As promised, here is an update for the April Challenge!
Actually, this update will be quite short. I got a bit sick last week and I had to hand in a few assignments, so I only had time/energy for one game.
And I lost. But the real question is, did I play aggressively/out of my comfort zone? Seeing how the game ended up; me with 2 weak groups, one dead and not much territory, I guess I did. Sort off.
Some moves I would not really think about, almost as if I'm playing a fast game (which, in case you didn't know, I NEVER EVER do), and suddenly I would realize that I was supposed to be aggressive. Then I would plop down a stone somewhere in his territory and be satisfied.
Short story, it still needs work. Good thing that I still have 4 games left to 'complete' the challenge! What I need to work on most, is to actually think about every move, and make sure my play is consistent.
I also went back to doing daily problems, because trying to fight without reading won't get me anywhere. It's not much though, maybe 10 to 20 minutes a day. But still better than nothing!
Since the coming two weeks are a mid-term break, and I will be travelling through Australia, there won't be an update until the end of April, unfortunately. That also means that I will have to play the remaining 4 games in 3 days, but that should be no problem :)!
More importantly, how are your challenges going?? I am really excited to hear how many games you have played so far (if any) and how they went, so let me know!
11/04/2014
03/04/2014
Quote Mania 6
Welcome to Quote Mania, where random quotes are forcefully related to go!
'The second you think you are doing well is the second you are finished.'
This.
This is so relevant I shouldn't be giving an explanation. I will give one, because I want to, but I shouldn't have to.
Hands up if you have ever lost a game you (thought) you had won. If your hand isn't up right now, I think you might not be human.
We've all had that game where everything just goes right. You're in a good mood, your opponent is challenging, but not better than you, and you are winning. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Right?
Usually this is where I lose focus on the game and lose. Either I was really winning and made a (stupid) mistake, or I wasn't winning at all, I was just being delusional. One way or the other, I get overconfident and lose.
It's not a bad thing to know if you are ahead or not in the game. You should count during the game! But when you then find out you are winning, getting overconfident is pretty much the worst that could happen. It makes you greedy, unfocused and generally not a nice person.
Overconfidence = bad. Stop it.
Which is a lot easier said than done.
01/04/2014
April Challenge
I know I said that a small challenge for March would still happen, but uni got in the way of that, so my apologies. Moving on...
It's time for the first monthly challenge!
The challenge will be:
This was one of the first things I came up with (and so did Eyecatcher). It is actually pretty simple. Think about your style of play. Is it aggressive? Passive? Influential? Territorial? Anything else?
For this month, it's time to change things up. Come up with an idea that is out of your comfort zone, or the opposite of what your normally play. Think about it before you start the game. What style will you play (if the situation allows it)? Which opening will you use if you're black? Of course, you'll have to try and stick to this for the rest of the game.
The goal is not to win more games, but to find new things. Maybe you will enjoy playing in a different way than normally. Maybe you won't, but you might find ways to counter it when others play that style against you. Heck, maybe you won't get anything out of it. But does it hurt to try it out?
Of course, I will participate as well!
As some of you might know, my style is generally (too) passive. I've been trying to work on it, but it hasn't gone very well for me so far.
So it's probably no surprise that I will try to play more aggressive. Before I play a move, I should remind myself of this. Is this move passive? Am I avoiding a fight here? If the answer yes, I will change my move, even if I am not entirely comfortable with it. If I lose, I'll have something to review. If I win, I'll also have something to review.
I will try to do this for at least 5 games in the month of April, and I challenge you to do the same! Of course, you should find your own comfort zone, and what is outside of that.
Do you accept this challenge?
If you do, leave a comment with your area of comfort, and how you will get out of it!
My plan is to give weekly updates on my own progress, and of course, you can let me (and everybody else) know your progress too. If you complete the challenge you will get an honorable mention on the future wall of fame! (Which is worth absolutely nothing, but it's the idea that counts.) Of course, you can make this more challenging by adding more games, or the other way around!
One thing though, this month my uni has a 2-week teaching break, in which I will be travelling, so those weeks have no weekly updates. Which defies the point of weekly updates. Next month will be better. I promise.
In unrelated news: 9x9 go has been solved!!
It's time for the first monthly challenge!
The challenge will be:
Get out of your comfort zone!
