I'm finally starting a log. I strongly expect this to peter out after a few (uninteresting) posts but if it helps me to keep studying, so be it !

As for context, I started playing go more than 10 years ago, read lots of books and at some point reached 1-2k, the level of the strongest players in my club. I haven't made much progress since, which I think can in part be attributed to this lack of contact with stronger players. Bad habits are now firmly ensconced and removing them on my own doesn't seem feasible.

Lately my reading skills have deteriorated, something which is evident in my blitz games. A cure of tsumego is thus indicated.

So, this log will have two goals :
- enabling me to keep track (and motivation) of go problems solved
- posting serious games, as well as questions about specific positions, and get comments/new ideas from anyone who will be willing to comment

Practically speaking, this means :

- solving Lee Chang-ho's tsumego books starting from vol. 1
From what I've seen the first volumes of Lee's tsumegos shouldn't be too much of a challenge but tsumego works better for me with a lot of easy problems than a few hard ones. The thing of course is to read all the sequences and not be satisfied with just finding the vital point (after all, the point is to improve reading skills not solving tsumego per se). I've done this a couple of years ago and found it was a great way to improve (or at least maintain) reading skills.

- stop playing blitz and put more thought into my games
I love blitz and the time pressure that goes with it but while I think it can be very valuable to play fast games in order to make your bad habits stand out, I also feel that I've played too much of them now and that it has made it more difficult for me to think deeper in slow games.

- (maybe) stop playing at Wbaduk
or at least stop playing in the Korean room. A bit like blitz games, I think playing there had great positive effects on my game because it taught me how to fight better and deal with overplay. But now I sort of have trouble dealing with games that do not feature as much overplays and often find myself at a loss about what to do when the game is a peaceful one.

Here it is, now to work !

Good luck on your journey, Shenoute! I hope that this study journal will help you to tackle your weaknessess and to advance after all those years. I'm afraid I won't be of much help for you since I'm much weaker, but there are quite a few kind people here who will share their knowledge and views to help you out. I'll certainly stop by from time to time and read how you're doing.

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Almost a month, time for a long overdue update !

I've done the first four volumes of Lee Changho's tsumegos during the first week and then stopped in the middle of the fifth volume (also did a few hundred tesuji problems from various books). So my next goal is finishing the set, the sooner, the better. I really like these problems, the shapes and the solutions are interesting enough so that solving a hundred of them doesn't become tedious. I can't say it has done wonders for my reading skills but at least, I feel more confortable about reading than a month ago.

On the speed-of-play front, not much new. I've tried to play slower but I still find it hard to stay focused in online games. What is weird is that this is not a problem in "real" games. This is the reason why I won't play on KGS anymore, too much people play blitz and this is too tempting There's also the fact that the latest fashion among certain players seems to pretend to have connexion problems. Strangely enough these connexion "problems" only occur during byo-yomi, when it's their turn to play and when accurate reading is required...Not a big deal in itself but there's enough of this kind of crap IRL, I don't want to deal with this kind of behaviour while playing go.

On the let's-try-new ideas front, I have recently tried to play more calmly and more territorially. A lot of my games are/were all-or-nothing fights and I got a bit tired of it. This coupled to my replaying some amazing Kitani Minoru's games made me want to try something else. I read about the 1956-57 Kitani resurgence in the 2nd Saikoi and found the story quite moving. Replaying some of the games, I was impressed by the calmness and solidity of his play. Of course this is only a feeling, as having an educated opinion on pro games and understanding what's going on beneath the surface is far beyond my reach).
Still, I got interested and replayed quite a few games of his and I must say I'm really enjoying it because I feel it gives me a new way of approaching the game.