Commented Games by Lee Sedol: Volume 2 - Dream to Be the Best

Description: Described as many as the Korean version of Invincible, this series contains some of the most detailed commentaries that I have read thus far. In addition, it is evident that Lee Sedol 9P and Lee Sena have worked work to make the content accessible to both that beginner and intermediate players as well. This book not only goes into Lee Sedol’s thought on go strategy and his thoughts on the moves that occur; but also talks about his feelings and mental state during each game along with anecdotes from his journey to being one of the strongest go players in the world.

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Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been making it a habit to head out to the local Starbucks to remove myself from the distractions of being in the apartment (aka putting on shows on Netflix or rewatching Hikaru no Go for the five millionth time). And overall I have to say that I definitely enjoy and look forward to these study sessions.

I have half a mind to design a little billboard for myself with a welcoming message for people to ask me about go when I’m sitting at the table with my board and stones. I saw a number of customers walk by looking onwards at the board a few times, but I was in no position to really teach them at the moment. So in the future I think I may create me a some portable materials to setup a “booth” and allow interested people to ask me about the game and learn about it.

Other than that, it’s been a pretty productive session. So far, I’ve played one game, finished _Get Strong at Invading _and _Commented Games by Lee Sedol Volume 2 _(so be sure to look for those reviews soon), and am hoping to get a bit more work done on _Get Strong at Tesuji _and Jump Level Up 2. Anyhow, that’s all for this random post! Till next time!

Friday Go Forward: Week 33

Overview

This has been pretty hectic in regards to work and life in general; but for some reason I still managed to convince myself that I needed to increase the scope of my training to be far more vigorous. So as you’ll notice below, the regimen has spiked quite significantly. And the fun part of all of this is that the training regimen is still far from complete. xD Anyhow, for now I think it will be enough if I manage to survive my training regimen without burning out. Once I’ve gotten acclimated to it, then I will be looking for ways to improve it once again. Hope you all have had a good week!

Games

• KGS - 5 games
• Tygem - 5 games
• DGS - 1 ongoing game
• Nova - 2 ongoing games

Daily Training

• Life & Death Routine (Magic Baduk Go on iPhone)

  • 300 Beginner Problems -
  • 50 Intermediate Problems
  • 25 Advanced Problems
  • 10 Expert Problems

• 10 Pages of Jump Level Up 2

• 25 Problems from the Get Strong at Go Series.
• Play at least one game per day.

Reading Material

• Working on Commented Games by Lee Sedol - Volume 2.
• Working on Get Strong at Invading.
• Working on Jump Level Up 2.
• Started working on Get Strong at Tesuji.

After I got back from boxing last night, I was pretty much wiped out. The funny thing about me is that no matter how tired I am though, it seems that I somehow manage to find the energy and motivation to do something go related. So I decided to check out my first episode of a BadukTV English game review of Lee Changho 9P vs. Lee Sedol 9P.

For those who aren’t aware of the popularity of go in the rest of the world, there are actual television channels that are ENTIRELY dedicated to go. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would love it if we had something equivalent here in the Western world. Unfortunately though, go has not yet risen to that level of popularity. On the upside though, pioneers like GoGamGuru and BadukTV have taken the first big step to bringing us one step closer to that dream.

Here is the video that I watched last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCBHI_lNgXI&list=PLq69jNwwOmf-Lkbyny1HwiRUKMg6uuFo2

Since I had never watched a TV episode dedicated entirely to go (excluding Hikaru no Go), I was a little nervous that I might get bored or that I would be unable to gain anything from it. Contrary to my fears however, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Though many complain about the co-host interrupting often and saying “Yes” all the time, you have to be conscious of the fact that the English is clearly not her first language and that chances are pretty good that her mannerisms derive from Korean culture. So with that in mind, I was able to look past it rather easily and just enjoy all the marvelous go.

For those who enjoyed the video above or would like to find out more about where you can watch more episodes like this, check out GoGameGuru’s BadukTV to get access to more BadukTV that is accessible to English speakers!

