Hmmm, you sound like you're feeling a bit down because of the bit of stagnation. Sorry to hear that. Perhaps try something different, for a bit? Either try a Malkovich game, take a lesson, join the ASR, or otherwise do something a bit different than you're used to, to help make the game fresh and fun to you. That seems to help kick-start improvements for me?

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

It's not the stagnation that really bothers me, it's losing a game because I admittedly played like a lummock. I make such devasting mistakes, I somehow never did while being 5- or 6-kyu, or even weaker.

In one last game against a 5-kyu, I blocked a running group of him without noticing that these stones blocking him, will be seperated from my main group the very next move. Later on I missed a Snapback, losing eight stones. I missed two huge endgame redcutions in my territory, losing again something around ten points.
This is what really devastate me =D

But then again, the next game I managed to beat a 3-kyu, but he played some very strange moves.

Well, to quote "Direction of Play": "Great talents mature late" =P

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

You might rest your brain for a bit and try something mindless and repetitive.

The brain isn't exactly like a muscle, but like a muscle, it needs a refractory period after you exercise it. Most of the time a good night's sleep is sufficient, but if you've been pushing really hard you might need to take a day or two or longer away from what you were studying to let your brain digest all you've learned.

I'm personally on sort of a go bender atm, and I routinely hit a wall where my brain just refuses to work. I still want to play, but if I do I play terribly. The key warning sign is a building feeling of frustration. I don't know what it is for other people.

Sleeping, watching TV, listening to music, or playing video games helps reduce this feeling. I'm still probably not resting enough...

_________________
1k KGS

Yeah, I guess, it was something like this.
It got better, though now I have the problem of playing too slow, which ends in being in Byo-Yomi before late middlegame ^^

But eventually I will pass this aswell : D

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Are you sure you're referencing the correct book?

Yes, Chapter 5 - The Direction of Play and Josekis, p. 110, first sentence ; )

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Still not so much improvement here.

Played a tournament on the last weekend as a 6-kyu and managed to get the same score as in my last tournament in May - 2 wins to 3 losses. I beat two 5-kyus, but they weren't really stronger than me, so just a matter of GoR-points. On the other hand I lost to two 6-kyus, who were both at least the same strength as me.
Against the one 6-kyu I had to face an unknown Joseki, which resulted in giving him at least 25 points of secure territory, influence and my weak group to target. Couldn't make this up during the game.
Against the second 6-kyu, I played several times in the wrong direction, losing my Moyo and a couple of stones.
The last defeat (against a 5-kyu) was actually a win, but my mood was very bad and I counted that I was behind after a reduction of him. So I played fast to get this over and missed a shortage of liberty in Yose. Even so, I probably had won with 1 or 0.5 points but I resigned beforehand.

As a matter of GoR-points I'm still more 7-kyu than 6.

At least I had one very thrilling game - my second. Well, until a Dan-player showed me how bad I played and that I should have lost right after starting midgame ^^

KGS is the same: win some, lose some. No progress. Most of my good games tend to break apart in late middlegame, because I play the totally wrong move at one point. I had this three times now in the last days (two times in the tournament, luckily I could recover from one mistake [with my opponent's help] and the last one today in the ASR League).

At the moment, I'm still reading "Attack and Defense", doing some problems from "Graded Go Problems For Beginners Vol. 4" and will most likely start reading "Positional Judgment" soon. After GGPfB Vol 4. I take a closer look at "Tesuji" again.

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Even if you're 1 stone better than your rank, you'll only win maybe 60% of your games. If you're improving at a steady pace, your win rate might go from 52% to 54% in a few weeks, which is really imperceptible until you have a lot of games. So don't feel like you should be winning 100% of your games if you're really improving or anything like that.

_________________
1k KGS

Hm, maybe you're right. Maybe I am spoiled because I managed to move fast from 8-kyu to 4-kyu in spring but since then stopped to move at a noticeable rate. Though, since starting to seriously do something for Go again in Octobre my win-loss-rate is 47% : /


And when I see, that I can win a game playing like this, I really ask myself: What's the point? ^^

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Failure is the path of least resistance

_________________
standing still means going backwards

How many games? I'll crunch the numbers for you and let you know within statistical margins of error how strong you are

...

I like to think of progress as "time to seeing mistake". If you never see the mistake, you're not progressing. If you see the mistake in the game review, you have some ideas sloshing around in your brain, but they're not in a good form to use in-game. If you see the mistake right after the stone is on the board, you're literally on the verge to being a better player. If you can read out that a line of play doesn't work because of a "mistake" several moves in, you've really mastered the concept (shortage of liberties is a good example of this, I think).

