I recently finished the arc in Hajime no Ippo where Ippo and Sendou fighting for the championship, and I couldn’t help but realize that a game of go is very much like a match in boxing. With each stone, each player prepares the battlefield. Before you know it, a furious chase and battle occurs where the one is rushing forward in a series of attacks while the other is stepping backwards and trying to gain solid footing. When the barrage is over however, the tide changes as the opponent regains his foothold and then returns a series of attack back as you try to ensure the safety of your attacking group.

In the end, a player’s ability to win a game from start to finish lies in his/her ability to withstand the exchange of blows that is sure to come in every game. Of course, there are times when the game simply boils down to a huge hitting match where the game can only in KO. So unless it is between two opponents of different caliber, no player can expect to get out of a game unscathed and unchallenged.

After finishing the arc, I realized that I had forgotten the endurance and tenacity a player must bring to every game. There is no room for pity or doubt. There is only room for those who’s fighting spirits echo even after the last stone has been placed on the board.

Games

• DGS - 2 ongoing games
• Nova - 6 ongoing games

Tsumego

• Life and Death - 100 Problems
• Five Hundred and One Opening Problems - Finished
• Five Hundred and One Tesuji Problems - Page 1 - 39

Other

• Studying one professional game from Lee Sedol’s book.

Thoughts

I’m still trying to figure out a way out of my funk, but I spent this week trying to reinvigorate my studies and gain some perspective on the game. As you can see, one of the new elements I added to my studies is starting to study professional games. As a friend mentioned to me, this is usually difficult for most players (even at the high dan level). I’m not sure how beneficial it will be, but we’ll see how it goes. If anyone ever wants to discuss the pro game I’m studying with me, let me know and we can meet up online to talk about it. Till next week!

As you know, I have been in a rather “meh” mood when it comes to playing go. It’s not so much that I’ve lost interest in the game, but I found my play style becoming very scattered and ugly. It wasn’t until recently that frozensoul helped to shed light on the issue and told me that I have entered a “paranoid go” phase. My moves are played haphazardly and often lack a sense of focus and purpose. Although I once wrote of this roadblock as being a “mood” issue, it seems that it may actually be a rather large obstacle that I must overcome.

In order to mediate this, I have taken a big step back from playing and have re-incorporated studying professional games into my routine. The aim of doing this is to try and unlock my paranoia of letting my opponents have any ideal opening or framework which often caused me to overextend myself which then resulted in my resignation.

At this point in my journey, my abilities seem to fluctuate rather violently depending on my opponent and their play style. This is unacceptable for me, since I despise the idea that the player I am becoming is one that is blatantly weak to certain styles and then overpowering against others. My go should shine on its own regardless of who my opponent is. And to clarify, this does not mean I think I will win all of my games; but instead, I want all of my games to be interesting and something I can be proud to show to anyone.

So while I am currently lost out in the sea paranoid go, when I find my way back onto the path of zen go: opponents beware. =)

Games

• DGS - 3 ongoing games
• Nova - 8 ongoing games

Tsumego

• General Practice (SmartGo Kifu) - 100 Problems
• Life and Death - 60 Problems
• Five Hundred and One Opening Problems - Page 162 - 225

Thoughts

Feeling pretty out of it this week. I’ll be taking the weekend to think about everything. Trying desperately hard not to burn out.

Lately, I’ve noticed that I can’t seem to get my head in the game. Each move feels more lackluster than the last, and I seem to consistently find myself in do or die situations. I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, or whether I’m actually starting to burn out.

With each move I play, it’s as if I’m watching a ghost of myself play each move. The tenacity and energy that was once a big part of my game seems to be missing. Unlike other times, there is no obstacle in my way this time. Instead, it is like I am a weary traveler who has succeeded in one part of his journey; but as he stares out at the long road ahead, he can only sit down in bewilderment as he wonders how he will summon the energy necessary to continue onwards.

Taking a break is not an option for me. That is something I know for sure, but figuring out how I will continue from here will certainly be a challenge.

Games

• KGS - 5 games ( 3 win : 2 loss )
• DGS - 5 ongoing games
• Nova - 9 ongoing games

Tsumego

• Five Hundred and One Opening Problems - Page 91 - 161

Other

• The Chi­nese Open­ing — Page 87 - 90

Thoughts

Biggest concern: Way too many turn based games going on. I know it works for some people, but I get overly focused on them and then everything else around me falls to the wayside. No no no… so as I wrote yesterday, no more games with strangers. Haha. And to be honest, I’m feeling the studying is a little too light, so hopefully I can find a better balance for myself next week!

