So it’s official. I’ve joined the Canadian Go League and will be participating in their Round 13-5! For those wondering what it is, it’s essentially an online tournament that is played using KGS and is completely free to participate in! They seem to have a wide range of players and have also done a great job breaking players up into appropriate divisions.

As I look at the roster, there are quite a few familiar names; but unfortunately we are all in different divisions. I’m curious to see how it goes since this is a league where matches are scheduled ahead of time, and hopefully this will be a bit more accommodating to my schedule. In addition, I’m looking forward to familiarizing myself with Canadian overtime rules. I’ve only played it once or twice in the past and have yet to feel comfortable playing with it. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to it! And inn case you are wondering, yes I plan on posting every game with my thoughts and comments after each match. =D

Many thanks to Eric (@Oolong4Go) for sharing this with me and getting me to join!

Fight Like a Pro - The Secrets of Kiai

Description: In the final installment of the Mastering the Basics Series, Zeijst and Bozulich bring the first significant effort to trying to put the concept of kiai on paper. In this book, you will find 16 fighting games by some of the world’s strongest players from Korean, China, and Japan along with problems to give the reader practice at trying to figure out the “kiai move.” This book can be seen a culmination of everything that the reader has been learning throughout the series and will be a classic in go literature.

Read More

As some of you might know, I finished my Master’s a little over a year ago, so why am I at the local community college you might wonder? Well, though my girlfriend and I are working professionals, it seems that learning will be never ending for both of us and she decided to take a class this semester. So while she’s at her class, I figured, perfect opportunity to use this time as if I’m in a go class! (If anyone is interested in joining me, be sure to let me know!)

With that said, the reason I’m writing is because I am wrapping up the final chapter of Fight Like a Pro, and something funny happened. About forty moves into the kifu, the authors asked the reader to guess what move they would choose to continue the attack on the Black group. Normally with this type of question, I end up only choosing an area I think would be correct and then look at the solution. This time around however, I decided to place a stone boldly onto the board as if to declare to the world what I would have done.

After turning the page, I first see that my answer is not the correct answer. It turns out my move was contrary to the principle of attacking from my weak group in order to simultaneously strengthen it. “Makes sense.” I think, but just as I’m about to look for the next move in the actual game, I see that the next move the professional chose was mine! Hardy har har!!!

And with that epic moment recorded, I end this post on a high note. xD

The Workshop Lectures (Volume 6)

Description: The Workshop Lectures Volume 6 is part a series of lectures given by Yilun Yang (7P) at workshops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The topics covered include: “Entering the Middle Game,” “Attacking Severely,” “Dealing with a Moyo,” and “Playing With and Against the Sanrensei.”

Read More

The Workshop Lectures (Volume 5)

Description: The Workshop Lectures Volume 5 is part a series of lectures given by Yilun Yang (7P) at workshops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The topics covered include: “Choosing Areas in the Opening,” “Handing Unusual Opening Moves,” and “Protecting a Position.”

Read More

The ABC’s of Attack and Defense

Description: In this book, Redmond takes a different approach to teach attack and defense through handicap positions. And though the title of the book seems rather docile and cuddly, I can say for certain that this book is more advanced than the title suggests. There is quite a bit the book has to offer, but it is not for the faint of heart and is not a book I would recommend as your first exposure to attack and defense.

Read More

Friday Go Forward: Week 30

Overview

Sorry I’ve been so MIA this week. I meant to write some journal posts, but things have gotten to a whole new level of crazy as I now must juggle boxing, Chinese, freelancing, blogging, and go while working full-time and having some sort of social life. The highlight for this week is that I was promoted to 4 kyu and it seems like it’s going to be sticking around. Still have a lot of things to work on, but it was nice to see some results in my ranking. In addition, I have started whittling down on my massive book list so that I can get back to more quality studying. Anyhow, back to the craziness! I’ll see you all next week!

Games

• KGS - 5 games
• DGS - 3 ongoing games
• Nova - 2 ongoing games

Daily Training

• 10 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 The Workshop Lectures Volume 5.
• Finished Joseki Jeongseok Compass.
• Finished The ABC’s of Attack and Defense.
• Finished Get Strong at Joseki 1.
• Working on The Workshop Lectures Volume 6.
• Worked on Jump Level Up 1.
• Worked on Fight Like a Pro.
• Started working on Get Strong at Joseki 2.

Joseki Jeongseok Compass 1

Description: This is the first of many (at least I hope) joseki books from the incredible authors who created the Level Up Series. They do a fantastic job taking joseki and breaking it down into its most elementary form in the effort to get players to learn the joseki instead of simply memorizing them.

Read More