Game count: 5
This was one of the first things I came up with (and so did Eyecatcher). It is actually pretty simple. Think about your style of play. Is it aggressive? Passive? Influential? Territorial? Anything else?
For this month, it's time to change things up. Come up with an idea that is out of your comfort zone, or the opposite of what your normally play. Think about it before you start the game. What style will you play (if the situation allows it)? Which opening will you use if you're black? Of course, you'll have to try and stick to this for the rest of the game.
The goal is not to win more games, but to find new things. Maybe you will enjoy playing in a different way than normally. Maybe you won't, but you might find ways to counter it when others play that style against you. Heck, maybe you won't get anything out of it. But does it hurt to try it out?
Of course, I will participate as well!
As some of you might know, my style is generally (too) passive. I've been trying to work on it, but it hasn't gone very well for me so far.
So it's probably no surprise that I will try to play more aggressive. Before I play a move, I should remind myself of this. Is this move passive? Am I avoiding a fight here? If the answer yes, I will change my move, even if I am not entirely comfortable with it. If I lose, I'll have something to review. If I win, I'll also have something to review.
I will try to do this for at least 5 games in the month of April, and I challenge you to do the same! Of course, you should find your own comfort zone, and what is outside of that.
Do you accept this challenge?
If you do, leave a comment with your area of comfort, and how you will get out of it!
My plan is to give weekly updates on my own progress, and of course, you can let me (and everybody else) know your progress too. If you complete the challenge you will get an honorable mention on the future wall of fame! (Which is worth absolutely nothing, but it's the idea that counts.) Of course, you can make this more challenging by adding more games, or the other way around!
One thing though, this month my uni has a 2-week teaching break, in which I will be travelling, so those weeks have no weekly updates. Which defies the point of weekly updates. Next month will be better. I promise.
In unrelated news: 9x9 go has been solved!!
17/03/2014
Putting the challenge back
Hello everybody!
It has been a while, but I am back!
The past few weeks have been hectic, but great. It involved a lot of moving, beach and meeting new people. It didn't involve much go, but not much is better than none at all, since I managed to squeeze a game in here and there.
Now that things are settling down, I have a bit more time for go. Luckily my study load doesn't seem to be too much (then again, this is only the second week), so that gives more time for go and this blog :)!
Regarding the blog, I mentioned before that I want to give it some new direction. That basically includes putting the challenge back in the Go Challenge!
I want to not only challenge myself, but also you, the reader.
The idea is pretty simple. Every month I will try to come up with a different challenge. These challenges won't really be focused on increasing your strength or rank, but more on enjoying the game, and they do not have to take up extra time (unless you want them to).
Aside from that I will try to throw some random, fun and short challenges in every now and then. Of course I will do all of these challenges myself, and give updates, but I would love it if you would do the challenges with me, so let me know if you like the idea! And let me know if you have an idea for a challenge, because I only have few, hahaha.
Since March is already well underway, I will start with a monthly challenge in April, but stay tuned for a smaller challenge this week or the next.
Of course, I will also continue the Quote Mania's!
So that's the update for now! I'm looking forward to hear what you think, so leave a comment :)!
It has been a while, but I am back!
The past few weeks have been hectic, but great. It involved a lot of moving, beach and meeting new people. It didn't involve much go, but not much is better than none at all, since I managed to squeeze a game in here and there.
Now that things are settling down, I have a bit more time for go. Luckily my study load doesn't seem to be too much (then again, this is only the second week), so that gives more time for go and this blog :)!
Regarding the blog, I mentioned before that I want to give it some new direction. That basically includes putting the challenge back in the Go Challenge!
I want to not only challenge myself, but also you, the reader.
The idea is pretty simple. Every month I will try to come up with a different challenge. These challenges won't really be focused on increasing your strength or rank, but more on enjoying the game, and they do not have to take up extra time (unless you want them to).
Aside from that I will try to throw some random, fun and short challenges in every now and then. Of course I will do all of these challenges myself, and give updates, but I would love it if you would do the challenges with me, so let me know if you like the idea! And let me know if you have an idea for a challenge, because I only have few, hahaha.
Since March is already well underway, I will start with a monthly challenge in April, but stay tuned for a smaller challenge this week or the next.