As to the game you posted, you had an impressive mid and end game. Think of it in those terms

_________________
1k KGS

I'm on 50% now. 20 games =D

Yes, the thought of unconsciously progressing is a comforting one. Actually this is what gets me up and playing again, when I had some really bad games ^^

As for the game, I think it was mere luck that my not even good played invasion in the top right corner succeeded. But okay, this is part of the game, too, but so overwhelming winning a lost game just leads to the question: What's the point? =D

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

So yeah, 20 games isn't enough to really tell if you're better or not.

Use this calculator (the second one "Find Confidence Interval"). Leave population size blank (to represent a "global" sample size) and enter in the number of games you've played and the percentage you've won. You'll get back a confidence interval. This is the +/- margin of error. I got back about +- 20%.

So there's a 95% confidence that your rank is between 30% and 70% of your current rank. Which corresponds to about a stone to stone-and-a-half either way. (I use this chart. Assuming that a handicap stone represents about 100 elo rating difference).

Not sure how comforting you find statistics of course. Depends how rational you like to pretend you are.

_________________
1k KGS

Interesting ^^ Thank you!

It appears, I'm getting in good shape again, which is a wonderful thing ^^ Even attained 3-kyu today but that's more because of two escapers right behind one another.
Nevertheless I manage to beat 4-kyus more easily now, espacially as Black. We'll see if I can hold 3-kyu ^^

I'm doing some fun Blitz-games with a Dan-Player on 5-6H at the moment. Really entertaining and very good for my time-management : D Now I can even finish a game without going into Byo-Yomi =D It's also very good to concentrate on the important stuff, recognize shape etc.

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Hi SoDesuNe, I've been following this a bit since the time you originally started doing so many tsumego. I'm in a very similar situation as you, basically 3k sometimes on the verge of 2k, but I have recently had bad spells that even sent me into 4k territory, which was disheartening.

The problem I am facing all the time is time management, and I wonder if this has been a serious issue for you? I love to practice reading deeply in games and think about the positions quite a lot, but I am very often using my 30 minutes main time by move 80 while my opponents may have used 5-10 minutes at most. How have you tried to conquer this without sacrificing all your reading practice? (The consequence is that I lose a great percentage of my game in endgame, where I rarely find the best or even good moves consistently owing to time shortage.)

I have the same problem with time-management, but for me it's not so much an issue of long-time reading but figuring out the direction of play. Especially in situations, which don't comfort me, I tend to look around for ten minutes before I play wrong ^^

But well, as for the reading issue, I think knowing and being able to spot Tesujis does a great deal to your reading speed, but this applies more to close combat and life and death situations, I guess.
I, for once, don't read everything out what I play. Most of the things I play, I do so with the confidence of choosing and playing out a Joseki. If my oppenents derivates from what I expect, I start to read.
So, I guess, most of the time, I probe around on shape-points, knowing there is something, but not knowing exactly what I can get.

Here is an example:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . X . . . O . O X . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . . . . . O . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . , . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . X . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Admittedly this move is dangerous and maybe uncalled for, but for the sake of the argument: It's a shape-point =D
My left side group was a bit thin, so I thought instead of just defending and giving my opponent thickness, I probed there to see how I can manufacture Aji to save my group in a more efficient way.

This is what came out.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Moves 45 to 54
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . X . . . O . O X . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . 2 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 9 1 . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 8 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | 0 5 O 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . . . . . O . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . , . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . X . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Moves 55 to 64
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . X . . . O . O X . |
$$ | . 6 . O . X . . . X . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | 3 2 O O 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 5 X X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | O . O O 8 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 7 X . X . . . . . . . . . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . . . . . O . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . , . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . X . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Again, admittedly he played this not so well (I'm sure I didn't, too) and almost died with this new group. But well, then it came down to reading and I think then it's called for longer reading sessions.
On the other hand, without some experience how to handle certain situations, it might still be very time consuming to play like that. Here for example move to (first diagram) are textbookish to move out in the center and didn't require very much reading.

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Awesome games, which reward you for the ongoing hours of studying (part 1):

