How do you learn? What is the quickest method for you to see how your thinking is flawed and then fix it? If you had a brain dump of exactly what you were thinking during a Go game, you could replay it and see where you missed things, where you valued areas too highly and where you assumed your groups were safe when they weren't.
Normal Go commentary can't really do this. Adding comments to a game record after it is complete is like rereading a book when you already know the ending. It does add enjoyment to replaying a game, but I don't think it helps as much as it could as a training aid.
Recently on GoDiscussions.com an effort to capture player's thinking while a game is progressing has started gaining momentum. The term "Malkovich game" has been coined which refers to the movie where people are somehow inside John Malkovich's brain (Being John Malkovich). To find threads about this go to GoDiscussions and search for - you guessed it - "Malkovich".
I think having players capture their thoughts as they make each move helps reveal what they think is going on, without any real guess of how the game will progress or end. It presents a more rounded version of all their concerns at each move and will capture flaws in their thinking. Once the game is complete, going back and reviewing those original comments is like having a brain dump! The players should be able to clearly see the flaws in their thinking and make real improvement in their games. Including some post-game additions/corrections to the game file could help other players see how they can avoid the same false thinking as the player in the game.
I really think this is a valuable method of learning. It is tough to use in a real-time game, but with a little discipline, it is easy to do in a turn-based game. Before you make each move, write down why you decided that was the best play. Once the game is complete, go back and review your thinking. Get others to take a look at your game and do some post game analysis. Seeing moves where you made "bad" decisions and your reasoning behind them will help you be alert to your faulty thinking in the future.
Doing a "1-man Malkovich" where you are the only one doing your in-game comments seems valuable. I believe that you will get the most out of your own comments - seeing other player's in-game comments will help you see how they think, but it isn't the same as analyzing your own brain dump.
Having both players making in-game comments seems potentially even more exciting. So, find a buddy and see if you can convince them do play a turn-based Malkovich game with you. When the game is over, trade notes and see what your opponent was thinking, and how you could have done better!
These "2-person Malkovich" games are exactly what the players on GoDiscussions are trying. Here are the first 2 games:
Vap vs Joaz
Joaz vs Sol
Enjoy!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Review of posted material
I just went back and reread the whole list of posts. I think most of the postings are pretty good - even though I am no master, they are generally accurate.
For a quick recap, here are the most important points I think I have touched on:
1. Resign a lost game. (Or ask your opponent if it is okay to play it out.)
2. Claim the same screen name on all the online servers when you start.
3. Don't play "hope Go". (Assume your opponent sees everything you do.)
4. 30 kyu starter kit:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First off, go through this tutorial: The Interactive Way to GO
If that all makes sense do some life or death problems here: GoProblems.com
1. Click the button in the top middle that says Problems.
2. Set "How Many" to 50 or so.
3. Set the difficulty from 30kyu (easiest) to 25kyu (a bit harder).
4. Click the "Get Problems" button.
5. You will see a list of problems, click the top one.
6. Try to solve it, retry, etc. until you understand it (or just want to move on).
7. Click the "Next in Set" button.
Next, download IGoWin. (Only works on a Windows PC.) It is a 9x9 GO player that remembers your strength. It will give you handicap stones to try to make the game even. As you improve, it will give you less and less handicap stones until you are giving the computer the handicap!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5. Don't attach when attacking.
6. Basic moves (Extend, Diagonal, 1-Space Jump, Keima).
7. Ranks (30kyu - 9P, each server/organization is internally consistent, but ranks may differ across different bodies).
8. Rulesets (don't sweat the details until you start joining tournaments).
9. Resist spending extra stones to kill a nearly dead group.
10. Sent and Gote
11. Go Terms
12. Ladders
13. Center vs. Edge
14. Killing eyes
15. Playing online (KGS)
16. Urgent before big.
17. Bases, Moyos (I screwed this post up. Bases are not Moyos.)
18. Ripped shapes
19. No posing on Ko (I am still avoiding Ko battles in my games.)
20. the Clamp
21. Extending from walls
22. CORNERS!!! SIDES! center...
23. Shape
24. Nose Tesuji
25. Online Go Anxiety
26. OGS Issues
27. 4-4 Opening
28. Tsumego
29. Traditional 1st move
30 Stronger Opponents
31. OGS Ladder
32. Play - Review - Tsumego - Books
Having these line items all in one place will help me remember what I haven't talked about that might be worth discussing. So, if you are new here, and some of these topics look like they could be helpful - try to go back and read the blog in order. (I just did to make this list, and it isn't really designed to be read in chronological order...) :P
For a quick recap, here are the most important points I think I have touched on:
