Life In 19x19

Hello, it's me again. Losing by 0.5 is quite rare in my experience. I think I can count on one hand the amount of times it's happened. As a matter of fact, I think I can actually count the number of games I've played that have been decided by 0.5, win or lose.

Last night I lost two straight games by half a point. I was more stunned than anything else because it's rare to lose a game by such margin, and yet I accomplished that feat twice.

Long after the games were played I was able to appreciate the results.

So, my question is: Is this really strange or is it just me?

I've had half point games before, occasionally a few in a row. They're uncommon, but not really rare. Also, I think the higher up you get, the more likely they become when playing someone of even strength.

hailthorn011 wrote:Is this really strange or is it just me?

Don't mean to put a damper on the your cool (or should I say 'not cool'?) experience...

But even though losing by 0.5 is quite rare, the fact that it happened twice in a row is not strange. Coincidences happen all the time. We only tend to notice 'unusual' things when they actually happen. We don't tend to notice all the times coincidences don't happen.

Now if you had predicted "I am going to lose the next two games by 0.5" and then it happened, it would be something much more remarkable.

Were you playing black or white? If you were black then it would have been a perfect game for both players. If you were white you should have tried one stone harder .

Seriously though, I think any game that comes down to komi or less is a great game for both players. You should be congratulated for playing such close games.

Redbeard wrote:Were you playing black or white? If you were black then it would have been a perfect game for both players. If you were white you should have tried one stone harder .

Seriously though, I think any game that comes down to komi or less is a great game for both players. You should be congratulated for playing such close games.

Thank you. I can appreciate that. Both times I was black. Though I can hardly call them perfect games. lol

Kiai wrote:I've had half point games before, occasionally a few in a row. They're uncommon, but not really rare. Also, I think the higher up you get, the more likely they become when playing someone of even strength.

I guess because I'm still a lowly DDK, this is so odd to me. You're probably right though. It might become more of a norm as I advance through level. But I'm terrible in close games. Dunno why.

hailthorn011 wrote:

Redbeard wrote:Were you playing black or white? If you were black then it would have been a perfect game for both players. If you were white you should have tried one stone harder .

Seriously though, I think any game that comes down to komi or less is a great game for both players. You should be congratulated for playing such close games.

Thank you. I can appreciate that. Both times I was black. Though I can hardly call them perfect games. lol

It's the old "nobody's perfect"-thing. But I am very sure you can call it a GOOD GAME, then it was worth the time no matter what!

I've had a fair number of half-point games. In fact, I think the best games are the ones decided by a half point.

I once played a four hour game at go club (it took the whole night, we put a clock on it near the end so we could finish it). Both players had massive kills, there were epic ko fights, et cetera. It ended up being a .5 point game.

hailthorn011 wrote:Hello, it's me again. Losing by 0.5 is quite rare in my experience. I think I can count on one hand the amount of times it's happened. As a matter of fact, I think I can actually count the number of games I've played that have been decided by 0.5, win or lose.

Last night I lost two straight games by half a point. I was more stunned than anything else because it's rare to lose a game by such margin, and yet I accomplished that feat twice.

Losing by 0.5 is no more rare than losing by 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 or any other individual number (up to a point where we'd expect our opponent to resign). You just notice it more when it happens, because it's so close. Start remembering the games where you lost by, say, 4.5 and compare.

I get extremely excited when a game got so close - I would love to say "gets", but I am still too bad in counting, so most of the time I get aware of it in the end.

Funny, after reading this thread yesterday, I won a game by .5 - the first one in well, a long time ^^

daniel_the_smith wrote:I once played a four hour game at go club (it took the whole night, we put a clock on it near the end so we could finish it). Both players had massive kills, there were epic ko fights, et cetera. It ended up being a .5 point game.

That sounds like a very fun game. I'm guessing you don't have the kifu? I'd love to see that game! lol

LordYunzi wrote:

hailthorn011 wrote:

Redbeard wrote:Were you playing black or white? If you were black then it would have been a perfect game for both players. If you were white you should have tried one stone harder .

Seriously though, I think any game that comes down to komi or less is a great game for both players. You should be congratulated for playing such close games.

Thank you. I can appreciate that. Both times I was black. Though I can hardly call them perfect games. lol

It's the old "nobody's perfect"-thing. But I am very sure you can call it a GOOD GAME, then it was worth the time no matter what!

This is very true.

hailthorn011 wrote:

daniel_the_smith wrote:I once played a four hour game at go club (it took the whole night, we put a clock on it near the end so we could finish it). Both players had massive kills, there were epic ko fights, et cetera. It ended up being a .5 point game.

That sounds like a very fun game. I'm guessing you don't have the kifu? I'd love to see that game! lol

Hm, actually I may have recorded part of it on my iPad, I'll have to check...