He probably says that because he's authored two books on historic go games.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BE%9D%E7%94 ... t_ep_dpt_1

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%9E%E3%82 ... gy_b_img_b

They are really good books too.

Lol, that explains why he breaks from the "go do some tsumego" norm.

But maybe a more trusting explanation would be that that is why he has written two books on historical games.

I had given up on this as a waste of time but I think it can bhe worthwhile going back and re-reading this stuff, so I'm going to carry on.

My study routine

Review own game - 15 min
Review pro game - 15 min
Study go book - 15 min
Do Tsumego - 15 min
Play games - ad lib


The reason for doing everything for 15 minutes is that whenever I did less I felt like I didn't really have time to get in to it properly. Even 15 minutes seems a bit short and it was very tempting to exceed my one hour time limit, but I have to be honest with myself and admit that I'm not likely to stick to a more ambitous routine.

It's been about a month since I started and it seems to working pretty well. My rank hasn't changed much (back up to 4k), but I was feeling like I was stuck in a rut and now I feel like my go is evolving. Even if this doesn't result in an increase in rank I think I'll still keep going with it because I'm noticing a sort of enthusiasm feedback loop between my playing and studying.

P.s. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to my how to review your own games thread (http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8142&p=133744#p133744). I used to find it boring but now I really enjoy it.

Just wanted to say that I like the style of your study journal, with thoughts on various topics etc.
Keep up.

Cheers

Thanks vpopovic, since you've commented on my thread this seems like a good time to announce:

My Study Goal

My goal is to improve faster than my rivals:

Vpopovic - 10k
Otenki - 5k
Fc - 1k
Me - 5k

I'll periodically check on their strengths and I win if none of them have gained more stones than me since this post. If anyone wants to be added or removed from the list then feel free to ask, and perhaps we could also make it more involved if anyone's up for it. (I don't want to have regular scheduled games, but the occasional grudge match could be fun)

This seemed better than a timed goal because I like the competitivity and I've no idea what would be a reasonable goal. It also has the advantage that failure is motivational instead of demotivational; if I fall behind I just need to catch up again.

Sounds fun, but it's not fair. It's easiest for me to improve, since I'm only 9k.
9k -> 7k is much easier then 1k -> 2d.

Regarding playing between ourselves, for me, it's fantastic.

Edit: we can make a group on KGS.

Why not the Lifein19x19 room?

Yup, KGS room. I'm still kind of noob, not so familiar with the terms

He means there's already a life in 19 room that we can use. You'll find it under clubs in the room list.

I was thinking it would be fun to have a persistant handicap based on our results against each other. How about we start with proper handicap based on KGS ranks and then adjust it from there, perhaps every 2 consecutive wins? I'd be happy to take charge of keeping track of it.



That's why I chose 3 rivals of different strength. This way I have a hard, medium and easy goal, and though I didn't mention it I can't help but want be the first of us to reach shodan, which reverses the difficulty of beating each rival.

I agree completely with your idea. Just persuade other two and we can start
If we find this interesting, we can even arrange a small, regular league. That would be fun

A small league sounds like fun :]
If you do start up I would like to join.
I think it's interesting to have a collection of games with the same people to see how you've both changed.

Yeah I'd be up for this. It would be nice to play more people on L19x19 at the very least.

This sounds fun. I'd be in.

I don't know how small you'd want to keep this, but I'd also be interested--I am currently 11k KGS and after exams finish this week plan to spend more time studying go, looking to improve this summer. A small league sounds like lots of fun.

@Splatted What do you think about this? I think a league with up to 10 people, weekly matches, round sistem where everybody plays with everybody twice, handicaps based on KGS rank, 6,5 komi, japanese rules, 30:00 + byoyomi 5 x 0:30.
With 10 people it would last 18 weeks (4,5 months).
People would have to play a scheduled game for that week anytime during the week, but they would be obliged to post sgf of a game reviewed by two players who played the match (since this is a studying league) till the end of Sunday (till 00:00).

What do you guys think, is this feasible?

That sounds more doable than my thought, which could be summed up as "simultaneous malkovich all the way"

@vpopovic: Sorry but that's exactly the kind of thing I don't want to do. I'm already a member of the ASR league, which is very similar, and I feel that's enough of that for me. (See http://www.advancedstudyroom.com/ASR/introduction if you don't know what the ASR league is.)

@everyone:

What I want is just some regular opponents and competitive matches, so things like play quotas and obligatory reviews (though most of the time I will want to review) are definitely off the table. I'm also quite attatched to the idea of having personal handicaps becuase I think it adds a sense of significance to the matches while still allowing us to play as and when we please. Is anyone up for something like that?

I would be happy with an informal group. We play each other when convenient and again when convenient sit down and review games together but no rush or pressure on any of us since things like the ASR and Study League Kyu exist if such things are what we want on a very prescribed and regular basis.

That's what I thought you meant :]
I've been afk in the L19x19 room ever since I found out about it.
So let me know when you'd like to play a game.

Also the evolving handicap sounds like a great idea since you are supposed to be able to beat your opponent 50% of the time in an even game. It gives you a good way to measure improvement. Although it may be skewed by your opponents matching improvement.

I've rarely reviewed a game with an opponent afterword but I am willing to try.

@Splatted Sorry, I wasn't aware of ASR. You're right, that's enough.
Regarding playing, just ring