[sgf-full](;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]
RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[0.50]TM[1500]OT[5x30 byo-yomi]
PW[KbICb]PB[SoDesuNe]WR[2k]BR[3k]DT[2010-11-25]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: Hey, good gsme
SoDesuNe [3k\]: game*
KbICb [2k\]: hu gg
]RE[B+43.50]
;B[qd]BL[1497.021]
;W[dp]WL[1497.599]
;B[pq]BL[1495.366]
;W[dd]WL[1495.187]
;B[fc]BL[1492.765]
;W[fd]WL[1487.313]
;B[gd]BL[1487.794]
;W[ec]WL[1485.545]
;B[fe]BL[1486.478]
;W[ed]WL[1484.235]
;B[fb]BL[1460.635]
;W[ge]WL[1479.682]
;B[hd]BL[1458.461]
;W[ff]WL[1477.601]
;B[he]BL[1452.909]
;W[gf]WL[1475.68]
;B[cj]BL[1431.533]
;W[ch]WL[1472.737]
;B[cn]BL[1422.532]
;W[cl]WL[1470.499]
;B[en]BL[1421.089]
;W[el]WL[1468.76]
;B[fp]BL[1414.395]
;W[fq]WL[1462.749]
;B[gq]BL[1412.499]
;W[eq]WL[1461.156]
;B[gp]BL[1410.549]
;W[co]WL[1457.194]
;B[bn]BL[1291.301]
;W[dm]WL[1403.331]
;B[dn]BL[1284.408]
;W[bo]WL[1401.905]
;B[gn]BL[1242.05]
;W[gl]WL[1344.11]
;B[gi]BL[1226.96]
;W[fi]WL[1342.129]
;B[fh]BL[1157.205]
;W[gh]WL[1325.483]
;B[fj]BL[1153.632]
;W[ei]WL[1323.608]
;B[gj]BL[1150.94]
;W[ej]WL[1322.211]
;B[hl]BL[1114.765]
;W[hk]WL[1310.544]
;B[gk]BL[1099.679]
;W[hm]WL[1303.87]
;B[fl]BL[1095.605]
;W[il]WL[1301.102]
;B[fm]BL[1094.131]
;W[ek]WL[1285.288]
;B[fk]BL[1030.138]
;W[io]WL[1278.54]
;B[jm]BL[1016.362]
;W[jl]WL[1274.787]
;B[km]BL[1008.613]
;W[hn]WL[1273.057]
;B[jq]BL[982.155]
;W[jp]WL[1259.662]
;B[iq]BL[963.408]
;W[kq]WL[1251.307]
;B[kp]BL[960.14]
;W[ko]WL[1247.182]
;B[lp]BL[958.822]
;W[nq]WL[1244.465]
;B[mq]BL[947.154]
;W[np]WL[1242.344]
;B[qo]BL[924.45]
;W[lo]WL[1240.014]
;B[mr]BL[916.986]
;W[mp]WL[1237.982]
;B[lq]BL[915.204]
;W[nn]WL[1236.405]
;B[ip]BL[900.93]
;W[jo]WL[1233.641]
;B[ll]BL[887.655]
;W[lk]WL[1230.802]
;B[nl]BL[879.654]
;W[ml]WL[1227.994]
;B[mm]BL[877.844]
;W[mk]WL[1226.723]
;B[nm]BL[877.226]
;W[pn]WL[1224.127]
;B[pl]BL[867.918]
;W[qm]WL[1222.231]
;B[ql]BL[863.365]
;W[qn]WL[1220.552]
;B[ph]BL[848.341]
;W[nr]WL[1218.131]
;B[kr]BL[834.896]
;W[rq]WL[1214.605]
;B[on]BL[790.205]
;W[oo]WL[1211.699]
;B[mn]BL[788.693]
;W[mo]WL[1206.117]
;B[no]BL[785.291]
;W[po]WL[1191.804]
;B[nc]BL[732.78]
;W[pj]WL[1187.873]
;B[qj]BL[728.966]
;W[qi]WL[1182.797]
;B[pi]BL[727.578]
;W[qh]WL[1127.104]
;B[rj]BL[713.173]
;W[qg]WL[1122.737]
;B[pg]BL[709.676]
;W[qf]WL[1121.486]
;B[pf]BL[705.535]
;W[qe]WL[1119.833]
;B[pe]BL[695.282]
;W[rd]WL[1118.051]
;B[qc]BL[673.853]
;W[rc]WL[1115.932]
;B[sg]BL[658.614]
;W[rg]WL[1112.048]
;B[sf]BL[637.611]
;W[sh]WL[1109.125]
;B[si]BL[636.533]
;W[ri]WL[1093.152]
;B[rh]BL[633.129]
;W[pd]WL[1075.948]
;B[sh]BL[623.385]
;W[pc]WL[1073.789]
;B[qb]BL[575.201]
;W[se]WL[1069.731]
;B[re]BL[567.396]
;W[oj]WL[1062.589]
;B[eb]BL[523.079]
;W[db]WL[1059.551]
;B[cc]BL[513.484]
;W[dc]WL[1046.122]
;B[cb]BL[506.747]
;W[da]WL[1040.813]
;B[ce]BL[470.702]
;W[cd]WL[1038.311]
;B[bd]BL[467.561]
;W[bf]WL[1036.543]
;B[bl]BL[402.467]
;W[bk]WL[1009.251]
;B[bm]BL[397.271]
;W[ck]WL[1007.456]
;B[kf]BL[378.852]
;W[ld]WL[1003.299]
;B[mf]BL[355.349]
;W[nd]WL[1000.867]
;B[oc]BL[343.114]
;W[nf]WL[998.799]
;B[me]BL[322.372]
;W[md]WL[988.998]
;B[ne]BL[318.576]
;W[od]WL[977.815]
;B[pb]BL[306.758]
;W[mb]WL[972.889]
;B[jd]BL[274.028]
;W[jb]WL[953.583]
;B[kc]BL[269.565]
;W[kb]WL[950.419]
;B[lc]BL[259.616]
;W[mc]WL[947.892]
;B[ob]BL[258.325]
;W[jc]WL[937.046]
;B[kd]BL[255.345]
;W[hb]WL[935.524]
;B[gb]BL[225.286]
;W[hc]WL[933.665]
;B[gc]BL[223.495]
;W[lb]WL[929.021]
;B[ic]BL[196.68]
;W[ib]WL[925.846]
;B[id]BL[195.62]
;W[le]WL[922.707]
;B[lf]BL[189.343]
;W[ke]WL[906.334]
;B[jf]BL[179.26]
;W[je]WL[905.023]
;B[if]BL[176.24]
;W[ii]WL[880.356]
;B[qq]BL[147.252]
;W[rp]WL[875.595]
