Hi,

my Name is Melanie and i think i played go the first time about 10 years ago. But than had a long break and started only about a year ago again.

I work as a Software Developer and use my free time to read things in Japanese and learn about go related stuff. Even though my Japanese isn't that good, but its good enough for easy things.

Anyway its nice to be here and I hope to have a nice time, discussing and learning about Go related things with everyone here

Moin Melanie,

welcome das hier ist ein tolles Forum mit vielen netten und hilfreichen Menschen.

LG Tom

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“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?

Welcome!

Hello welcome. Moar Europeans!

Hi Melanie,

I am not sure if you're that one, but I had some nice tournament games with a Melanie who unfortunately stopped playing (tournament) go in 2011.

Willkommen zurück zu Go und zum Forum hier

Thanks You all!

karaklis I think that must be someone else, because I wasn't at any tournament so far. But maybe we will have a nice game in the future.

Welcome to the site!

Welcome to our humble forum, Melanie!

We hope you will take up Go in earnest, as we have found it, through our experience, to be a profoundly transformative game, while at the same time being a lot of fun to play.

If you wish to improve at Go, do the following. One, play plenty of games. There are two ways about it. (The information below is useful when teaching first-timers how to play Go.)

If you are not presently feeling confident enough to play on a 19 x 19 board, you can begin by playing on a 9x9 one and playing in a way that an advanced player would consider childish. That is, play just to capture stones. Begin by agreeing with your opponent to capture at least 1 stone, then at least 2 stones, then at least 3, etc. One can learn a lot about Go fundamentals this way, such as the futility of merely capturing a group of stones and - very important - that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. As well, one learns the importance of knowing when to stop playing; play past a certain point in the game and eventually even the biggest group of stones is reduced to just one liberty, making it capturable. Through capture Go, one comes to understand and overcome the impulse to capture stones, to keep playing indefinitely, make overconcentrated groups, etc.

With novice players, these impulses are naturally present. Of course, there is the temptation to mention the above info beforehand in an attempt to spare frustration to the novice and to point out bad plays during a game, but both should be avoided, as he/she will not yet be able to appreciate such information. Better to just let them play a few games on 9x9. Eventually, the novice learns the futility of his/her initial playing habits and commits to changing them.

Otherwise, if you prefer to play games on 19x19 boards from now on, do the following 3 things. One, play plenty of actual games. Whether you win or lose is not important. Rather, you accumulate experience in Go and, as you go along, refine your understanding and technique. Two, practice your reading (analysis skills) by doing Go puzzles on a daily basis. There are six skill categories. Life & death, tesuji, jōseki, fuseki, middle game, and endgame. Life & death and tesuji are by far the most important skill categories and only after having a good grasp of these two is it possible to understand the other four. Of course, the more of these that you do, the stronger your reading will become, but three 15-minute sessions a day should be enough. Three, replay pro games. In practice, you can replay games by the pro player of your choice, but - at least in my case - games by Korean or Japanese top pros can be difficult to understand, as there is an exceptionally high level of analysis that goes into each and every move. For those who do not have much skill in Go, replaying games by, say, Hon'inbō Shūsaku or Hon'inbō Shūei can be very helpful. In fact, it is often said that replaying Shūsaku's games are highly beneficial for Go players, whether novice or master. Segoe Kensaku 9-dan (1889-1972) once said:

Shusaku simplified the complexity of go, concealing his great strength and profound analysis beneath the smooth surface of his game . . . It is not an exaggeration to say that all the principles and all the techniques of go are embodied in concentrated form in Shusaku's go.

Pros are known to replay several game records a day, but for the casual player 1 or 2 game records a day should suffice. The important thing is to familiarize one's brain with patterns of play as they occur in a game of Go.

Of course, we do not guarantee that you will become as good as a Japanese pro player, but through regular application of the above study régime you will be able to improve steadily.

As you stated that you read some material in Japanese, I gather that Japanese culture holds your interest. I submit for your consideration the following article, as it helped me think about Go differently than before. Though it is from the April 1999 issue of Tricycle magazine, a magazine covering topics related to Buddhism, I am confident that you will have some insight into how the game is viewed in Japanese culture.

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/the-game-go

Enjoy the journey!
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Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered. Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win.
Zhuge Liang

Wilkomen! Hopefully you will find this a gemutlich site.

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Walla Walla GO Club -(on FB)

We play because we enjoy the beauty of the game, the snap and feel of real stones, and meeting interesting people. Hope to see ya there! お願いします!

Anthony

Thanks for the advice tekesta

I think its pretty much what i started to do a few days ago. In the Morning I take my time to review a Pro Game with my real board. I personaly think its kind of nice to that in the Morning while everything is very quiet.

I solve Go Problems on my way to work and back for about 30 minutes each (i sit in train 4 hours in total everyday for my way to work and back). And if i feel like it i am reading Go related books there too or other things. But I think I would burn out fast if I would just do Go Related things all the time there.

In the evening I try to play at least one game and review it afterwards. Or its getting reviewd by my teacher In-seong if i have a league Game here http://eyd.yunguseng.com/


In the weekend I do pretty much the same just with playing more Games

You are farther along the road than I am and constant practice and refinement will all carry us further along.

When replaying a pro game, it is usually better just to replay it through, than to pause every few moves and think about "what if". Of course pro players will often spend an hour or two replaying a game and studying possible variations of play patterns, but pro players have many years of experience, so they are able to benefit more from long replay sessions. Still, if you are feeling confident, give it a try and see how well you can understand what a pro player was playing in a game record. This may help you improve your game considerably.

Of course, the more puzzles you do, the better off you are. However, most of us in Western society do not have many hours a day to devote to Go. Thus, an hour of puzzles is already above the minimum.

Reference books are useful if you want an explanation to something that you haven't seen before. However, Go is a very fluid game, so reference books cannot explain every single thing. If anything, it is better to do a lot of puzzles and consult reference books only when something new arises. Reference books are, I believe, more for pointing a player in the right direction.

I believe the last item is essential as it provides the insight of an East Asian pro player. One thing that many Western Go players lack is insight into what occurs in a game. (I am beginning to develop understanding of what goes on in these games, but I have a long way to go before I can attain even a strong amateur's understanding.) Having reviews from a strong East Asian player will help you to better appreciate the analysis that goes into how East Asian pros play Go.

In Japanese culture, Go is a "way", much like martial arts, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, or calligraphy. So, as I believe, one should see it as a means to cultivate one's own personal character through constant practice and refinement. At least if one hopes to become pro, this is the view to adopt, as those training to become pro often spend many hours on a daily basis playing and studying the game. And even if one only plays Go for fun, this same view can help one to enjoy it. (These days there are many players that place too much emphasis on rank )