While I was at work yesterday, I got a call about possibly being hired to play piano this coming Sunday. While I was excited and such at the time, when I quickly surveyed my timeline and how much time I had to prepare, I was left with the dreaded feeling that I might be on the verge of burning out.

I recently wrote an article on “Finding Time for Go,” but something I’ve come to realize is that I have reached a point where even my go is being pulled in too many directions. As if it weren’t difficult enough to find time to play games, trying to find time to study the game and then continue writing has been a monumental task for me. There are so many updates to make for the content and design of the site, and not to mention that go is not my only interest outside of work.

Here’s the thing: I don’t want to take another sabbatical from go. I feel overloaded, but I’m just going to have to make some modifications to how I’m approaching everything. So although I would love to keep trying to do everything possible, I have to be honest with myself in knowing that I will burn out at the pace I’m going. So to help keep my sanity and motivation in tact, here are some changes that I’ll be making:

1. Weekly Go Wednesday will go on a break after the 25th issue. Although writing articles seems to be rather simple and straight forward, it takes quite a bit more planning and effort than some would probably think. And instead of letting the articles decrease in quality, I think it’ll probably be better to go on break for a while.
2. No more games with strangers. As you’ll see in my Friday Go Forward this week, ever since my discovery of turn based go (and then Nova.gs), I am playing a record number of games and constantly bombarded with next moves and trying to think of what to do next. And at this point, my turn based go has degraded into blitz go that leads me to play regrettable moves more often than not. So since my time is already limited as it is, I’m only playing games with people I know via in person, online, people who have contacted me or commented on the blog, etc.
   Here’s to hoping this does the trick.

For those who have veered away from turn based go due to the antiquity of the Dragon Go Server system, I am super excited to tell you about a new go server that was introduced to me by flakeman2!

Nova Go Server

Here are 10 reasons why you should join me and play on Nova Go Server!

1. It’s a turn-based AND real time go server. So in the event both players are online, you can play moves and chat as if you were on the live go server. And then, if anyone has to leave, no problem! It becomes turn-based go just like that!

2. It updates in real time!!!!! I don’t know about any of you, but the worst thing for me on Dragon Go Server is the fact that when both players are online at the same time, you have to keep refreshing the page in anticipation of the next move. So with Nova Go Server, I can just leave the kifu open and it’ll automatically updated whenever my opponent plays a move.

3. It is a web based app! That means no downloading or installing while getting a crisp and clean interface.

4. It has features that Dragon Go Server lacks. Example: Planning conditional moves so that you can save moves that you know you will play in the event your opponent plays X.

5. You can login using social media. Although a small benefit, it’s nice being able to login with my Twitter account instead of having to manage another go server account. (And FYI, for anyone looking to play with me, you can find me under my usual username: bengozen).

6. It’s actively being developed! This means that the technology and features are still being updated and you can actually look forward to seeing actual updates!

7. The user interface is so much cleaner!! You have a notifications button on top that updates real time, a sleek modern menu on the top for easy navigation, great user interface for how to play moves or access certain features…. THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!!!!

8. There is a spectator chat window! So people can come in and kibitz on your game for your review when the game is over! (This is something I miss when it comes to turn based go on Dragon Go Server).

9. They even offer a Malkovich Log! This is not a feature I’ve ever used, but I know it’s really popular so another kudos to them!

10. Oh yeah, did I mention that IT’S FREE!!!!!!!!!!

‘Nuff said.

Games

• KGS - 5 games ( 1 win : 4 losses )
• DGS - 5 ongoing games

Tsumego

• Go Game - Life and Death (iPad App) - Practice Phase 2 ( Class 18 - 20 )
• Five Hundred and One Opening Problems - Page 55 - 90

Other

• The Chi­nese Open­ing — Page 63 - 87

Thoughts

I’m happy to announce that the StudyGroupKyu site went live this week! There are still some enhancements to be made, and that will continue to take up my time; but it’s been fun to combine my love for design with go. Definitely hoping to do more of that as time goes on.

With that being said, this week has a decently studious week combined with sporadic blitz go. Now although none of the game time settings will indicate that, I generally didn’t spend more than 30 seconds on a move. This is probably due to my lack of time and newly acquired ability to not be attached to winning or losing a game. I’ve been more obsessed with trying out new things and experimenting with what I’ve been learning. And to be honest, it’s quite refreshing.

On April 2nd, 2013, I had the honor of being able to attend a professional go event that featured Narumi Osawa (4p) and was hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C. It was a free event that consisted of a short talk designed for beginners, a simultaneous game against Narumi, and a lecture/review on one of the games.

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