;B[ro]BL[138.216]
;W[qp]WL[873.596]
;B[fr]BL[96.658]
;W[er]WL[871.506]
;B[ao]BL[90.174]
;W[ap]WL[869.212]
;B[an]BL[88.22]
;W[bq]WL[867.508]
;B[gr]BL[84.311]
;W[ep]WL[865.279]
;B[ns]BL[34.121]
;W[os]WL[838.354]
;B[ms]BL[31.073]
;W[or]WL[835.126]
;B[ak]BL[6.498]
;W[aj]WL[832.129]
;B[al]BL[4.24]
;W[bj]WL[830.149]
;B[rl]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[rm]WL[798.274]
;B[nk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[nj]WL[796.399]
;B[mj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[mi]WL[749.77]
;B[lj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[kk]WL[745.135]
;B[li]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[lh]WL[743.378]
;B[mh]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ki]WL[733.219]
;B[ni]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[kj]WL[720.134]
;B[mi]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[kl]WL[703.482]
;B[lm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[hf]WL[696.135]
;B[ie]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[kh]WL[688.404]
;B[ng]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[hh]WL[663.777]
;B[es]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ds]WL[662.004]
;B[fs]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[dr]WL[661.223]
;B[ho]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[eo]WL[640.313]
;B[fo]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[sl]WL[631.631]
;B[sk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[sm]WL[630.165]
;B[pm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ig]WL[621.285]
;B[op]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[pp]WL[615.083]
;B[oq]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[nn]WL[605.624]
;B[ee]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[de]WL[603.173]
;B[no]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ha]WL[595.363]
;B[ma]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[nn]WL[591.277]
;B[hj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ij]WL[589.276]
;B[gm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[hl]WL[584.897]
;B[em]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[om]WL[581.756]
;B[cm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[dl]WL[563.483]
;B[jg]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[jh]WL[561.337]
;B[ol]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[on]WL[558.907]
;B[lg]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[in]WL[534.661]
;B[ea]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[hi]WL[525.392]
;B[ca]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ef]WL[522.077]
;B[ab]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[bc]WL[494.647]
;B[ac]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[be]WL[475.112]
;B[bb]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ae]WL[473.044]
;B[ad]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[]WL[473.044]
;B[]BL[30]OB[5]TW[ce][ee][fe][af][cf][df][ag][bg][cg][dg][eg][fg][gg][hg][ah][bh][dh][eh][fh][ih][ai][bi][ci][di][ji][cj][dj][jj][dk][ik][jk][rn][sn][no][qo][ro][so][bp][cp][op][sp][aq][cq][dq][oq][pq][qq][sq][ar][br][cr][pr][qr][rr][sr][as][bs][cs][ps][qs][rs][ss]TB[aa][ba][fa][ga][ha][ia][ja][ka][la][na][oa][pa][qa][ra][sa][hb][ib][jb][kb][lb][mb][nb][rb][sb][bc][hc][jc][mc][pc][rc][sc][ld][md][nd][od][pd][rd][sd][je][ke][le][oe][qe][se][nf][of][qf][rf][mg][og][qg][rg][nh][oh][qh][oi][qi][ri][nj][oj][pj][sj][ok][pk][qk][rk][am][fn][go][hp][hq][kq][hr][ir][jr][lr][gs][hs][is][js][ks][ls]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: Thank you
KbICb [3k\]: thx
])[/sgf-full]