1. Resign a lost game. (Or ask your opponent if it is okay to play it out.)
2. Claim the same screen name on all the online servers when you start.
3. Don't play "hope Go". (Assume your opponent sees everything you do.)
4. 30 kyu starter kit:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First off, go through this tutorial: The Interactive Way to GO
If that all makes sense do some life or death problems here: GoProblems.com
1. Click the button in the top middle that says Problems.
2. Set "How Many" to 50 or so.
3. Set the difficulty from 30kyu (easiest) to 25kyu (a bit harder).
4. Click the "Get Problems" button.
5. You will see a list of problems, click the top one.
6. Try to solve it, retry, etc. until you understand it (or just want to move on).
7. Click the "Next in Set" button.
Next, download IGoWin. (Only works on a Windows PC.) It is a 9x9 GO player that remembers your strength. It will give you handicap stones to try to make the game even. As you improve, it will give you less and less handicap stones until you are giving the computer the handicap!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5. Don't attach when attacking.
6. Basic moves (Extend, Diagonal, 1-Space Jump, Keima).
7. Ranks (30kyu - 9P, each server/organization is internally consistent, but ranks may differ across different bodies).
8. Rulesets (don't sweat the details until you start joining tournaments).
9. Resist spending extra stones to kill a nearly dead group.
10. Sent and Gote
11. Go Terms
12. Ladders
13. Center vs. Edge
14. Killing eyes
15. Playing online (KGS)
16. Urgent before big.
17. Bases, Moyos (I screwed this post up. Bases are not Moyos.)
18. Ripped shapes
19. No posing on Ko (I am still avoiding Ko battles in my games.)
20. the Clamp
21. Extending from walls
22. CORNERS!!! SIDES! center...
23. Shape
24. Nose Tesuji
25. Online Go Anxiety
26. OGS Issues
27. 4-4 Opening
28. Tsumego
29. Traditional 1st move
30 Stronger Opponents
31. OGS Ladder
32. Play - Review - Tsumego - Books
Having these line items all in one place will help me remember what I haven't talked about that might be worth discussing. So, if you are new here, and some of these topics look like they could be helpful - try to go back and read the blog in order. (I just did to make this list, and it isn't really designed to be read in chronological order...) :P
The better you get, the more you realize you don't know
My original intent on this site was to play Go and improve. As I improved I wanted to analyze that growth and capture the critical things I learned. Then I wanted to share what I learned to help others ramp up faster.
So, a couple things are slowing me down. First, I have not improved much in the last few months! It is a lot of things combined: Go gets harder as you improve, I haven't been playing a lot, I haven't been studying books or doing much tsumego. There is also some level of unexplainable effort. When I play now, I strain to make the best move, but I can't explain why I select a lot of moves - they just feel like the biggest plays. Finally, there is the realization that what you thought was rock solid fact ("empty triangles are bad") turns gray ("empty triangles are usually bad") and then loses the feel of a rule at all ("empty triangles are often inefficient, but should be used whenever appropriate").
So, it is tough to act like a fountain of knowledge for others when I am questioning everything I have used to get this far.
So, a couple things are slowing me down. First, I have not improved much in the last few months! It is a lot of things combined: Go gets harder as you improve, I haven't been playing a lot, I haven't been studying books or doing much tsumego. There is also some level of unexplainable effort. When I play now, I strain to make the best move, but I can't explain why I select a lot of moves - they just feel like the biggest plays. Finally, there is the realization that what you thought was rock solid fact ("empty triangles are bad") turns gray ("empty triangles are usually bad") and then loses the feel of a rule at all ("empty triangles are often inefficient, but should be used whenever appropriate").
So, it is tough to act like a fountain of knowledge for others when I am questioning everything I have used to get this far.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lots of distractions
Sorry I haven't updated the site recently! I haven't made a ton of progress lately, and life has been pretty hectic. Hopefully I will have time for a few new posts soon. Since I don't have anything wildly original to say, I'll leave you with the proven wisdom of the ages:
Play games. (and review them/have them reviewed)
Do tsumego. (then do some more tsumego)
Repeat.
Play games. (and review them/have them reviewed)
Do tsumego. (then do some more tsumego)
Repeat.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Driving toward SDK
My most recent OGS ladder and OGS tournament games have matched me up with a 15k, a 9k, a 19k and a 12k. I won all 4 of those games! Woot! My rank is up to 11.9k. I went 4-2 in the 1st round of the tourney and I've jumped 112 rungs up the ladder to 76th place!
It feels good, but I think I am due for a butt kicking or 2 soon. I wouldn't be surprised to see my rank fall a bit, but I really think I am on a good path to help me improve.
I may just have to comment up the game I won against the 9k. It was a lot of fun. So was the 12k game. It sure would be nice to have some face to face games as well...
