If you’re wondering whether or not that’s my personal collection of Level Up/Jump Up books, it’s not. It’s just a sneak peak of the shipment that will be coming in the near future. xD

That’s right… As if I didn’t have enough books to work on already, the chance to study Korean school texts firsthand was too much to resist. So you will be seeing firsthand as I work my way through the entire series what I think of the books and whether or not you should give it a shot.

Although this purchase would probably qualify enough for the blog post’s title, there was a go classified ad for books on sale and I ended up picking up a couple out of print books along with another Korean series called Train Like a Pro. (I know… what is wrong with me…)

My credit card might be slightly melted, but I hope it’ll forgive me because the rest of the year is looking awesome!

Overall Rating: 9 / 10 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: Positional Judgment: High-Speed Game Analysis
• Author: Cho Chikun
• Publisher: Kiseido
• Publication Date: December 1989
• Page Length: 182 pages

Synopsis

• A great book on positional judgment when it comes to whole board thinking.
• Utilizes multiple choice questions along with example games to help illustrate his points.
• Requires a basic level of endgame sequences for the estimations to make sense.
• Appropriate for 6 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for serious players.

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Overview

It seems I’m on a trend of not playing as many games anymore, but I’m okay with that for now since I’m currently in a big study mode. I have over 100+ books in my collection (and that’s physical books mind you) and I have barely made a dent. In addition, I have another plan to immerse myself in studying Korean style go books. It will involve buying lots of new books and changing my regimen, but before I do that I want to finish all the Kiseido series that I have started. So, be on the lookout for lots more book reviews!

Games

• KGS - 3 games (2 wins : 1 loss)
• DGS - 2 ongoing games
• Nova - 2 ongoing games

Training

• Worked on _Essential Life & Death,__ Vol. 2 _everyday.
• Worked a little bit on Attacking and Defending Moyos.
• Worked through Modern Master Games, Vol. 1.
• Finished Positional Judgment.
• Started and finished The Direction of Play.
• Started Elementary Go Series - Tesuji.

Lessons Learned

1. I am not vigilant when it comes to reading out sequences properly.
2. I still play “wishful go” and think that my opponents will respond to things that I myself would never respond to.
3. To help remedy my problem of playing moves without thinking, I’m trying to take one deep breath before each move to try and slow down.

Recently, I have been trying to figure out how to resolve my problem of being undisciplined when it comes to reading out sequences or figuring out what move to play next.

One of the first solutions I came up with was to simply try and practice more problems, but it didn’t really seem to help much. So the next thing I tried was reading more theoretical go books in hopes of having something click inside me that would all of a sudden fix my problem. That didn’t work out too well either.

After some thought, I realized that my problem is actually multidimensional.

1. Physical Energy - I have been a lot more tired than I would like to admit lately. Though I didn’t recognize it at the time, it was playing a major role in my being nonchalant about what or where I played next.
2. Multiple Points of Focus - Those who know me personally will attest to the fact that I am the type who is constantly trying to multi-task and can jump from one thing to another in a blink of an eye. While that can be useful in certain contexts, it is actually becoming detrimental to my go in the long run (along with other things, but let’s face it, go is the first priority here. =P).
3. Overload / Burnout - As a result of the previous two points, it is only natural that my brain would eventually become overloaded and simply burnout.
   It’s clear that I need a reboot on my system and approach to things. To start though, I’ve resolved to achieve two goals: (1) Simplify & Focus and (2) Gain back the physical energy that I once had.

Every other blue moon, we have the opportunity to stumble onto something pretty awesome. Fellow go player Bonscott shared an incredible resource that I think you would all find just as fascinating as I did the first time I tried it:

GoStyle WebApp

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Description: Essential Life & Death 1 is part of the Essential Life & Death Series that is used as workbooks in private go schools in Korea. Though it might be seen as an addendum to the Level Up Series, it certainly can be used as a standalone product for anyone looking to study life and death.

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Overview

This has been an interesting week that was fraught with frustration, but paired with deep introspection that yielded something valuable for me as a whole. Although it took me some time to realize, there was a growing tendency for me to rush in both Go and my life in general. So, I am grateful that go has once again provided an avenue for me to improve my life as a whole once again. Beginning the path back to zen will have a number of butterfly effects, but I have a feeling they will be far from regrettable. =)

Games

• KGS - 4 games (2 wins : 2 losses)
• DGS - 1 ongoing game
• Nova - 2 ongoing games

Training

• Finished _Essential Life & Death: Vol. 1 and started Vol. 2_.
• Finished reading The Chinese Opening by Yuan Zhou.
• Started working on _Attacking and Defending Moyos _by Zeijst and Bozulich.
• Started reading _Modern Master Games, Vol. 1 _by Zeijst and Bozulich.
• Started working on _Positional Judgment _by Cho Chikun.

Lessons Learned

1. If I feel like I am strapped for time or rushed before I even start a game, it’s probably best to not even bother playing.
2. To refrain from kyu tunnel vision, I need to look at the board with fresh eyes after every move.

In case this isn’t apparent, this is a 2-D drawing. And also, do you spot what I see? xD

Late last night, I had written about the fact that my go has become a race to the finish line. I realize that I was probably not the most articulate since I was about to pass out, but upon further reflection this morning, I realized that my problem actually is rooted in the fact that I have lost sight of my zen (aka my center of calm).

Whenever I play a move, I realized that I am always in a hurry to see what my opponent plays next. In fact, it’s almost as if I’m trying to play a blitz game in a game that’s supposed to have a main time of 20 minutes or more. As a result, autopilot moves show up and failure to consider global effects arise again and again.

Bottom line: I need find my center again. Otherwise, this will quickly spiral out of control and my go will become a reckless monster beyond saving. This ends today.