As many of you are aware, I recently started a discipline of playing at least one game a day. And while I am happy to report that I have been keeping up with it, it occurred to me that there are many people out there who would probably like to attempt something similar; but decide not to due to assuming that it would be too “time consuming.” So, I thought that I would go ahead and write about my experience on finding time for one game a day.

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Get Strong at Joseki 3

Description: In the fourth volume of the Get Strong at Go Series, Bozulich and Kazunari familiarizes the reader with 10 josekis that commonly occur around the star point, how to handle them in regards to their variations, choosing the correct joseki given the whole board, and how to play after the joseki is completed. A great book for players who want a better grasp on joseki as a whole.

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Today has been full of epicness, an incredible milestone, and a hilarious video by BadukMovies.

To start, I am ecstatic to announce that I beat a 3 dan in an even game as White on Tygem!!!!!

That’s right. Even. 6.5 komi. And I won by 9.5 points. AHHHH!!!!!! (I know it was probably a fluke, but still, a true victory against a dan player in an even game. WOOO!!!!!!!!)

_Below is the game for your enjoyment, but I haven’t had time to add comments to it yet. I’ll be sure to add it to the list of future Monday Go Meditations. _

UPDATE: The kifu has been updated so that only one variation exists in the file. I didn’t realize I left a stray variation in the last one.

That awesomeness aside. I also got to play rengo against sensei and also got a chance to play fellow friends Bonscott and teafree. Overall a pretty awesome and epic day. And as if this news wasn’t not exciting enough, I bestow upon you an awesome video by BadukMovies. It’s only ~30 seconds and totally worth it. Enjoy!

This is Good for Black

And for those wondering why I didn’t embed it, it seems Facebook videos are not very WordPress friendly. shrug

Friday Go Forward: Week 32

Overview

It’s been a rather busy week, but I think it would be fair to say it’s been pretty productive! I think the biggest accomplishment is my goal to simply play at least one game a day. Though this would have seemed impossible in the past, I have been toggling back between KGS and Tygem to fulfill that discipline. In addition, I’ve increased my training menu to really push myself and attempt to increase my reading ability. The training menu is still far from complete, but I am definitely feeling like I have gotten one step closer to unlocking the key behind designing training menus. Very exciting!

Games

• KGS - 5 games
• Tygem - 2 games
• DGS - 2 ongoing games
• Nova - 1 ongoing game

Daily Training

• 100 Beginner Life & Death Problems - Magic Baduk Go (iPhone)
• 20 Intermediate Life & Death Problems - Magic Baduk Go (iPhone)
• 10 Pages of Jump Level Up 1
• 25 Problems from the Get Strong at Go Series.

Reading Material

• Finished on Get Strong at Joseki 3.
• Finished Commented Games by Lee Sedol - Volume 1.
• Started working on Commented Games by Lee Sedol - Volume 2.
• Started working on Get Strong at Invading.
• Working on Jump Level Up 2.

As most of you are aware, I am pretty diligent and hard working when it comes to my studies. The vast quantity of information that I ingest is probably quite frightening for some. The only downside to this, however, is that being able to digest it is a completely different matter. In addition, you have to realize that I am often more focused on finishing the books instead of truly mastering the topic at hand in order to fulfill my goal of having the most comprehensive book reviews for go. So at the end of the day, I have to really question how I’m really going to get stronger.

I recently finished Commented Games by Lee Sedol, Vol. 1. And in one of his mini monologues about getting stronger, Lee Sedol commented that he believes the fastest way for any player to get stronger is to simply play games. Of course, he recommends reviewing them as well, but the idea lies in the fundamental premise that one learns fastest through experience. And as if that wasn’t enough to get me questioning my methods, I watched an episode of Hikaru no Go (Episode 25: Fear and Impatience) earlier where Waya makes a comment about how regardless of how talented a player is, it means nothing without playing stronger opponents.

Something tells me the universe is trying to tell me something… Haha… So as I’ve learned in life, it’s best to listen to the universe when it’s trying to nudge you along the right path. I will no longer worry about losing games due to lack of time or lack of energy. And from this day forth, I will always find time to play at least one game a day.