Overview

This week has been very sparse in terms of study and playing, but extremely heavy in regards to writing (if you didn’t notice with the Weekly Go Wednesday article). And though my time has been a bit more biased towards writing, I don’t think any of you are complaining. Haha.

It’s taken some time to break into my productivity system, but the cogs and wheels are starting to mesh together better now. I’m much more aware of where my time is going along with how I’m progressing as a whole in life now. Whole board thinking. See that?

I’m looking forward to when my entire system works effortlessly and I can really amp up my go training. No matter though. Slow and steady wins the race.

Training Regimen

• Work on go for at least 10–15 minutes a day.

Games

• KGS - 1 game
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 7 ongoing games

Books

• Get Strong at Tesuji by Richard Bozulich

Lessons Learned

• It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes during your game because your opponent is just as likely to make mistakes if not bigger ones. So don’t be too hard on yourself during a game because you’ll only be making yourself more vulnerable than necessary.

Overview

I swear my training regimen is getting shorter with each week that goes on by, but in all fairness, I am working on developing a system that focuses on consistency over a long period of time as opposed to having my life be extremely skewed towards one direction or another based on how I feel. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I’m only doing that much every day, but it’s my bare minimum requirement per day.

One of the things I’ve been working on throughout the week is designing a better blogging system. I was currently working directly out of WordPress and collecting notes where I could here and there, but it wasn’t a very efficient system and took up quite a bit of time. To my luck, in the process of me restructuring other aspects of my life (i.e., time management, project management, finances, etc.), I actually stumbled across Scrivener and have been testing out recently. I’m still in the trial period, but I have to say that this tool is really quite impressive for serious writers out there. It’s starting to really help me get my thoughts together and allow me to blog more effectively.

Another thing that I want to mention is that after next week’s Friday Go Forward, I will most likely be pushing out these progress reports to Saturday since they are more status updates than anything else and can be scheduled ahead of time. I’ve found it to be near impossible to blog on Saturday, so this will add a consistent content item to Saturday while allowing me to blog about more personal things on Friday if I want to.

Finally, I plan on releasing an online document that will allow you to check my training and efforts in go in real time! By doing so, you can get a real detailed look at what I’m doing since status reports are generally more an overview than anything else. Hopefully this will be of interest to some of you, but if not, at least it will be another artifact to track my progress and possible analysis in the future.

With all that said, hope all those living in the US have a great 4th of July weekend! See you all next week.

Training Regimen

• Work on go for at least 10–15 minutes a day.

Games

• KGS - 3 games
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 5 ongoing games

Books

• Get Strong at Tesuji by Richard Bozulich

Videos

• YSD 2nd Month 5th Round Reviews

Lessons Learned

• I’m still bad at framing moves in terms of how many points / potential it can provide when playing games.
• I need to start trusting my instinct more. Apparently it is correct more often than I give it credit for.

Overview

This has been a rather rough week for me. I have lost pretty much every game I’ve played and even lost my crucial match in Yunguseng Dojang (YSD). And to be honest, I was so frustrated with how I played that game I couldn’t even stay for the review afterwards. Sigh. And though I’ve resolved not to take a break at this time, I think I will be meeting everyone halfway by simply taking a break from playing games (except for my regularly schedule YSD match).

I also have a lot going through my mind in regards to how I’ve been spending my time and how to get out of my turmoil. So my training regimen has been cut down again because I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore. I apologize for this week’s progress report being a little short on the content, but I have a new vision for what it’ll be soon. So I’ll be working on that in conjunction with taking a second look at my approach to everything. Hope you all are having a better week than I am.

Training Regimen

• Play 1 game a day.
• Work on Get Strong at Tesuji.

Games

• KGS - 6 games
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 6 ongoing games

Books

• Get Strong at Tesuji by Richard Bozulich

Overview

Once again I’ve decided to trim down on my training regimen in order to up the quality of training. This means more time spent on each topic as well as increasing repetition in order to further solidify what I’m learning. In other words, I’m no longer simply looking to find out what the correct answer is; but to instead really try to immerse myself in it so the reading ability becomes more ingrained in me.