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Awesome games, which remind you of maybe reading a bit deeper before placing a stone - part 1.

[sgf-full](;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]
RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[0.50]TM[1500]OT[5x30 byo-yomi]
PW[tzc]PB[SoDesuNe]WR[2k]BR[3k]DT[2010-11-30]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: hey, good game
tzc [2k\]: hi gg
]RE[W+80.50]
;B[qd]BL[1498.234]
;W[dp]WL[1497.571]
;B[pq]BL[1494.787]
;W[dd]WL[1495.307]
;B[fc]BL[1492.99]
;W[df]WL[1493.495]
;B[kc]BL[1485.914]
;W[po]WL[1492.425]
;B[nq]BL[1462.441]
;W[qq]WL[1483.881]
;B[qr]BL[1460.508]
;W[qp]WL[1482.742]
;B[rr]BL[1459.303]
;W[ql]WL[1482.042]
;B[cn]BL[1396.659]
;W[gq]WL[1471.118]
;B[bp]BL[1362.007]
;W[cq]WL[1407.404]
;B[ck]BL[1358.038]
;W[ci]WL[1405.731]
;B[bq]BL[1344.1]
;W[od]WL[1402.236]
;B[pf]BL[1337.993]
;W[qc]WL[1400.149]
;B[rc]BL[1335.778]
;W[pc]WL[1398.252]
;B[rb]BL[1330.976]
;W[ld]WL[1395.884]
;B[kd]BL[1313.583]
;W[le]WL[1388.493]
;B[qj]BL[1305.208]
;W[ke]WL[1381.747]
;B[je]BL[1270.813]
;W[jf]WL[1379.335]
;B[ie]BL[1269.297]
;W[ec]WL[1376.913]
;B[fd]BL[1264.767]
;W[fb]WL[1376.041]
;B[gb]BL[1255.55]
;W[lc]WL[1373.985]
;B[qn]BL[1251.519]
;W[pn]WL[1371.575]
;B[qm]BL[1249.269]
;W[pl]WL[1370.833]
;B[rn]BL[1136.523]
;W[ro]WL[1125.97]
;B[rl]BL[1123.788]
;W[rk]WL[1118.567]
;B[qk]BL[1121.86]
;W[sl]WL[1117.419]
;B[rm]BL[1108.085]
;W[rj]WL[1115.148]
;B[ri]BL[1102.557]
;W[pm]WL[1110.907]
;B[eb]BL[944.246]
;W[db]WL[1105.058]
;B[fa]BL[943.356]
;W[jq]WL[1099.941]
;B[cg]BL[931.928]
;W[dg]WL[1080.553]
;B[ch]BL[886.692]
;W[di]WL[1076.676]
;B[cc]BL[881.835]
;W[dc]WL[1072.157]
;B[cb]BL[879.631]
;W[cd]WL[1067.568]
;B[da]BL[876.212]
;W[cm]WL[1066.898]
;B[cl]BL[866.717]
;W[dm]WL[1058.943]
;B[bm]BL[865.304]
;W[bn]WL[1041.507]
;B[bo]BL[842.466]
;W[dn]WL[1036.121]
;B[an]BL[840.19]
;W[mp]WL[1029.268]
;B[np]BL[800.793]
;W[mo]WL[1021.521]
;B[no]BL[795.809]
;W[nn]WL[1019.832]
;B[mn]BL[794.153]
;W[mq]WL[1018.135]
;B[ln]BL[785.939]
;W[nm]WL[1010.814]
;B[mr]BL[753.14]
;W[kp]WL[891.36]
;B[ll]BL[743.272]
;W[pj]WL[881.651]
;B[pi]BL[702.661]
;W[qh]WL[794.624]
;B[pk]BL[677.839]
;W[qi]WL[791.454]
;B[ok]BL[655.245]
;W[rh]WL[788.655]
;B[jn]BL[578.319]
;W[lr]WL[778.135]
;B[nr]BL[571.35]
;W[qe]WL[776.695]
;B[er]BL[564.804]
;W[cr]WL[749.329]
;B[ep]BL[507.724]
;W[fp]WL[744.481]
;B[eo]BL[503.843]
;W[do]WL[739.32]
;B[dq]BL[479.994]
;W[cp]WL[729.583]
;B[fn]BL[472.43]
;W[gn]WL[724.477]
;B[fm]BL[470.514]
;W[el]WL[705.127]
;B[ek]BL[421.179]
;W[fl]WL[676.744]
;B[gm]BL[417.382]
;W[hn]WL[629.149]
;B[hm]BL[403.81]
;W[fq]WL[570.689]
;B[eq]BL[396.967]
;W[fo]WL[566.716]
;B[en]BL[392.202]
;W[fk]WL[565.385]
;B[in]BL[336.284]
;W[rd]WL[556.463]
;B[ej]BL[328.622]
;W[fi]WL[546.068]
;B[dh]BL[320.161]
;W[ei]WL[533.409]
;B[eh]BL[316.003]
;W[fj]WL[528.83]
;B[fg]BL[309.341]
;W[if]WL[524.075]
;B[ff]BL[299.958]
;W[kb]WL[522.115]
;B[hh]BL[278.887]
;W[fh]WL[510.682]
;B[eg]BL[258.29]
;W[il]WL[506.708]
;B[hl]BL[253.044]
;W[ik]WL[501.501]
;B[hk]BL[251.541]
;W[hj]WL[498.821]
;B[hi]BL[201.989]
;W[ij]WL[490.334]
;B[gj]BL[200.513]
;W[gi]WL[486.952]
;B[gk]BL[199.441]
;W[im]WL[486.096]
;B[hp]BL[147.728]
;W[go]WL[481.77]
;B[hq]BL[143.558]
;W[hr]WL[480.171]
;B[ir]BL[137.453]
;W[fr]WL[358.214]
;B[hs]BL[70.225]
;W[es]WL[352.922]
;B[gr]BL[28.489]
;W[fs]WL[345.065]C[tzc [2k\]: do you want more thinking time?
]
;B[ho]BL[30]OB[5]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: it's okay, thank you
]
;W[jr]WL[317.737]
;B[io]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[lo]WL[315.687]
;B[lq]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[kn]WL[302.296]
;B[km]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[ko]WL[301.442]
;B[jm]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[ml]WL[299.555]
;B[lm]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[lk]WL[296.299]
