I lose too many games because of a momentary lapse in concentration. *Pffzztt* Short circuit. Off goes my mind, down goes a stone and..

x.x

Often this happens when I am ahead. One moment's carelessness and all the battles won are for naught. There are lots of other ways to lose, but this I think is the most horrible.

I hope this isn't just me. How can I prevent this from happening?

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Patience, grasshopper.

improve your concentration, I guess.

seriously: don't ever rely on instinct, always read as much as you can, it is a good habit and will do wonders for all areas of your game.

I know that feeling very well! I found that after I began studying professional games (From Invincible mainly), and doing alot of tesuji problems, I became more careful. I also think it might have something to do with the fact that you underestimate the possibilities left on the board or underestimate your opponents move because you think it isn't a real threat, you can just tenuki.

In situations where this slip of concentration might happen, ask yourself what your opponent wants to do with that move and try to figure it out if it isn't obvious. Also try to take your hands off your mouse and keep them on your lap after playing a move.

Sit on your hands.

No joke. Too many of us ( me included, which, by definition, is too many ) do not have a clearly defined procedure for determining when we are done evaluating moves. Often, a move seems to strike us with such appeal that we disengage the whole process of evaluating other moves and play it. ( "Wow! Candidate number 3 is a beautiful move!" *click* "Oh no! What about candidates 4 and 5?" )

You will soon find that the effort needed to pick up a stone allows you an additional second or two to get past that mental blip and get on with the complete process of evaluating moves.

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Maybe try to write down your moves while playing for a while. You need time you could use to fight the urge of just playing in instinct AND if you do this as a measure against playing too carelessly, wouldn't you feel stupid, if you played without thinking anyways?

As an added benefit you would have kifus of your games.

Jörg

There are a few basic things that you can do to improve concentration:

1) improve your general fitness - playing games actually can use quite a lot of energy and concentration represents occasion of higher effort and so uses more energy. So lack of fitness can make you reluctant to maintain your concentration

2) play blindfold games - You always have the board that you can see in front of you but you also have an image of the board in your mind (that you may be unaware of). If as you state you are in winning position it is likely that you have already analysed a situation you just are not reacting to the risk and thinking at the right time.

Some other tricks tend to be psychological such as generating animosity towards your opponent. Concentration lapses can also come when you feel under pressure. You start to think about winning rather than playing. If this is the issue then try to ensure that you are playing the same game throughout don't automatically consolidate if it is different from your preferred style of play.

Some great ideas, thanks.

I've been trying sitting on my hands, and also remembered a tip I think Araban once offered of using a real stone while playing online, and placing it on the table before playing each move.

What has however really proved effective is to judge the success of the game not by whether or not I won, but rather whether or not I considered each and every move before playing it. So far, I've failed every time, but I'm getting better.

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Patience, grasshopper.