In terms of gameplay, it has been a rather abysmal week. I got into a weird mood and ended up losing 5 games in a row. It was pretty awful considering my go deteriorated to the point where my final game was a resignation against a 4k. Playing on tilt is just not a pretty sight for me at all. Haha. But on the upside, I did manage to recollect myself enough to manage a win for my Yunguseng Dojang match. So hooray for that!

And as mentioned earlier this week, there are some changes coming up on the blog that should hopefully improve the reading experience and value that this blog has. So I’ve been working on that as well and trying to iron out some of the changes I’m trying to make. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

Training Regimen

• Play 3 games a week.
• Complete 1 section of Jump Level Up 1 per day.
• Work on Get Strong at Life and Death.
• Work on Get Strong at Tesuji.

Games

• Pandanet-IGS - 1 game
• KGS - 9 games
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 6 ongoing games

Books

• Jump Level Up 1 by Baduktopia
• Get Strong at Life and Death by Richard Bozulich
• Get Strong at Tesuji by Richard Bozulich

Lessons Learned

• Playing on tilt has consequences… like dropping two stones in rank on KGS. Hahaha.
• Take all your opponents seriously regardless of their rank. I’ve posted about this multiple times, but it’s come to bite me in the butt again.
• There is a huge difference between winning a game and crushing your opponent. Taking one attitude versus another has a profound impact on your approach to the game mentally, but more on this later.
• This might sound utterly basic, but I seriously need to use my brain more when I play. I miss the most common variations in my blitz reading. I read one variation and think it’s good and fail to consider other obvious alternatives. Oy vey.

Overview

The theme of this week has been: Ben needs to improve his reading abilities. Haha. Many thanks to all those who commented on my WGW post and helped me refocus my time and energy on the correct area of weakness. I even had the pleasure of hanging out with local go player Justin (AGA 7d) who helped to straighten me out a bit. It was a fun time of playing and going over some variations on joseki that I should be familiar with. It certainly showed me that there is still much more I can do to improve, which is always motivating.

Finally, as I continue trying to improve this blog, I have to keep in mind the time and energy required for each post along with whether or not that material I’m writing is even relevant anymore. After all, all of this is meant for your reading enjoyment (and a small percentage for chronicling my own journey)! As a result, over the next few weeks, I’ll be asking for feedback on what you see on this blog to help optimize everything.

To start, I wanted to do a quick poll on your thoughts on this weekly series: Friday Go Forward. So if you don’t mind, please leave a comment below to let me know if you think this series is worth keeping around and/or anything I could do to improve it (i.e., specific things you’d like to see me talk about in my Overview section since I’m sometimes unsure of what to write in here). And if you think it’s good the way it is, it would be good to hear that as well. Thanks!

Training Regimen

• Play 3 games a week.
• Complete 1 section of Jump Level Up 1 per day.
• Work on life and death.
• Work on tesuji.
• Replay 1 game of Go Seigen (Time Permitting)

Games

• Tygem - 0 games
• Pandanet-IGS - 1 games
• KGS - 3 games
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 6 ongoing games

Books

• Jump Level Up 1 by Baduktopia
• All About Life and Death - Volume 1 by Cho Chikun
• Get Strong at Tesuji by Richard Bozulich
• Get Strong at Life and Death by Richard Bozulich

Lessons Learned

• One must not underestimate the power of “ordinary moves.”
• My idea of being “creative” on the board is the equivalent of stupidity. Haha. And though it sounds hurtful on paper, it was actually a very helpful comment.
• I really need to work on my reading abilities if I want to take my game to the next level.

Overview

During the past few weeks, I ended up skewing my training to playing games and sacrificing study in order to re-acclimate myself to playing games again. As a result, my weaknesses became very clear as I would lose game after game after game.

After discovering my Master Wu, my training has once again gone under another stage of growth as I really begin to immerse myself in practicing “deep learning” as is discussed in The Talent Code. And though it’s too early to tell if it’s working, I feel like the wheels of progress are beginning to turn. Fingers crossed that I’m not wrong. Haha.

Training Regimen

• Play 3 games a week.
• Complete 1 section of Level Up Review 2 per day.
• Study 10 life and death patterns/problems.
• (Time Permitting) - Replay 1 game of Go Seigen.

