For a long time I was intimidated to play against players with a better ranking than I had. I wasn't super-confident that my own 15k-ish rank was accurate and I didn't want to "waste the time" of higher ranked folks. I didn't want to waste their time or get slaughtered by them.
It feels like there are a lot of 15 kyu players that have this attitude and are all looking for an even 15k game that they have a chance of winning. Now I am wondering if this isn't a bit of a trap. My theory now is that 15k is too soon to start settling and assuming you have hit a plateau.
I started playing against SDKs (Single Digit Kyu) when I attended the Go Club. I have continued sort of by chance in a few different spots. On KGS I played a few robots and got a (9k?) rating. That seems way too high, but it got me a game against a player I knew from GoDiscussions. He was an 11k so he asked for 2 stones! Also on OGS I have joined a tournament which has me playing against players up to 8 kyu.
Third area, also on OGS is the OGS 19x19 Ladder Competition. This is a ladder for all skill levels, and I made up my mind to challenge the highest player up the ladder that I could each time I finish an old ladder game. This decision could have me playing even games against Dan players, depending on where they are on the ladder!
I have only played a few of these "stretch" games so far, but I think they are important. It just reminds me of the old saying that if you want to improve in a competitive field you need to play against other players stronger than you.
For a long time I think I was pretty happy to be able to say I was a 15 kyu. I was humbled by all the things I realized I didn't know and was just happy to have mastered a little. But now I am starting to feel that the SDK ranks don't seem that far away. I have a sense that by playing SDKs I will be forced to stretch myself to play like an SDK. Time will tell.
BOTTOM LINE: I truly think that having some mechanism built into my training schedule that forces me to play stronger players will help me improve faster. I would suggest the OGS Ladder trick to anyone that wants to try this.
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Vultur's OGS Ladder Ritual:
Step 1: Join the OGS 19x19 Ladder
Step 2: Challenge the top 3 players available to you on the ladder. (The way things are set up, you won't start out with access to challenging people at the very TOP of the ladder, but you will be able to challenge people 50 or 100 spots higher than you.) Don't worry about their rank - it may be below yours, the same or above - it doesn't matter. Your goal is to climb the ladder!
Step 3: As you complete a game, challenge the player at highest available spot on the ladder.
Repeat step 3 until you are in Ladder position #1 !!! :)
Use the results of these games as "review and improve" material.
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If nothing else, playing against stronger players should help reduce the intimidation factor of people rated higher than you. It has helped me see that I am not stuck on some 15k plateau with an unclimbable cliff leading up to higher ranks. The slope up to 8 or 9k seems achievable now.
6 comments:
Well said! I'm currently about 7k on KGS and I got the same recommendation from someone who reviewed a few of my games. I think I'll be trying out the OGS ladder as you recommended. Thanks for the reminder.
And by the way, let me know if you want a rematch for the 9 stone handicap game we played a while back :-) We'll play an even game, of course. You can find me on KGS as either alpha or ludwig.
Hehe - sounds good. Funny to see that game was nearly a year ago...
Interesting... it seems that I have the same attitude you had... I'm afraid of playing stronger opponents because I don't want to lose badly or waste their time. Kgs gives me a rank of 16K but i doubt i'm that good...18k is more realistic.
Anyway... thanks for the insight, I will try to overcome this wall(if you can call it that).
I couldn't agree more :)
Good for you, and I'm glad you enjoy the ladder system !
Topazg, thanks for building OGS!! It is the online server I am the most comfortable with. I bow in your general direction!!
Oh, thanks for you post! I didn't know about the OGS ladder, but will have to give it a try....
I am in a similar position; I am around 8 kyu on KGS but feel very hesitant about challenging stronger players. (Actually, I am shy about challenging *anyone* online apart from the bots, but I'm working on that!)
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