Of course, I will also continue the Quote Mania's!
So that's the update for now! I'm looking forward to hear what you think, so leave a comment :)!
08/02/2014
BIBA day 4 & 5
I promise I will never promise daily updates ever again.
On Thursday I was off to BIBA around noon, but somehow ended up with Blackie and Thomas in an indoor golf course. Only it's not a course. Quite honestly, it kind of made me think of an advanced Wii. I'm pretty sure I just insulted somebody, but really, it was a room with a computer and on a (non-breakable, flexible) screen was a virtual golf course. They were using real balls and sticks (I don't know the name of those things.They look like hockey sticks, so I call them golf sticks) to hit the balls to the screen. It was interesting.
After that we went out for lunch (Dia had joined by then) and that was also the last lunch with Blackie and Dia, because they were leaving that night for Hawaii, for the BIBA winter camp. Yup, a wintercamp in Hawaii. Poor them.
Anyway, we went back to BIBA after the awesome Korean food, and Blackie helped me out with some of my problems. Then he reviewed a game with us again (no chocolates this time).
I worked on some more problems, and that was actually about it for the day.
Friday wasn't too eventful either, as Blackie and Dia had already left. I replayed a professional game, worked some on my problems and watched the others review their game, and well, that was about it.
Also Friday was my 'official' last day at BIBA, as I was only studying there for one week. I am still staying at Blackie's house for the coming week, but I will mainly be sightseeing, although I might pop by BIBA sometimes.
My overall experience was quite nice. But really, a week is very, very short, and that's a shame. Although I did learn many things, I believe that I am too weak to really profit from it right now. But that's ok. I am having a good time, and I do know that if (when!) I get stronger and if I ever get the opportunity to do something like this for a longer time, I would grab the chance!
And the most important thing of this trip for me is to experience the culture. I did that, and will do it in the coming week too.
So that was it. My week at BIBA. It was a nice and good experience, although not completely over yet. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences :).
As for the blog, next week I am moving to Australia, and I have no idea how things will be then. I have some ideas in mind to give the blog some real direction (because face it, right now it's just me blabbering on (which is fine, but gets a bit boring after a while)), but I am not sure when I will have time. Regardless, I promise not to abandon this blog (unlike my 'daily updates', this promise I will keep).
See you soon and thank you for reading :)!
On Thursday I was off to BIBA around noon, but somehow ended up with Blackie and Thomas in an indoor golf course. Only it's not a course. Quite honestly, it kind of made me think of an advanced Wii. I'm pretty sure I just insulted somebody, but really, it was a room with a computer and on a (non-breakable, flexible) screen was a virtual golf course. They were using real balls and sticks (I don't know the name of those things.They look like hockey sticks, so I call them golf sticks) to hit the balls to the screen. It was interesting.
After that we went out for lunch (Dia had joined by then) and that was also the last lunch with Blackie and Dia, because they were leaving that night for Hawaii, for the BIBA winter camp. Yup, a wintercamp in Hawaii. Poor them.
Anyway, we went back to BIBA after the awesome Korean food, and Blackie helped me out with some of my problems. Then he reviewed a game with us again (no chocolates this time).
I worked on some more problems, and that was actually about it for the day.
Friday wasn't too eventful either, as Blackie and Dia had already left. I replayed a professional game, worked some on my problems and watched the others review their game, and well, that was about it.
Also Friday was my 'official' last day at BIBA, as I was only studying there for one week. I am still staying at Blackie's house for the coming week, but I will mainly be sightseeing, although I might pop by BIBA sometimes.
My overall experience was quite nice. But really, a week is very, very short, and that's a shame. Although I did learn many things, I believe that I am too weak to really profit from it right now. But that's ok. I am having a good time, and I do know that if (when!) I get stronger and if I ever get the opportunity to do something like this for a longer time, I would grab the chance!
And the most important thing of this trip for me is to experience the culture. I did that, and will do it in the coming week too.
So that was it. My week at BIBA. It was a nice and good experience, although not completely over yet. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences :).
As for the blog, next week I am moving to Australia, and I have no idea how things will be then. I have some ideas in mind to give the blog some real direction (because face it, right now it's just me blabbering on (which is fine, but gets a bit boring after a while)), but I am not sure when I will have time. Regardless, I promise not to abandon this blog (unlike my 'daily updates', this promise I will keep).