Games

• Tygem - 1 game
• Pandanet-IGS - 1 game
• KGS - 1 game
• DGS - 6 ongoing games
• OGS - 7 ongoing games

Books

• Level Up Review 2 by Baduktopia
• Shape Up! by Charles Matthews
• All About Life and Death - Volume 1 by Cho Chikun
• The Com­plete Game Records of Go Seigen - Volume 1

Videos

• Analyze the most often played patterns: Star point chapter

Lessons Learned

• Though difficult to grasp, learning how to make proper trades throughout your game is one of the key milestones to being a strong player. This is particularly evident in the way Go Seigen plays (and yes admittedly difficult to do).
• As I replay more and more of Go Seigen’s kifu, I’ve realized how constricted my go has become. It is missing the freedom that is so glaringly exists in Go Seigen’s games.

Overview

As some of you may have noticed, I decided to return to the KGS scene to play some ranked games again. If you’re wondering why I decided to do so, you can blame frozensoul for challenging me to do so. And the results have been pretty bad since I’m on a losing streak at the moment.

Though I’d normally feel more frustrated by this, I am actually in a decent place compared to my typical “on tilt“ mood. So while it sucks that I have been losing, I’m trying hard to take it in stride and not put myself in a position where I have to win in order to reset my emotional stability. Not an easy task, but I’d like to think it’s a step further towards the path of my zen go.

This week also marks the start of a new way of viewing acquiring skills. In this week’s Weekly Go Wednesday post, you can read about my little epiphany and new view on approaching my study of the game. So there’s starting to be some change in regards to that.

Finally, I was unable to win my last game and thus will drop to League B next month. Oh well. It is somewhat disappointing, but life goes on.

Hope you all had a good week and have a great weekend.

Training Regimen

• Spend about 50% of your time playing games.
• Complete 1 section of Level Up Review 2 per day.

Games

• Tygem - 6 games
• KGS - 6 games
• DGS - 5 ongoing games
• OGS - 4 ongoing games

Books

• Level Up Review 2
• Essential Life and Death 1

Lessons Learned

• Just because you are struggling to learn something doesn’t mean you don’t have talent for it, it just means your brain is working hard to make that new skill more instinctive. Don’t give up.
• I’ve stated this more than once on the blog, but seriously: don’t underestimate your opponent just because his rank is lower than yours. It usually leads to overconfidence that can allow for a rather tragic loss.
• Don’t make any big decisions or any decisive evaluations about yourself when you’re feeling down. Your head is just not in the right place to do so.

Overview

This week has been a great continuation of my new philosophy of gaining experience on the battlefield. I’ve always felt that experience on the battlefield was necessary, but it wasn’t until I really started taking it seriously that I’ve come to understand the depth of that fundamental truth. In fact, as a result of me playing more games (and of course losing more often), I was actually able to win my third round of Yunguseng Dojang! So within a week, I already have some proof of the method working!

As you will notice, my training regimen has been trimmed a bit. Unlike the past however, the reason I’ve decided to trim it down is not because it’s burning me out or anything of the sort, but instead it’s a matter of having some other activities I need to prioritize at the moment. And to be clear, what I write in the “Training Regimen” section is what I am requiring myself to work on everyday. When I have some extra time, then I will be doing other things as well.

Hope that all is well with everyone and that you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Training Regimen

• Spend about 50% of your time playing games.
• Complete 1 section of Level Up Review 2.

Games

• Tygem - 8 games
• WBaduk - 2 games
• PandaNet-IGS - 3 games
• KGS - 2 games
• DGS - 5 ongoing games
• OGS - 3 ongoing games

Books

• Level Up Review 2
• The Theory and Practice of Shape

Videos

• YD S9 2nd lecture (1-3-5 opening)
• This week’s Highlight S9 May 1st week
• A,B,C 2nd round 2nd additional review oren vs Sauk
• AYD S9 3rd lecture All about 3-3 invasion

Lessons Learned

• Just because you have a three in a row shape inside your opponent’s group doesn’t mean it’s dead. Seki is possible too. (-_-)
• When you are about to start a fight, make sure that you are not at a disadvantage.
• A ponnuki with an empty triangle is not as efficient early on as you might think.
• Do not underestimate the power of a good extension from your thickness.