It feels good, but I think I am due for a butt kicking or 2 soon. I wouldn't be surprised to see my rank fall a bit, but I really think I am on a good path to help me improve.
I may just have to comment up the game I won against the 9k. It was a lot of fun. So was the 12k game. It sure would be nice to have some face to face games as well...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Playing opponents that outrank you
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.
++++++++++
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.
++++++++++
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.
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.
++++++++++
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.
++++++++++
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.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Need to study bases and openings
Initially the opening was scary, because just like an artist can freeze up at a blank canvas or a writer at a blank page, starting a Go game was something that seemed all too easy to mess up with a bad first move. But it is a mental block you have to get past to play, so I grasped on to the 3-4 opening. It has an expected follow on at 5-3 and gives you a nice enclosure. Any decent opening was enough at first - I just needed to get into the game far enough to start seeing those tsumego like patterns starting to form - now we are playing!
But, I got tired of the 3-4 as all too often I didn't get the chance to follow up with the 5-3. Even if I did, the likelihood of extending to the appropriate side star point (the one on the 3-4's side) was even slimmer. About then the brilliance of the 4-4 started making sense. It is less of an enclosure of the corner, and more like getting home field advantage when the fight for the corner begins.
Next thing that hits me is that the corners and sides are much more valuable than I could possibly have imagined! I had been playing some kind of "send eyeless dragons down from the center to reduce opponent's side territory, and then tie them together with a big central moyo" strategy (my poor man's attempt at a cosmic Takemiya Masaki style), but it didn't seem to work. I never ended up with that much territory in the center, due to opponents reductions and the difficulty of surrounding territory that requires stones on all four sides. My appreciation of the Go Proverbs "Corner, Side, Center" and "There is no territory in the center" grew immensely.
Imagining that the territory in the center was worthless, and that lines 1 through 4 were all that mattered helped me start focusing on fighting more fiercely for every point on the corners and sides. I tried to make all my moves on the 3rd and 4th lines unless defense required a move somewhere else. I think this is the right way to look at the board - at least for now. (As the game proceeds, any center area being surrounded by an opponent can be fairly easily reduced.)
My latest difficulty is building successful bases. I can claim a few corners with my opening stones, but then I need to invade and break up my opponent's areas. I know about what the size of a base is supposed to be, but I am pretty fuzzy on the details after that. I can't tell if a base is alive or not. So, I need to work on understanding bases.
And since this is one of the first things you do after the opening, it makes sense that the opening sets you up for the "base building phase". So, after finding a way to get past the "beginner's paralysis" in the opening, I am now ready to start studying why different openings make sense, and which may fit best with how I like to play.
But, I got tired of the 3-4 as all too often I didn't get the chance to follow up with the 5-3. Even if I did, the likelihood of extending to the appropriate side star point (the one on the 3-4's side) was even slimmer. About then the brilliance of the 4-4 started making sense. It is less of an enclosure of the corner, and more like getting home field advantage when the fight for the corner begins.
Next thing that hits me is that the corners and sides are much more valuable than I could possibly have imagined! I had been playing some kind of "send eyeless dragons down from the center to reduce opponent's side territory, and then tie them together with a big central moyo" strategy (my poor man's attempt at a cosmic Takemiya Masaki style), but it didn't seem to work. I never ended up with that much territory in the center, due to opponents reductions and the difficulty of surrounding territory that requires stones on all four sides. My appreciation of the Go Proverbs "Corner, Side, Center" and "There is no territory in the center" grew immensely.
Imagining that the territory in the center was worthless, and that lines 1 through 4 were all that mattered helped me start focusing on fighting more fiercely for every point on the corners and sides. I tried to make all my moves on the 3rd and 4th lines unless defense required a move somewhere else. I think this is the right way to look at the board - at least for now. (As the game proceeds, any center area being surrounded by an opponent can be fairly easily reduced.)
My latest difficulty is building successful bases. I can claim a few corners with my opening stones, but then I need to invade and break up my opponent's areas. I know about what the size of a base is supposed to be, but I am pretty fuzzy on the details after that. I can't tell if a base is alive or not. So, I need to work on understanding bases.
And since this is one of the first things you do after the opening, it makes sense that the opening sets you up for the "base building phase". So, after finding a way to get past the "beginner's paralysis" in the opening, I am now ready to start studying why different openings make sense, and which may fit best with how I like to play.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Playing in the KGS Ranking Room
If you are not familiar with it, the KGS Ranking Room has a few Bots that will play rated games against you. There are only a couple so you have to be quick to grab one when the bot finishes its previous game.
I had RankBot000 and was ready for a game - I set handicap to 4 and clicked go. (I had to go fast or someone else would get the game.) In the process of setting handicap the game switched from rated to free. Doh!