;B[kk]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[lj]WL[293.227]
;B[kj]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[li]WL[290.154]
;B[ii]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[dr]WL[282.327]
;B[ji]BL[30]OB[4]
;W[he]WL[270.963]
;B[ic]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[id]WL[267.994]
;B[jc]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[jd]WL[266.261]
;B[jb]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[fe]WL[248.074]
;B[ee]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[ge]WL[245.82]
;B[de]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[gg]WL[243.952]
;B[jl]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[em]WL[238.635]
;B[jk]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[gl]WL[231.273]
;B[iq]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[ki]WL[221.906]
;B[gs]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[jj]WL[215.492]
;B[lb]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[mb]WL[212.117]
;B[ka]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[qb]WL[206.644]
;B[pp]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[bi]WL[201.557]
;B[bj]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[hc]WL[185.619]
;B[hb]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[ks]WL[174.426]
;B[kq]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[is]WL[172.72]
;B[js]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[bf]WL[161.503]
;B[is]BL[30]OB[3]
;W[bg]WL[158.585]
;B[cf]BL[30]OB[2]
;W[be]WL[155.484]
;B[ed]BL[30]OB[2]
;W[bc]WL[152.581]
;B[sp]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[so]WL[132.598]
;B[rq]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[qo]WL[127.216]
;B[gf]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[hf]WL[121.876]
;B[ce]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[bd]WL[119.47]
;B[ma]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[nb]WL[117.577]
;B[cj]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[ba]WL[103.956]
;B[ca]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[bb]WL[102.055]
;B[ea]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[ph]WL[91.252]
;B[gc]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[na]WL[86.16]
;B[br]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[la]WL[82.737]
;B[hg]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[gh]WL[78.732]
;B[ma]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[aj]WL[65.857]
;B[ak]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[ai]WL[65.053]
;B[hd]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[la]WL[61.288]
;B[kb]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[oi]WL[58.682]
;B[dj]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[dl]WL[54.398]
;B[cs]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[oo]WL[51.919]
;B[op]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[rp]WL[48.187]
;B[sq]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[mm]WL[46.736]
;B[bs]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[bh]WL[42.692]
;B[bl]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[gd]WL[40.986]
;B[hc]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[co]WL[35.062]
;B[bn]BL[30]OB[1]
;W[]WL[35.06]
;B[]BL[30]OB[1]TW[aa][oa][pa][qa][ra][sa][ab][ob][pb][rb][sb][ac][mc][nc][oc][rc][sc][ad][md][nd][pd][qd][sd][ae][ie][je][me][ne][oe][pe][re][se][af][kf][lf][mf][nf][of][pf][qf][rf][sf][ag][hg][ig][jg][kg][lg][mg][ng][og][pg][qg][rg][sg][ah][hh][ih][jh][kh][lh][mh][nh][oh][sh][hi][ii][ji][mi][ni][pi][ri][si][gj][mj][nj][oj][qj][sj][gk][hk][mk][nk][ok][pk][qk][sk][hl][nl][ol][rl][fm][gm][hm][om][qm][rm][sm][en][fn][on][qn][rn][sn][eo][ep][dq][eq][er]TB[ga][ha][ia][ja][fb][ib][df][ef][dg][bk][al][kl][am][kn][ao][jo][ko][lo][mo][ap][ip][jp][kp][lp][mp][aq][jq][mq][oq][ar][hr][jr][kr][lr][or][pr][sr][as][ks][ls][ms][ns][os][ps][qs][rs][ss])[/sgf-full]

