Turn based online play - more fun than expected

I volunteered to play in a tournament with some other GoDiscussions.com regulars. It was being hosted on OGS. I hadn't tried any games on a turn-based system, so I was feeling a bit like a newbie player. But I signed up, and figured I would be playing a game as if we were emailing moves back and forth.

Well, things happen alot faster than I expected. We built a 9 player tournament and that means each player plays all 8 other participants twice - once as black and once as white. The big surprise was you play all 16 games AT THE SAME TIME!!

So, even if a few players don't show up in a day, you still have a bunch of games that you can move in. I think many of the players leave a browser window open to the site and check on their games whenever they get a few minutes. The point is that you can get a lot more than 1 move per game in each day. What I actually expected to feel slow feels really good. There is a lot less anxiety when you only have to play 1 move. If the position is really dificult, you can just skip that game and work on it when you have more time.

Games are played with Fischer time measured in days. Our tourney was set up as 7 days, plus 1 day time added per move, max time on the clock of 7 days. So, you could theoretically wait a whole week for 1 move, and then play 7 moves the next day and be back up to the max time on the clock.

I was concerned about trying to play on a second server, but at this point I like OGS better. Getting back into the realtime games on KGS may be more of a challenge. OGS has some other nice features like official tournaments, ranking via ELO, bots to help you establish rank, and their ladders.

The ladders are a neat feature where everyone who wants to join gets on a big list. There are some rules about who you are allowed to challenge, but basically everyone plays everyone else on the ladder. If you win, you move to the spot above your opponent. So it is a big GO version of 'king of the mountain'. It makes me think of the insei program where all the students are playing each other to get to the top so they can take the pro exam. OGS has 3 ladders - a 19x19 ladder, 13x13 and 9x9.

I have played a few bot games to try to establish rank, and I think I will join the 19x19 ladder soon as well. I say give a turn-based server a chance! Take a look at both OGS (Online Go Server) and DGS (Dragon Go Server) - maybe one will seem right for you!

Watched entire HnG series

I have been looking for inspiration to help me improve my GO in all directions. Not sure why, really, but I felt like I needed to watch all the Hikaru no Go episodes...so I did. I think it is a pretty good Japanese-style cartoon (manga) with a pretty linear plotline. The one interesting twist is Sai. Of course it is all about GO, so if you like manga and GO, I think you would enjoy it quite a bit.
I think watching it actually helped me, in the attitude department. I was able to see Hikaru's drive to improve. I watched the characters review games with their high level dan sensei - and although I understood the concepts they discussed I can't really apply them to my own game yet. It made me want to improve enough to see what they saw on the board.
The concern I have about rank seemed to be addressed as well. All you can really ever do on the GO board is "test your strength". Ranks don't really matter so much. So that is my new mantra when I consider playing - I need to "test my strength".
If I understood the ways to use thickness, had confidence in my groups level of connectedness, and could read better I wouldn't really care about my rank. I would be able to appreciate the subtleties of the game.
So, I guess I think Hikaru no Go is a motivational story for GO players. I think it could be a good break from playing and studying, worth rewatching every few years.

Free game with Buzzsaw

I have posted on my occasional resistance/fear of playing on KGS. Too caught up in ratings, etc. But I logged in the other day and saw buzzsaw online. I am a fan of her blog and so she has "celebrity status" for me. I decided to be brave and ask her to play a game. We played a free game, I got 5 stones and lost, but I was happier than I have been playing most of my online games.

It made me realize that I have been missing out on the "playing" part of the game. Rated games feel like you are in a tournament. These serious, competitive games are fun sometimes but they don't feel personal. I guess "free" games are intended to be casual games, but I have always viewed free games as "I don't want to mess with my rating" games.

I want the equivalent of a "curl up on the sofa with a good book" game. A comfortable game. A friendly game where each player wants to do well, but is also happy to point out better continuations, or try variations. This interactive learning style of "playing" doesn't translate so well to computers I guess.

Having a friendly rival of about the same strength, who I could play over the board at the local coffee shop sounds like it would be the best. I guess I need to start checking out the GO scene and finding some opponents here in town rather than just in cyberspace.

Played 7 games on KGS in June

My goal was 50, and I only played 7. One was with a weak bot (butterbot 24k). So, I really should only claim 6. I did play another 6 or so over the board at lunch at work, but even adding that falls dramatically short. So, I am wondering why so few games?

*Opens up bag of excuses and grabs a handful.*

• I like the base settings of 30 minutes + 30/5 byo yomi. But that translates into more than an hour if both sides use all their time. So, if I want to play I need more than an hour. This stops me from even logging in a lot of the time. (I should just reduce the base time to 20 minutes for the custom games I post...ok, I will.)
• I don't like to play unless I am "battle ready". I want to feel sharp, and mentally tough enough to play well. This isn't how I feel when I wake up (too sleepy), after a beer (too loopy) or on many normal nights (just not in the zone). (Guess I need to be less attached to the outcome of each game...)
• I care too much about my rating. It keeps drifting up when I don't play and so I want to win a few so it stays at the better rating. (Too much concern for the rating, but it is hard to ignore.)

I am happy with a lot of the GO efforts I am making, but I still want to push myself to complete more online play. I really like the fact that the moves of the game are captured and available for later review.