Hi,

I'm a 5 kyu on KGS, and I want to study more seriously Go in order to get stronger.
I think a good way to achieve that is to join an online Go course where I can regularly: play small tournaments, get games reviewed, and get go lectures.

I just discovered yunguseng school that looks great. Do you know other online Go course? Do you have any feedback?

Thanks for your help!

Edit: I'm not a spam ^^ I removed the link

There is the Nordic Go Academy (http://www.nordicgoacademy.com/), led by three strong european amateurs (6-7-dans). I played two months in this academy and I was satisfied with the format and content, especially for the price.

You can also check out Guo Juan's Internet Go School (http://www.internetgoschool.com/) for pro tuition. The website offers a lot of video content, too.

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Does that sound like spam to anyone else?

Aside from being from a non-native English speaker?

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

It does indeed (I work more or less in the field of SEO, so this just would qualify as bad forum-spam, not even worthy of Google-punishment), but it can be a coincidence...

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Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

Well, his earlier posts seem genuine.

viewtopic.php?p=143764#p143764

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Yup, this is why I think it may be a coincidence. By the way, I also suggest the Nordic Go Academy, I'm still enrolled. A pity I was out during SoDesuNe's stay!

_________________
Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

spam? seriously?

I didn't know spammers are now targeting Go Players.

You guys are too paranoid. Don't be so hard on the newbies

Quoting Rutger Hauer:

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Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

Oh, I'm definitely not a spam. I just removed the link from my post. Still interested in feedback though. Thanks!

Don't worry, it was pretty clear you weren't. Just slow news Monday. In any case, if you are around the GMT timezone the NGA may suit you (or not)

_________________
Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

Please accept my apologies.

I hope that your go studies go well.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Hi thomaas,

I can not tell you something about online go courses, but when I was 4~5 kyu KGS and maybe 6kyu in the real world, I hit a stone wall and would not improve further (= I did not get stronger stonewise).

So I paid for lessons from a stronger player on KGS and it helped me a lot, because he helped me to get rid of my bad habits and showed me on which part of my game I had to work (reading, attitude). So if you (or someone else) is interested in that, I can tell you about it.

I think we are all interested in your experience (especially those who have hit a wall in the 5k area), so just give it a go.

Hi Thomaas,

There are two important aspects of a study group:

- the discipline/rhythm
- the strength of the teachers

The Nordic Go Academy is tutored by 6-7d so that's all right. I would not settle and surely not pay for lower than 6d. So it remains for you to check the frequency of the lessons and the discipline. With discipline I mean that some online lessons tend to drift into lengthy discussions of ad hoc tactics by either teacher or other pupils. (Edit: it looks like the Nordic academy has a splendid offer and quite a heavy pace!)

In my opinion and experience, 6 kyu is an unreal barrier. It's a wall you may hit after a while of unguided playing. Anyone serious about Go doing the right thing will overcome that barrier in no time. Doing the right thing includes:

- play a lot and don't be afraid to invest some time in a game
- do tsumego
- get yourself some source of ideas
- analyze your games for what went wrong and whether the newly acquired ideas were applied

I'm only 2d so in fact you shouldn't listen to my advice at all, but still I'd recommend a few sources of very basic ideas which may have a strong impact on your rank and level:

- http://senseis.xmp.net/?DieterVerhofsta ... mesmanship (the things no one talks about, by me, 2d)
- http://senseis.xmp.net/?HaengMaTutorialForBeginners (by Minue, 6d)
- http://senseis.xmp.net/?BasicInstinct (by me and others, 2-5d)
- http://senseis.xmp.net/?OneTwoThree (by Charles Matthews, 4d)

Or, you could do the smart thing (what I did), and realize that no matter how many books you read, games you play, tsumego you solve, reviews you undertake, you will neverget better, and you're deluding yourself if you think otherwise.

But... People do get better. How does that work?

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be immersed

They don't get better they were always better, they just hadn't figured that part out yet.

If you're so downbeat about it, what do you get out of playing? And how do you expect to improve when you've convinced yourself that you can't?

You may want to consider playing malkovich games, also, as writing down your thoughts and feeling about the game every move could give you a better perspective on where you are going wrong, as when people plateau, it's often a matter of approach to the game, rather than specific tesuji, etc. that they know or don't.

I think the smart thing to do here (what I did), is to put "Ken Pruitt" on ignore.

A call to mobbing is rarely the smart thing to do.

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Patience, grasshopper.