Nonetheless, the bot is rated at 8k, so with 4 stones I figure I should get my butt kicked. I followed my latest thinking - play on the 3rd and 4th lines, focus on corners and sides, keep the center a low priority. It was apparently good enough to win by 20 points!
I will post the game under the "Prime Games". I did win, but hopefully the strategy I used is clear, and I think it is one a beginner can understand and use to gain a stone or two!
I had RankBot000 and was ready for a game - I set handicap to 4 and clicked go. (I had to go fast or someone else would get the game.) In the process of setting handicap the game switched from rated to free. Doh!
Nonetheless, the bot is rated at 8k, so with 4 stones I figure I should get my butt kicked. I followed my latest thinking - play on the 3rd and 4th lines, focus on corners and sides, keep the center a low priority. It was apparently good enough to win by 20 points!
I will post the game under the "Prime Games". I did win, but hopefully the strategy I used is clear, and I think it is one a beginner can understand and use to gain a stone or two!
Traditional first move
Although there is no requirement on where to play your first move, there is a tradition.
Trevoke from GoDiscussions.com posted the details:
The tradition is 'kata' - form, japanese etiquette. Black is the weaker player and will then play closer to White, in a reaching move which can be extended as a bow. This leaves White's right-hand corner free, as a courtesy, so that White's first move does not force White to reach unless they choose to.
There is definitely no requirement on the exact spot to play, but playing in the upper right hand corner shows you know a little Go etiquette!
Trevoke from GoDiscussions.com posted the details:
The tradition is 'kata' - form, japanese etiquette. Black is the weaker player and will then play closer to White, in a reaching move which can be extended as a bow. This leaves White's right-hand corner free, as a courtesy, so that White's first move does not force White to reach unless they choose to.
There is definitely no requirement on the exact spot to play, but playing in the upper right hand corner shows you know a little Go etiquette!
Ugh - where have these comments been hiding?
I just found out that there are some comments on a few of my posts. I am sorry to have missed them until now. There must be some setting that alerts the owner of a blog that they have comments, but being the "noob" blogger that I am I must have that turned off.
So, thank you everyone for your previous comments, and don't take offense if I miss your future comments! :)
So, thank you everyone for your previous comments, and don't take offense if I miss your future comments! :)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Yet another good page at Sensei's
Some good responses to common situations at: Basic Instinct
I posted my latest thinking on strategy at GoDiscussions.com, but figured I'd repost it here:
Imagine the only important places to play are on the 3rd and 4th lines. You are trying to capture territory in the corners first, then the sides. Forget the center - it is a distraction!
Fairly quickly you will run out of moves on the 3rd and 4th lines and/or your opponent will do things that you need to defend that cause you to play higher or lower than those lines - that is okay. Defend those urgent spots and return to the focus on corner/side territory capture.
Finally, remember that as long as you win just over half the board, you win (aka don't get greedy).
I posted my latest thinking on strategy at GoDiscussions.com, but figured I'd repost it here:
Imagine the only important places to play are on the 3rd and 4th lines. You are trying to capture territory in the corners first, then the sides. Forget the center - it is a distraction!
Fairly quickly you will run out of moves on the 3rd and 4th lines and/or your opponent will do things that you need to defend that cause you to play higher or lower than those lines - that is okay. Defend those urgent spots and return to the focus on corner/side territory capture.
Finally, remember that as long as you win just over half the board, you win (aka don't get greedy).
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Playing at a Go club
I got a chance to play a face to face game against a 3 kyu opponent at the Nashua, NH Go club last weekend. It was a 9 stone handicap game, which I lost by about 30. It was enjoyable in a lot of ways:
Other news - Santa was good to me, he brought 4 Go books! I got Graded Go Problems 2 & 3, Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go (Kageyama), and Go the Natural Way (Takemiya Masaki).
- I liked playing against someone stronger who was willing to make comments (as if it was a teaching game) as well as try to win like a competitive game. We didn't have a kifu to record the game - too bad. I think it could have been helpful for a review.
- I liked that fact that I felt like I wasn't too far from gaining some strength and catching up to the other club members level. I guess I didn't just feel like a "loser DDK" amongst the elite SDK members. They didn't seem or act godlike and unapproachable. They were regular people I felt I could learn from and hopefully gain strength from.
- It didn't feel like a game against a computer. I had a real feeling of moves being about tradeoff and compensation. When a computer moves, it feels like it has made the one, the only, the best move. Playing a person had a much different feel. Lots of "I'll let you take the side if you give me the corner" situations.
Other news - Santa was good to me, he brought 4 Go books! I got Graded Go Problems 2 & 3, Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go (Kageyama), and Go the Natural Way (Takemiya Masaki).
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