No time like the present! Do you play on KGS? It's pretty easy to look up past games. What's your s/n? I'm less sure about IGS. If you're playing on a different server from those two... why?

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1k KGS

I hadn't considered hair dying, but I suppose it can't hurt.

This is how I felt when I was shodan:

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Spezi has the right idea.

Is this you?.

Looking at the rank graph seems to show steady enough progress.

You also haven't played many games lately.

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1k KGS

Yes it's one of my accounts. But with that I only play 10sec games. And when I won some games I would stop playing with that account for a while. It's not representative at all, but a result of me being an idiot.

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http://tchan001.wordpress.com
A blog on Asian go books, go sightings, and interesting tidbits
Go is such a beautiful game.

Thank you all for your tips
Just played a game. But it seems like a bad game for posting here. It's only fighting. Also I won. Though I was lucky; 2 groups nearly died. I think he let me off too easily some times. I was white, playing against some 2d on kgs. Times was 30min + 1min/move. But posting it can't hurt, I guess.
[sgf-full]http://files.gokgs.com/games/2011/7/13/TheZombie-vogelfrei.sgf[/sgf-full]
44: h8 seems better
Also my endgame was bad. Don't know about the fighting. But in comparison to other games I play on KGS I guess I played quite good.

Do you only play on one go server or have you tried others? You also said you were taught before, have you tried many different teachers or only one? In any case, here's a quick review of your game, enjoy!

W36: This move is too passive. You are better off playing at e7 to put black under pressure.

W40: I think this may be an overplay. If black plays d2 next, white is uncomfortable.

B51: This move is really bad, your cut was correct.

W60: Better to play the keima at c13.

B77: Bad direction, it's better for black to play around f14.

W80: You should play f11, e11, f13, e13, g13. Blacks shape is bad and you can easily exploit it to get out to the center.

B87: Now the game seems gather tough for you.

W112: I think this move is too early. You should probably probe around p17 first.

W124: This should be at m12 I think. Next m13, n13, m11, n11, l12, o12.

B129: The splitting attack here seems too good for black.

W134: Does this actually work?

Overall I would say that it seems like you're stronger than your opponent, but you aren't severe enough when you get the chance.

Thank you for the review; I mainly play on KGS, but played on IGS, too (when I was like 8 kyu). Some time ago I wanted to try playing on IGS again, but I wasn't sure which rank I should pick, so I didn't.
36: was frightened of black c5, but now that you point it out; it seems I could simply have played c6 in response(and here I thought Bc5 was one of my best moves...)
60: really? Thought it would be bad because of black b11
134: didn't really read it out

You could look into Tygem and Wbaduk. Both have many strong Asian players and games tend to be more aggressive than on KGS.

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Sanity is for the weak.

One thing you haven't mentioned is whether you spend much time reviewing your own games by yourself. Have you tried that?

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David

Go Game Guru: Learn Go | How to Get Better at Go | Go Game Shop | Go Boards | Baduk TV

Not that much, how long should you do that? After every game? Only after the slow ones?

Try giving up the fast games for awhile and play slower games where you try really hard to get the most out of every move. On each turn, start by looking around the whole board and asking yourself what this position requires of you.

After your instinct tells you what the 'normal' move is, look deeper for the 1/10 moves where you can be more severe. Keep your eyes open for momentary opportunities to change the flow, which appear in the middle of ordinary looking sequences. Remembering to look at the whole board frequently will help you start to see these opportunities.

It will be hard at first, but once you expand your 'vision' you won't easily lose this skill, even if you're not able to play go for some years.

Playing this way you're also going to make many overplays and mistakes, because you'll be pushing things to the limit of your abilities. Focus on the quality of your play, rather than winning so that you'll be in the right mental state to review every game. Spend about as much time reviewing as you do playing. You don't need to review immediately. If you're tired or upset after a game, take a break and review later, rather than starting another game.

Remember that you're bound to play the best move, not just the easy move. If the whole board requires stones to die, then they have to die.

These are a few of the things I learned from my teacher and a few other ideas that helped me when I was around your level. I hope they help you too.

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David

Go Game Guru: Learn Go | How to Get Better at Go | Go Game Shop | Go Boards | Baduk TV

Thank you for the tips.
Tried to play a game the way you said. Time was 30min+30s, but it seems to be far too little time for me. It seems I need like 3h pro player. Didn't take many moves to reach byoyomi. Does 30min+30s count as fast or as slow? Nonetheless, it's clearly not enough time. When I reach byoyomi I can't think clearly anymore. Did quite some mistakes. Lost the game. I will review it later on. You don't have to do it. I simply attach it because doing so does no harm. I'm playing white.
[sgf-full]http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=1040[/sgf-full]

Online it's slow, or the slow end of medium, though I have a major distaste for having a single byo-yomi period.

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Occupy Babel!

Phrased it wrongly, meant 30min+5*30sec.

In my experience, 30 min + 5 x 30s becomes a much more comfortable and thoughtful game if you adjust the byo-yomi setting to 3 x 1:00. Most people willing to play a 30 minute main time game will not object to the altered settings.

Just my 2c, being a player who has also been around 1-2d for awhile. I personally feel that it is a combination of reading skills, knowledge of concepts, and integration of those concepts that drives growth. Problems, books, and actively thinking about what you want to practice seems like the right road.

This thread is inspiring for me. Let's not give up

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Ko is the best solution.
With Ko, I can keep eating and drinking until I am full.

Visit >>>Koosh's Study Journal<<<

Depends on the player. However, I heard Cho Seok-bin suggesting to someone he was giving a lesson to that a time setting very similar to that is much too slow. You need to get better not just on reading, but on reading efficiently and effectively. I'm not implying you should play blitz (though there are some strong players who have suggested that that isn't necessarily a bad idea either), but I find something like 10:00/40(3) to be rather balanced.

Experiment with various time settings and find what suits you best, just like what any other mad scientist drinking Dr. Pepper would do.