Happy Halloween!!!

So over the last week or so, there has been quite a bit development in regards to exciting things like GoGameGuru releasing new affordable go equipment along with a bit of realization on my part on how to continue improving the blog. Out of all that thinking and such, I am happy to announce the following:

1. Weekly Go Wednesdays (WGW) is coming back! - Although I love just rambling on about my thoughts and emotions, I’m sure that it would be appreciated if there were more go-related advice on this blog. As a result, I decided to bring back WGW. However, in order to prevent the series from going on hiatus again, I’m changing up the format to reflect an informal advice column as opposed to a structured and well edited articles (that are incredibly time consuming to produce). I’m hoping that you all will find this series to be a welcome addition back into the blog.

2. Equipment Review Updates and Redesign! - I had talked about this a few times in the past, but it’s really happening this time around since I have purchased a ton of new products from GoGameGuru and want the review layout to be more useful. So be on the lookout for new reviews along with a new layout!

Hope you all have an awesome and fun Halloween!

For your final October Bonus Game Review, you will have the opportunity to witness another one of my Tygem games against a 3d! In all honesty, I was quite surprised at some of the moves I made when I was reviewing it again. Some were quite innovative, while some were quite idiotic. Haha. Hopefully this game will be full of fun and surprises for you as you prepare for your own Halloween celebrations. I hope you have enjoyed this bonus series and hope you have a great Halloween tomorrow!

For those who haven’t heard the news, I am super excited to inform you about GoGameGuru’s announcement on introducing new and affordable go equipment!! As an avid go enthusiast who is constantly checking local stores and online retailers for go equipment, it is really exciting to see GoGameGuru fill a niche of go equipment that I think is desperately lacking right now. Here are the featured products that are coming to GoGameGuru:

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Friday Go Forward: Week 38

Overview

Overall, this week has been a continuation of me just trying to figure out what kind of studying works best in the time I have. Though I am far from releasing a user guide of sorts, the one advice that I am sure will not change is this: Start small. Whether it’s only 5 minutes every day to sit down and do a couple tsumego or go over ten moves of a pro game, it will add up over time. That much I can promise you. =)

And by the way, the BadukTV English from GoGamGuru continues to impress me with how little I know even though I’m technically 3-4 kyu KGS. Even though I’m more than halfway through the “Becoming 5 Kyu” series, I am just flabbergated

Games

• KGS - 3 games
• DGS - 3 ongoing games
• Nova - 10+ games

Training Menu

• 20 minutes of Reading Training (i.e., Life & Death, Tesuji, etc.)
• 20 minutes of Go Theory Study (i.e., Joseki, Direction of Play, etc.)
• 20 minutes of Experience Training (i.e., Play or review a game)

Reading Material

• Worked on Otake’s Secrets of Strategy.
• Worked on Jump Level Up 5.
• Started working on Dictionary of Basic Joseki 1.

Video Lessons

• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 19
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 20
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 21
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 22
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 23
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 24
• Becoming a 5 Kyu - Lesson 25

Earlier today, I saw that my friend Michael was in the middle of a game and so I decided to pop on in. Upon arrival and scanning the board a bit, it became pretty apparent that it was a one-sided game. Sure enough, it wouldn’t be long before his opponent resigned.

In our post-game discussion, Michael said, “In beginning, I felt like I was behind on territory; but I told myself to be patient and it really paid off.” Though he didn’t know it at the time, I found it interesting that he brought up the notion of being patient since it had been on my mind as of late.

When it comes to playing games, I noticed that I have a tendency to be antsy about what my opponent played so that I could play my next move. Or when I’m reviewing a professional game, I find myself trying to figure out simply find the next move instead of savoring each moment and submerging myself in its meaning and purpose. As a result, I’m pretty sure that I am end up being able to only apply part of what I am really capable of.

In other words, what I think I’m trying to say is that impatience is clearly an obstacle when it comes to my own growth and development. Definitely something I will need to to work on…

For this week’s bonus review, we come to the final conclusion of my Canada Go League performance! After my performance from the third game, my goal was to be much calmer during this game and avoid any big blunders like before. Do I manage to end with a 3-1 record? Or will I be put in my place again and be left with a 2-2 record? Jump into the kifu and find out!

As some of you know, I recently ramped up my activity on Online-Go.com (which in case you missed the news, it is a merger of the former Nova.gs community and the Online-Go community) and I have something crazy like 16 games going on at once.

In my last Friday Go Forward post, I mentioned the fact that I was feeling appreciative of the fact that turn based go is allowing me to practice applying concepts. Although that sentiment is still true for the most part, I have come to the conclusion that it’s not quite the same. And while I would love to go on a rant right now about turn-based go and its merits and demerits, I will save that for another time and focus on the reason I’m writing here today: disjointed moves that lack the energy and vigor that comes with playing real time games.

Though some might argue that one (ideally) should be able to identify the best move on the board at any time, I personally believe there is something to said about a person’s ability being pushed to the max when under time pressure and facing your opponent in real time. Sure, you might make mistakes here and there; but each move is made with purpose and with energy that only builds upon itself as the game goes on. I won’t speak for everyone else, but turn based games just don’t carry the same intensity for me.

To be clear though, I am not against turn based games and would still recommend it to those who simply don’t have the time to play games in real time. However, for me personally, I think it is in my best interest to avoid playing turn based games with random strangers (similar to the way one just play anyone on a real time go server like KGS). My moves and thoughts are just too broken for me to really use it as an opportunity to grow my skills and abilities.*

*I am sure that what I am feeling is exacerbated by the fact that I am playing 15+ games at once, but I think that it allowed me to come to this realization faster than I would have otherwise. So though it’s a bit painful at the moment, I am glad that I realized this now rather than later.

Jump Level Up 4

Description: Jump Level Up 4 is the fourth volume of the intermediate counterpart of the Level Up! Series that serves as a workbook in private go schools in Korea. Though designed for children, the content and practice provided is invaluable for adults and children alike.

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