Leela even suggests attaching to
for (attaching up top). There are possibilities and many of them I don't see. I see black as strong at the upper side, while there are still many things to be done. Perhaps in the game is very typical for me in that blindspot and is one of the worst moves in the game.Other mistakes worth remembering
White 3 is a crude move, limiting my own liberties.
Actual game, for those interested.
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Bill Spight
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - studying in Germany
Divide and conquer!Ian Butler wrote:This is the situation
Big move is obviously:
This cuts both groups. In the game, I let them connect too easily and that misses opportunities.
This is not so obvious, but remember Bruce Wilcox's advice to cut sector lines.Later a similar situation.
Where to play?
This time, though, I thought about this move for a while. But there were many variations and it looked like it might turn into a nasty fight. I decided to play it more safe.
But it's still not the correct thing to do, perhaps
Although the thing I end up doing, was Leela's 2nd favorite move, so not too bad after all!
Yes, it is not just a question of his stone vs. your stone, but or the right side and top side, as well.
The top attachment for2) Weak vs strong.
This is the position:
I was thinking of diving in that right side, but for some reason it looked too dangerous. I think that's a fallacy in my thinking and I need to rid myself of that. I had read out three moves.
I thought that was no good, because I have no base and I'm weak. But I need to learn that I'm not so weak because the two black stones in the upper left are also weak. Leela even suggests attaching to
is a tesuji to remember. The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins
Visualize whirled peas.
Everything with love. Stay safe.
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Ian Butler
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Re: Ian Butler's Journal - studying in Germany
This week I studied less than the previous weeks, also did less Pro Games study. The reason can be found in my work situation, which asked a lot of energy of me this week.
But on the other hand, I have played 2 games this week, and will play a third one Sunday (second Jubango match), which for some might not be much, but for me is very good!
Because at the moment the urge to play is greater than the "fear" or anxiety I feel by playing online. It's a major thing for me, since I suffer from that anxiety heavily at times. But right now there are more days when the urge to play is great enough to overcome it.
It's just so much fun to play Go. Even online, creating a unique game is so wonderful.
In the Go club at my school, I played my collegue today, I gave him 5 stones handicap. Last week, we did the same and I had beat him with about +15 points, so it was actually rather close-ish.
Today, I was more aggressive and he made a few more mistakes and the game was +35 points in my favor.
My recurring theme from the past weeks (having my corners turned into seki!) also came up in that game, where I turned 2 corners of my collegue into seki. This time, me being the "annoying invader". One time it shouldn't have worked and it was a slight overplay.
The other one was actually killed off, but I showed him (it was his first time seeing seki) how he could make it a seki and what a seki is, and we decided to leave the corner a seki, instead of it being dead like I had made it.
I also played an online game just now. Against an opponent 4 stones weaker, but we played a 2 stone handicap game. Because I still feel uncomfortable playing handicap. Maybe that is not justified, because I win by quite some margin. Not my best game, but at Friday evening I just wanted to relax a little
You can also see that at the time settings. A game of almost 300 moves, both players using less than 15 minutes. This thing went fast
The main reason I share this game is because of the lower left corner. I needlessly make it a ko, potentially very heavy for black. Instead of atari, I should just kosumi and then I live unconditionally.
Living on the edge!
But on the other hand, I have played 2 games this week, and will play a third one Sunday (second Jubango match), which for some might not be much, but for me is very good!
Because at the moment the urge to play is greater than the "fear" or anxiety I feel by playing online. It's a major thing for me, since I suffer from that anxiety heavily at times. But right now there are more days when the urge to play is great enough to overcome it.
It's just so much fun to play Go. Even online, creating a unique game is so wonderful.
In the Go club at my school, I played my collegue today, I gave him 5 stones handicap. Last week, we did the same and I had beat him with about +15 points, so it was actually rather close-ish.
Today, I was more aggressive and he made a few more mistakes and the game was +35 points in my favor.
My recurring theme from the past weeks (having my corners turned into seki!) also came up in that game, where I turned 2 corners of my collegue into seki. This time, me being the "annoying invader". One time it shouldn't have worked and it was a slight overplay.
The other one was actually killed off, but I showed him (it was his first time seeing seki) how he could make it a seki and what a seki is, and we decided to leave the corner a seki, instead of it being dead like I had made it.
I also played an online game just now. Against an opponent 4 stones weaker, but we played a 2 stone handicap game. Because I still feel uncomfortable playing handicap. Maybe that is not justified, because I win by quite some margin. Not my best game, but at Friday evening I just wanted to relax a little
You can also see that at the time settings. A game of almost 300 moves, both players using less than 15 minutes. This thing went fast
The main reason I share this game is because of the lower left corner. I needlessly make it a ko, potentially very heavy for black. Instead of atari, I should just kosumi and then I live unconditionally.
Living on the edge!