Hey all,

Last night I was able to acheive one of my (many go goals). I started playing at my local Go Club about 3 years ago and there is one particular player there that I have played alot and who has really helped me with my game. When I started at club he was 2k (now 1k) and I was 16k and he was giving me 9 stone handicaps. My long time goal was wanting to be able to play him even (with out handi's) and win.

Well last night I finally did that. We played a game with me as black and he got 7.5 komi as white and I won the game by 3.5 points. It felt great! After the game we also got a great game review from a local 6 dan player.

My next major goal was to try and reach 1 dan by the time I am 40 (sigh...only 6 more months). My online rank is currently 4k but when I told the 6 dan that he laughed because he thinks I am stronger then that (I play him quite a bit so he has a good assesment of my game). I feel like I am probably currently 2-3 kyu in face to face games but my on line rank does not effect this. I'm a slow player so online play does not really suit me.

I wish I had a way to validate my rank other then playing a bunch of online games.

Any way......Have a good day all.

Hey, great job! It's always fun to try to beat people you've known a long time (or the reverse, when you teach someone and they start doing better). Thanks for sharing the story. If your next goal is to get 1d by your birthday, you should come up with a study plan, or at least keep us posted on your progress towards 1d.

As far as playing slow, there is always the option of a correspondence server like OGS or DGS, though the rankings there are a bit different.

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

Congratulation! I loved having a "target" player in the club, it is such a fantastic motivator. Good luck on 1 dan, but don't become to obsessed with the number, for as you say, 1 dan here may not be 1 dan there. It's all relative, just continue to grow and love the game.

I had the same feeling when I had my first win against the president of my local go club (KGS 5k). We played our first games with 6 stones handicap, and proposed me to play a 9 stones game.

It was one year and a half ago. But I still need at least 3 stones against the stronger players (1d).

Congratulations! It always feels great when you achieve a goal. I also have a few "one day we'll play even" promises to keep, I look forward to when that time comes .

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Congratulations.
For slower time settings like Canadian 20 min/20 moves, or 45 min + 5 x 1 min, or 60 min + 5 x 1 min ...
if you are patient and wait a bit, people will play you with these time settings, on both IGS and KGS.

On KGS yes, and far more often than on IGS. But your best shot is wbaduk - biggest number of players there.

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Congratz I'm sure you'll be able to atain Shodan if keep enjoying Go

Having the goal to beat a certain person is great, but there is one problem: What to strive for when you've achieved it?
When I first visited our local go club I set my goal to beating the strongest player in the club (I was 15kyu, he was/is 1Dan). Well I achieved my goal several months ago but after that my desire to visit the club dropped dramatically. Somehow I lost my driving force to play there.

Ofc I still enjoy playing Go but these days I've spend far more time to play online and replaying progames rather then visiting the local club.

Hey all,

Thanks for the responses.

I should check out some of the longer settings on KGS. I usually use the auto match option but I think (and I set it a couple of years ago and have not looked at it since) the long game setting is only 30 min per player. Maybe if I did not use that I could choose longer format games.

To Jonas, luckely the strongest player at our club is 6 dan. There probably will never be a point where I can play him even and win but he is a great teacher also and will keep me coming back to club for along time.

Awwww, you're missing one of the fun bits: now you get to be the guy at the local club that people come along hoping to beat

I agree with topazg. It's fun to watch people's improvement while beating them as many times as you can before they beat you.

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My plan to become an SDK is here.

Well all I have to say is CONGRATULATIONS! You will reach 1d easily! My dream is to beat the Bulgarian champion, but am sure we won't give herself easy. And the most annoying thing is that she is 2 years and a half younger than me

Anyway, my goal in Go is to be a world champion so I guess I have to walk a long way to it.

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Stefany, web programmer

My club includes two 4d players, two 3d players, and two 2d players. I'll never get to be that guy

I was "that guy" for a while when I was around 5k; now I'm at least 1k but have no hope of being "that guy" again...

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That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.
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