Okay, so I've been spending the day getting excited about go stuff. Signing up for tournaments at Congress, looking into options for recording games there, and so on.

Can anyone who has been to Congresses before recommend some of the basic pointer information? What will I need to remember to bring, is there anything I DEFINITELY should try while I'm there, anything I might regret missing? I'm also really looking forwards to meeting ya'all in person, and would love to play some of the familiar names in person (or grab a beer, alternatively).

So, suggestions, thoughts, or excited chatter? I'm entering as 3k, by the way, as that's where I think is most accurate, most of the time.

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

Question about us go congress: is it free to go as spectator?

Non-player registration is $75 according to: http://www.gocongress.org/prices_and_extras

Ah, thank you.

I don't think that is really the question that was asked. Say someone is in LA and wants to visit for a day to see what is going on, possibly meet up with friends, but not take part in any organised activity. Would they be charged $75 for that?

Best wishes.

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No aji, keshi, kifu or kikashi has been harmed in the compiling of this post.
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I'll be using an iPad to record this time. In the past, I've used a bad tablet computer, which I don't recommend, paper and pen, which is fine, and a digital camera, which is surprisingly effective. If paper, bring various color pens. With the camera, take a picture every few moves. Whatever method you choose, if you're going to record your games while playing, practice while playing face-to-face and timed against a human. It can be tricky. Of course, I had the following exchange with my teacher after noting that toward the end of the game we were reviewing, I had recorded some moves out of order and missed others entirely due to time pressure.

T: Never record your games while you are playing. Always record afterwards.
Me: If I record afterwards, I'm afraid I'm going to forget some of the moves.
T: If you think about your moves properly, you will remember them after the game.

It is the teacher's job to set standards, but it is not a standard I have met yet.

If you can get there nice and early and make sure the room and linens are to your liking, you will have a more relaxed time. My belief is that this year, the accommodations will be above average, but if not, a leisurely Saturday afternoon trip to Bad Bath and Beyond is better than a poor night's sleep, a bad US Open game, an embarrassing game review by a pro in front of an audience and then a hasty Sunday afternoon trip to Bed Bath and Beyond.

When packing, keep in mind you'll have one new T-shirt.

If you are a coffee drinker, a nice commuter mug serves both as a beverage holder and a comforting "transitional object" during games.

The pro simuls are lots of fun and the game reviews awfully useful and often entertaining. For reviews, make sure it is easy to get your game record back out of whatever you put it in easily.

Other tips will come to mind I'm sure.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Right, I'm wondering if it's possible to catch some Go action without registering, or if only registrees are allowed in the venue.

Have fun guys. I can't make it this year, but maybe next year!

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"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." -- Bruce Lee

In past years there has been a daily fee for people who just want to come for one or a few days. I don't know about this year. The reason the fees have been charged for daily visitors is that there is no effective way to prevent daily visitors from playing in simultaneous exhibitions and attending pro lectures and commentaries. Since the congress organizers must pay (through complimentary attendance and other means) for such pro activities it isn't fair for visitors to be able to participate in them for free.

If you just want to watch some games, various games from the main tournaments will be relayed on KGS, I think.

EDIT: I just checked the go congress website and for adults (18 and over) the daily fee is $12. This allows you into the main congress playing area for one day.

Your teacher is right. I think I lose as much as 2-3 handicap stones in strength when I record while playing (and I always use pen and paper). So far, I've recorded every tournament game I've played, except my first tournament.

But I'm willing to play at a reduced strength in order to have a mostly accurate record.

If I played only one game per day, then its not too hard to remember it afterwards (especially if my opponent is still around to help). But more than 2 or 3 games per day, and its really tough to remember any of them afterwards.

xed_over, you can't record the individual games in the breaks between rounds?

Anyway, I don't have a lot of tips for the OP even though this will be my third Congress, but I liked and would recommend Maeda sensei's lectures. Personally, I'd advise against the Midnight Madness tournament if you're playing in the US Open, I tried it once and was wrecked every morning. Hope to meet and play you there!

If your camera has the feature, try the 'time lapse' option and a little 3" tripod

On my Nikon Coolpix, shutter sound off, image size to 1024x768, twisty to 'Movie', time lapse interval 30s, set auto exposure lock on, zoom to satisfactory size.

The advantage is you set it just before the game, then ignore it, concentrating on your play.

The battery lasts about 2 games.

Then transcribe into SGF.

I agree with this completely. I also recommend that people try this again and again until they can do it, even if that means losing a few game records along the way. Doing this routinely made me a) focus much harder on my games and the reasoning behind my moves, and b) greatly improved my board visualisation skills (particularly useful for reading) when playing.

I'm very disappointed if I can't play out a completed game from memory after I've finished now, and even though I couldn't remember it a month later, if I have pen and paper, I can transcribe between rounds quite happily.

If I were the opponent, I think this would greatly annoy me. How hard is it to really write it down on paper with the help of your opponent once the game is over?

I feel pretty confident that if the two players together are not at least capable of remembering the first 100 moves, then most likely the reviewer probably doesn't need to review beyond the first 100 moves either.

Here is James Kerwin's advice:
http://www.usgo.org/EJournal/archive/20 ... htm#KERWIN

I always make sure to bring cash and extra suitcase space to buy lots of books.

Have fun.

There is plenty of time to record the game during the break between rounds. If the time limits are long enough I find that recording the game while it is played actually increases my strength because it is an antidote to stress. It gives me a chance to relax and eliminate tension; sort of at chance for yoga breathing in between moves. Of course if you get into time trouble it increaszes the stress to try to record the game while it is being played.

Thank you. So for $12/day I can walk around the venue and take in the happenings?

This will be my first congress too. Very excited. It will actually be one of the first times I've ever played over a real board, (besides playing myself) so that will be different.

Looking forward to meeting some of you, I'm always up for a afternoon beer break too.

I second Maeda.

Over the board blitz tournaments are rare, and there's one at the congress. It might be a nice thing to do.

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