_________________
My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Awesome games, which reward you for the ongoing hours of studying (part 2):

[sgf-full](;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]
RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[6.50]TM[1500]OT[5x30 byo-yomi]
PW[sbkk]PB[SoDesuNe]WR[3k]BR[3k]DT[2010-12-03]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: hey, good game
sbkk [3k\]: hi
]RE[B+Resign]
;B[qd]BL[1498.715]
;W[dd]WL[1492.918]
;B[pq]BL[1497.124]
;W[dq]WL[1488.005]
;B[do]BL[1492.189]
;W[cm]WL[1484.18]
;B[cq]BL[1485.139]
;W[cr]WL[1481.605]
;B[cp]BL[1479.569]
;W[er]WL[1480.183]
;B[en]BL[1478.107]
;W[em]WL[1467.099]
;B[fq]BL[1433.633]
;W[gq]WL[1452.621]
;B[fp]BL[1401.392]
;W[fr]WL[1449.278]
;B[gp]BL[1398.068]
;W[hq]WL[1446.384]
;B[hp]BL[1344.306]
;W[ip]WL[1441.323]
;B[iq]BL[1317.447]
;W[ir]WL[1435.614]
;B[jq]BL[1315.804]
;W[jr]WL[1433.748]
;B[kq]BL[1310.459]
;W[io]WL[1429.466]
;B[fm]BL[1293.895]
;W[el]WL[1426.252]
;B[im]BL[1282.974]
;W[ko]WL[1422.997]
;B[lp]BL[1242.745]
;W[lo]WL[1418.425]
;B[mo]BL[1197.055]
;W[mn]WL[1413.108]
;B[no]BL[1193.04]
;W[nn]WL[1408.027]
;B[on]BL[1058.352]
;W[km]WL[1391.517]
;B[om]BL[1024.959]
;W[gm]WL[1353.079]
;B[fl]BL[988.801]
;W[fk]WL[1346.548]
;B[gl]BL[983.046]
;W[in]WL[1322.254]
;B[hm]BL[975.025]
;W[jm]WL[1316.308]
;B[ek]BL[958.9]
;W[dk]WL[1312.704]
;B[ej]BL[957.063]
;W[dj]WL[1311.596]
;B[ei]BL[944.483]
;W[di]WL[1305.246]
;B[gj]BL[923.845]
;W[jk]WL[1293.444]
;B[cd]BL[916.896]
;W[ce]WL[1281.032]
;B[be]BL[807.8]
;W[cf]WL[1246.994]
;B[cc]BL[796.485]
;W[dc]WL[1244.421]
;B[db]BL[777.284]
;W[eb]WL[1240.693]
;B[cb]BL[771.756]
;W[bf]WL[1238.112]
;B[bd]BL[739.483]
;W[fc]WL[1233.764]
;B[oc]BL[709.897]
;W[qj]WL[1214.551]
;B[qh]BL[697.919]
;W[qm]WL[1211.426]
;B[qo]BL[683.744]
;W[rn]WL[1206.849]
;B[ro]BL[680.133]
;W[oj]WL[1200.171]
;B[kc]BL[612.225]
;W[oe]WL[1194.968]
;B[pf]BL[605.051]
;W[nc]WL[1191.579]
;B[nb]BL[573.952]
;W[od]WL[1185.59]
;B[pc]BL[570.411]
;W[mc]WL[1181.141]
;B[hc]BL[563.919]
;W[mb]WL[1178.217]
;B[he]BL[526.233]
;W[eh]WL[1151.192]
;B[fh]BL[508.263]
;W[fg]WL[1148.354]
;B[gh]BL[498.638]
;W[gg]WL[1145.899]
;B[hg]BL[494.063]
;W[hh]WL[1141.523]
;B[gi]BL[441.372]
;W[hf]WL[1137.389]
;B[ig]BL[438.227]
;W[if]WL[1135.142]
;B[eg]BL[423.695]
;W[jg]WL[1126.177]
;B[ih]BL[412.268]
;W[jh]WL[1123.708]
;B[ii]BL[410.187]
;W[dh]WL[1122.573]
;B[gf]BL[405.824]
;W[ff]WL[1120.255]
;B[ge]BL[403.661]
;W[jf]WL[1103.107]
;B[fe]BL[400.562]
;W[ef]WL[1099.283]
;B[ee]BL[398.514]
;W[df]WL[1087.171]
;B[de]BL[397.364]
;W[ic]WL[1078.691]
;B[hb]BL[381.878]
;W[jc]WL[1060.69]
;B[jb]BL[336.661]
;W[kd]WL[1056.499]
;B[ib]BL[332.441]
;W[lc]WL[1051.181]
;B[oh]BL[290.18]
;W[ji]WL[1043.133]
;B[mh]BL[259.036]
;W[ij]WL[1038.901]
;B[hi]BL[257.102]
;W[kb]WL[1026.595]
;B[fd]BL[236.704]
;W[ri]WL[1023.071]
;B[rh]BL[234.28]
;W[lr]WL[1019.886]
;B[kr]BL[196.599]
;W[ks]WL[1016.398]
;B[mr]BL[180.926]
;W[hr]WL[1011.062]
;B[ms]BL[169.071]
;W[so]WL[1004.956]
;B[sp]BL[167.057]
;W[sn]WL[1003.689]
;B[rp]BL[165.761]
;W[sh]WL[1002.073]
;B[sg]BL[163.94]
;W[si]WL[1001.141]
;B[rg]BL[162.903]
;W[rl]WL[979.674]
;B[bn]BL[153.891]
;W[bm]WL[976.885]
;B[af]BL[129.045]
;W[ag]WL[972.1]
;B[ae]BL[126.842]
;W[bg]WL[971.197]
;B[qi]BL[114.736]
;W[rk]WL[968.728]
;B[cn]BL[92.578]
;W[an]WL[958.512]
;B[ao]BL[89.315]
;W[am]WL[957.47]
;B[br]BL[77.93]
;W[bs]WL[952.654]
;B[ar]BL[72.951]
;W[ob]WL[940.231]
;B[pb]BL[70.597]
;W[na]WL[939.314]
;B[pa]BL[45.53]
;W[ls]WL[935.006]
;B[lq]BL[42.585]
;W[js]WL[934.221]
;B[nl]BL[22.763]
;W[dm]WL[926.027]
;B[dn]BL[18.333]
;W[ng]WL[919.792]
;B[nh]BL[10.048]
;W[mg]WL[917.228]
;B[of]BL[4.102]
;W[me]WL[910.574]
;B[mj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[lh]WL[902.715]
;B[li]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[lk]WL[896.216]
;B[mm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[lm]WL[892.789]
