Hey all, I am 2.5 months away from 30 years old. I have tried focusing on go several times in my life but quit afterwards. Like when I got into college (17) or doing my obligatory military service (24-mostly studying problem books) but I always quit because of other hobbies (rowing and competitive e-sports mostly).
Now I intend to hold a journal. This time I'll make sure to have fun and will not lose my interest hopefully.
My workplace is far away from my home so I am out between 7 am - 7 pm. However I go to work by bus, so I will make use of that 110 minutes (yeah, it's long) solving problems.

My goal is to get 5 kyu till end of 2015. In 2016 I aim to get shodan hopefully.

The books I have finished:
In The Beginning (Ishigure) x 2
Opening Theory Made Easy (Otake) x 2
Graded Go Problems for Beginners-1 x 2
Graded Go Problems for Beginners-2 x 2
Learn to Play Go Series 1-5 x 1

The books I am working on
Tesuji - Davies 87/198
Encyclopedia Of Life And Death - 900 Elementary Problems 220/900
Mastering the Basics - Vol.1 - 501 Opening Problems (I feel it seems to improve my direction of play, 1. urgent, 2. big, 3. moyo) 84/501

I am also a fan of youtube channels like Dwyrin, Nick Sibicky, Yunxuan Li, etc.

The main problems I have at the moment:
[*]Playing too fast without thinking (kinda explains my nickname, huh?)
[*]Buying too many books, not working them throughly, I got more than 30 books
[*]Checking solution of problems after trying 2-3 sequence only
[*]Losing track of visualization of sequence after 7-8 moves

I set some short time goals;
[*]Finishing Tesuji till mid July.
[*]Playing and reviewing 5 slow games in a week
[*]Doing 40 minutes Tsumego each day
[*]Learning josekis after my games

I will try to give extra attention to the list below while playing my games;
[*]I will think about some sequences before play, I will not rush!
[*]I will always open with Low-Chinese if i'm black.
[*]I will at least count the score 3 times to adopt a strategy.
[*]I will try to make moves prioritizing "Urgent Move 1^st, Big Moves 2^nd, Big Moyo 3^rd" in Fuseki.

I really had to smile when I read your post. It could have been written by me: (passed the 30 year mark, tried focusing on go several times but let it go again (in my case for example to play Starcraft or get into photography), bought way too many go-books, discovered YouTube-channels etc. Oh, and I'm at the same level, though my rank kind of drifted to 9K KGS due to not playing so much.

I will keep an eye on your journal and wish you luck!



P.S.: what timezone do you live in? Maybe we can play occasionally a game or so online

I try to be online between 20:00 CET - 24:00 CET at weekdays,and any time at weekends, but since I am married, playing times are not set in stone:)
I will add you as buddy in KGS.

Hi

Your goals are realistic. You seem to have good insight in your own thought processes. Tsumego are good. Playing is good. Reviewing is good. Reading books as a source of inspiration is good. Having an attention list is also good.

So lots of good things to see here!

I think time management is an underestimated aspect of Go and hence of anyone's path of improvement. It's easy to say to yourself that you won't rush or shouldn't rush but in the heat of the game it just happens. So how to train this? How to review your games in that respect. I've written a post about it: http://senseis.xmp.net/?DieterVerhofstadt%2FTimeManagement

Good luck and have fun!

There is a Lifein19x19.com room. It's small now, but it's good to join. If you want any help, just ask.

Thank you mate! I will check that page for sure.

Sure i will join and bother you with game review requests:)

I have played an ASR game yesterday, with my other account "Derangered". It was a loss but informative.
It taught me to keep my calm even after making some mistakes.
I have also maintained a steady pace at Tesuji.
Tesuji - Davies 121/198
Encyclopedia Of Life And Death - 900 Elementary Problems 220/900 (I returned to questions I failed at the first 200 and able to solve most of them now)

I made some comments, but I didn't have time to comment endgame, maybe somebody else can?

Hi PlaySlow,

Pincer to attack. Example: L4.

A joseki.

Your comment about this approach because of W o4 group makes little sense.

high, attack; not just an invasion, but an attack.
Your thinking/attitude is too soft.

K4 perhaps only move.

still K4.

just conect. You misread here.

Thank you for your reviews ! Tactical wise the move at K4 and defending the top left cut, and strategically attacking the iron pillar at bottom right were very helpful to my understanding. I will try to play a little more aggressive and less timid in my next games.

I have played another game. I played better this time imo than the other game. But i also played very slow, consuming my time. That at byo-yomi times i made a huge mistake and let his dead stones become alive then lost .
If you want to review, I also add my questions this time. You are more than welcome:)

I played against a 10 kyu today(i was black). I noticed I'd pay attention to only a part of the board when a fight arises. Tried to look to whole board position in this game.

Trousey game:

Q17 also possible, esp. at these levels.

R10 also possible; just take cash.

Q9, if you want to attack.

See toothpaste .
Same problem with -- unless you had a nice plan.

See toothpaste .

N12 to kill.

See toothpaste .

See toothpaste .

See toothpaste .

Bad.

G2. You don't see the cut.

E2. You opponent also missed it.

Lkjpoi game:

Big. Lots of cash for W, with local follow ups.
B can tenuki; look at the entire big, very open board.

P17.

Thanks for all comments ed:)
Latest updates on my development; (*actively working)
*Tesuji - Davies 143/198
Encyclopedia Of Life And Death - 900 Elementary Problems 220/900
Mastering the Basics - Vol.1 - 501 Opening Problems 84/501
*Shape Up 103/174 (I picked it up following Charles Matthews' recommendation)

By the way, 2 of my games are commented by Shawn Ray!
https://youtu.be/ShrNHxQn0GI
https://youtu.be/bOtRqza0Zb4

Game was played on KGS! I was black and missed a couple of good opportunities i think. He could have also killed me at the bottom, but he missed it due to byo yomi i guess..

I have a question about low chinese fuseki 4 4 approach. In his book Kato Masao suggests that answering a white approach to 4 4 with the joseki below is the right approach. But the dan players i have asked at KGS say shoulder hit at 16-10 is too powerful so i shouldnt play this joseki.
What do you think about that?

I'll go out on a limb and contradict the dans. In my database, the overwhelming majority of pros do not pincer the o17 approach stone at m17, but rather simply jump to q14. The formation you (and Kato Masao) show appears very rarely in pro games, and when it does, the shoulder hit at q10 is practically never played. This confirms my sense that the shoulder hit is not something to worry about. The top right seems strong enough, so I would extend to q9 and expect to take some profit on the bottom right.

_________________
Patience, grasshopper.