ANNOUNCEMENT: All the games will now come with full commentary in order to minimize the complication of having to flip back and forth between the blog post and the game. I will do my best to diligently put down any variations I saw and why I played the moves that I did. So please be sure to visit the link and then let me know your thoughts! Enjoy!

This was a pretty scary game for me. I know I’ve been playing stronger opponents in the ASR League in even matches, but for some reason playing a ranked game against a 3k gave me the jitters. And I didn’t go looking for this game, this guy challenged me. Looking back on it, I’m pretty sure he was trying to play against weaker players so he could feel all big and mighty. Too bad he came out the loser….

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Prior to this game, I was on a decent winning streak… so I was feeling pretty good. Feeling good enough to think I could outplay a 5d? Apparently so….

Now granted, this was a teaching game; but I assure you that I did nothing less than try to outplay him and hope to catch him off guard. For those who are still new and wondering why this is incredibly stupid, the difference between a 5d and 9k is at the bare minimum 8 stones. So… yeah…

It’s been so long since I played against an opponent so vastly stronger than me that I forgot what it was like to play just to simply survive. That’s right: just survive. Instead, I tried to take big points and was under the false assurance that my groups were alive and that I was giving frozensoul a good game.

That being said. There are too many mistakes to be mentioned and the prized moments are practically nonexistent. If you would like to see what 9k mistakes look like and how they get properly demolished, please see the kifu below!

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That’s right. I have achieved my first “Under 100 Moves Resignation.” I know that there is a high likelihood that I might have one in the past for some stupid reason, but this is the first time I felt like I truly earned it.

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In light of the new blog redesign and format, I will also be including a new section in every game that I post: My Opponent, Mistakes and (if relevant) Prized Moments. [OUTDATED]

Overall

This has got to be the most intensive game that I’ve played in quite awhile. For those who haven’t been following, I joined the ASR League and have been playing a lot of even games with people who are much stronger than I. As a result, I’ve been on an incredible losing streak and have had a hard time regaining my composure.

Today’s game is probably one of the best games that I’ve played in quite awhile. It’s not the fact that I won, but the fact that a majority of my moves were well thought out and expose weaknesses that I would’ve never been able to exploit before. Not to mention that the ability to all of a sudden see the value of each move as I fought multiple ko battles was incredible.

It’s as Toshiro Kageyama said in Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go, the ability to actually read something out and knowing what will happen not only boosts a player’s confidence but brings an entirely new appreciation for the game.

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Today’s game was a reminder of a concept I was told long ago in one of my teaching games:

The less groups you have on the board, the more likely it is that you’re going to win.

Sounds simple enough right? And yet at the same time, why is this the case?

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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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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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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!

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.

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…