See you soon and thank you for reading :)!
06/02/2014
BIBA day 2 & 3
I am sorry, I suck at this daily update thing.
It's time for an update on the second and third day at BIBA :).
On Tuesday I went to the Baduk school a bit before noon, and spend quite some time working on problems. During the afternoon we got a sort of lecture from Blackie. He replayed some pro games and asked everybody's opinions, gave comments, etc. Actually, most if it was a little hard to understand for weak little me, but it was still very interesting! He also made us guess moves (or changed the situation and then made us guess the best move), and there happened to be chocolate on the table, so whenever somebody got the right answer, they got chocolate. I got some easier questions, and won the great number of 1 chocolate in total. But hey, at least I got some :).
Afterwards I went back to my problems for a bit, and then played another game with Blackie's father. The game was a little more even this time around, although I was still losing, and then I made a few very stupid mistakes in a row, and one pretty big group died a horrible death. I resigned, but then Blackie walked by, took a 2 second glance at the board and said there was still a chance for ko. So we continued, and after an eternity of staring at the board I finally found it. My group came back alive, and miraculously I managed to self-atari it during end-game. No kidding. It was no problem to take it back and just go to counting, and I still lost by quite a few points. So basically I lost this game 3 times. Isn't that just wonderful?
Next time I play him I get two stones, so maybe I'll stand a chance. It was still a very fun game though.
Wednesday both Blackie and Dia had to play in a tournament at the Hanguk Kiwon (Korean baduk association). I really wanted to visit the Kiwon and Jon still had to buy some books there, so we went with them.
Actually, the visit was very short and I don't have too much to write about, since we were a bit late.
The bookshop in the Kiwon is actually hilariously small, but there are a whole lot of books there, it is so full that the lady had to climb over a wall of books the get the ones Jon wanted.
We also walked past the Baduk TV studio, but I didn't really see anything because nobody was there and the lights were turned off. We quickly went for lunch at a nearby restaurant (FYI, Korean food is awesome), where some of the other pro's playing that day were also eating. By that time the games were almost starting already, so we basically ran back to the Kiwon, and were just in time for the games to start.
Me and Jon were then standing in the hallway, where I was very casually (not) staring into the room where the pro's were playing. A girl got out from another room, and looked as us utterly confused. She stared at us for half a minute, turned around to go the playing room, turned back around to look at us, got ready to ask something, shook her head and then left. We're not sure what happened there. Maybe she just thought we were not supposed to be there or thought she knew one of us, but I just arrived two days ago and Jon didn't know her either. Anyway, the situation was very funny and extremely awkward.
We then went back to BIBA, where nothing very special happened.
At night Blackie reviewed some pro games with us again and gave me some impromptu problems. He also showed us a very funny, infinite problem. I don't exactly remember it, but it involved an under the stones tesuji and some other things, creating an infinite loop of capturing and re-capturing.
So that is what I did the past few days. I apologize for the big amount of boring text and the horrible writing, but I'm tired, so please don't judge me :(.
Anyway, I hope you still enjoy reading about my experiences here.
It's time for an update on the second and third day at BIBA :).
On Tuesday I went to the Baduk school a bit before noon, and spend quite some time working on problems. During the afternoon we got a sort of lecture from Blackie. He replayed some pro games and asked everybody's opinions, gave comments, etc. Actually, most if it was a little hard to understand for weak little me, but it was still very interesting! He also made us guess moves (or changed the situation and then made us guess the best move), and there happened to be chocolate on the table, so whenever somebody got the right answer, they got chocolate. I got some easier questions, and won the great number of 1 chocolate in total. But hey, at least I got some :).
Afterwards I went back to my problems for a bit, and then played another game with Blackie's father. The game was a little more even this time around, although I was still losing, and then I made a few very stupid mistakes in a row, and one pretty big group died a horrible death. I resigned, but then Blackie walked by, took a 2 second glance at the board and said there was still a chance for ko. So we continued, and after an eternity of staring at the board I finally found it. My group came back alive, and miraculously I managed to self-atari it during end-game. No kidding. It was no problem to take it back and just go to counting, and I still lost by quite a few points. So basically I lost this game 3 times. Isn't that just wonderful?
