not really, no.
they only show where you've been... not where you're going.

imagine for a moment that you are only playing stronger players, and that every game you play, you lose. I dare say you are likely still getting stronger, but your ranking will only be going down.

its too easy to fool ranking algorithms. don't get hung up on them (unless you're going to develop them).

Ah, thanks for the advice. I haven't played any games on KGS yet, but it's good to know. Reading some of the forums, make me realize, MOST of you guys take Go EXTREMELY seriously just like Akira from HnG. A bit scary at times...

Especially the 'I MUST GET STRONGER! ROAR!' part. I could see it in the face of TheDuddha2 when he shared his experience at the Go School

Every now and then, some kid who's been watching HNG asks me about 'The Divine Move.' I try to explain it as an allegory for how every Go player, no matter how skilled they are, is always desperately striving for the next level. Sadly, none of them has really been motivated enough to be able to comprehend the obsession with improvement.

Only long term trends will. 10-20 games don't tell you anything, you could have lost a lot of them just because you had a week where you were more tired than usual or whatever. Go is a marathon not a sprint to use a cliche.

In my learning experience, the process of improving a weakness in my Go always started with losing 2 stones.

If I wasn't dropping those ranks then I wasn't leaving my comfort zone. If I wasn't leaving my comfort zone then I wasn't significantly changing my behavior. All the little cheats / bad habits / risk mitigation behaviors were still being applied in my Go to avoid "losing ground." Real progress involved the discipline to commit to the lesson without fear, and thereby be forced to learn how to respond to challenges within the context of that commitment. Otherwise you get the same kind of result as when you do a weight-training exercise incorrectly - you compensate for the additional stress by distributing the weight on other systems instead of enduring and building the targeted muscle group from it.

Marty Lund

If it helps the OP, I am 40 and started a bit over a year ago. The challenges of a mature adult life are definitely there for learning Go, but I'm enjoying it immensely. For example I can't play for hours at a time so I only play correspondence games. This means I am improving less rapidly than I might, but so what? The process itself is very pleasurable, it just gets spread out into bite sized chunks, and OGS is set up very well for that style of playing.

The middle-aged brain does not have the adaptability of the youthful brain, but that's OK too. As with the lifestyle accommodation, I make a mental accommodation with myself as well - don't demand constant linear skill improvement, understand that lessons may have to be learned a few more times. They eventually sink in, and it's sweet.



Ha! This rings true for me right now. I am trying hard to think more about shape and my rating has gone into freefall. I was 8k two days ago and I think I'm going to be 10k by the end of a couple more correspondence games. In OGS terms this is rapid decline indeed

This is partly because I am changing my behaviour and my comforting collection of bad habits no longer works so well together. But it's also because I don't actually understand the changes I am trying to make - my understanding of shape is super rudimentary if it exists at all, so a lot of the things I am trying are actually terrible ideas.

That's the point though, isn't it? Try. Observe the failures. Maybe have a lightbulb moment. Succeed later.

Go is wonderful.

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Confucius in the Analects says "even playing go is better than eating chips in front of tv all day." -- kivi

It does, it does! Very encouraging to hear your story especially when starting a bit late as compared to the 'kids'.


That's reassuring to hear. I'll take this into consideration and take it easy and try to not push myself too hard, lest I burn out or get Go 'anxiety' in playing games.


Indeed. And your quote on Confucius on Go is pretty funny too...

Since I've lived near Seattle, I've had the pleasure of being able to visit the Seattle Go Center on a regular basis. About a year ago, a pro go player from China started visiting, as he became a college student in the area.

I remember that he told me, regarding playing games, that it's more efficient to experiment with some objective when you play a game - and learn how to play that way. This can lead to faster improvement than simply trying to win all of the time.

For example, if you are not good at using influence, you might try playing games where you don't try to get territory at the beginning, and aim for positions that will require you to utilize your influence. Or if you are afraid of openings with the 5-4 point, then you can start playing games using 5-4 point, to force yourself to get acquainted with that unknown skill.

I can see that it'd probably be a good investment to spend time playing that which you need to improve on. But as I am too worried about rank sometimes, I am too afraid to follow his advice that closely myself.

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be immersed

I am experimenting with a new old-brain coping technique: read each chapter twice, watch each lecture twice.

It seems to be helping.

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Confucius in the Analects says "even playing go is better than eating chips in front of tv all day." -- kivi

The world changes. Neither opponents, nor go material in English, are in short supply. Sympathetic stronger players probably are no more common than they used to be. Go lessons tailored to one's particular needs are always in short supply.

My advice would be to play; and on any plateau try to study fundamental technique. Not technically flash stuff, nor saturation bombing of supposed reading issues. Bear in mind that proverbial go wisdom defines itself by explaining certain fundamentals in terms of more obscure fundamentals. Urgent points before big points, certainly: but the idea of priorisation is more simple-minded that what is "urgent", and what is "big". Urgency defines the middlegame, in other words.

I came back to go at age 40, and had nine good years. Takes time, though.

I specially recommend Bill Spight's advice to review the games you play as soon as possible after the game is over. This is easy to say but weaker players usually can't remember what moves they played unless they keep a record. If you play on line the server keeps a record which you can download. There are apps for smart phones that are easy to use to make a record of the game you play face to face. The app shows a diagram of the game and you just use a stylus or your finger (on a tablet) or the cursor to tap the intersection on the diagram as the moves are played. When the game is over you can play it through and discuss with your opponent or a teacher. You can also submit your games to the teaching ladder to get comments from stronger players.

As for bad habits, we all have them no matter how we tried not to get them. The hardest of the ones to get over are the ones that have been "learned" and reinforced the most. That is why it is important to review your games so that things can be caught early.

Good luck!

FWIW I started playing go in my 20's, reached 6k in one year, 4k the next year, and 1d four years after I started. Another six years took me to 3d. I benefited from living in Japan when I started and had many opportunities to play with people a few stones stronger and who also liked to discuss the game afterward. I think it helped me that we didn't make written records, just tried to replay the game from memory. At first we couldn't replay the whole game but we could find good things to discuss anyhow. Once I reached 1d, together with my opponent we could replay the game. Trying to replay from memory is a good learning tool because it makes one focus on the game (no chit chat with kibitzers, looking at other people's games, etc.). And places where I couldn't remember the next move were good indicators of a less good quality move.

Not quite in my dotage, I mostly play with old friends, enjoying hand talk with them. And we usually review these games afterward, enjoying them again.

I like to wander and observe other games when I play in tournaments, and it is not uncommon for me to remember other people's games better than the players themselves when it comes to recording/reviewing them!