Is a typical game of IGS blitz?

[Darsey]

Hi. I got this question that I dont know where place is good to put. It is so simple:

In IGS a normal game is with 1 minute of main time and 25 stone in 10 minutes (canadian byo-yomi). Unless you change options, you will play with this time, is it bitz or can we call it "normal"?


Thanks in advance

[EdLee]

Hi Darsey,

25 moves per 10 mins. means an average of 1 move per 24 seconds,
which is faster than 1 move per 30 seconds.

Of course, because of the 10 minute flexibility,
you can spend, if you want, 9 minutes on a particular move
and play the required 24 remaining moves all within 1 minute,
which is about 1 move per 2 seconds.

Some people would consider a 30-second byōyomi (for 1 move) not blitz.
Others would.

It depends on who you mean by "we".

The U.S. Open provides at least 90 minutes initial time for each player, after which it becomes some form of byōyomi.
I like the 90 minutes starting time, but not the byōyomi phase.

[jeromie]

The IGS default time settings would certainly be very fast for a tournament, but it is not what most online go servers would refer to as blitz. I generally feel less time pressure playing on IGS than I would playing on KGS with medium time settings (25 minutes main time + 5x30s byo-yomi). I don't usually like playing with faster time settings.

[Darsey]

Oh, ok... I think that 24 seconds per move is fast, a "slow blitz" because is with canadian byo-yomi.

The IGS default time settings would certainly be very fast for a tournament, but it is not what most online go servers would refer to as blitz. I generally feel less time pressure playing on IGS than I would playing on KGS with medium time settings (25 minutes main time + 5x30s byo-yomi). I don't usually like playing with faster time settings.

I can't do it in "invitations > Any player", are you playing with friends or are doing specific invitations? I think that it is slow get a game in IGS if I do specific invitation. I am using app pandanet.

[Bill Spight]

When I was starting out face to face amateur games took about one hour. That pace was comfortable, but it works out to an average of about 15 seconds per move. When I was 3 kyu or so a 2 dan advised me to play ponpon go, i. e., just to play moves without pausing to think. Now, that's blitz! In a similar vein, Bruce Wilcox advised kyu players to finish a game in 15 minutes. That's an average of 4-5 seconds per move. I would call that blitz, as well.

When I played in Los Alamos, the kyu players typically played one game in two and a half hours, i. e., one game per meeting of the club. A visiting Korean 5 dan asked, "Why do they take so long, when they have nothing to think about?"

As for Canadian byoyomi and other online timing systems, I do not like the short main time because I like to spend time to think in the opening. Also, Rin Kaiho advised amateurs, even though their games lasted about one hour, to spend as much a 10 minutes on a single move, if it was a crucial move. Note that that left around 10 seconds per move for the other plays. Rin's advice does not fit well with Canadian byoyomi of 25 moves in 10 minutes. In terms of his advice, that byoyomi is both too fast and too slow. It is too fast to allow 10 minutes for a single move, but too slow for a game lasting only one hour. Even if you follow Ed Lee's example of taking only 9 minutes per move, you have to play the rest as ponpon go.

At the DDK level, I go along with the general advice of the Japanese 2 dan, the Korean 5 dan, and Bruce Wilcox, amended along the line of Rin Kaiho's advice. You have less to think about than you think you do. Play with 1 minute main time with Canadian byoyomi of 25 moves in 10 minutes, but plan to use only one byoyomi period. Make as many moves in 1-2 seconds as you can (ponpon speed), but leave up to 5 minutes for a single crucial play.

Good luck!

Edit: About ponpon speed: Try to save the fast moves until the end. I remember playing a pro 9 dan with 50 points reverse komi. The game took an hour, but the endgame lasted less than 5 minutes. (The reason is in part that we had thought ahead earlier in the game. )

[oren]

I would call it "normal".

25 moves in 10 min can be about 90 min easily if players are using the time and games over 60 min are common. Playing in person, that's about the pace I would want for a game.

[DrStraw]

To me 1/10 seems very slow for online play. I would not really consider such a game. For a serious game, or course, I would prefer something like 45/20, but then I do not believe it is possible to play a serious game online (at least not for me).

[EdLee]

When I played in Los Alamos

Hi Bill, I'm guessing that's in NM, not central coast, California ?

I do not believe it is possible to play a serious game online (at least not for me).

I've been playing serious online games for over 10 years.
It is entirely possible, and completely normal and routine, at least for me.
In fact, for me it is the only venue to have regular (almost daily) serious games, due to the scarcity of opponents in my area.

[Bill Spight]

When I played in Los Alamos

Hi Bill, I'm guessing that's in NM, not central coast, California ?

I do not believe it is possible to play a serious game online (at least not for me).

Yes, it's Los Alamos, NM.

BTW, the second quote is not mine. Just to be clear.

[EdLee]

Hi Bill, were you working at the famous lab there, as a physicist ?

[Bill Spight]

Hi Bill, were you working at the famous lab there, as a physicist ?

No, I was living out in the country about 45 minutes away.

[DrStraw]

I do not believe it is possible to play a serious game online (at least not for me).

I've been playing serious online games for over 10 years.
It is entirely possible, and completely normal and routine, at least for me.
In fact, for me it is the only venue to have regular (almost daily) serious games, due to the scarcity of opponents in my area.

No argument there. That is on of the reasons I have not played a serious game in many, many years. But I still stand by my statement that I cannot play seriously online. Actually, I do very little online which is serious. The environment just is not conducive for it.

[Darsey]

Bill Spight

This is a few offtopic, but, do you think that play blitz is good to improve? I think that think in one situation (like if a one shape can be killed).


I will consider that 1 minute of main time and 10 minute for 25 moves, it isn't blitz. It is slower than a real blitz game and faster than normal game (like a tournament game).

[Bill Spight]

I never followed the advice to play ponpon go or finish a game in 15 minutes, so I don't know whether it is good for improvement or not. However, I do know that it is possible to overthink, and if you are not thinking of the right things, thinking a lot is practice in thinking wrongly.

[Bill Spight]

Let me add to that.

Playing blitz can reinforce the habit of playing without reflection. While Wilcox advocated 15 minute games, he also was good at helping kyu players advance rapidly. So I expect that there is something to his advice to play quickly.

But at whatever speed you play, IMO it is imperative to review your games if you wish to advance. The review might even take longer than the game.