Overview

This week has been a continuation of trying to get used to the new training regimen that I started last week. Believe it or not, I have been rather successful at playing more instead of solely focusing on studying. So in that regard, things are a success.

On the other hand, I lost again in my match this week for Yunguseng Dojang. After some thought and introspection, I have come to the conclusion that my go has become very impatient lately. I try to complicate the game with every move while also experimenting with a territorial style that just ends up not working out for me. Sigh.

Ah well. It has been fun experimenting with the territorial style. And who knows? Maybe this little detour of mine will help to patch up some of my weaknesses from my normal style. Guess we’ll have to see!

Training Regimen

• Spend about 50% of your time playing games.
• Spend 10 minutes/day perusing a new book of go.
• Spend 20 minutes/day diligently working on the Level Up series.

Games

• Tygem - 6 games
• IGS - 2 games
• KGS - 3 games
• DGS - 5 ongoing games
• OGS - 3 ongoing games

Books

• Level Up Review 1
• Level Up Review 2
• The Theory and Practice of Semeai

Lessons Learned

• Patience is an important value when playing go.
• When you have an overwhelming advantage, (1) don’t become overconfident and (2) don’t give your opponent a chance to turn it around.

Overview

This week has been focused on one thing: playing more games. As you’ll notice in my games section, I played a whopping 18 live games this week! And though I have been on an epic losing streak (with an occasional win to here and there), I can definitely feel the inexperience of being on the battlefield affect my play. Hopefully in time I will be losing due to actual mistakes instead of just playing moves on the board “just because.”

Another milestone for this week is the official start of the Yunguseng Dojang! The first official lecture was on Monday (May 5th) and it was on local techniques. Though I had heard of the techniques before (i.e., across attachment, break the dog’s face, and indirect defense), it was really great to have Inseong break down the different techniques while also showing where they appear within real games.

I also played my first round as well last night. I ended up losing by time (because I was playing the game on a real board and lost track of time), but I felt that it was a game I wasn’t ashamed of. I tried a number of new things and tried to avoid any egregious errors. Of course, in the review, I got torn apart so it didn’t feel so great; but I think those are the kinds of lessons that tend to burn in your memory. Ah well. Next game I’ll do better!

Training Regimen

• Spend about 50% of your time playing games - Though I haven’t measured this out with accuracy, I am simply trying to make sure that I play as much as I can. Believe it or not, I’ve started playing 10 minute games in order to ease up time pressure on myself. I used to hate this time setting, but I’m starting to gain a new appreciation for it. More on this when I’ve solidified my position on it.
• Spend 10 minutes/day perusing a new book of go - I happen to have a lot of books that I own but haven’t read, so I created this new task in order to allow me to actually go through all the books that I own. I know it’s not quite the same as studying, but it’s fun for me and plus it’ll allow me to put more book reviews up in the future.
• Spend 20 minutes/day focusing on one topic of go - I’ve noticed that my attention span for a particular subject is super volatile these days. One day I’m interested in positional judgment, and the next day I’m curious about joseki. So instead of binding myself down to the same book (which gets boring for me), I devised this task in order to allow for topic changes while still giving myself adequate time to really study and absorb one topic per day. Lectures also can be used in place of books as well.

Games*

• KGS - 6 games
• Tygem - 20+ games
• IGS - 5+ game
• DGS - 5 ongoing games
• OGS - 3 ongoing games
  *I’m probably going to need a new structure for doing this. I’m starting to play a lot more now and it’s getting hard to track the exact number of games I’ve been playing. Do you think it’s useful that I keep specific metrics? Or is there something better I can do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Books

• Dictionary of Basic Joseki, Volume 1
• The Theory and Practice of Tsumego
• Positional Judgment

Videos

• YSD - AYD S9 1st lecture Knight move across attachment / Break the dog’s face / Indirect defense
• YSD - Season 1 Fri 1st July 20:00 Opening Theory, ABC Examples (In Progress)
• YSD - Season 6 1st lecture Theme lecture ‘1-2-3 reading’ (In Progress)