One of the fun things about getting to play go on the internet is the fact that you have a lot of opponents to play with. While that is great in a lot of aspects, I used to always get the itch to rematch with opponents so that I could see if I got any better. Call it a grudge if you will, but for me it’s usually more of a curiosity than anything else.

Lo and behold, I was granted the opportunity to play against an opponent that I had previously lost to before. When I last played this guy, I lost practically every single fight that I got into. So in hindsight, I think I just wanted to reclaim some of my honor and dignity. =)

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Just played against a 6k with a 6 stone handicap (which should have been 8 might I add) and lost due to a misclick. hangs head in shame Words can barely describe how blown I feel right now…. so incredibly blown… On the upside though, this may be one of my more interesting games since I managed to hang in there even though I was supposed to given two more stones. Check out the kifu to see my epic fail.

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So I played my first teaching game on KGS today. It was a pretty quick game with a 3-dan who UTTERLY demolished me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched my shapes get cut up into tiny little pieces and get swallowed up whole by Leviathan. Don’t even want to think about what it would be like to play a pro right now…. head explodes

Anyhow, here is the following onslaught. The 3-dan has an interesting idea called: One Point Teaching Game. At first I was like do I pay him a point or something…. but then it became clear to me at the end. He gives one solid point for the player to work on. BRILLIANT! Considering weak players are being pulled five millions different directions at once (e.g. life and death, tesuji, opening theory, etc.), it’s nice to have one solid thing to focus on.

So I’m sure the question then is, what was my one point lesson for today?

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So I think this is my first official Saturday post in terms of posting a game and giving an overview as to my progress. Last night I visited the GWGC, but it was relatively uneventful… just a friendly sparring match with my cousin. For him, go is far more of a recreational activity. So I tried to give him four stones, but that wasn’t not enough of a handicap. Oh well, we’ll try six stones next time.

In terms of Go study, that’s kind of been slowed down a bit. Job hunt and school are taking a lot more of my time these days (which it should =D), but I’ve tried to play at least one to two games a day. Today I played one against an 18k, but it was utter destruction. Unless people would like me to post it up, I’ll post the second game I played yesterday against a 11kyu. It was more or less speed Go for me since I only had 10 min main time. He loss on time, but it’d be nice to get some commentaries on whether I would’ve been able to actually win. Cheers!

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So last night I had some unexpected bro-time. It was great to be able to end class and head over to hangout with Nate and discuss philosophy, theology, and then one of the most intense games I’ve ever played so far. Man… here’s to you Nate. That was an awesome game. (Unfortunately, I do not have the game record; so lessons learned for next time!)

Now I’ve talked to Josh recently, and he suggested that I try to play two games a day and play people who are stronger then me without giving the handicap (in order to raise my rank higher). So interestingly enough, I decided to give it a shot against a 10 kyu. I have not had time to comment on my moves yet, but you’ll see about two to three areas where I’m literally one step short of winning the capture race. What does this mean? Clearly I did not read it out far enough. Enjoy bashing away at my very sad game…

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So I didn’t think that game really was a good game for people to overview in terms of skill. I decided to play another game (against my better judgment). Here is an even game where the opponent requested an undo at three different occasions. They were blatant self-ataris, so against my normal policy I let him undo them. I did make one mistake and misread an atari and loss a group. Sticking with solid play and solid fundamentals let me win the game. He made a number of errors which I took advantage of, so perhaps the game might not have been a win for me. Enjoy.

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So I just played against an 11k? and I have to say it was quite an unusual game. He essentially did four 3-3 invasions, and then attempted to stir fights. Now I don’t know if it’s simply because my estimated strength on KGS is no longer accurate, but I really felt like I should’ve been giving him 4 stones. He failed to make life for his groups three out of four times. I think that’s highly irregular for someone who’s potentially in the 11kyu range. I also checked out his rank graph, and it looks NUTS! I don’t get the progression considering the number of games he played. It’s not like he dominated every opponent.

Anyhow, here’s my game. Some moves are admittedly slow and not quite efficient, but I was happy to play a very solid game where I minimized cutting points and maximized on his. He essentially waited till the end and resigned. >.< The score would have been +253.5 in my favor. sigh… In terms of overall reading, I think I did alright this time. Nothing glaring that I particularly regret. That being said… knock on wood…. enjoy the game.

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I’m back and excited to be back. So I played my first game on KGS this morning. I have to say it’s quite an ugly game. I despise a number of my moves and misreads. So just keep that in mind when you look at it. In terms of why I’m posting it, it’s to just serve as a reminder to myself and others how different application of principles in your play is different than practicing. One thing is for sure though, I did not let myself lose my composure when I made those mistakes. And since that was one of my main goals, I’m glad I could play well enough to come out with a half point komi win. =D

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So it looks like me trying to finish Basic Techniques of Go is going to be overly ambitious, but that’s okay. I think I’m in good shape to finish up the other two by tomorrow, and I’m happy with that result. I know that there are those who were skeptical of my one week hiatus since the number one advice for improving (in general) is getting experience by playing games.

My reason for going against that advice is that Zhang Yunqi once said that go required “the tactic of the soldier, the exactness of the mathematician, the imagination of the artist, the inspiration of the poet, the calm of the philosopher, and the greatest of intelligence.” In other literature I’ve read, I’ve also heard that Go is 98% patience.

Over this week, I’ve spent a lot of time working on my “calm of the philosopher.” I know that it’s not a simple project that can be perfected in a short amount of time, but I think that I’ve gotten somewhere. In addition to the reading and training I’ve been doing, I’ve done a lot of introspection and meditation as well. I know people may think that this may seem a bit much for “a game,” but one of the most attractive points about Go is the fact that it is a game about self-improvement.

A person never truly stands still. We either move forward or move backward, like a raft trying to work its way upstream. I believe I can find the way to my own growth through this game, and I will use my utmost efforts in that pursuit.

So I apologize to those who keep up with this blog to check out my games and progress, but don’t worry… only three more days of this hiatus. I’m training like there is no tomorrow. Thoroughly enjoying reading Lessons in Fundamentals of Go though. What an amusing writer, my favorite so far is when he references the concept of a single stone invading the opponent’s territory and how it is analogous to the lone hero walking into the enemy base and destroying like forty opponents… as a martial arts fan…. I can so relate. =D