Archive: 8/2012

Losing a Won Game

In my experience thus far, one of the most difficult things to swallow is losing a won game. And let me tell you, boy did I royally screw this one up.

The thing that makes this kind of loss worse is the fact that you know it’s entirely your fault. There’s no ifs and or buts to be said about it. Unlike other games where a slightly slower reaction time can make the difference or luck comes into play, Go is purely about your inner strength and ability to make the right decision.

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Return to ASR League

For my debut back in the ASR League, I am slightly embarrassed to report that my return to the stage was far less than spectacular. It’s not so much that I played terribly, it’s just that I ended up fighting out a ko battle that was very good for my opponent.

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Blog Redesign

For those who are new or still following, a lot of my reviews and links are currently outdated at the moment. In other words, some products that I reviewed are no longer for sale, some stores are no longer selling go equipment, all my old kifu’s are broken, etc.

Fear not however! I will be working hard these next couple weeks to completely redesign the blog for your reading enjoyment and so that this blog will continue to be a great source of reference for you or anyone you know looking to play go.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below so I can consider it in the redesign!

Go Game Sabbatical

So I’ve started reading my go books again, and I did not realize how poorly I’ve been playing lately. As a result, I’m taking a break from online games (once again) because I’ve only been reinforcing really poor playing habits.

At first I was troubled as to why I was still a DDK, but it does not surprise me any longer. It’s time for me to undergo some serious training.

Go ability transformation here I come!

UPDATE: So I noticed I tend to get overly frustrated and then determine to take a “sabbatical” only to find myself playing again the next day. Thus, scratch that idea, it’s just time to play better.

Still DDK...

Credit to Empty Triangle

So it seems that even though a lot of time has passed, my rank on KGS still seems to be the same as when I left. It’s not so much that I’m slightly concerned that time has not marinated my abilities or anything, but maybe I just need to give it more time.

It seems that my playing lately has been extremely centered on fighting. Kill. Kill Kill. I feel as if the empty triangle devil is much stronger than the angel. Haha.

In order to see whether my hypothesis on my self-destructive tendencies in go hold true, I will be adhering to the following three principles:

  1. Unless I am playing someone I know or am challenged by someone, I will no longer go out to play random online ranked games for the sake of playing.

  2. I will now focus on my patience in the game by training through absolute reading for every single go problem I do.

  3. If I am playing a game, I will read at least 3 moves ahead and determine whether or not the board position is favorable to myself before simply jumping in on impulse.

Let’s see how this goes…

I am back.

That’s right. Lo and behold. I have emerged from my hermit hole away from the go world and have now returned! Looking forward to posting here again. Be sure to leave a comment if you’re still following or still play go!