I'm starting this journal as a low DDK--my guess is that I'm around 12K on KGS, though a few rating anomalies make it hard to declare my current rank with certainty. At this level, there are so many things I can improve that it can be hard to pick one. But like a game of Go, my life has time limits so I need to choose my approach to maximize efficiency. My current plan is simple: do at least 20 minutes of tsumego six days a week, and play a minimum of two games each week. I also plan to have at least one Go related book I am working through at any given time.
These are modest goals, to be sure, but it is important that I choose initial goals that are sustainable. And these are the lower boundaries on my time spent with Go; nothing but my own time and energy prevents me from going above and beyond. These goals are, however, chosen with intentionality.
For the time being, I plan to work on relatively easy tsumego. I would also prefer to get 25 minutes of consecutive practice. My reasons for focusing on easy, time-limited tsumego are as follows:
- Improve my reading ability. As a DDK this is probably my single biggest area for improvement.
- Improve my reading speed. It does me no good to be able to read out a hard problem in 10 minutes when I play games on KGS with a 20 minute time limit. When I move slowly, I enter byo-yomi earlier than my opponent and end up making poor moves because of time constraints. Also, even when I have plenty of time remaining I can find myself abandoning my reading and going with intuition because I sense that I am spending too long on a single move. Working on easy tsumego is an attempt to shore up my fundamentals so that I can play the simple moves that make up most of the game with confidence.
- Improve my reading stamina. It's easy to take turns off when playing Go, simply because the sustained mental effort is taxing. I hope to increase my stamina for reading by working on consecutive problems.
The reason for playing games should be obvious: the reason I study is for the game. If I don't play games, then my studying is for naught. It is also in the game itself that I can measure my improvement. Two games a week is not a lot, but it is a goal that I think I can sustain. And it is important to have some goal for playing games; I am the type of person who can easily get wrapped up in studying for its own sake.
Staying on the path is more important than hitting any particular landmark, but I'm hoping that I can improve at about one stone per month (e.g. I would like to be a steady 8k on KGS by the beginning of the summer). I think I'm at a spot in my Go where this is realistic, but if I don't improve this quickly I won't be discouraged.
I plan to use this space to monitor which tsumego I'm currently working on, post reviews of my own games, offer thoughts about the books I'm reading, and generally track my progress. I'd love to have you join me in my journey! A long walk is always better with companions.
But again, you are playing a kiema in the middle of the board. K8 would acomplish much the same thing, and it would be stronger.