;B[nm]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ln]WL[891.26]
;B[ie]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[je]WL[887.36]
;B[id]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[hk]WL[878.851]
;B[gk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ho]WL[836.43]
;B[go]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[dp]WL[820.397]
;B[ep]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[og]WL[798.581]
;B[pg]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[pi]WL[795.85]
;B[ph]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[pe]WL[791.743]
;B[qe]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[nf]WL[785.545]
;B[pk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[pj]WL[781.666]
;B[qk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ok]WL[776.002]
;B[pl]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[qn]WL[764.751]
;B[rj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[sj]WL[759.531]
;B[pn]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[mk]WL[752.07]
;B[nk]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ki]WL[743.567]
;B[nj]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[lj]WL[740.638]
;B[mi]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[kp]WL[701.229]
;B[mp]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[eq]WL[662.034]
;B[ql]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[sl]WL[656.224]
;B[il]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ik]WL[648.44]
;B[ka]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[la]WL[644.606]
;B[ja]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[jl]WL[633.592]
;B[gn]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[cs]WL[626.2]
;B[bp]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[jd]WL[616.937]
;B[oi]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[jp]WL[607.231]
;B[oa]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[nb]WL[604.784]
;B[pd]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[ml]WL[595.911]
;B[ol]BL[30]OB[5]
;W[rj]WL[593.049]
;B[hn]BL[30]OB[5]C[SoDesuNe [3k\]: Thank you
sbkk [3k\]: thx
])[/sgf-full]


So, I finished "Attack and Defense" today. At least the theory part, I didn't do the problems in the last chapter, yet. I will read the chapter about the invasions into three-space-extensions again before I turn to "Positional Judgment".
I can say while and after reading "Attack and Defense" fighting situations got more handy, maybe it's some sort of late effect from "Direction of Play", too, I don't know, but it helps me feeling much more comfortable when playing a running group.

Furthermore, it's a nice change after almost working through "Graded Go Problems for Beginners Vol. 4" to read something strategic - a lot of new moves and ideas to try =D


post scriptum: 18 problems right out of 20 - yeah! =D

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Phew, applying new ideas is devastating. Until the point, where it really works out, you have to lose nine consecutive times ^^

Well, lack of concetration plays its part, too. I could have won three of three games yesterday but managed only to get one win (opponent made a huge mistake, but even without I think I could have won with good endgame).
One time loss in a winning game (too much concentration? ; )) and one loss due to bloodlust. How is the saying: Never try to kill a group unless you can really read it to the end?

Started "Positional Judgement", quite interesting, I now try to count in my games more often. I am also reading "Tesuji" again. I need something where I have to focus on reading out sequences otherwise I tend to not do this in my games ^^


I feel like 2k might be within my reach for this year :o

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go