Next time I play him I get two stones, so maybe I'll stand a chance. It was still a very fun game though.
Wednesday both Blackie and Dia had to play in a tournament at the Hanguk Kiwon (Korean baduk association). I really wanted to visit the Kiwon and Jon still had to buy some books there, so we went with them.
Actually, the visit was very short and I don't have too much to write about, since we were a bit late.
The bookshop in the Kiwon is actually hilariously small, but there are a whole lot of books there, it is so full that the lady had to climb over a wall of books the get the ones Jon wanted.
We also walked past the Baduk TV studio, but I didn't really see anything because nobody was there and the lights were turned off. We quickly went for lunch at a nearby restaurant (FYI, Korean food is awesome), where some of the other pro's playing that day were also eating. By that time the games were almost starting already, so we basically ran back to the Kiwon, and were just in time for the games to start.
Me and Jon were then standing in the hallway, where I was very casually (not) staring into the room where the pro's were playing. A girl got out from another room, and looked as us utterly confused. She stared at us for half a minute, turned around to go the playing room, turned back around to look at us, got ready to ask something, shook her head and then left. We're not sure what happened there. Maybe she just thought we were not supposed to be there or thought she knew one of us, but I just arrived two days ago and Jon didn't know her either. Anyway, the situation was very funny and extremely awkward.
We then went back to BIBA, where nothing very special happened.
At night Blackie reviewed some pro games with us again and gave me some impromptu problems. He also showed us a very funny, infinite problem. I don't exactly remember it, but it involved an under the stones tesuji and some other things, creating an infinite loop of capturing and re-capturing.
So that is what I did the past few days. I apologize for the big amount of boring text and the horrible writing, but I'm tired, so please don't judge me :(.
Anyway, I hope you still enjoy reading about my experiences here.
03/02/2014
BIBA day 1.5
Hi everybody!
As I said before, the past few weeks I have been travelling, and pretty much ignored go for a while. While I was in Hong Kong I went to the go association a few times, but not much, because I obviously wanted to see the city. And the two weeks with my parents before that I was too busy relaxing to do some very serious studying aside from a problem here and there. Regardless, Sunday I arrived in Seoul, where I will spent one week at Blackie's Internatiobal Baduk Academy (from henceforth mentioned as BIBA), and one week sightseeing.
I will try to update on what I do everyday, so if you're interested, keep reading :).
Sunday I got picked up at the airport by Blackie (Kim Seungjun 9p) and Diana Koszegi 1p. I was extremely tired, because I my flight was very early and I didn't sleep the night before, nor can I sleep on an airplane. So I was very happy they came all the way to pick me up.
I am staying at Blackie's appartment, together with his family (obviously) and the three other students, Thomas, Jon and Richard. They're all around 4/5 dan (official ranks).
On Sunday itself nothing much happened because I may or may not have fallen asleep after a while. We did have awesome homemade korean food, and I played Catan against Blackie and Diana.
Yesterday we went to the Baduk school, basically a school for kids, and BIBA has a room there. Most of the kids weren't there yet though, because they had school. There was one kid who was playing on the pc in BIBA's room, and they told me he is a Korean insei. I just happened to see that he is 9 dan on Tygem (actually I was kind of staring in awe, but that's irrelevant) (also, he's an insei so I probably shouldn't be surprised about that).
Anyway, on the first day I played 3 games. One against Thomas with 6 stones, which I won by 9 points (which is really not impressive since I started with a sea of my own stones).
One against a very young girl (I'm horrible at guessing ages, so I won't even try), with a 2 stone handicap as black. I also won, by quite a bit this time.
Then I played a game with Blackie's first and last teacher, his father. He is about 1 dan EGF. I played as black, no komi. I resigned, because I was losing by about 20+ points and we were going to eat.
After dinner I got a pretty big set of problems, all basic shapes I should know (but I don't), so I did a few of those. According to the others they're one-second problems, but they take me soooooo long, it's a bit sad, haha.
Anyway, that was my first day. Aside from the horrible freezing cold I really like it so far and we'll see what the rest of the week brings!
(Also, I'm not really a picture person, so I'll try to take some, but it won't be a lot, haha)
(And I wrote this on my phone, so the post might be a little messy, sorry about that.)
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